materialisedesign v2

guiguibonbon · 2006-11-24 00:04:19

I’ve been updating materialisedesign for the past couple of days.

It’s not totally finished, but getting real close :) Quite a few IE-issues to solve too.

Any crits would be very much appreciated, I’m really trying to get it as close to perfection as I possibly can.

The rest of the website is also txp-driven and redesigned but not all too mention-worthy (yet) me thinks.

hope you like it!

Walker · 2006-11-24 00:26:50

Looks quite nice.

onthink · 2006-11-29 15:20:29

that sound nice

guiguibonbon · 2006-12-03 13:29:21

Ok, well, if it looks and sounds (quite) nice, everthing’s good I guess :) No, seriously, thanks guys.

squaredeye · 2006-12-04 02:18:39

ggbb,
I wonder if there’s a way to treat the sidebar differently in order to let it be subordinant to the content? The color scheme is strong. Looks good man. I’d have to say your line-height seems a little too large to me :), I’ve been reading your thoughts on the liberti post, and thinking about it. I honestly have to say it feels awkward? Perhaps its an untrained eye?

:)

Matthew

guiguibonbon · 2006-12-04 16:38:14

Hi Matthew,

yes I have to agree on the sidebar. It works much better on the article-pages, where there’s a clear contrast. I haven’t been able to find a solution, without cluttering the whole front-page. Good to have some-one confirming it. Perhaps I could keep the font-size of the headers small. Gonna try that.

Regarding the line-height; maybe it’s a matter of habit, maybe I overdid it a bit. I’d love to have a third opinion, anyone?

guiguibonbon · 2006-12-06 22:09:11

I changed the sidebar a bit, fonts are smaller and less contrasted. It definitely looks better, and helps the hierarchy, but I find the homepage has lost some of its appeal. Mmmm….

dbulli · 2006-12-06 23:37:44

I have to agree the sidebar on homepage doesn’t quite look like a sidebar, but i think it’s understood …

I have more an issue with the “invisible” left delineation … it’s understood but looks visually weird to me … maybe a only a slightly ligher/darker grey to delineate left and right? i also think the headings on home of each article could be a little smaller .. with more padding… they seem to throw out what is otherwise a well done page…

Also on internal pages … i would either bump up the header font size for article, or contrast .. did you try black or some dark grey (like the background color)… it kinda get’s lost with the bar right above it … i think a grey or black is better than font-size … and left align … this is a personal preference but i think left aligned (or even right aligned) would look better…

overall very nice …

Robert L. · 2006-12-06 23:41:24

I find the grey you use on the frontpage very soothing, and opening one of the articles at first did hurt my eyes; I was expecting soothing grey instead of bright FCFCFC.
But after reading some of the article I found that the page was very readable and pleasant to the eye, and the frontpage looked a bit duller to me at second inspection. And then I looked at it longer and found it very pleasant to read…

I’m not helping here. I think it’s a great re-design.
One remark; I find the back-ground color of the legend on the frontpage too bright compared to the rest of the page.
Otherwise, lovely!

guiguibonbon · 2006-12-07 01:04:00

Man, I love talking typography, you guys sought for it, so here it goes…

See, the thing is, I’ve always been torn between classic and modenist type-setting and layouts. Classical, centered layouts are nicer to read and scan. You find headings very easily, and the eye really flows from paragraphe to paragraphe. I also particularily like ornaments. They’re great ways of giving text breathing space, if well used. A big ornament at the end of a text clearly states “hey, it’s done”, and the eye sees it from far off. No wondering if the text would be split in pages or anything.

But modernist layouts (usually columns, sans serif, bold type and lines, and big contrasts) is much more effective at telling you in a glance what a complex page contains. It’s also visually much stronger. But doesn’t perform too well on the reading.

That’s why I settled on trying to mix the two. The articles are very classicaly laid out; but the main structure is quite swiss-like (modern). Which does have that particular effect of making the one look dull once seen after the other. But both working pretty well on their own. I had the exact same feeling as Robert.

so, concerning the invisble left delienation : see, that’s the swiss me. I hate applying big blocks of color; no matter how subtle. Makes it all too… streamlined, like… sweet complexity. Hamburger-like; many layers, but feels like a whole. Very web 2.0. This of course, is not an excuse. And I do guess that the four lines and their alignment with the top right corner logo don’t give the needed structure/grid feeling. Gonna have to check how those russians managed such things.. mmm.

concerning the headings (on article pages) being blurred with header : absolutely, which is why I added that light green bar on top. No way I’m going to align it left (see, that’s the neoclassicist talking) – it would stand out less, and i’d probably have to increase font-size; or another strong element (line, bckg, …). I already considered to add a thin ornament underneath it. I might actually do it after all. And if I take the pink away, the page does suddenly seem to lack some of it.

And that last remark also makes me think I should listen to myself a bit more : footer does indeed grab too much attention, I was actually trying to limit the number of colors, but would have prefered a mid-tone green. I could try a pattern with two colors I already have.

Well, thanks a lot everyone, this is exactly the kind of feedback I needed.

Oh, I’m just thinking of another (perhaps more important) reason I wouldn’t use left align on the headings : the central axis of the articles falls exactly on 1/3rd of the main width, which is known to be the natural spot for eyes to fall upon. Emphasising that axis makes the composition look stronger.

dbulli · 2006-12-07 01:23:49

i am color blind (seriously) … green is lost to me ;) … i still stand by my statement … the inner heading is lost and conflicts with the bar and the main page heading …

i like that … i am “modern” … thank you…

still it’s not the center that bothers me as much as how the whitespace is distributed .. or the fact that it is lost… for example the tighter integration of the “written by” and what’s below is perfectly aesthetic for me … i hate following rules and stuff … i am really just a “feel” person … i have never read up on type or design except in passing… i can only say what is soothing to MY eye ….

ok i am done …

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#1 2006-11-24 00:04:19

materialisedesign v2

#2 2006-11-24 00:26:50

Re: materialisedesign v2

#3 2006-11-29 15:20:29

Re: materialisedesign v2

#4 2006-12-03 13:29:21

Re: materialisedesign v2

#5 2006-12-04 02:18:39

Re: materialisedesign v2

#6 2006-12-04 16:38:14

Re: materialisedesign v2

#7 2006-12-06 22:09:11

Re: materialisedesign v2

#8 2006-12-06 23:37:44

Re: materialisedesign v2

#9 2006-12-06 23:41:24

Re: materialisedesign v2

#10 2006-12-07 01:04:00

Re: materialisedesign v2

#11 2006-12-07 01:23:49

Re: materialisedesign v2

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