Well, I’ve made a few alterations, taking the need to make the “Action Alert” graphic/link prominent and displayed on every page … so I put it in/on the header in one variant – the one below. I’m going to be honest and say I prefer this design for its fidelity to the original design of RS (1.0 and 2.0) way back when. I tend to like the familiar. Furthermore, as Brian said, the header not extending all the way over the sidebars (IMO) serves to highlight the star of the show, the blogs’ content.
I’ve also altered the header of RedHot to make it more distinct.
With the “Get Local” feature, I’ve decided to add it to the main menu and rename it simply “Select State”. I’m conceiving it (probably because I’m not the one who’s going to code it) as an active JavaScript-y menu type thing that, for example, shows the state flag whenever the state’s name is highlighted. Of course, a more sensible (but a lot less sexier) approach would be to just have a drop down menu revealed on mouse-over or click, but where’s the fun in that?
This one below pays homage to absentee’s cool modification of my original here – the header extends across the full width and the “Action Alert” is in the sidebar – same deal as above with the “Get Local” feature.
As usual, all criticisms welcome.
And thanks for indulging me.
Steve Maley
Moe Lane
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
It's pretty good.
NightTwister (Diary) Wednesday, December 17th at 7:14PM EST (link)But too busy for my tastes. I still prefer the current layout.
I will say I like the “Select State” pulldown.
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. – Winston Churchill
Definitely still like the shortened masthead
Brian Simpson (Diary) Wednesday, December 17th at 7:26PM EST (link)It really does push more of the content into a visible part of the page on first load.
The drop down box for Get Local/Select State is neat, but I do think I prefer that icon in the masthead to the Action Alert. Having no image editing skills of my own, I wonder if it would look too cluttered having both images in the masthead (maybe as a modification of option #2 on this diary)
| My RedState archive |
Important principles may and must be inflexible. ~ Abraham Lincoln
Have tried it. Looks very jumbled up that way.
Martin Knight (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 5:00AM EST (link)I think having it on the main menu not only makes it prominent (people’s eyes are drawn to main menus), it also signifies it as being an important part of the site’s structure.
That said, it could stand to be made even more prominent. Just haven’t figured out how to make it so and then make it fit.
Agree with Brian on the masthead
Bill S (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 7:41AM EST (link)That big masthead is a lot of wasted real estate. The problem right now is that you have to scroll to see much of value on first page load. 1440×900 laptop screens have become a norm, and on that size display, you see almost nothing when you load the page. Something must be done to improve the amount of useful info that appears immediately.
“It’s such a fine line between stupid, and clever.” – David St. Hubbins
How about removing the columns on the right
mbecker908 (Diary) Wednesday, December 17th at 7:26PM EST (link)and just making them drop downs. Leave one column for ads (gotta pay the piper) and for a login block, make Redhot, Comments, Recommended Diaries and Member Diaries all drop downs.
I like this approach
woodsman (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 8:02AM EST (link)It seems a little “busy” on the right side. Or, allow dynamic side bars that a user can specify for their personal tastes.
Myself, I prefer the larger masthead as it actually shows “Red States”.
mbecker: Hmmm ... Interesting idea. Which column would you like the ads to be at?
Martin Knight (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 10:42AM EST (link)Could tinker around with it later on and see.
Put the ads in the last column on the right.
mbecker908 (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 2:55PM EST (link)Plus an “admin box” with whatever in it. That would be at the top with the ads under it.
Then, add drop down thingys for Redhot, Member Diaries and for Recommended Diaries (although that could stay at the top in the right col I suppose). Bottom line, with whatever gets put in the far right col, cut the cols to one and make the text area wider by one.
mbecker: Not so sure I understand ...
Martin Knight (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 5:41PM EST (link)… but I’ll muck around with it and see.
Watch this space.
It sounds like
woodsman (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 6:04PM EST (link)mbecker is describing the 3or 4 areas would collapse. This is similar to the drop-down menus.
I see this as 3 or 4 vertical text boxes sitting on top of each other like links. Click one link and that section expands below the text link. If another text link is clicked, then that section expands and the prior one collapses back into itself.
