sspaz1000 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 ^It could also be that we've had the logo centered for so long now, that's it's a bit of a drastic change? I'm really running out of suggestions, I just like them both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Edge of Beast- Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Doug's and Iloveride's are for sure my favorite. I hope they can come up with a compromise to mix the two. Good luck for those participating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 Here are, in my mind, our two finalists. I would focus all comments on these two.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryce232 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I think we should use jcrouse's top half and ILoveRides' bottom half. In my mind that would be the perfect homepage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspaz1000 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Thanks Robb for putting them next to each other to compare them. Now if we could put the darker facebook feed from davids onto Jack's. I think that would probably be my almost perfect idea of layouts. And maybe just a tad less shiny on the TPR logo on Jack's layout. But ultimately, either one will look great on the TPR site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKR Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I'm in love with the first design, Iloverides's one. I don't think in anything to change. Just awesome as it is now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveRides Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) Some issues that I feel should be addressed still in Jack's design: - The scroll bar for news and updates needs to be on the right hand side. - In my opinion, the login/register buttons need to be at the top of the page, not the bottom. - The menu bar looks squished to me. There is also no room for expansion if an item ever needs to be added. - I think it's missing an announcements section. I suppose announcements could be part of the banner image, but then people are likely to miss them. - The disclaimer stands out more than almost anything on the page. - The Facebook feed should be dark - The 2012 - Theme Park Review at the bottom seems kind of weird and unnecessary. - Join our mailing list should really be an input box, not a link, to encourage people to join on impulse. Some issues that I feel should be addressed in my design (Please help me find more!!!): - Modify the logo a bit (adding a tag line, centering, etc)... just play around with it. I'm not sure if any of these modifications will "stick," but enough people have commented about the logo that it warrants a re-think. - Make the search and email input boxes darker so that they don't stand out so much. - Make the search and send buttons more modern looking (rounded corners, magnifying glass image?, stuff like that) - Someone said they don't like gray as the background color. I agree! But I was trying to have it match the rest of the site, and not stray too much from the current design. That said, I will play around with darkening the background color. Edited January 14, 2012 by ILoveRides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublestufforeo Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 I think we should use jcrouse's top half and ILoveRides' bottom half. In my mind that would be the perfect homepage! I agree, if you could split the prize 50/50 and do that, I think you'd have one kick butt homepage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveRides Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 (edited) I made a few more modifications... Things changed from version 5: - Form boxes and button colors - Background color for the updates/social media content is darker, fades almost to black - Robb requested I use the original logo, which messed up my design a bit, so I had to make changes: I did away with the register/login buttons, the facebook/twitter/youtube/rss buttons were moved to the bottom of the page on the left, and the mailing list subscription form was moved right. I'm not sure how I feel about these changes. IMPORTANT: If you're leaving feedback, please try to be as specific as possible. Saying, "I like the top half" doesn't help much because I don't know where the cutoff point is. It would be more helpful if you say something like "everything above and including the banner image text descriptions (ie Carsland, Jaws, Skyrush, etc) is good." Also, I know it's hard to clarify these things sometimes, but if you can say WHY you like or dislike things, specifically what those design elements add or detract from the look or useability, that's much more helpful - because it lets us know the reasons behind why things work or don't work for you so that they can be better improved. My Design. Jack's Design. Edited January 15, 2012 by ILoveRides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 I kind of liked the older versions. The offset logo kept the social networking buttons right at the top, and it was easy to find the "Register" and "Log in" buttons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspaz1000 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 David, I like the larger logo now. I'd like to see the social media buttons at the top again. Not quite sure how you'd incorporate that though. I like the darker gray on the updates section. I don't know where, but I'd also like to see the register log in return. or at least the register button. If there's no register button on the home page, I'm not exactly sure people would click through to find one and register for the site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveRides Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Oh and thanks for all your feedback throughout the whole process everyone! I don't really have time to respond to each post, but your opinions are all very useful, and I'm reading and considering them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAWKIN_coaster38 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 One thing I really like about the 2nd one (Jack's?) is the buttons under the big picture. I like the red highlighting over white for the one that's showing at the moment and the little arrow thing, their boxy look, and I really like how the 6 topic buttons span across the whole page. Question: to see each topic (in either of these designs), would you have to click on each one, or would they be more like the Six Flags pages which change after a certain amount of time, but you could click back whenever you want? Personally, I really prefer the latter. Also, I like how in ILoveRides' design, the big picture/highlighted topic has a header and subheader to tell more about it, but I'm not sure if that greenish-yellow is the right color there. Also, I think the background under the "Newest Updates" should be a solid color and match the Facebook feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCForce Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Okay, I've read this entire thread and followed it (at least at my age, I *think* I did!) One important thing to PLEASE consider for Jeff Johnson and those of us who are of a certain age, please do not use a gray background with the white lettering. It's murder on our eyes. A black back ground with white letters works much better. Robb, trust me, in a few years you'll appreciate it too when you catch up to me After 40, even with glasses and contacts (and not being able to afford Lasik yet!), it makes a huge difference. And though I'd go out on a limb and say, most active TPR's are younger that me, there are plenty of us *cough* older regulars to. I think they'd agree with me about the gray background with white lettering, right guys? I've enjoyed watching this come full about, and think a marriage of the two "finalist" is an excellent idea. It'll still look like TPR, but updated, which was the goal. KC "Praying in Anton's name for a black background with white lettering" Force. (6 years to get to this, my 150th post, perhaps my most important ever...