I was going through some of the old stuff I'd uploaded to my webspace and I found a pic I'd done of a possible redesign. I've been thinking about redoing my site for a while now, but haven't gotten round to it.. Would be great to get some comments, as I'm in two minds over this design. I wanted something simple, but I'm not sure if this is too plain. The content area looks pretty bland with nothing but text, but would be much livelier when done for real.

 

So.. my requirements...

 

- needed to be flexible in terms of how content is displayed.

- expandable. I know the buttons are going to be a pain in the ass, but I think I've figured out a way around that. I do need to try it for real, though.

- should allow content to stand out. Hence the mid greys.

- continuity from the current design. I'm not after a rebranding, more tweakage to get around some limitations in the old design.

- keeping the same logo.

 

It's just an image at the moment, but here it is.

 

Ta muchly!

 

 

::edit::

might be unclear from an image, but the light grey background would be the <body> colour, so the header and footer would essentially be floating in space. Also found another flat version of the site.. posted for posterity, though.. I'm not really considering that one.

I prefer the original design by far.

Have you tried a hybrid of the two?

 

I quite like the black and the image bar in the original design, but loving the nav buttons and textures in the second.

The greys in the second version loses some impact and clarity - I find the text in the first version easier to read.

As for the main content - don't know if you're just showing us the header/footer redesign - but your main content could do with being a width somewhere between the two versions.

 

Probably missed the point - but I tried!

It's a bit hard to judge your image since it seems far from complete. I like the buttons in the flat version but i doubt they will work better then the ones you have now. I kinda like the increasing size dots. Try working out your new design a bit more. Well gl

Hey -to be honest I think I prefer the original site. Both are nice with a great 'clean' feel to them but I like the colours of the original a little more.

 

Good luck deciding

The orginal one is way much better than this new version.

^ yep

Why?

Orginal design:

- Nice color scheme

- Solid layout

- More readable text

- Easier to notice the menu

- A nice image that fits well

- Nice font on the image-headlines

- Good balance

- Ok typography

 

New design:

- Not a nice color scheme. To big difference on background and the site.

- Not a solid layout, just a text.

- No headline

- Bad readability

- Not a nice menu. Looks I little 1996 to me. Small pixel fonts are very much "outdated".

 

I think you new layout, even though it's really much of the same as your last one, would benefit on having the same color all the way. (The green)

 

It looks very half way done, so please do something with your text before asking for feedback. This is not really a site yet, just a bunch of graphics.

 

But it could be very good! I love your current site btw!

Cheers for the clarifications. Just to cover a few of your points on the new one, tho:

 

- Not a solid layout, just a text.

- No headline

Yup, totally agree, but that's just filler text. The content area is totally unfinished (mentioned in the original post).

 

- Bad readability

For which part? Some of the footer area, especially the copyright info, isn't too clear, I'd agree there. I'm not too bothered about that. Are you having difficulty with any of the rest?

 

- Not a nice menu. Looks I little 1996 to me. Small pixel fonts are very much "outdated".

That's Arial, not a pixel font. The site, including the text and buttons, would be expandable

 

I think you new layout, even though it's really much of the same as your last one, would benefit on having the same color all the way. (The green)

I dunno.. I've gone off that bit. Originally, the idea was to have rotating images, or a different image on each page, but I never got round to it.. I knew the images I wanted, but could only have taken them at certain times of the year (they were all based on plants/trees and stuff)

 

It looks very half way done, so please do something with your text before asking for feedback. This is not really a site yet, just a bunch of graphics.

Not quite sure what's meant by that. Would it make much difference if it were coded? Or do you mean that it's unfinished? That was kinda the point of the post.. I'm thinking of going back and finishing it, but wanted some feedback on the direction before committing to it.

 

 

EATTHERICH - ta for that. I'm wondering if I should change the colours so they're like the current site. I went with the mid greys because I figured it'd let the content stand out more (once it's put in). I guess the downside of it is that having a mid background means that it limits how much contrast between it and other elements...

 

rjdejong - I've grown to like the dots too If I go back to this, I'll have a play with putting them into the redesign.

 

wizely - you're right, I think that'll be the way to go (hybridising). The original idea was to basically have the header and footer as the only constants, and the content layout/colours etc would be individually designed on each page. That was why I went for a neutral colour scheme for the background, header and footer. I still like the idea of doing that, but there's a part of me thinking it's not practical.. too much work.. I mean, I took out the news section because I never get round to updating the current site, God knows how I'll get on with individual designs for content...

 

 

Anyway, thanks for all the replies. Some good suggestions in there

- Bad readability

For which part? Some of the footer area, especially the copyright info, isn't too clear, I'd agree there. I'm not too bothered about that. Are you having difficulty with any of the rest?

 

- Not a nice menu. Looks I little 1996 to me. Small pixel fonts are very much "outdated".

That's Arial, not a pixel font. The site, including the text and buttons, would be expandable

 

It looks very half way done, so please do something with your text before asking for feedback. This is not really a site yet, just a bunch of graphics.

Not quite sure what's meant by that.

 

I think the contrast between the main text and the background is too small. Gray bakground on a darker shade of gray = bad readability.

 

Arial? Maybe it is the uppercase that is fooling me. Anyway, I don't think it fits.

 

If you'd developed a menu, done something more to the text, added some images and headlines, it would've been easier to give you some feedback. That is what I meant.

 

Good luck.

God knows how I'll get on with individual designs for content...

 

[insert appropriate scathing remark in here]

 

 

I know I'm going to sound like a broken record... But, even if it's just filler text ( ) - putting at least the shape you think your content is going to be and what sort of function each block will serve will help you decide a lot more quickly what direction to go in.

 

I'll try to explain that... If you polish the design and think "brilliant now I'll put the content in" you might find it clashes or looks cramped or doesn't look right etc... Even at this early concept stage then having at least those blocks in place and with an idea of thier function will help you see how it will turn out.

 

Doing this you can also see what you could take out of the 'container design' and perhaps use instead as 'texture' items on those blocks. Does that make sense? Sometimes I think you guys beat yourselves up too early on getting something perfect (both your designs are very well done) - you need a much rougher, fuller version first to see what ideas have legs in the long run and to shape the development.

 

I know you know this and I'm not preaching at you - I just want to see this redesign happen because I can see it being really gorgeous! I would love to see each page themed differently (so get off your arse!!! ) and think you could achieve a great and memorable look.

 

Oh, and as far as seasonal pictures go... I might have some suitable piccies if you want.