Cosmetic Surgery

raveoli · 2006-07-26 11:14:37

Just like Steve Jobs is the mastermind behind Apple, Dean Allen is the mastermind behind Textpattern.

Dean Allen is a professional designer, bookcovers and such, and he made Textpattern the way lots of us people really love; Simple and powerful. Dean was/is not, a real hard-ass programmer. And that difference has made Textpattern so different from the rest of the open source solutions offered.

It has finesse.

Of course the interface needs an update, but, sorry to say, that initial draft and most of the iterations, are pretty far off. It is not Textpattern – it is something else.

I’m not being conservative here, but a professional redesign has to be done with care, and attention to detail. Where is the original logotype? And the sculptor? Of course the holy logo can be updated if needed, but again, it has to be done with care. Gradually. Change some, keep some. Refine, not rebrand.

Making something “less” seem “more” is not an easy job. How come Dean’s not doing it?

Last edited by raveoli (2006-07-26 11:15:52)

creativesplash · 2006-07-26 17:17:48

My thoughts exactly. Oliver has said it perfectly well.

Someone has to set a style guide (Dean). Imagine someone taking your company logo and not using it the way it is supposed to be used. :) There have to be eps files of the logo available. There have to be guides such as point size of the logo and things like that. Its understandable if Dean hasn’t thought about it. I guess he’s been busy and Textpattern has grown very quickly over the last couple of years.

I’ve been watching not only this redesign. I’ve also been following the textpattern group of sites. All of them look drastically different (In terms of colour schemes). This is not to say that the designs are bad. Its just that there has to be some consistency.

Its about time that we designers stepped in and did something. Where’s Jon Hicks? John Oxton? (Just to mention two of them) :)(sorry, dint mean to put you into a tight spot :) (Jon, I think you are brilliant with user interfaces!)

I’ve put together a couple of interfaces in Photoshop but its not intuitive as the current interface. I think we need experienced designers. I believe that the textpattern community has a lot of them. So I appeal to the designers. Lets do something about it!

(I’m gonna try whipping up a nice interface for txp based on the existing design and not deviate far from the current style)

Last edited by creativesplash (2006-07-26 17:18:38)

masa · 2006-07-26 18:56:17

Apparently I belong to a quiet minority that likes the TXP interface just the way it is.

To be honest I didn’t like much of what was posted in the other thread, too much colour right in your face, too many buttons etc. I particularly don’t like framing it with stuff at the top and a button panel on the side – looks just like another website.

What attracted me to TXP in the first place was its “whiteness” and minimalistic approach. The use of colour is mostly limited to an area of about 70px at the top, while the rest is just plain white like a sheet of paper. If I was to sit down to write, that’s what I’d want to be looking at: a clean slate.

Then we have distinct, brown trigger links that don’t look like buttons (and why should they?) and the rare red button which stresses its significance, simple and obvious.

Getting around is made easy with that clever url pop-up. The power users might want to have several browser tabs open, but that way it’s entirely up to them to “complify” their interface.

No matter what direction the facelift project is going in, I hope the current interface will be still an option, like a skin. I’m also thinking of the end users here.

Cheers Martin

Last edited by masa (2006-07-26 19:00:34)

creativesplash · 2006-07-26 19:07:04

A vast majority of txp users still prefer the existing interface. This is because Clients love a simple interface (which textpattern’s got). Its almost like sending an e-mail. A lot of white space and no clutter unlike any other CMS. Yeah, I completely agree with you. We will need to retain the old interface as an option for traditional txp users. Just my 2 cents.

Last edited by creativesplash (2006-07-29 02:50:21)

aarplane · 2006-07-26 20:59:10

I think that Mary’s design will capture all the elegance of the current version, but update it. I was wrong to try and change it.

I’m very positive there will be an option, whether it’s built in or somebody releases it as a patch.

Ray · 2006-07-28 23:48:11

masa wrote:

Apparently I belong to a quiet minority that likes the TXP interface just the way it is.

I’m in that minority as well. As much as I’d like to see the control panel redesigned I think the current drafts are sub-par and to implement any of them would be a step backwards. If the developers want a change but don’t feel comfortable redesigning the current control panel themselves how about soliciting the talents of a seasoned designer (pro bono of course).

Jon might do it for cheese … as long as we don’t beat him with a stick ; )

Ace of Dubs · 2006-07-29 13:04:06

Good feedback here…

Your observations are duly noted

sunmaker · 2006-07-29 14:49:48

creativesplash wrote:

A vast majority of txp users still prefer the existing interface.

I will disagree with this until I am shown some representative survey of txp users. Certainly there is room for improvement.

The current interface has, in my view, basic usability problems that need to be fixed.

My major issues are:

1. The tabs are poor targets – wide but shallow, offering little margin for pointing error.

2. Clickable region of View Site tab is smaller than the other tabs (always drives me nuts)

3. Most of the controls on the login screen don’t do anything. The screen shows you 8 tabs and 17 Go popup selections, and of these controls only one works (View Site). At a minimum, unavailable controls should be greyed out.

Could we enable the admin to type the login information and click a tab to login and go to the desired area?

4. Go popup doesn’t include View Site and Log Out controls.

5. Lower Go popup easily scrolls off the screen.

6. Fonts in the admin interface are generally too small.

sunmaker

Last edited by sunmaker (2006-07-29 14:51:17)

creativesplash · 2006-07-29 17:21:43

Sorry I should have been more clear.

I was talking about the colours, the white space and the general look of the current interface. We could always bring in those little tweaks to the current interface.

I think ace of dubs has done an excellent mock up of the interface. It has not deviated from the existing layout and at the same time it has some great improvements. Great job Ace of dubs!

Ace of Dubs · 2006-07-31 09:51:33

:)

xjosie729 · 2006-07-31 23:42:06

I don’t like the orange banner, but the tabs are great!

Mary · 2006-09-24 02:50:18

*bump*

Textpattern CMS

Textpattern CMS support forum

#37 2006-07-26 11:14:37

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#38 2006-07-26 17:17:48

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#39 2006-07-26 18:56:17

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#40 2006-07-26 19:07:04

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#41 2006-07-26 20:59:10

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#42 2006-07-28 23:48:11

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#43 2006-07-29 13:04:06

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#44 2006-07-29 14:49:48

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#45 2006-07-29 17:21:43

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#46 2006-07-31 09:51:33

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#47 2006-07-31 23:42:06

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

#48 2006-09-24 02:50:18

Re: Cosmetic Surgery

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