Feedback Better graphics please

Razberry Knight

Razberry Knight

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the images you use for your editorial posts in the home page, their either too small to see or not the great to look at.


GFX competition is black and purple, as if the forum wasn't dark enough. Musical Musing image is night and bright, but its so paper thin, its hard to appreciate any of the design choices.

i think this is a really simple fix. choose to use taller and wider Square-shape images. So the font can be seen better. And make them brighter.

i know it sounds like you're already doing this, but not at the same time.
 
Could you be more specific? There's nothing wrong with the GFX banner, btw, as it's only showing up every now and then. It's not what the focus should be on, unlike SE articles.

Just curious to know what you mean, because I don't really get it.
 
Six said:
Could you be more specific? There's nothing wrong with the GFX banner, btw, as it's only showing up every now and then.
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its too dark, and the forum is already dark enough. its not that bad, but its not as appealing as it could be because the forum is already dark and the letters are pretty thin. if the forum was brighter by using more white, it could be understandable. even with the new skins. i don't understand the reasoning behind "as it only showing up every now and then" how does that explain its not "bad"?

It's not what the focus should be on, unlike SE articles.

Just curious to know what you mean, because I don't really get it.
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whats not to get. better images that fit the home page feed. When you look at musical musings from the main page, the image looks like a banner trying to fit in that tiny space. i can't read it and it doesn't pop out. i would have to click on it to seeing it bigger (even then its not that visually appealing).

Make your images better suited to be seen through the home page. Make Musical musings a smaller but more Square-size shape, so that when we look at it we have to squint (Musical Musings).

Use better colors to contrast from the already-dark forum (GFX Coommunity News)
 
Are you speaking of the thumbnails, Raz? Being small is pretty much the point of a thumbnail. Click read more and it's a good size :).
 
Razberry Knight said:
its too dark, and the forum is already dark enough. its not that bad, but its not as appealing as it could be because the forum is already dark and the letters are pretty thin. if the forum was brighter by using more white, it could be understandable. even with the new skins. i don't understand the reasoning behind "as it only showing up every now and then" how does that explain its not "bad"?



whats not to get. better images that fit the home page feed. When you look at musical musings from the main page, the image looks like a banner trying to fit in that tiny space. i can't read it and it doesn't pop out. i would have to click on it to seeing it bigger (even then its not that visually appealing).

Make your images better suited to be seen through the home page. Make Musical musings a smaller but more Square-size shape, so that when we look at it we have to squint (Musical Musings).

Use better colors to contrast from the already-dark forum (GFX Coommunity News)
Click to expand...


What I didn't get was why you were complaining about how a thumbnail looked, is what I thought.

Now that you cleared it up, if a thumbnail has text, I agree it should be readable, the image is what most people prefer to look at, not the title. So I agree with you on the fact that that can be something for us to look in to.

The GFX banner shouldn't bother you that much because it will only pop up every once in a while, a bit of variety I agree with, but don't eliminate all the darker banners. Sometimes it works better.

We'll just create a few more banners so Editorials can have some options for banners. They're not obligated to go with something they don't like though, they're writing the articles, but I'm sure no one will be giving us hell over trying more readable banners.
 
Sprout said:
Are you speaking of the thumbnails, Raz? Being small is pretty much the point of a thumbnail. Click read more and it's a good size :).
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if you ever see other sites, their thumbnails generally look better and more appealing. i'll click read more, when you provide a better thumbnail. how's that for a fair compromise?
Six said:
What I didn't get was why you were complaining about how a thumbnail looked, is what I thought.
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it draws attention to the post.

[/quote]The GFX banner shouldn't bother you that much because it will only pop up every once in a while, a bit of variety I agree with, but don't eliminate all the darker banners. Sometimes it works better. [/quote] the last one didn't work well for me. there are issues i find with it, sucha s the letters being too thin. generally its bare bones.
We'll just create a few more banners so Editorials can have some options for banners. They're not obligated to go with something they don't like though, they're writing the articles, but I'm sure no one will be giving us hell over trying more readable banners.
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i think you can be more visually appealing, not just readable but visible and distinguishable. i can tell what are in certain thumbnails, but the ones hand-made dont.
 
How about you create one and see what people think. This isn't to say you know better, but if you show people what interests you rather than just talk about it all the time, people may get an idea of what it is you find appealing.

The banners are up to limited people due to the Photoshop skills, so it's really just a bit nitpicking in my opinion, but go on, and we'll see if we can give it a go, how's that? =]
 
it really is a science. balance the dark, make everything distinguishable. if you think thumbnails that fade into the forum background and indistinguishable appearance is an issue. then thats a problem.

you dont design your graphics to fit with the thumbnail. Now, i dont have gimp, but i have played around with graphics with gimp. its not easy, but its not like i'm going in blind.

How about you just trust me on this. and if people complain. then you can say "we gave it an honest shot, but your idea sucked in the end"
 
It's not my call, Raz. I can try and do so much, and you should know by now I'm not against trying new ideas.

My personal preference does go to darker images, with a pop of colour, but like I said, I'm not the one preventing variety from happening. Perhaps the admins will look in to this as well, but aside from that I can't force ayone to do anything from my standpoint. I just hope you realize that.
 
Honestly, you can still try. whether the mods and admins don't like em, you can prove to the forum, you can make good banners with brighter, more distinguishable banners meant for thumbnails.

i'll provide you with something. its going to be bare bones, keep in mind. but generally something easy to look at that pops out.
 
That sounds like a plan. It's just hard for me to imagine what you have in mind, don't get me wrong, I'll give it a shot if you provide some ideas. =]
 
I think the GFX ones are fine, I don't see the issue with them, I can read them clear as day and it isn't dark enough to warrant being brighter. Musical musings could use a little work as the writing could be not clear to some people but I can make it out either way. I don't look at thumbnails have the time because we are greeted with the title above it in which I will read that first. Like I do with the news on gaming sites, I rarely trust the thumbnail because for example it could be a story about halo 5 but be a picture of halo 4 in the thumbnail.

But I do agree maybe mixing it up and dabbling with another concept style or something but personally it doesn't bother me.
 
Personally I wish we could do something different with the thumbnails. It's really hard to have dimensions that suit both a thumbnail and a post header. What looks good as a thumbnail is usually pretty square, and so to fill the header it has to be HUGE. Since Musical Musings always has at least one embedded YouTube video, I went with the rectangular shape for the logo to put more emphasis on content. I already know I will have one big media block in a post, so I try not to have a second for the logo. I will consider thickening it up a bit as a compromise, though :)

What would really be great is if we could choose separate images for thumbnails, but that's just not how the system works at the moment. Bottom line is, we are thinking this through and doing our best with what we've got, so bear with us. Any concept art you can provide, Razberry Knight , will be welcomed with an open mind.
 
Unfortunately, i will ahve to sell my computer by the end of the week due to financial issues. so as much as i would like to show you. i dont have the time to work on it as i need to to do more important things on the computer before selling it.
 
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