Perhaps something like this… http://www.interspire.com/content/articles/10/1/Building-An-Expanding-DHTML-Menu-With-CSS-and-JavaScript
Oh ... I get it then.
Martin Knight (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 6:49PM EST (link)But I’m not so sure completely hiding the content until clicked open is a good idea.
The titles of diaries and comments draw people, kinda like newspaper headlines, which is why I went with a limited number of entries being shown (to draw the visitor) with the “more” link at the bottom of the boxes giving the visitor the option of seeing more recommended diaries, RedHot, member diaries, comments, etc.
That said, it may be an option worth exploring – given that it leaves more space for advertising and stuff. And it could (like I think is Becker wants) make it possible for just one sidebar column.
I’ll do some experimenting and see.
Well, don't shoot me if I guessed wrong
woodsman (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 7:03PM EST (link)on what mbecker was describing. I’m simply trying to add some insight into what I think he meant. But then, I’m sure you know what happens when we “assume” things, heh?
Perhaps there might be more appropriate content to place into this type of functionality also. And leave other, more important topics on permanent display.
The other thing I might like to see is where the site auto-sizes for the users screen resolution. I’m using a 24″ monitor and it seems like a waste of real estate.
A freaking 24 inch monitor????????????
mbecker908 (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 8:09PM EST (link)Why not just run it through a project and blast it against the whole wall! Holy cow.
Actually, your assumptions worked out really well. If you get shot it won’t be for this.
It's easier on the ol' eyes
woodsman (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 8:17PM EST (link)for reading large spread sheets and looking at CAD drawings, etc. I use a laptop for portability and the big monitor so I don’t have to get nose prints on the screen!
PS. I did think about the projector, but the bulbs are too expensive.
Big Monitors
RetNAV Thursday, December 18th at 8:54PM EST (link)Got a 22″ Samsung myself – and it’s a lot easier on my bad eyes. I hardly ever have to CTRL+ anymore to enlarge the type.
Bad thing about flat screen monitors though, cat can’t hang out on top of it when it’s chilly.
I never want to hear again of bipartisanship. The only time I want a Republican “reaching across the aisle” is to smack a liberal.
24" - We don't need no stinking 24" monitors!!
izoneguy (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 9:17PM EST (link)We need 30″ monitors!!!!
I use a 24″ & 30″ for editing video.
Then I check it on my 52″ LCD.
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
woodsman is correct.
mbecker908 (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 8:07PM EST (link)Right now RS is set up in a three column format.
Col 1 is where the diaries go and is about 60% of the screen. Col 2 & 3 are each about 20% of the screen.
Col 2 currently is “Get Local”, “Action Alert”, “Premium Ad” box, “Comments”, ads.
Col 3 is Recommended Diaries, Redhot, RS by email, Member Diaries, Subscribe, Recent Jobs.
I’m saying that you could use the 3rd Col for Admin & advertising. Maybe put an “Admin” box at the top with links to login, Get Local, Action Alert, RS by email, Subscribe & Recent Jobs. Below that you could put a box with fewer “Diaries” for draw. (You’d want at least enough space for your entries & mine
) Ads would go below the “Draw” section.
The “Diaries” section would then account for about 80% of screen space and the Admin/Advertising would account for about 20%.
The longer boxes with all of the Recommended Diaries and Current Member Diaries would drop down from a tab.
Some other features you might want to consider would be special tabs for your diaries and mine. Oh, and a picture of Franz in the header bar.
One other nice feature would be to float the tab bar at the top of the page, keep it there as the page scrolls. That way for us really lazy people we wouldn’t have to pop back to the top of the page to look at other stuff, we could tab from anywhere down the Diary column.
You could also use tabs
zuiko (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 6:07PM EST (link)Have a few different tabs that can be displayed on the right. That would eliminate the need for one of the columns. That would probably be better than dropdowns from a usability standpoint.
Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. – Milton Friedman
I think Get Local needs to be prominent
Neil Stevens (Diary) Wednesday, December 17th at 7:39PM EST (link)In the coming months that needs to be our community focus, after all, because the 2010 election is the next battle. That election will be fought in 435 local districts and 35 or so states. It won’t be fought nationally.
RS contributing editor, technical administrator, and “a hardy variety of crabgrass.”
