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[TC Dale]

I guess this technically goes in the artistic area since it's photoshop and about graphcis and colors and suchlike, but it's an attempted colorscheme / layout for a website especially for the Crumbling Down novelization, so... Yeah. o.0 I'm putting it here. Mods, move it if there's a more appropriate place.

I have four concept mockups done in two basic colors: red and brown. I'm favoring the red personally, but I'm afraid it might be "too dark" (not as in "too gory" but as in "too many dark colors / not enough contrast). The only other difference in that one version as the "Bhaal's alive" skull and the other version has the "Bhaal is dead" skull. Just for kicks.

I'm wondering what people here find the most "visually appealing." Keep in mind that the center black area would have long blocks of text in it, since the story would be posted there. The most likely font/text color is Verdana/sans-serif and white or an off-white to keep the contrast high. There's also going to be other artwork going in there: primarily my photoshops of Imoen and Cassandra.

So, here they are. Feedback plz! (And if you have feedback that's about something not specifically graphic but more like "I think the navigation should be here, instead of there" or something, feel free to give that, too)

Red, Non-glowing
Red, Glowing
Brown, Non-glowing
Brown, Glowing

The intention is, however, to have the eyes light up automatically when you are either 1) mousing over the image, just for kicks or 2) on the Home page. Haven't decided which.

Oh, and please don't steal my designs or I will hunt you down and feed you to rabid chihuahuas. kthnxbye

[vilkacis]

The red looks more impressive, but I prefer the brown... the red is very bright and feels as if it can easily distract from the text. The brown does not pull at the eyes the same way, so I think it will be easier to read.

I'd switch "chapters" and "characters" in the top menu... it feels like the story itself should stand be the most important bit, and stand out as such. Also, maybe add some light texture to the skull, because it kind of sticks out now, as if it's not really part of the emblem but just lying on top of it.

I'm not sure about "news" on the left. It looks kind of lonely. I would expect the entire menu in one place, either all of it on top, or all of it on the left. (...actually, the first thing I'd try would most likely be to click the skull/logo to get back to the main page, then look for a text option if that doesn't work...) But in that case, I'd put "news" before "chapters".

[edit] Also, "news" is very big compared to the other text and sticks out a lot (every bit as much as the actual logo on the brown background, where the text is more muted). If the main page is the one that has the news on it, a visitor has most likely already seen that already, so it's not necessary to make it so very visible.

Edited by vilkacis, 30 August 2009 - 03:03 PM.