Re: rotating banners, first idea

[chasd]

>  Here's some mockups, I'm not really happy with any of them
> right  
>  now but
>  I need to sleep :) 
Yes, seeing the banners in context makes a difference.
My comments below are meant to be constructive, excuse me if they  
appear harsh.

>  - http://linuxgrrl.com/misc/new-mock-1.png  (bottom of sidebar)
>     - feels a little unbalanced but not too bad 
I actually like this layout the best of the three. I think the reason  
it seems unbalanced is because of the large white area to the right  
of the logo and above the title graphic ( I won't call it a banner to  
avoid confusion ).

All layouts need "breathing space" however that top area is prime  
visual real estate. I think adding a tag line to that area would  
benefit the layout ( of all the pages, even if no banner is used ).

>  - http://linuxgrrl.com/misc/new-mock-2.png  (along top of page)
>     - im afraid this is going to be too busy unless the banners are
>  carefully designed to not stand out in comparison to the main banner. 
I think the banner is too close to the title graphic, they compete  
visually.
If the separation line between the top part of the page with the logo  
and the banners could be a little stronger, that might help. I feel  
the first mock up to be a stronger possibility.

>  right now they are not :) thus they are too busy.
>  - http://linuxgrrl.com/misc/new-mock-3.png  (top of sidebar)
>     - a little more balanced than the other but the banners don't  
>  line up 
Again, I think the banner and the title graphic compete too much, and  
the white space between them seems uncomfortable. This also makes the  
navigation less important ( farther down the page ).

I took the liberty of moving the headline above the title graphic to  
demonstrate what adding _something_ to the blank area at the top  
could do to balance the layout for mock up number one. I placed it on  
the website of the company I work for -
<http://www.silveroaks.com/images/new-mock-4cd.png>

In that mock up, I would like to see the "What's new in Fedora . . .  
" link to be bigger and maybe have the type be heavier in weight, but  
for the purposes of this demonstration I thought this was sufficient.

I also am not enamored with that specific tag line for the top right  
area, I simply used something that already existed in the layout and  
threw it up there. I also think the color of that tag line ( grey )  
is not the best solution, or even the size of the type. The baseline  
of the tag line is aligned with the baseline of "infinity | freedom |  
voice" however it seems a bit low. When I placed it higher, it seemed  
too "floaty" for me.

One other possibility is to fade the bottom of the title graphic to  
white. Since the separation between the logo and the rest of the page  
is a subtle fade, adding this touch to the title graphic may add some  
consistency, This would also differentiate the banner from the title  
graphic.

Apologies if my comments are out of line, or if I have violated some  
rule established for the design of the web site.


Charles Dostale

rotating banners, first idea

[Máirín Duffy]

chasd wrote:
>  All layouts need "breathing space" however that top area is
> prime visual 
>  real estate. I think adding a tag line to that area would benefit the 
>  layout ( of all the pages, even if no banner is used ). 
What do you think about having some promos/banners/etc that have very 
strict visual style guidelines (eg must have a particular light-colored 
background and a particular (let's say light grey) foreground in this 
area? See the updated new-mock-2 (and squint and pretend the dj promo is 
much much lighter :) ):

http://linuxgrrl.com/misc/new-mock-2.png
>  
> > - http://linuxgrrl.com/misc/new-mock-2.png  (along top of page)
> >    - im afraid this is going to be too busy unless the banners are
> > carefully designed to not stand out in comparison to the main banner. 
+1

>  I think the banner is too close to the title graphic, they compete 
>  visually.
>  If the separation line between the top part of the page with the logo 
>  and the banners could be a little stronger, that might help. I feel the 
>  first mock up to be a stronger possibility. 
+1 I agree.

>  I took the liberty of moving the headline above the title graphic to
>
>  demonstrate what adding _something_ to the blank area at the top could 
>  do to balance the layout for mock up number one. I placed it on the 
>  website of the company I work for -
>  <http://www.silveroaks.com/images/new-mock-4cd.png> 
Very nice, I like this! Much better balanced.

>  Apologies if my comments are out of line, or if I have violated some
>
>  rule established for the design of the web site. 
+1 this is *great* feedback and I think you were able to verbalize what 
was wrong with each mock really well. I was uncomfortable with each one 
and not quite how to explain why; your explanations are great.
~m

rotating banners, first idea

[Rahul Sundaram]

Máirín Duffy wrote:
>  chasd wrote:
> > All layouts need "breathing space" however that top area is prime 
> > visual real estate. I think adding a tag line to that area would 
> > benefit the layout ( of all the pages, even if no banner is used ).
>  
>  What do you think about having some promos/banners/etc that have very 
>  strict visual style guidelines (eg must have a particular light-colored 
>  background and a particular (let's say light grey) foreground in this 
>  area? See the updated new-mock-2 (and squint and pretend the dj promo is 
>  much much lighter :) ):
>  
>  http://linuxgrrl.com/misc/new-mock-2.png 
Are you still planning on using these promos? This discussion went quiet.

Rahul