[Matt-SD]

(05-15-2011, 07:59 PM)Manko10 Wrote: Furthermore, I think we don't need Ubuntu AND Debian (we can proably put them together on the downloads page). The same applies to RHEL and Fedora for instance.

It depends on if it installs on both Ubuntu & Debian. Some .debs that work in Ubuntu don't work in Debian & vice-versa. Same for Fedora & RHEL.

But that's rather a technical discussion topic. I'd like to get peoples opinions on your design because I like it more than mine.

[Manko10]

Quote:It depends on if it installs on both Ubuntu & Debian. Some .debs that work in Ubuntu don't work in Debian & vice-versa. Same for Fedora & RHEL.

But that again is your responsibility (or that of the package builder, respectively).

Quote:I'd like to get peoples opinions on your design because I like it more than mine.

Unfortunately not much activity here at present.

[haeckle]

(05-15-2011, 01:14 AM)Manko10 Wrote: So, this is my draft. I've adapted the very basic ideas of Matt-SD and turned them into something completely different.
They reason why I decided not to use such a dark design is because the other drafts are drowning in black. Therefore I create a design which is much brighter, so now we have more contrast for a more pleasing visual experience. The increased contrast takes up the default user interface, which also consists of contrast between native and non-native elements (and bright and dark elements, depending on the user's GTK theme).

The two screenshots should be two different windows/views/themes/whatever. For now I have just used the default Black Copper theme and the more native alternative. We could change that as soon as we have implemented the theme so we can create real screen shots (which takes less time than creating them by hand ). I know, the perspective isn't quite right (used Firework's quick'n'dirty deform tool), but it's just for the sake of demonstration.

The gray boxes on the right need to be replaced by proper images, of course.

hi manko10,
i like your mockup. but there are several things which could be improved.
- the white background is a little bit too white, maybe it could have a little bit of grey or copper or purple... (and maybe just for the "content-box")
- the navigation-bar doesn't really fit with the logo on the left side
- the downloadbutton shouldn't be on top of the screenshots. maybe under or beside. (the right image could be smaller and a little bit higher and then the downloadbutton could be beneath it)

that's all for now. many thanks for your mockup!

@mattsd: i agree with manko10 about your design-proposal.

[Manko10]

Thanks for your critique.

Quote:the white background is a little bit too white, maybe it could have a little bit of grey or copper or purple... (and maybe just for the "content-box")

Why "too white"? I wouldn't use gray here as it would reduce the contrast in a way that looks dull.

Quote:the navigation-bar doesn't really fit with the logo on the left side

Please be more precise. What doesn't fit? It is precisely aligned. If you draw horizontal lines you'll see. First I aligned it to the base line of the text but then the navigation became to heavy and crushed the design. So now it is aligned to the curve of the e and the majuscule height.
Or do you mean the general visual appearance?

Quote:the downloadbutton shouldn't be on top of the screenshots. maybe under or beside.

Why not on top? It makes things a bit more interesting to combine them in a rather unusual way instead of just putting them in order. Perhaps the button could get a little bright glow to increase its visibility. The glow could become a little bigger one mouse hover.

Quote:(the right image could be smaller and a little bit higher and then the downloadbutton could be beneath it)

The elements are all aligned to a grid to make the site looking structured and clear. I also wouldn't make the image smaller since it is a very central visual element that has to stand out. Splitting all those things into smaller ones would fragment the layout and the eye would miss guides resulting in an overall confusing look&feel. Too many hierarchically equal elements spoil the clearness. The elements are ordered and sized in a way that the eye spots the most important things first and doesn't lose orientation.

[nighthawk]

I'm starting to prefer Manko's mock more the first as it seems to be better with epecially with the different options for downloads. I also like the layout/colours as it seems to be more eye catching.

Although, if possible I would make the screen shots different styles to show that the feathers can be changed. EDIT: just reread the posts and noticed that this had been touched upon.

[Manko10]

Quote:Although, if possible I would make the screen shots different styles to show that the feathers can be changed.

Yep, read my posting above. I said I just used the two alternative versions because I didn't want to create a completely different one just for a mockup. There should either be two different windows of the same feather or the default feather for the bigger window and another popular and nice looking feather for the second window.

[freaktechnik]

I'm missing shadows on Mankos design. but it's pretty, if you don't make it too large. I like the idea of the navbar. To go back to the shadows: I would personally use a shadow to some how let the main content appear over nav & footer. But if I don't submit my own design idea, it's the artist who decides.

[Manko10]

Quote:if you don't make it too large

Exactly. That is a little problem with the current draft I have not mentioned yet. If you view it in full size it might blow you away a bit but if you view it at a size of about 11 or 12px for body text, it's fine. Currently it is at 14px, which is a little too much.

Quote:To go back to the shadows: I would personally use a shadow to some how let the main content appear over nav & footer. But if I don't submit my own design idea, it's the artist who decides.

Shadows are nice but it is easy to overdo it. The only thing that I would give a shadow are perhaps the screenshots and the download button.

[freaktechnik]

I had some ideas and created like a mockup page. The actual design:
It's not actually finished, and it's just an idea. It doesn't have to be good. It's based on the colors of the feather. Oh there are hover colors. You can see them on the test page under http://humanoid.square7.ch/ngale/ (there may be popups, thats because its a free hoster; I only use this server for stuff like this. Mokups and projects in development). I will change around a bit everyday. Just to say.

[Matt-SD]

(05-17-2011, 03:57 AM)Manko10 Wrote:

Quote:the white background is a little bit too white, maybe it could have a little bit of grey or copper or purple... (and maybe just for the "content-box")

Why "too white"? I wouldn't use gray here as it would reduce the contrast in a way that looks dull.

Maybe trying either #F0F0F0 or #F8F8F8. I use one of those two if instead of plain white all the time.

(05-18-2011, 06:00 AM)Manko10 Wrote:

Quote:To go back to the shadows: I would personally use a shadow to some how let the main content appear over nav & footer. But if I don't submit my own design idea, it's the artist who decides.

Shadows are nice but it is easy to overdo it. The only thing that I would give a shadow are perhaps the screenshots and the download button.

If you do a subtle shadow, something like 0px 1px 4px #888, or even a lighter color, it will look nice. Also, I used 1px on the y-axis because it looks more like a shadow that just a glow.

(05-25-2011, 07:42 AM)freaktechnik Wrote: It's not actually finished, and it's just an idea. It doesn't have to be good. It's based on the colors of the feather. Oh there are hover colors. You can see them on the test page under http://humanoid.square7.ch/ngale/ (there may be popups, thats because its a free hoster; I only use this server for stuff like this. Mokups and projects in development). I will change around a bit everyday. Just to say.

I think it's a little bland, personally. But that also goes back to the splash-page issue. Also, the text size is too big for my liking.

But on a constructive note, putting padding around the content box & some sort of texture on the header & footer. Maybe put a bit of static/noise on the bg.