< Previous Article | Next Article >
Redesign update: Bigger, better images, photo walks
May 03 2009 23:17 | 17 Comments
As you guys may remember, in the 1 month later article I mentioned that I'm currently working on a redesign. So I just wanted to update you on where that is going and would like to share one of the more exciting new features of it.
At the moment everything is thrown in just one big pile, articles, photo walks, tutorials and so on. There are two problems with that, one is a problem of finding content and I'll talk about that in a future post. Another problem is the fact that different content types require a slightly different approach in how they're displayed, for example an image looks better on a darker background, but at the same time if you were to put a large body of text on the same background, it would be a lot harder to read then if it was to be on a light background.
Then for example with images bigger is better, but when you apply the same width to text, again, it gets a lot harder to read then if it was in slimmer columns (i.e. a news paper).
So lets talk about images. As some of you may have already heard from my tweet, in the upcoming redesign images will be bumped up to 980px from the current 750px, it doesn't sound like too much, but in practice, it is a huge difference. Now, this size update will apply only to photo walks as it just doesn't make any sense to use the new outlay for regular articles and other misc things that I post.
Actually, before I go, take a quick glance at this: http://michaelflux.com/images/20090503_mfpw_preview/. Note I didn't even bother looking at it in Internet Explorer so it may be broken in it atm, but works fine in Safari, Firefox and Opera. What it is is a quick mockup of what yesterday's Around the city 5 photo walk would look like with the new outlay that I'm working on for photo walks.
The changes are these: First of all, obviously the larger images as I already said.
Second of all the sidebar, its gone. Well, actually it would be more correct to say it'll be relocated for two reasons. First reason is that moving it elsewhere lets me put larger images into the photo walks while keeping the site usable at a 1024px resolution, really only downfall of the larger images is that the 800x600 users will have to scroll around for the photo walks, sorry but there's less then 1% of the people using it so majority wins. Another reason for moving the sidebar is that really, the only thing it does now is serve as a place to throw some misc things and at that its failing miserably. What I mean by that is, barely 10% of it is being filled height wise, that is to say 90% of the space is completely wasted. Plus in addition to that, the items in it are visible only while a reader is at the top of the page, by the time (s)he is gone reading the post and is maybe ready to click on something in the sidebar, its completely out of view and out of mind.
2.5, I still didn't finalize how the sidebar and the comments will appear so I won't talk about them for now.
Third change is obviously the color. I'm still playing around with different colors, but chances are it'll remain on the darker side. Now, with the color, keep in mind that only the photo walk pages will be dark, all other pages will have a different outlay and a different color scheme, but thats a topic for a future post.
So now, what are your thoughts on such a design/outlay/color scheme for the photo walk pages? I would love to hear your opinions and suggestions as ultimately you're the readers and I have to tailor the sites not only to my own likes, but also to yours.
Thanks
k
love the large images. i've also been thinking of getting rid of my sidebar, but have yet to come up with an interesting design without it. ^^ good work though!
yonasu
Also love the large images! Even though the front page is pretty big I didn't have any trouble loading it, it was fast. Well done!
Matthew
I like the design, pages are a bit too large but once it's loaded viewing isn't an issue.
Matthew
When you click "reply" and then click "cancel reply" it leaves the @username in the form. You should clear that part of the reply... and if there is other text in the reply box, ask the user if they want to keep it or not.
bk201
the large images are great.
looking forward to the redesign!
sanguinerose
I like the concept of larger image. Looking forward to it.
julio
I like the larger img. but i would change tho font on the dark page... you could do a croll down menu on the top of the page 2 get riod of the sidebar.
Prometheus
You have been tagged sir. Come over and check what you have to do :P
Michael | Low on Hit Points
Definitely have to second the use of a dark (black) background with large picture posts. It helps accentuate the color in the photographs more. And damn, this is my first time here and I must say you take some good pics.
One recommendation I can't help but to make is for a master archive or some kind of master gallery for all your pictures. A thumbnail gallery would be a great way to quickly browse a lot of different photos.
Hao
Big images looking great!
However, keep in mind that redesigning the blog to be 980 pixels wide will mean that you need to have great quality photos all the time since resizing won't do much (yours look great though, and are widescreen), but this will also mean that when posting random stuff from the net you'll have to find huge and high quality pictures, which is not common at all. It's just a matter of finding the right content ^^
Font looks a bit small and makes me feel like not reading it, ask others around to see what they think. Color looks great!
Not sure if the final goal of your blog is photos but if it is then the layout should do great. BTW, your otaku.fm RSS feed shows too much information which may be a trouble with your new theme, adding only the headline titles should be enough!
Alexandre Gervais
While you're talking about image, I'v been wondering what is it that you use to make the image only load when scolling down and not all at the beginning? is that an Habari feature?
Alexandre Gervais
never mind I found it looking at your code, thanks anyway, I'll try to implement this as well and see how well it works
toronto payday loans
michaelflux.com is great! for Payday Loans Online Eliminate Short Term Money Issues These temporary setbacks take a toll on our psyche and even physical health but most people simply seek out relief via payday loans online
mr payday review
michaelflux.com is great! I loved reading it. Thank you for all your work.
cash advance
Your blog is very useful. Thank you greatly for presenting a lot of both interesting and useful facts and strategies. I will bookmark your weblogblog site and will be most definitely coming back. All over again, I recognise the value of your entire work additionally delivering a great deal of unbiased information and facts to the audience.
loans british columbia
ojqcmphuzutkdqeqgkzgiusduwyosztxbek
Mr. Payday Easy Loans Inc.
This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing websites that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. It is the old what goes around comes around routine. Did you acquired lots of links and I see lots of trackbacks?? klzsnwiiddwkfrnhgpbzngydfcnmtcnujmg