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megalyte Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 The yellow outline and shininess of the title in Jack's design is hideous in my opinion. I say keep the current logo that is there now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJJman Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 One important thing to PLEASE consider for Jeff Johnson and those of us who are of a certain age, please do not use a gray background with the white lettering. It's murder on our eyes. A black back ground with white letters works much better. Truthfully, *I* very much prefer the white on gray combo! It looks much more professional, sleeker, per se'. And, it's very easy to read, for me anyhow. I still like David's design on the top photo. Am I to understand that the image is scrolling thru the tabs below the picture? If so, I do like the separation that Jack uses in his tabs a little better. The black (or gray) outline (assuming that they can be buttons) looks nicer to me. The gradient on the buttons looks great too. I didn't like Jack having "login" at the bottom of the page, but everything else was great. I also noticed that David dosen't have a "Login" area - Could that be put in the same line as the "search" function? I think it should be a bit more prominent, AT, or near the top. Also, could the FB, Twitter, YouTube etc. buttons be put directly over the panel (pane) that they are seen in? (I don't know, I'm just asking). And, would that make sense? Could the "Login" be put in the "Search" bar? I love the way Jack separated the tabs, but *I* think that the black is a bit to sharp/harsh. I was wondering if you (David) could separate the tabs you have on the bottom of the picture, similar to the ones you have above the picture, in the gray/white combo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 I didn't like Jack having "login" at the bottom of the page, but everything else was great. I also noticed that David dosen't have a "Login" area - Could that be put in the same line as the "search" function? I think it should be a bit more prominent, AT, or near the top. You could keep announcements, search, and register/login at the top by using two lines. I'd suggest register/login and search on one line, and announcements on a line above or below. That way, there's room to make full announcements without abbreviating anything. EDIT: Here's how I had it on my own design. I used three lines to have two announcements up at all times - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Truthfully, *I* very much prefer the white on gray combo! It looks much more professional, sleeker, per se'. And, it's very easy to read, for me anyhow. I agree with this. The white-on-gray reads very well to me, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Truthfully, *I* very much prefer the white on gray combo! It looks much more professional, sleeker, per se'. And, it's very easy to read, for me anyhow. I agree with this. The white-on-gray reads very well to me, too. Another 40+ checking in with the white-on-gray issue. I have no trouble with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 At the end of the day, any change we make to the front page, it will be impossible to please everyone. Like with everything else we do on TPR, we could spend countless hours, endless amounts of effort, and more money that people have any concept that is being spent, and it's inventive that someone will complain. I'm prepared for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 ^It'll be an awesome new identity regardless. I look at it like a new car re-design that has a huge fan following. At the end, most well come to identify with it and love it but not every fan will ever be completely happy (should have kept this, it's not this model without that element, etc). Either way, it'll make the last iteration instantly dated looking if done well. Really looking forward to seeing final design, there was a lot of exciting stuff submitted. I'm a huge fan of David's after looking at it again. Really like the logo and top half in David's earlier attempts - off center. Our company soft launched our new site and what David's has done, along with those who created something along the same line, to make the site look updated, fresh, modern and sleek over the past week and a bit, took us about two years to achieve Different levels of finish, if you will, but the concept is definitely there. On the other hand, Jack's plays homage to the current site and is a good blend. Really depends on what R&E are after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveRides Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 (edited) Latest version... Changes: - Shrunk the menu bar horizontally - Moved search up to fill the extra space beside the menu bar - Returned social networking icons back to the top of the page - Put back the login/register links at the top - When active, banner image text descriptors are now red rather than white - Email subscription form is one again centered horizontally Version 7 Edited January 15, 2012 by ILoveRides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublestufforeo Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Version 7 looks quite solid, I do like the fact that you have both feeds from facebook, and twitter on there. I don't really have any criticism for it as I can't find anything to nitpick at, it looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspaz1000 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Looking pretty good David. I don't have any criticisms right now. I'll look at it a little more closely after dinner. But on first glance it's pretty darn good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCForce Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Whatever TPR decides to do with it's website design, it will be nice to see it updated. I wanted to give some input and see if anyone else thought the same, evidently all the other old folks don't have as many problems as I do with their vision, guess I need to go see the optometrist again. I didn't want to wait until after it's done to give some input and say something . the new TPR front page will be great no matter what color the background is, grey, black with what ever lettering color is used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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