13 replies to this topic

[caliban]

We are pleased to announce that the winner of our recent Design Contest: Wendy Stolyarov is an illustrator, graphic artist, and voice actress who specializes in digital painting and voiceovers. (Her work can be found at http://wendystolyarov.artworkfolio.com/ ) 

Wendy's entry shows a thoughtful appreciation of our re-design strategy. While we can't expect her to shoulder the entirety of it, her submission shows real potential to deliver an improved forum design and navigation superstructure.

In initial feedback, Wendy has agreed to develop the forum-specific icons for all sub-forums and to make the website layout a bit more 'citylike' (looking if we can show actual buildings etc).
Such and other suggestions will be shared with Wendy as she is developing her concept. Feedback from Members is encouraged. Wendy knows and respects that this is a community website and she'll keep an open mind about community input. However, we should also keep in mind that at people will always disagree about design and in the end, responsibility must remain with the artist. So please keep all comments polite and constructive and don't be too disappointed if things develop not quite in accordance with your preference.


 forum_mockup.png   410.35KB   50 downloads

 icons.png   22.46KB   62 downloads

 index_normal.png   641.67KB   49 downloads

[caliban]

First forum design contest: concept selected

[AgeVivo]

Very nice!
-Minor suggestion: have buildings look more like buildings, for exemple by drawing diagonal lines on their sides (representing vertical linesin fact, of the buildings). Anyway that's really minor: let the artist be the artist!
- could building/garden sections be used as a place for news or for a carrousel?

[Shannon Vyff]

I think it looks nice and it fits well with our current look.

[Moonlitnight]

Good for Wendy! Looking good...

[niner]

Wendy has a great portfolio! I think she'll be wonderful for this project. I would strive to keep in mind that navigation should be easy for our user community, which means people of a wide variety of national backgrounds and experiences. The most typical user is someone relatively new to the site. They need something that does not have a steep learning curve. In fact, it shouldn't have a 'learning' curve at all; what the site offers and how to get it should be obvious without struggle. The number one use of this site, by a wide margin, is people reading and replying to threads. That process should be as facile and efficient as possible, and the amount of screen real estate taken away from posts should be minimized. Many of us are using small-screen devices, which makes the efficient presentation of posts ever more important.

Welcome to Longecity, Wendy! I'm looking forward to seeing more of your designs!

[wstolyarov]

Hello, everyone, and thank you for the kind welcome!

I'm looking forward to developing the design with your feedback. As Caliban mentioned, some of the initial goals include (a) making the buildings more distinctive and 'building-like' and (b) making the layout a little easier for people to parse. I will note that in the suggested design, rolling over different buildings results in a highlighted section illustrating what section of the site one would be directed to by clicking on it, as seen with every section lit up here:



Of course, all the sections highlight independently upon rollover, and everything is flexible. I'm also probably going to make the left bar a little tidier than it is at present (the buttons are currently too large for mobile devices). The icons seem to have been well-received so far, however, so I'll probably just continue with the current theme in developing those that remain. If you have any ideas pertaining to the forum, index, or other elements of the design, please let me know, and I'll see what I can do!

Warmly,
Wendy

[brokenportal]

Looks great. If you can find a way then consider that showing how LongeCity is pronounced like longevity can help. You might find some places to tie themes together with the pictures at http://imminst.org/fundraisers, though they dont need to be. There is a picture or two in each of those fundraiser links at that link there.

[Ben]

Not a fan at all. The designs have a cheap childish look to them. The silly title font is kept too (as well as the silly name: Lounge City or is it Longah Sity?)

The original design of the forums was better (before the IP Board upgrade.)

Can't we get someone to do up something sober and respectable? A design that reflects the virtue and seriousness of our cause? The education of our members?

Edit: Icons are good.

Edited by Ben, 10 August 2011 - 01:38 PM.

[wstolyarov]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that I have completed the icon set for the forums and am now working on refining the designs for the front page and forum page with your suggestions in mind. Here are the icons for the forums:



@Ben: I understand your objections and will attempt to refine the design; the buildings, for example, are going to be more detailed than they are at present, and more dignified as a result. I am also not a big fan of the original Longecity logo font, but changing that may not be my prerogative, though I would be happy to do it if given permission. I will also render the tab-buttons on the left side less cartoony and easier to view on mobile devices. If you have any explicit, detailed suggestions on how to make the design more 'sober' and 'respectable' please let me know and I will attempt to incorporate them.

Warmly,
Wendy Stolyarov

[wstolyarov]

Hi everyone,

I've revamped the forum and index page frames, as well as the city map to give the buildings more variety and more sense of life. I've also altered the font for the LongeCity logo as per Ben's suggestion, and would like to hear feedback on that -- it's very easy to change.

Now that the icon set is complete I think we're pretty close to done with the concept -- any further suggestions? If not, just let me know where to send the .PSDs for the web designer and I'll be happy to send them. :D








Warmly,
Wendy Stolyarov

[caliban]

Wendys new pixelart draft


 pixel_art_city.png   118.28KB   35 downloads

[Shannon Vyff]

Look great

[chrono]

I realize I'm late to this conversation, but I don't understand the purpose of this graphic. As outlined in the first few posts, it appears to be a 1:1 redundant feature set for the sidebar. Where does this graphic appear, as a replacement for the front page? As part of the forum index?