Read the RedState Posting Rules
Unlikely Voter: Poll Analysis, Election Projection.
“I rejoice that America has resisted.” – William Pitt, the Elder
You should leave that Action Alert graphic the way it was....
speciallist (Diary) Wednesday, December 17th at 7:45PM EST (link)All I know is I can't find my earlier comments
Jim Tomasik (Diary) Wednesday, December 17th at 8:48PM EST (link)anywhere. I mean the ones I wrote earlier today.
How can we keep up a good ruckus if we can’t find out who we were ruckussssing with before we got off work and drove home.
One more thing…
Whats up with the thing to the left that says:
Your Thoughts:
(smaller size Larger size)
I mean, exactly what size thoughts do you prefer?
Disclaimer:
This comment may be a BUI incident and is currently under investigation by the cyber police. No animals was harmed in the mistyping of this comment.
Click on "My Profile" to see
Flagstaff (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 5:21PM EST (link)a list of your recent comments.
“The press is so powerful in its image-making role that it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”– Malcolm X, Audubon Ballroom, December 13, 1964
Clicking on Recommenders
davo119 Wednesday, December 17th at 11:32PM EST (link)give “User not found” result
Never give in! Never! Never! Never!
You must have clicked on me
E Pluribus Unum (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 5:52PM EST (link)I am *frequently* not found….
Kill the Terrorists
Protect the Borders
Punch the Hippies h/t IMAO
I love it
Jeff Emanuel (Diary) Wednesday, December 17th at 11:36PM EST (link)I really do. One thing we adopted with RS3/4 is a terribly ugly design.
JE
Thanks Jeff ...
Martin Knight (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 4:34AM EST (link)I blush …
Like I said when I supported TARP...
Neil Stevens (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 8:12PM EST (link)…reasonable people can disagree.
I think some tweaking would make the current site just right. Like the recoloring on the comment form, for example.
I just couldn’t ever get around to it before. We worked on those tweaks to RS 3 but then all my time went into keeping it online…
RS contributing editor, technical administrator, and “a hardy variety of crabgrass.”
Read the RedState Posting Rules
Unlikely Voter: Poll Analysis, Election Projection.
“I rejoice that America has resisted.” – William Pitt, the Elder
Neil: maybe we should have a poll?
Martin Knight (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 5:22PM EST (link)I know NightTwister likes the current theme … but I think he’s the only one.
No I don't think a poll would be a good idea
Neil Stevens (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 5:36PM EST (link)I think we’re going to have a slow, deliberate process of discussion and innovation, rather than a rushed, forced either/or decision making process.
RS contributing editor, technical administrator, and “a hardy variety of crabgrass.”
Read the RedState Posting Rules
Unlikely Voter: Poll Analysis, Election Projection.
“I rejoice that America has resisted.” – William Pitt, the Elder
appalled....
JLenardDetroit (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 6:10PM EST (link)that you would have something against the Poll-ish…
end lame humor
Regards from NoMoTown (the MOTORlessCITY)
“Liberals, looking to do for? America what they’ve done for? Detroit! which is DESTROY IT!”
“I think, therefore I am Conservative”
“Conservative by choice, Republican by necessity”
“You can lead a Liberal to the Truth/Facts, but you cannot make them THINK!”
“Romney [No, not my first choice] does NOT have a MORMON problem. He has a, far too many Americans; these days; are MORONS problem!”
Follow @JLenardDetroit
(RS:Help) (JLD) (Hollyweird) (Brain-deads) (SPIN-cycle) (Obamaocare) (Party of kNOw) (Conservatism) (TEApeats) (respectful) (message) (Warning: Children Will Die!!)
Heil “O” Hell No Obamao is NOT MY PRESIDENT! “No U won’t”
I want “O” to FAIL (here, here, & whole Diary (Ofail) here, is why)
“The first Liberal was Satan” – a Rush caller (other Quotes)
Clearly I hate the Polish
Neil Stevens (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 6:15PM EST (link)That’s why I disabled the Kowalski button.
RS contributing editor, technical administrator, and “a hardy variety of crabgrass.”
Read the RedState Posting Rules
Unlikely Voter: Poll Analysis, Election Projection.
