924Board.org

skemcin · Joined: 02 Sep 2003 Posts: 1284 Location: Plainfield, IL

Four(4) hours of labor to produce this:

Frontend Mock Up:
http://www.iribbit.net/924/

Forum Mock Up:
http://www.iribbit.net/924/forum/

Please vote accordingly.

Thanks.
_________________
924.org (no time to complete)
9249206346 - 89k – new shifter bushings, belts, running well.
9249206347 - 8k – waiting its resurrection, no power at the fuel pump and fuse #7 blows w/power

leadfoot · Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 6:04 pm Post subject:

Very hard on the eyes...
Makes it difficult to navigate around the forum... mabye a grey background with black font would be better in the main typing boxes??...

But I do really like the layout though... excellent work guys...
Leadfoot

tj924 · Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 9:03 pm Post subject:

Have to agree with Leadfoot, the black background is too harsh!

Also love the layout
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TJ
Silver '82 924 NA 5-Speed Manual

alxch1n15 · Joined: 26 Nov 2004 Posts: 261 Location: Madison, Wisconsin

it gives it a zing, and i kinda like it...however, after staring at it for an hour or so, it does start to hurt. i agree with leadfoot on his font/color idea. the layout makes it seem a lot easier to navigate and browse the site.
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'81 924 n/a

Neil924 · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 4225 Location: Canada

Just a suggestion, could you make it so we don't have to scroll across the screen?

Where the descriptions are
"Body and Interior
Wheels, body kits, paint, seats, carpet etc. If it goes on the outside or in the cabin it goes here."

Could you make it two lines instead of one long line?

And the reading is kinda hard on the eyes too.

Thanks for the work, it look great, just a few minor wrinkles.

D Hook · Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Posts: 3158 Location: Omaha, NE

The black is hard on the eyes. The grey we have now is much more relaxing.

But nice layout. Good job!

skemcin · Joined: 02 Sep 2003 Posts: 1284 Location: Plainfield, IL

I'll change the color scheme this afternoon and try to have it up by this evening.

Would you guys prefer the left navigation to be collapsable - I like it expanded to you can see everything the site offers.

Also, I should have made one more poll option to say that it wasn't a waste of time but just needed another color combination (it was 1 am - sorry)

_________________
924.org (no time to complete)
9249206346 - 89k – new shifter bushings, belts, running well.
9249206347 - 8k – waiting its resurrection, no power at the fuel pump and fuse #7 blows w/power

WhoDak · Joined: 22 Mar 2005 Posts: 492 Location: Akron, OH

I agree with the no to the dark background a light text. It's tough on the eyes after a while. The grey is nice, much better than white as well. Cool layouts too, clean and sharp.
_________________
Mike
'82 924 N/A
'91 Toyota Pickup SR5 4x4 Xtra cab

ideola · Joined: 01 Oct 2004 Posts: 15550 Location: Spring Lake MI

Skemcin, excellent work, definitely not a waste of time. When you submit your work to a public forum like this, everyone is going to have an opinion, and you won't be able to please everyone...I'm sure you know this, but I just wanted to say first that you are to be commended on your efforts.

That said, here are my suggestions for "tweaks":
1. In general, I agree with the comments about light text on dark background...the reverse is easier on the eyes, although the current demo looks fabulous. One other factor to consider re: the color scheme is the ability to print material. You can get anamolous behavior sometimes with dark background and light text. Another thing to consider is that this site provides a high degree of utility and functionality; consequently, usability should trump aesthetics.

2. Is there a reason that the current 924.org and 924board.org sites are distinct and separate? IMHO, it would be better if the two sites felt more like a single site. Having two color schemes detracts from this. I think as long as the two sites "feel" separate, we will continue to have problems with newbies not searching out the wealth of info in the static portion of 924.org.

