Argh = not getting anywhere. And I have to leave for the evening. Ok, I just spent an hour on the phone with a designer friend. What he convinced me of is that Allan and I were really in agreement. Read on.
He does not like the navigation on the left of the content area, nor does he like the search box on the left of the content area. (He doesn't like anything on the left.) The reason is flow: the eye goes to the title, then goes to what's next, and in either case (navigation left or search left) is what's next, instead of the text. That's exactly the reason I put the search box on the right, and navigation left, but then and removed the lines around the navigation buttons. I was trying to make the navigation less powerful. Have my cake and eat it too, if you will. Here's that again: http://hank.org:5000/test1/docs/index.html But that's still not enough. Even the light-weight navigation on the left side is in the way to some degree. No getting around that. Again, the main idea is to make the content flow, from the title to the text. We tried moving the navigation and search above the title bar. Didn't work. Tried placing search above the title on the right, and the nav below title on the right. Didn't work, as the right side was way too heavy. He suggested since the navigation is related to the current page that the navigation could be *in* the title bar on the right side. But our titles are too long, so the title and nav won't fit on the same line. My he suggested moving the search to the left-hand sidebar. ("Argh, that's where it just came from", I said.) In short: We felt that this was the best design: http://hank.org:5000/test3/docs/index.html because there was the least amount of stuff blocking the path between the title bar and the content. Here's the closest to the latest design - the navigation widgets bigger/outlined. http://hank.org:5000/test2/docs/index.html If the search box goes on the top then we both liked: http://hank.org:5000/test1/docs/index.html (but with a better "go" button.) because the small < prev up next > widgets were least distracting. I was more in support of the top search than my friend, but this is what he picked if it had to be there. Otherwise, I agree with Allan that stuff on the left side of the content section is overwhelming. Can people take a peek at those three and give their opinions? I know this is repeating, sorry. His other comments, if I can remember. All minor, of course. No need for us to discuss them, but I wanted to pass them on. - The "mod" part of the logo is a cool gray which blends in with the site. He suggested if that was more of a dirty red (burgundy?) that the logo would stand out. He asked one of his photoshop guys to mock up an example. I doubt anyone is willing to change, since it was voted on, but it might be fun to see. I'll post an example when I get it. He also asked why it was mod_perl in the content and modperl in the logo..... - He kept commenting on content, which I kept reminding him that more was to come -- specifically he felt that there needed to be a intro paragraph on some of the top-level pages. Perhaps some common thing (like first char big, or color) might tie things together better. - He also commented on the main title in reverse colors is often not as strong as the title that follows. If you look at http://hank.org:5000/test3/docs/index.html he claims that people won't see the title, but rather the text Part I: mod_perl 1.x Documentation because we are trained (our entire life) to see black text on white background. [I'm not sure that's really a problem.] Oh, before we talked on the phone today he sent this to me. Stas thought I should post. We don't have to agree or disagree. Just interesting to hear someone's comments: >Very good overall, I am impressed with how this has evolved. > >I like having the Search function on the left, always above the fold - it's >in a primary position, intuitive for those looking for a quick answer (which >is what the entire left-hand nav channel is all about). It's a wash to me >whether to have always at top right or towards top in left channel. > >The dull grey is nice to me - I get a feeling of smart, sophisticated, not >over-designed, yet accurate, precise. With such a monochromatic site, you >can really use a new color for special circumstances - important messages, >topics, etc. It's all about controlling the flow, and right now the flow is >smooth and there aren't too many "bells and whistles" pulling you away from >the communication path...so that's smart. I think we (designers) use too >many colors too often. Here is an example of a great site that follows this >style - the base site is monochromatic, accented with color when needed to >get attention. > >http://www.audiusa.com/ > > >One thing that I don't like is the first line "Tons of documentation..." is >receding too much. The line that follows "Part 1..." is bigger, bolder, >louder. So people will tend to skip the first line and go straight to the >sentence that is yelling louder. But I wouldn't start over-bolding the first >line to beat the second. You might be able to adjust by giving the first >line more air - space, above and below. But then every complimentary title >page does not follow that same rule - they should have an intro sentence or >paragraph. > >There's 45 seconds - plus 30 seconds of overtime. > -- Bill Moseley mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