“I rejoice that America has resisted.” – William Pitt, the Elder
I knew it, I just KNEW it Neil! ;)
kowalski (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 6:24PM EST (link)Oh, the stories we could tell.
In truth, I know that Neil doesn’t hate the Polish, he just doesn’t want them to overstate their case
.
Defend Liberty — Join the NRA | Live in Massachusetts? Join GOAL.
Stripper Poll... er... Pole...
JLenardDetroit (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 6:40PM EST (link)probably shouldn’t go this way… but once the lame humor starts it’s hard to stop it…
Regards from NoMoTown (the MOTORlessCITY)
“Liberals, looking to do for? America what they’ve done for? Detroit! which is DESTROY IT!”
“I think, therefore I am Conservative”
“Conservative by choice, Republican by necessity”
“You can lead a Liberal to the Truth/Facts, but you cannot make them THINK!”
“Romney [No, not my first choice] does NOT have a MORMON problem. He has a, far too many Americans; these days; are MORONS problem!”
Follow @JLenardDetroit
(RS:Help) (JLD) (Hollyweird) (Brain-deads) (SPIN-cycle) (Obamaocare) (Party of kNOw) (Conservatism) (TEApeats) (respectful) (message) (Warning: Children Will Die!!)
Heil “O” Hell No Obamao is NOT MY PRESIDENT! “No U won’t”
I want “O” to FAIL (here, here, & whole Diary (Ofail) here, is why)
“The first Liberal was Satan” – a Rush caller (other Quotes)
Did you ever hear the one about...
kowalski (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 7:14PM EST (link)Did you ever hear the one about the Polish astronomers?
You know, those guys who designed a spacecraft to visit the sun and take measurements?
In a press conference before their visit, they defended their scientific venture and deflected all of the criticism:
“Yes, but won’t it be horribly expensive, when Poland has other things to spend the money on?”
“Of course, but as a matter of national pride, it will make Poland the equal of any nation in the world.”
“What do you expect to achieve during this mission in terms of science?”
We will take the most accurate measurements of the sun’s radiation that have ever been possible, and will also directly measure the chemistry and physics of the sun at a level never before attempted. We will measure the radiation being emitted across the widest range of the spectrum, and do so directly. This should help to solve the debate about global warming.”
“Do you worry about the temperature? How has the spacecraft been constructed to withstand the terrible cold of space and the blistering heat of the sun?”
This is where we are one step ahead. We plan to go at night.
…..
I can tell this joke, and I can laugh at it also.
Defend Liberty — Join the NRA | Live in Massachusetts? Join GOAL.
Neil: I was thinking more along the lines of "keep" and "not keep" with no timeline implied.
Martin Knight (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 8:22PM EST (link)As far as I’m concerned, a new theme (if there would be a new theme) can take as long as necessary. Priority is getting all the parts working.
Ah
Neil Stevens (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 8:29PM EST (link)Well, I think none of us want to keep the site exactly as-is.
I have a list of changes I’d like to make to this design, that I worked on 6 months ago.
So that poll would be moot, heh.
RS contributing editor, technical administrator, and “a hardy variety of crabgrass.”
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Unlikely Voter: Poll Analysis, Election Projection.
“I rejoice that America has resisted.” – William Pitt, the Elder
Cool. Looking forward to seeing it. [n/t]
Martin Knight (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 8:44PM EST (link)Nuh uh. Erick likes it too.
NightTwister (Diary) Friday, December 19th at 7:01PM EST (link)I know he has several votes…
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. – Winston Churchill
Very nice Martin.
itrytobenice (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 7:11AM EST (link)I like the look of it.
(and I wish ‘smaller size larger size’ was applicable to font size. I’m too old for this little bitty print.
Proper grammar saves lives.
Let’s eat Grandma.
Let’s eat, Grandma.
itrytobenice, re: font size
Brian Simpson (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 7:35AM EST (link)I know this trick works on Firefox and I think it works on Internet Explorer.
Hit Ctrl and the + key. The font size will increase.
To decrease font size hit ctrl and -.
| My RedState archive |
Important principles may and must be inflexible. ~ Abraham Lincoln
Ooooh. That *is* nice.
itrytobenice (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 8:03AM EST (link)Thanks.
