Topic: got a new design

http://www.thespacebetweenus.com
first of all, YES I am using some of ALA's latest CSS tricks.
some say the site got a bit of zeldman's style...well I cant say absolutely no, since he is one of my idols. However, I tried to use my own style and mind, and its pretty different from the past layouts, i think.
i know that there are still some bugs around, but i will try to fix them as soon as possible.
comments / critiques on the site?

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

I like it mas. My only gripe is the size of the links on the Work page. They're HUGE!

:::11oh1:::

ay ay, i see.....the work-links are a bit too oversized.
well, i thought that the colors aren't everyone's favourite. this is why i still got my old design up and online.
thx anyway for your input so far :-)

Don't have much time now, so this will be a short one...

I like the new layout except for two small things. The green used in the headers and the background doesn't really seem to fit with the header. I would try to change it for a more red/orange color. I would also remove the drop shadow behind the headings. The rest of the page is flat looking, so having a '3d' feel there doesn't seem right.

At the bottom of the page the dashed border is different from the one used on other parts of the page. I would replace the current one with a modified version of the one you've used on the hovered links...

The image for your Warcraft 3 map doesn't really fit in the 'news between us' area. Might as well replace it with a simple text link.

That was more than two things, but things like that happen Great layout anyway - looking forward to taking a peek at the code once I've got some more time to spare.

_________________________
"There are 10 kinds of people; those who know binary, those who don't and those who start counting at zero"
- the Golden Ratio -

I recognize (and like!) all the new ala stuff for sure, you kinda went to town there =)

I like the intentions of the new design but for me it falls short in a few spots, venificuz had some good points that struck nerves with me as well. In addition to that stuff I think there's a desperate need for cohesion among elements. The white space around things is so inconsistent and the typography so varied in size and color, that it's a real stop/start affair for the eyes when browsing through a page.

I like what you're doing



[This message has been edited by JKMabry (edited 03-18-2004).]

quote:

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it's a real stop/start affair for the eyes when browsing through a page

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I think that about sums it up for me.

A standard convention of typography and spacing is essential for the readability of any materail.

If you can get that nailed down, it would be a pleasing page.

Hmm, how are one supposed to navigate with CSS disabled?

HZR raises a good point. The site should display the content fine without CSS. This problem is related to how the markup is structured.

Due to the use of of CSS rollovers in links such as <a rel="nofollow" href="index.php" class="navmaincurrent"> </a>, things get a little difficult, but there's still a relatively semantic and valid workaround. IMO, ALA has been slipping a little as of late with things like this.

To fix this issue, put in an additional <a> link just after the one you use for the CSS rollover, inside the same list item. Set it up with a class that set's it's display to "none". Then you will still have some kind of text link avaliable in non CSS supporting devices (this will also help qualify your google rankings for those pages).

You might also want to consider how you link in your style sheets. That site is pure road kill in Ntescape 4.

Ok, onto the design.

Typography is a bit of a mess. The big cursive fonts aren't working for me at the moment. They look nice, but it looks more like something you've found on some other website that's been slapped onto an aging PHP Nuke template of something. I can't really put my finger on it, but something just isn't mixing in well. Perhaps some of the above suggestions will clear that up, but maybe you should be using sans fonts (like georgia) for the body content as well.

Whitespace is another issue as others have mentioned. All I have to add to their comments is to be generious with your margins and paddings. I also think you need to try and get away from the "boxed off" syndrome. It's definatly an improvment over the past designs in this regard, but with a layout like this, the sub titles (with the shadows) are really killing your design. I agree with the suggestion to drop the shadow and I'd also recommend you tear it out of that box as it's just an un-necessary redundancy, one which isn't terribly asthetically pleasing.

The custom underlines aren't working either. They come off looking like a design fad that's already worn out it's welcome. This may be just my personal opinion, but I really don't think their working. The colour of the underline doesn't fit in with the colour of the link text, and the pattern you've used has no relation to any other (or the complete lack of) patterned elements in your design. It just looks like it's out of context, which is probably why it feels like some outdated design fad.

The colours are interesting, but something it's really working there either. Orange and green should work well togther, better than what they seem to be doing here anyways. The black borders and text probably aren't doing you any favours. Infact, with such bright, saturated and light colours, I'd suggest you don't use *any* black in that design. Neither is the confingly similar heading & link colours, as well as the non-constent heading colours in the left hand column compare to the main content area.

Anyways, that's my 0.2

[This message has been edited by Cameron (edited 03-21-2004).]