Aarrgghh!!

Contemplating New Design

Not that original a subject, but I figured I might at least talk about it, and solicit some advice.

Due to a number of reasons I'm looking to update the look of Aarrgghh!.

  1. It's not looking good cross-browser these days.
  2. Dave Konopka just did a redesign that looks awesome.
  3. I'm spending a fair amount of time dealing with a redesign of a site here at work.
  4. I do this about every 6 months or so anyway, to keep my skills sharp.
  5. I might add a little Ajax-y stuff to practice it.

My process until now has been very haphazard. I basically go to CSSZenGarden, WebdesignFromScratch, and OpenSourceWebDesign, and browse. I shop for little things I like from various examples there, and try and tie the whole thing into one design.

This tends to leave me with a site that mostly works, but doesn't really feel right, but I put up with it until I decide to do it all over again.

So instead, I'm going to take a longer look at all this. Then, I'll actually try my hand at wireframing before even look at design.

Anybody got any advice out there?


December 15, 2006 Posted by Terrence Ryan at 10:27 PM

ColdFusion, Web Development,



Comments

Sometimes I go to TemplateMonster.com. 99% of their stuff is total crap (and waaaaaay too busy), but every now and then you see something that just clicks, or you see a great color palette. To me, sometimes the hardest part is just coming up with a color palette that is simple enough yet satisfying enough.


Posted by: Ben Nadel at December 17, 2006 9:33 AM

I often have a go at Open Source Web Design ( http://www.oswd.org/ ) for inspiration. Once I find something I like, I begin to customize and who knows what i'll end up with. I just don't like starting with a blank slate.

dw


Posted by: Dan Wilson at December 17, 2006 11:03 AM

Thanks for #2 - glad you like the design. I'm a big fan of mocking up before hitting html. I do a lot of free form sketching on paper to work through initial ideas. Then I move to a graphics app. Sometimes I pick a display font, or sometimes colors if I don't have any previous logo or other visual element to work with -- just something to set the tone on the screen. It helps me to lay out five, maybe seven column lines to guide the process. I find that helpful in establishing a balance, but also in finding subtle ways to break out of boxy design.


Posted by: Dave at December 18, 2006 9:12 AM

Posted by Who at September 2, 2010 3:12 PM

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