A Splash of Color
Wednesday, July 7, 2004 at 12:33 am | 
Comments off
I'm writing this while sitting in my favorite coffee shop, thanks to their recently installed Wi-Fi service. We're having unseasonably cold weather today (just 55° F, with light drizzle), so the coffee is going down good. Actually, we've been having ridiculously cold weather all summer so far...
Anyway, why I'm really posting is to point out that I've done a bit of work on the styles for this site. If you don't notice any change, be sure to hit refresh. I'm not entirely satisfied with the colors just yet, but for now they'll have to do. I've changed the colors of the sidebar and have also completely changed the comments section. Comments now alternate in color and my comments have a different color header. That idea was obviously taken from Dave Shea, but is something I really like on the sites that have implemented it. It makes it very easy to immediately see which comments were made by the blog owner, especially on posts with a lot of comments.
Comments
I see it, too. But then, I'm using basically the same set up that mb is.
Yes I also see that... I use Firefox .91 res 1024 * 1280.
It isn't just Ryan's site. I have noticed a lot when sites use the google ads. They ads almost always move like that.
As for the colors... The sidebar definatly stands out more... but I think it is a little to "gray". Maybe if the h3 headline text was a little darker... just a tad darker....
That's just my two bits.
I also see that google ads bug. Firefox .91 @ 1024x768.
I liked the new colors. The sidebar draws much more atention now. Perhaps there is really too much gray...
"...when a page is loading there is some flashing of the GoogleAd banner above where it's supposed to be."
I'm not positive what you mean, as I've not seen this happen. Do you mean the ads don't show up immediately, and no space is reserved for them, causing the comments to jump down when they do load? If so, it'll be an easy enough fix...
"...but I think it is a little to 'gray'."
Ok, I need to know. Is my monitor totally screwed up? The <h3>s in the sidebar has a very blue background, and even the background for the content area (of the sidebar) definitely has a light blue shade to it. I'm starting to wonder if I'm seeing something different than everyone else!
"... a very blue background..."
Well... I wouldn't call it very blue, more like slightly blueish grey (compared to the very grey grey from the chrome). The sidebar content background looks more like a greyish, greenish hue to me... guess it's all greyish to me, and no, I do not suffer from any kind of color blindness and have 20/20 vision.
The subtle splash of color is very nice. I see the sidebar as blueish-gray (like Ronald). And I agree with Crano, the headers in the sidebar could be just a touch darker. They need just a pinch more contrast with the background color.
As for the comments coloring, just the opposite - they look too dark. I like the alternating color, but would move them a couple of notches lighter.
For whatever my opinion is worth...
I think you need a little bit more daring colors... Some of the blogs I see that kind of break the mold on style all have very bright and flashy colors but also do nto distract from the content... Heres an example
I think the sidebar seems a tad too brown, as well as the alternating comments -- the blue comment is nice, but the brown one really doesn't go with the site's color scheme.
I don't particularly take to the way you styled the comments area. Contrast is good, but too much contrast makes them seem out of place on the site.
I love it, although I dont love how the whole comment background. I think you should make all comments have a header similar to the ones that appear on your comments but just make youurs a differnt color.
[color=maroon][size=small].. Heres an example
http://complexfellow.com[/size][/color]
Please dont compare me to ryan brill,thanks.
I will compare you to him all I want :p All I want to know is why you are mad if I am praising you...?
I dont deserve to be mentioned in the same sentance as him...
Also ryan you have to update the preview
Ah. Looks nice, ryan. But you should add some kind of javacsript or php in that allows us to get the old design back...this one looks good though!
Conor you are way to modest :p Also, A styleswitcher isnt hard...
Conor... I would tell you to just take the (just) compliment but I have to find ways to kiss up still, so... I'll just stop right there. I agree; you should try something new and exciting as far as colors go. For example, I love the header- why can't there be more of that great, detailed, vibrance on your pages? Be more daring, already! :)
I'm not so sure about the comments highlighting- I agree that just highlighting the header would work out well- but it's not bad. I think that it would be a good oppurtunity for more color on a new design- but as it stands, it kind of detracts.
And, yes, I beleive your monitor IS very screwed up. This site is very gray on every monitor that I've viewed it. Oh, so gray; I beleive that's the best way to put it.
Hmm... It does appear like it is my monitor that is screwy. I'll have to do something about that.
I'll probably be reworking the color scheme a bit yet, as the more I look at what I've got so far, the less I like it.
I also think the new comment section looks a bit to similar to http://www.stopdesign.com/log/
I've tweaked the colors a bit more, to something that seems to fit the rest of the site a bit better...
Thats better, nice job. Now just update more ;)
How come you guys always harp on him for updating, leave the guy alone :p
How come you always harp on us for harping on him for not updating often enough? Leave us alone! *raised eyebrow*
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July 7th, 2004
1:37 AM | #
Not in regards to the color tweak, but when a page is loading there is some flashing of the GoogleAd banner above where it's supoosed to be. If you are lokking at the page that this entry is on, the flashing would appear around the top of the second paragraph. I'm using Firefox, 1400X1050 resolution, on Win2K Pro.