I think we’re pretty much settled with the new look. With a white base color, I considered several colors to be the accent color:
- Green is definitely out as we’ve used that before, and I don’t want to go with a lime-green.
- Red: you have a choice of Ferrari Red, or a Maroon Red. I’m afraid that a Ferrari Red would be too flashy, where a Maroon Red is too old looking.
- Yellow and Orange is out as well. We’re discussing serious things here.
- I don’t think we’re going to use purple as well.
- Black and Grey? Hey the world is not monotone.
That leaves us only with blue. I tried copying Facebook’s blue, but I don’t think it looked good. I didn’t want to go with light blue as Gizmodo and Engadget is already using that color. I didn’t want to go with Navy blue either. Something in between of a light blue and navy blue. More mature than a light blue, but more dynamic than a navy blue. I think the current blue is a good choice.
The discussion platform is still not perfect. IntenseDebate (the one active right now) can’t break down the comments into multiple pages. Disqus was better, but I kept on having errors while transferring the old comments, and their support staff seems very busy at the moment. I’m probably going to give Disqus another try once the support staff is ready to help us with the migration.
The Amazon cloud is offline now as it is what’s been causing the problem in the first place. Do you notice any drop in loading speed? I don’t seem to notice it although the headfonia server is halfway round the globe from where I am. I’d love to hear if anybody notices a drop in loading speed, as I’m beginning to feel that the Amazon CDN is not giving a significant speed upgrade. Please leave some comments below.
Thanks for bearing with the work-in-progress, guys.
.Sup
My brain says its pretty but my eyes say they can't stand the bright colour. My eyes have the final saying 🙂
Mike
Yeah, I was worried about that too. let me try something different really quick.
Mike
Changed the base color to tan… looks like paperback books now, but much easier to eyes. 🙂
zsero
Ouch, this pinkish skin color isn't pleasant at all. I would choose something between f3f6f8 and f6f7f9. BTW, Firebug for Firefox is a must.
Mike
Thanks. I've made it to be more yellowish. F3f6f8 is more blue/grayish color. I guess we can give that a try as well.. yes I use Firebug too 😀
zsero
This color now is really nice!
I think the nav buttons are a bit small, while the sub-menus should be different (smaller) compared to the main ones.
I made two mod for the design, try them if you like:
1. bigger-smaller buttons:
ul.navigation.navsmall li a { font-size: 15px; padding: 5px 12px; }
ul.navigation.navsmall li ul li a { font-size: 12px; }
.sf-shadow ul { padding-top:12px; }
2. different menu color (just an idea, I think it would look good with a distinct logo and the bigger buttons)
#navbar { background-color:#333333; }
ul.navigation.navsmall li a { color: #ccc; }
ul.navigation.navsmall li ul li a { color: #454545; }
These are just ideas, I like the site as it is!
Mike
Thanks for the suggestions zsero. I tried a bigger navigation button (it's at 13px now), but I think 13px is the most ideal one. 🙂
I'll try the different color scheme. 🙂
Thanks for the suggestions.
.Sup
wow looks so much better Mike, GJ!
Mike
Thanks! I was waiting for your reply last night 😀
wsoelivan
Love this a lot! I think it is much better this way. You have good taste, Mike! 😉
Dan
The new site looks awesome, but can we have bigger buttons at the top for the categories? I have a hard time reading them.
Mike
True. I think the navigation has got to be bigger.
Mike
Dan, navigation bar buttons are bigger now. 🙂
Mike
Thanks, Dude. 🙂
Ahok
i love this new look mike.
good job, and its easier on the eyes
Mike
Thanks. Comments like that makes me sleep better at night. 🙂
Chris Kerr
Hey Mike. I actually run a web dev team for Australia's most awarded ad agnecy and am a UX and design expert. You've done the right thing with using lots of white space and this scores highly in accessibility. What you might need to consider are larger buttons and menu items. Remember, many people are now consuming on the move using their fruit-based smartphone and small buttons are a fat-fingered nightmare. What you need really is a nice iPhone App for your site 🙂
Good use of hierarchical typograhy too. This is one of the few sites where I don't mind reading serif fonts (most typographers poo-poo this, but its a personal thing that generally I prefer sans-serif fonts on screen, with serif fonts for physical print)
Mike
Hi Chris, it's good to have an expert like you chiming in. 🙂
Comments noted. Especially about the iPhone App. 🙂
I still think that serif fonts are easier to read, regardless of print or screen. At least I know David Ogilvy would agree with me. 🙂
nders
In comparison, I preferred the very bold font version of the site, but this one is great too. contrats mike
Mike
Thanks, nders. The old version looked better doesn't it? Oh well, I can see how people would prefer that version. Perhaps since I "visit" the site more often than everybody else, I get bored of the layout faster. 🙂
Mike
I think what differentiates this new layout to the old one is that the old design is more conventional (you see many other gadget review websites employing 3-4 primary colors), where the new one stands out more as it is simpler.
Mike
What we need now is a new logo! Something that is catchy and memorable B)