FAC visual layout - Discussion?

[Gety]

I did this for fun ;P

[img]http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/8755/copyoffacc.png[/img]
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I don't mean to sound bitter, cold or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out.

[Battou]

[quote="Gety"]I did this for fun ;P

[img]http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/8755/copyoffacc.png[/img][/quote]


I kinda like that but....it's lacking the site news and polls and new Wrighting submissions spaces.

Additionally some of the design elements will be difficult to code...but not impossible.
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[Gety]

Yeah I know, it was just supposed to show the design, we could do more space ofc and edit it.
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I don't mean to sound bitter, cold or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out.

[London]

I like the colors, but not the chunkiness of the boxes or the words, which are kinda hard to read.
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[cstdenis]

My god that layout is going to be a nightmare to actually make work in html. Rounded corners, shadows/3d effect, etc horribly difficult and time consuming to make work.

Also, layout needs to be fluid (width able to expand to different resolutions) which isn't really going to work with the header as it exists in that mockup.

The textures are pretty strong and distracting. They should be very subtle or just solid colors. The focus of the site is the art, not the layout.

Artist name and titles in fancy font really isn't going to work well from a technical point of view (not enough browsers support CSS3 yet). Plus, like London says, too hard to read.

It kinda wastes a lot of space too. Can't make elements too crowded, but at the same time too much space used for fancy borders, etc can be wasteful.



But, ultimately the biggest problem is unless you have the considerable technical skills to bring it to life the html and css this isn't likely to get used even with the problems fixed. We simply do not have the developer staff to do it.
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[Stratadrake]

Unfortunately as it may be, clean and tidy HTML favors horizontal/vertical lines with square corners and flat colors. Color gradients and shadow effects require background images, which makes it all the more work.
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[AznTigress]

CLICK on thumbnails to FULL-VIEW

Homepage mock-up (don't mind the logo, it's just something I slapped together very quickly):

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/?action=view&current=9d500e02.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/th_9d500e02.jpg[/img][/URL]

Profile page mock-up:

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/?action=view&current=b889a28e.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/th_b889a28e.jpg[/img][/URL]

Profile page (logged in) mock-up:

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/?action=view&current=35078c87.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/th_35078c87.jpg[/img][/URL]

"Eww, it looks too much like an old version of deviantART." Yes, I know, I know. I just like having things spread out a bit so I can molest my mouse wheel. Criticize at your discretion.

Gallery and artwork mock-up coming soon. Well, actually, there's really no reason for me to come up with more mock-ups if you guys don't even like this.

[cstdenis]

This simpler design is much more practical from a technical point of view.


But do you have the ability to build it in html/css?
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[AznTigress]

[quote="cstdenis"]But do you have the ability to build it in html/css?[/quote]
Unfortunately, I'm a beginner when it comes to HTML/CSS (and still learning) so something like this is sort of out of my league.

But give me loads of free time and I might get up to speed (in the next year or so) to make this happen.

[ThomYorke]

I like that logo you came up with. It's more... subtle. Whether or not we use the layout you came up with (also, I like that) I think you should just take the logo and pitch that.

EDIT: Maybe put some color on the tail. It looks a bit like a weird cat lion. I don't know, I've been drinking.
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[AznTigress]

[quote="ThomYorke"]I like that logo you came up with. It's more... subtle. Whether or not we use the layout you came up with (also, I like that) I think you should just take the logo and pitch that.[/quote]
Really? I didn't think people would like my design because it isn't uber colorful.

[quote="ThomYorke"]EDIT: Maybe put some color on the tail. It looks a bit like a weird cat lion. I don't know, I've been drinking.[/quote]
Well, I got the idea from the current logo that's on the homepage. I wasn't too sure of keeping the paintbrush tail myself. Kind of preferred to just have a silhouette of the lazing cat with a regular tail. I'll see what I can come up with.

[Gety]

[quote="cstdenis"]My god that layout is going to be a nightmare to actually make work in html. Rounded corners, shadows/3d effect, etc horribly difficult and time consuming to make work.

Also, layout needs to be fluid (width able to expand to different resolutions) which isn't really going to work with the header as it exists in that mockup.

The textures are pretty strong and distracting. They should be very subtle or just solid colors. The focus of the site is the art, not the layout.

Artist name and titles in fancy font really isn't going to work well from a technical point of view (not enough browsers support CSS3 yet). Plus, like London says, too hard to read.

It kinda wastes a lot of space too. Can't make elements too crowded, but at the same time too much space used for fancy borders, etc can be wasteful.



But, ultimately the biggest problem is unless you have the considerable technical skills to bring it to life the html and css this isn't likely to get used even with the problems fixed. We simply do not have the developer staff to do it.[/quote]

True...I designed it just for fun and put much details on it, but it can be be more simple everything can be edited, I still have the project for that I guess...
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I don't mean to sound bitter, cold or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out.

[ThomYorke]

[quote="AznTigress"][quote="ThomYorke"]I like that logo you came up with. It's more... subtle. Whether or not we use the layout you came up with (also, I like that) I think you should just take the logo and pitch that.[/quote]
Really? I didn't think people would like my design because it isn't uber colorful. [/quote]

the uber colorful ones are hideous because they're uber colorful
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[AznTigress]

More mock-ups. (CLICK on thumbnails to FULL-VIEW.)