Proper grammar saves lives.
Let’s eat Grandma.
Let’s eat, Grandma.
Simpson!!...that trick is the Best!!!
speciallist (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 7:53PM EST (link)np
Why the insatiable desire for continuous change?
Flagstaff (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 5:11PM EST (link)Did you all get training at Microsoft? They also love to “improve” what is already working. (^;^)
Seems to me that unless something is being overlooked and therefore unused, there is no need to change it. Or add functionality if it’s needed. But constantly changing the format for aesthetic purposes only just makes it harder to use, not easier.
Dark red type on white is easier to read than blue on a light blue or cream background, but by expanding my page and magnifying the type, I can read the current words just fine.
IMHO, the cleaner and less cluttered the better. And ambiguous tags and titles should be banished.
I’d like to be able to easily go to other writers’ diaries from the front page. I always want to be able to see quickly if blackhedd has added some new information. I’d call that a functional improvement.
“The press is so powerful in its image-making role that it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”– Malcolm X, Audubon Ballroom, December 13, 1964
Instead of just "ambiguous tags"
Flagstaff (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 5:30PM EST (link)I should have said “ambiguous or unclear tags.” An example is the “edit” button on the profile page. Since nothing appears with the profile except one’s registration date, and a list of comment links, it isn’t obvious that that particular edit button allows edit access to the entire profile. It’s logically obvious (after all, what else would it do?), but it’s not intuitively obvious.
And the comment by bs above pinted out to me why aesthetics are important. My screen happens to be 20″ wide, so I have a different perspective than the laptop user would have.
“The press is so powerful in its image-making role that it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”– Malcolm X, Audubon Ballroom, December 13, 1964
finally, another advocate
JLenardDetroit (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 5:50PM EST (link)the “Get More” theme…. just a slightly bigger box than “Get Local” to add “Personal” and “Specific”…
———————————————–
GET LOCAL
[pick State pull-down]
GET PERSONAL
[pick RS Diarist] limit to peeps with at least 5,10? Diaries (to avoid Trolls)
GET SPECIFIC
[pic RS Category name]
————————————————-
Regards from NoMoTown (the MOTORlessCITY)
“Liberals, looking to do for? America what they’ve done for? Detroit! which is DESTROY IT!”
“I think, therefore I am Conservative”
“Conservative by choice, Republican by necessity”
“You can lead a Liberal to the Truth/Facts, but you cannot make them THINK!”
“Romney [No, not my first choice] does NOT have a MORMON problem. He has a, far too many Americans; these days; are MORONS problem!”
Follow @JLenardDetroit
(RS:Help) (JLD) (Hollyweird) (Brain-deads) (SPIN-cycle) (Obamaocare) (Party of kNOw) (Conservatism) (TEApeats) (respectful) (message) (Warning: Children Will Die!!)
Heil “O” Hell No Obamao is NOT MY PRESIDENT! “No U won’t”
I want “O” to FAIL (here, here, & whole Diary (Ofail) here, is why)
“The first Liberal was Satan” – a Rush caller (other Quotes)
Width?
zuiko (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 5:46PM EST (link)I like it. I think it is a big improvement over the current design. But what is the width of that layout? It looks significantly wider than the current one. I think it would probably be safe to exceed 1024 width but I wouldn’t go over 1280 at this point.
Hopefully there are plans to make the main content area resize to take up all the available space. If you are running at 1900 pixels wide, for example, about half the space is empty right now.
Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. – Milton Friedman
Corners
Thrhheggeegwc Jjtkylkfofud (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 6:15PM EST (link)I read somewhere that rounded corners are more visually appealing in website design than hard edges.
Something to think about.
Totally disagree on the rounded corners
zuiko (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 7:07PM EST (link)They look much less clean and I would rather not load the extra graphics.
Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. – Milton Friedman
Images not required for rounded corners
Thrhheggeegwc Jjtkylkfofud (Diary) Thursday, December 18th at 7:33PM EST (link)Simple css:
Can also be done via light javascript.
Hey, Martin
Thrhheggeegwc Jjtkylkfofud (Diary) Saturday, December 20th at 10:55PM EST (link)If you send me the image files, I can try to put together a live demo/sample for you in HTML.