Improvements?

[Twistie]

Okay, I havn't been posting here in months simply because i have been too busy with alot of stuff and i don't play GTA that much anymore. However, I want your guys opinions on a website I have almost completed. Its a PSP Wallpaper site which as of yet is only for standard sized monitors but I am working on a version for the PSP. I want your guys opinions on what can be improved or added and what the layout of the site is like etc...

 

Check it out at: www.pspwalls.com

 

Thanx in Advance.

[Savior O' Jesus]

Uh, you didn't make the site, phpBB did. You may have designed the graphics, but don't take credit for things you didn't make.

[Barbaneez]

...

Edited December 14, 2008 by Barbaneez

[Tsuroki]

Uh, you didn't make the site, phpBB did. You may have designed the graphics, but don't take credit for things you didn't make.

I consider design to be just as important as development. Just because he wasn't responsible for the back end doesn't mean he isn't responsible for the aesthetic presentation of it. I use a variety of scripts for sites I make, and I'd be horribly offended if someone told me that I didn't "make the site" because I didn't program the thing from scratch. Just as I'd be rather pissed if someone told me I didn't do anything on GTA:LCS.net just because I didn't have a hand in programming.

 

He deserves full credit for the appearance of the site.

 

...whether or not that's a good thing, however, is another story.

 

 

 

Barb hit the nail on the head with most things. The abuse of pixel fonts is the most dominant issue. Aside from that, there are a number of other problems (imho) - navigation is riding right up against the border (should probably be a bit of padding there), the design is attempting to pull off a full-blown portal look (but lacks in content), and the color scheme itself is a bit inconsistent. Too many variations of blue.

 

All in all, the entire thing is just lacking. If I were in this position, I'd just blow it up and start over.

[Savior O' Jesus]

Uh, you didn't make the site, phpBB did. You may have designed the graphics, but don't take credit for things you didn't make.

I consider design to be just as important as development. Just because he wasn't responsible for the back end doesn't mean he isn't responsible for the aesthetic presentation of it. I use a variety of scripts for sites I make, and I'd be horribly offended if someone told me that I didn't "make the site" because I didn't program the thing from scratch. Just as I'd be rather pissed if someone told me I didn't do anything on GTA:LCS.net just because I didn't have a hand in programming.

 

He deserves full credit for the appearance of the site.

 

...whether or not that's a good thing, however, is another story.

 

 

 

Barb hit the nail on the head with most things. The abuse of pixel fonts is the most dominant issue. Aside from that, there are a number of other problems (imho) - navigation is riding right up against the border (should probably be a bit of padding there), the design is attempting to pull off a full-blown portal look (but lacks in content), and the color scheme itself is a bit inconsistent. Too many variations of blue.

 

All in all, the entire thing is just lacking. If I were in this position, I'd just blow it up and start over.

Don't worry, bud. It's just hard for me to visualize such things because I'm a programmer first, designer second.

[Tsuroki]

Uh, you didn't make the site, phpBB did. You may have designed the graphics, but don't take credit for things you didn't make.

I consider design to be just as important as development. Just because he wasn't responsible for the back end doesn't mean he isn't responsible for the aesthetic presentation of it. I use a variety of scripts for sites I make, and I'd be horribly offended if someone told me that I didn't "make the site" because I didn't program the thing from scratch. Just as I'd be rather pissed if someone told me I didn't do anything on GTA:LCS.net just because I didn't have a hand in programming.

 

He deserves full credit for the appearance of the site.

 

...whether or not that's a good thing, however, is another story.

 

 

 

Barb hit the nail on the head with most things. The abuse of pixel fonts is the most dominant issue. Aside from that, there are a number of other problems (imho) - navigation is riding right up against the border (should probably be a bit of padding there), the design is attempting to pull off a full-blown portal look (but lacks in content), and the color scheme itself is a bit inconsistent. Too many variations of blue.

 

All in all, the entire thing is just lacking. If I were in this position, I'd just blow it up and start over.

Don't worry, bud. It's just hard for me to visualize such things because I'm a programmer first, designer second.

Together, we form Captain Planet.

 

And all is well.

[Simon.]

The gif animation is slow. Very slow; it makes me want to go to sleep when I see it. You can take the jaggies off your .gif's and make them "look" transparent by putting a background as the same colour on the gif background - or at least find a way to make those jaggies not jump right up in your face.

 

The positioning of things looks really wierd, you need to make it look more full and have more colours. Heaps of blue makes the site really cold, and it makes it look dead when you use too much shade on the blue.

 

I agree with the pixel font. It's a pixel font for a reason, that reason is usually to use it for small writing.

 

On the positive side you have an excellent menu integrated into your boards, the text is easy to read (as you've used a nice contrast, between shade and tint).

 

[K^2]

Uh, you didn't make the site, phpBB did.

Which is a PHP script, executed by an interpreter running as a plugin in Apache, that is running under Linux. All that code generated by C/C++ using various libraries and is executed by the processor based on x86 architecture.

 

I know what you mean when you say that he didn't make the site, but who does these days?

[Twistie]

Okay guys thanks for the advice. I'm gonna replace that pixel font with another font and I'll add the padding to the menu.

 

Also, although I may not have programmed phpBB I have majorly modified the template and config files to have the entire site work off the phpBB index page. I do agree that I shouldn't take credit for other peoples work but I don't recall saying "All this site is my work" all I said was that I owned it.

 

I also would like Tsuroko's and Simon.'s opinion on what colors I could use to make it look less cold. I was thinking more orange to compliment the blue. What do you think?

 

Thanks for all your advice guys. I owe you alot.

 

EDIT: Also, what would be a good typeset for the main title? Just a Sans Serif font or something a little more artistic?

Edited April 22, 2006 by Twistie

[Barbaneez]

...

Edited December 14, 2008 by Barbaneez

[Twistie]

F*ck, I guess that discludes me.

 

If you're lost on colors, you could always check out a place like Color Schemer or Curent Styles in Web Design (obviously don't steal layouts or make practical replicas of websites.) But those sites have some cool color scheme galleries, and what's kind of 'trendy' on the web right now.

 

As for a font, bulky/bold/heavy fonts (IMHO) always work nicely, especially for banners. I'm talking fonts like Impact, Arial Black, etc. I also like Verdana, but I don't know if it's really a font that does well when it's blown up very big.

Okay thanks alot, I'll try that web design from scratch website. I've used color schemer before and that Web Design from Scratch website is good. Thanks... I didn't mean to disclude anyone its just they were the ones that first suggested it.