Design and Layout Suggestions

[zourtney]

Have you figured out how to do pagination? I was trying to figure it out, but it looked like you needed custom modules, which looked somewhat unsupported.

Also, I realized most of the story formatting got lost. And I need to fix the image links...

[Nick]

What do you mean by "pagination"?

[zourtney]

Splitting up longer page/post/story/book things into multiple pages. For example, just part 1 of the Tempo story is at least 600 words. That would work best (in my opinion) split across 2 or 3 pages, with a little nav bar at the top and bottom.

[Nick]

Ok. I get what you mean now. I agree they are a little long as they exist now. But not unmanageably.  Though thats not to say they could not benefit from further break down. Perhaps a landing page with links to the separate parts with each part being a multi-page book unto itself.  Any other way would make for a need to rethink the nav menus. Though I think already they need more thought put into them then I alone can muster. I think such things benefit from multiple points of view as its all relative to personal taste.

[zourtney]

Yep -- agreed. We should probably change this topic name, too....

I need to dig through the content and see what is missing and what is trimmable/excessively embarrassing.

[Nick]

Its become more of a improvements and design suggestions.

OFF TOPIC!!!

[zourtney]

I just made a useless post upon the front of the randomnets. When --

hey, Christmas music!!

When using the little text-editor, I noticed that it is not parsing my line breaks as new paragraphs. This should probably be fixed. I'm not sure if that's an issue with the editor or just a CSS thing. Either way, yeah.
(Also, where is the background DIV on those paginas, senor?)

[Nick]

Ummm.... whats a pagina? Divs where? I know about the text box thing. The WYSIWYG editor is a little weird. I just havent fixed it yet. If you like you can mess with all sorts of its settings in the admin place or just disable the editor and you will get the default unformatted text box.

[Nick]

I clicked onto the main page and it struck me as ugly. I know that I am the one who made it that way and I still like most of it. But the green title for the posts needs some serious work. 

[Nick]

I made yet more potential banner images for the main page. I post them here for you, the internet, to consider.

It seems that my first attempt at one for the forums didn't bother anyone so I will stay for at least a little while.

Lone Tree:


Misplaced Ravine:


Phantom Tree:

[zourtney]

My initial reaction is "yes to all." But then I realized this isn't a multiple choice test, so I had to enact my critical side.

I like the idea of the first one the best. That is, a large tree looking small and lonely. Also, I like the sparse, wispy grass on that one. My only gripe is that the background trees are a bit too light-colored -- they distract your attention from Lone Tree. I particularly like the headroom on that image -- it gives Lone Tree a sort of "I'm so good looking, out here under the vast, open sky, where no one can see me and that's the way I like it" sort of...um...plantae humility?

The "aurora sky" technique in #2 is interesting, but slightly distracting. If it was done in a dark, dark color against a starry night scene, I could definitely see that working well. But that might be a bit too "busy." It depends on what look you're going for; I was assuming a "simple yet distinct" sort of scene.

The last one doesn't quite "pop out" enough, in comparison to the others. It's cool, but doesn't quite conjure up that "diminished beauty" feel that Lone Tree does.

<puts away artistic critique>

[zourtney]

Oh, just one more little thing -- I'm not really diggin' the background's background (the blue one). I'd prefer something blurrier or "softer." Oh, and I just noticed that I can see the bottom of it when my monitor brightness is cranked up.

(I'm just throwing suggestions, not insults, by the way)

[Nick]

Like....This?

[Nick]

This one seems a little dark now that I look at it again. Missing something...
Spooky Wood #1:

[zourtney]

Woah! On that last one, my brain gets tricked. When I first glance at it, I see light (white) coming through a silhouetted forest (black).