Browsing a certain category (when selecting by letters, each page will be displayed similarly). Showing most popular by default lets visitors see what's the rage in that particular category. Mouse-over on a title to see description. Eliminates clutter by getting rid of unnecessary pages and sends visitors to their destination quicker and easier:

[i]Note: This is a hypothetical page.[/i]

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/?action=view&current=3dea439f.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/th_3dea439f.jpg[/img][/URL]

Each link will send a visitor to the corresponding page showing the fanart first (user galleries would work the same way):

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/?action=view&current=cf854b50.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/th_cf854b50.jpg[/img][/URL]

Clicking on the "Fanfiction" link will show fanfictions:

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/?action=view&current=60f66d08.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/th_60f66d08.jpg[/img][/URL]

When you click on a particular artwork without logging in:

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/?action=view&current=79ae43f1.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/th_79ae43f1.jpg[/img][/URL]

Upon logging in:

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/?action=view&current=56a8113a.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/th_56a8113a.jpg[/img][/URL]

When viewing another artist's work while logged in:

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/?action=view&current=c3adec3d.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/DarkAznTigress/th_c3adec3d.jpg[/img][/URL]

Fanfictions would be shown in the same fashion (fanfiction text replaces fanart).

Yay, nay, or change?
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[Xx_True_Dachshund_xX]

I like the way the artwork pages look.

Maybe there should be an option like other art sites where you, by default, view the submission shrunk down to a reasonable size, and have a full-view link under it to fully view the submission because browsing other works which are sized like 1000x2300 pixels is not only irritating, but takes a while to load, especially on older computers or computers with dial-up internet. And in your profile settings, you can choose whether or not to view it automatically full-sized upon viewing a submission.

Having the submission shrunken down and having a full-view toggle would make this a lot better.

There could also be a site feature that automatically resizes pictures to a stated maximum size limit without being too large. There can also be another feature where, like deviantArt, you can choose what size of the image you want displayed. For example, on dA, if you submit a 1000x1000 px image, you can toggle between various sizes: 400x400, 600x600, 800x800, or leave it as the default size.

Another suggestion is to have Fanart Central watermarks on your images. For example, you can toggle whether you want the watermark on it or not. But, seeing as most of the artists on here lack artistic talent, this feature wouldn't be particularly at all useful in preventing art theft.

Also, since art theft is somewhat of a problem here, there could be a link underneath pictures called Report Submission, and you would get a pop-up box of what the submission could be violating such as:

[quote]- Art Theft/Stolen Art
- Photography/Photo-Manipulation
- Screenshot
- Recolor/Trace
- Hate Art
- Graphic Sexual Content
- Other[/quote]

And upon sending the report, a moderator could get notified and investigate further into the situation.

Lastly, and I feel this is necessary, if someone has blocked you, their profile comment box should not be visible and a message should say "You have been blocked from commenting this user", instead of when you go to comment them normally.

[cstdenis]

[quote]Maybe there should be an option like other art sites where you, by default, view the submission shrunk down to a reasonable size, and have a full-view link under it to fully view the submission because browsing other works which are sized like 1000x2300 pixels is not only irritating, but takes a while to load, especially on older computers or computers with dial-up internet. And in your profile settings, you can choose whether or not to view it automatically full-sized upon viewing a submission. [/quote]
We already have that. Been there for a couple years IIRC.

[quote]Also, since art theft is somewhat of a problem here, there could be a link underneath pictures called Report Submission, and you would get a pop-up box of what the submission could be violating[/quote]
Either on the todo list, or already coming in the next version.
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[Stratadrake]

[quote="Xx_True_Dachshund_xX"]Maybe there should be an option like other art sites where you, by default, view the submission shrunk down to a reasonable size....[/quote]
This has already been in place for over a year and you can set it in your profile settings. (Unless you're responding specifically to the mockups...)

[quote]Also, since art theft is somewhat of a problem here, there could be a link underneath pictures called Report Submission...[/quote]
On the to-do list. It's more complicated than you'd think.
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[cstdenis]

Rating filters are missing from the gallery browsing pages.
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[Battou]

We should have a wall of shame......
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[u][url=http://www.photo-lucidity.com/user-Battou.php]Photo-Lucidity[/url][/u] - [u][url=http://www.fanart-central.net/user-battou.php]FaAC[/url][/u] - [u][url=http://www.funart-central.net/user-Battou.php]FuAC[/url][/u] - [u][url=http://forums.fanart-central.net/index.php]Joke of the day[/url][/u]

[AznTigress]

[quote="cstdenis"]Rating filters are missing from the gallery browsing pages.[/quote]
It's kind of redundant to have them on the gallery pages again since you can already filter your browsing results in user settings and the search bar. Unless you want them there for visitors, which then you can use that as a feature to encourage more membership.

Also, when viewing recent and popular fanart and fanfiction from the homepage, you should make it so it goes directly into a gallery of recent works instead of having people click on a certain day. (Just consolidate all recent works in a 30-day period and have oldest works disappear off as new ones are added on.) Being directed to a page showing links of recent days is a rather awkward transition. (Modify your advance search to enable users to search by date rather than make a separate page of recent dates.) If you use my gallery mock-up, you could have one page with recent fanart and fanfictions and another page for popular fanart and fanfiction and have the links directed to the corresponding page. (i.e. popular fanart directs to popular fanart tab, recent fanfiction directs to recent fanfiction tab, etc.)
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