✓✖✖✖✖ Banner and Surrounds - banner (✖✖✖✖✖) and nav icons (✓✖✖✖✖) need more ornamentation, banner is just text, PM Bar (✓✓✖✖✖) has interesting integration but needs more features. In addition, it's off center.
✓✖✖✖✖ Categorical Areas - On/Off icons (✓✖✖✖✖) look pretty-ish but not relevant and mismatched. Last Post Cells (✓✖✖✖✖) are basic but certainly not pretty and the Rules/Updates LP Cell is different to the others, and they are all aligned differently. Board Mod (✓✖✖✖✖) is boringly non-existant, and it is aligned differently in different boards. Also, there are no Category Title Bars.
✓✖✖✖✖ Info Center - has no title bar. Icons (✓✖✖✖✖) are weird and the content is aligned weirdly.
✓✖✖✖✖ Misc. - The corner ornamentation is weird, plus the font needs to be changed. In addition the whole thing is boring, there should be a border surrounding everything like in your previous designs, I liked that aspect. In addition, the colour needs to vary more. Also don't put such a huge 'Concept By' bar at the bottom, looks weird. Maybe you could give the boards shadows in future.

✓✖✖✖✖ Overall, a much bigger improvement over your other designs. Please post it in the originating thread next time and change the thread title.

This will seem harsh, but that's the way I crit.

First thing I see is black, and red, and that's a bad combination. There's no gradients, no layer FX, you have CS4, use the stuff it has. Then there's no title/cat bars... Come on, please?

The font is boring and it's red. 'Nuff said I think.

As a concept, it is poor, no other word for it, sorry. For a design forum, there is nowhere near enough graphics or design in it. I am no master of paint, and I know there are some, but this is something that most people could do it in paint. Everything is pixel with the pencil tool and it's ugly.

Then there's the buttons. They're big, in the banner and comparitivly to the rest of the forum are actually bigger than the on and off icons. The banner needs to stand out, it's a statement about the forum, yours is black with dull red text in a pixel font on it. That is not a good statement.

And you must love yourself as that is one hell of a big crediting thing on the bottom. Another thing I don't get is that the colour of the text in the windows is lighter than the banner, which makes it stand out more than the banner, which seems weird...

So, overall. Better than your last 'concepts' but still not great, read some tuts and maybe wait a 3 months at least before setting up a design forum.

When you shall choose fonts for your projects, ALWAYS think of this rule.

When something is going to be displayed on a computer screen, always use a font without "heels"

Use fonts like Arial, Verdana and Calibri for that. Using fonts with heels is a big no-no when displayed on a screen.

Fonts with heels are only to be used when printing out stuff on paper.

Trust me. I am in a Media/Design school and I have been scolded by my teacher a couple of times for this

That's what I was referring to, XuzI.

It's called serif.

As for the design, it's really hard to read. Never use a dark color, on a dark color. The pm bar would look batter stretched across, unless you'd design it to look according. The on/off icons need some work. Always try to use a solid image. Never used blurs or clouds for something like that. I'm gonna say it; the info center would look better without those icons. They're pretty bad.

I'm not really seeing much change from your other "concepts," except for color scheme and font. Like I said in another one of your designs, check out some tutorial websites.

In my experience, it depends on what you're working for. Serifs go well with traditional works and work well in logos. I cite Google as the prime example. I know what you mean though.

Yes exceptions are if you want to archive this kind of effect.

But it is much preffered that you don't use it


Thanks. I didn't know what it was called in English

Yeah, I know. It's down to the work itself.


Here:

Serif

Sans-serif (or just sans)


Last Edit: Nov 5, 2009 22:41:45 GMT by newfieldgrafix

I'm not gonna lie, you're still not getting the idea of designing.

I took a few minutes to create a concept using your exact colors. It's not great, but it should help you to understand gradients and such.



Feel free to download the PSD here and have a look at how i'm everything

Exactly, that's REALLY simple, and takes about 5 minutes, and is (sorry) infinitely better than yours.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, but the colours go very much better and the experimenting around with the smaller bar has made it look kinda cool. The banner needs to be spiced up a little, and anti-aliased. That's all for now.

You've had an epiphany....

I noticed there's no gradients in that.