3. On the forum, one thing I'd like to see is a menu list containing links to all of the high level sections of 924.org (don't need all the sub-sections, just the top levels). This will help with a more "integrated" feel between the two sites. My suggestion would be a row of buttons/links across the top just under the banner, or alternatively, an add'l row of links just above the bbs buttons (faq, search, memberlist, etc.). On the current demo, there's not even a link to get back to the main home page. When I'm using the forum, I'm often bouncing back and forth between the forum and the static portion of the site, either looking for stuff to quote, or comparing a post to info contained there.

4. Regarding the collapsable menus, IMHO, that is a nicety or nuance that can be added later...I'd rather see initial efforts focused on updating and adding content.

5. Neil924 made a comment about scrolling across the page. This is not an issue on my computer, because I'm running such a high resolution. One of the challenges is to come up with a design that looks good but also considers a least common denominator for the client environment, which we can't control. I suggest that we establish a standard size (e.g. 800x600 or 1024x768) and constraining everything to fit within those dimensions. We should also put a notice somewhere indicating optimum resolution settings.

There's my $.02 ... keep up the great work

_________________
erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

flosho · Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 3:51 am Post subject:

The layout looks superb! I agree with the rest of the guys though, if you try to read all the text on the front, it starts to get hard to read...
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[This Space For Rent]

skemcin · Joined: 02 Sep 2003 Posts: 1284 Location: Plainfield, IL

thanks to you all for the feedback and for taking the itme to lok over the demo.

I'll definitely make a new color scheme that is easier on the eyes, as I agree with all the comments made. Its just that when I reviewed the other post(s) regarding the redesign, any seemed to like the light on dark - so that was the only reason I went in that direction.

I'll implement the other suggestions mentioned above as well. I went with a width of 900 on this layout so that I could incorporate the entire forum in the overall sight design. Recent statistics show that 98% of new computers sold are preset to 800x600. If actually originally designed and coded for this but the forum diddn't quite fit in the layout - so I bumped it to 900. Its no big deal to take it down to 750 (i leave room for tool bars and such) and we can see how that goes.

Since alot of the demo is done with CSS, its fairly easy to make these types of layout and color changes.

Also, I'm only guessing here, but I imagine that the 924.org and 924board.org sites are different due to lack of website building knowledge/expersience. The 924.org site is done in Frontpage (yuck - sorry) and the 924board.org is the default install of phpbb.com's forum - so that's pretty much the reasoning I guess.

I've installed these forums several times for variaous projects, so I can easily make changes to make them fit more seemlessly as I think they should be.

More to come this evening . . . .
_________________
924.org (no time to complete)
9249206346 - 89k – new shifter bushings, belts, running well.
9249206347 - 8k – waiting its resurrection, no power at the fuel pump and fuse #7 blows w/power

skemcin · Joined: 02 Sep 2003 Posts: 1284 Location: Plainfield, IL

hows that - it will need a little more refinement, but take peek . . .

Frontend Mock Up:
http://www.iribbit.net/924/

Forum Mock Up:
http://www.iribbit.net/924/forum/
_________________
924.org (no time to complete)
9249206346 - 89k – new shifter bushings, belts, running well.
9249206347 - 8k – waiting its resurrection, no power at the fuel pump and fuse #7 blows w/power

macBdog · Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 9:38 am Post subject:

skemcin, looking really good - definitly not a waste of time. Love the header, text on bg is still high contrast though.
_________________
1979 931 with a 350 chev
1973 911E with EFI

WhoDak · Joined: 22 Mar 2005 Posts: 492 Location: Akron, OH

That looks ace

. Much more modern and 2005 I think. Sharp, sleek, agressive and simple like the 924.
_________________
Mike
'82 924 N/A
'91 Toyota Pickup SR5 4x4 Xtra cab

Neil924 · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 4225 Location: Canada

Yeah the header looks very nice and up to date. The text could be a little darker but it's much easier on the eyes.

And you don't have to scroll as much either, great job!