# Web Design advice?



## Rainami (Feb 25, 2011)

I'm not sure which forum this would fall under, but this seems like the most likely candidate.

I'm looking for anyone's advice on completing this design. Copypasta'd from my journal:

http://www.kobrascorner.com/doodles/

I want to add a landscape to the bottom that will blend in with the rest  of the layout. I'm going to use alpha-blended PNGs to achieve this end.

My friend suggested rocky plains. I was aiming for more of a snowcapped  mountainy horizon and then plains myself. Anyone got any ideas that will  fit the theme better?

Also, there will be two characters in the "foreground." (Above this  landscape but beneath the table.) On opposite sides. Snapped to the  bottom-left and bottom-right corners of the window respectively. (I love  CSS3.)

So, what I want to know is:

What kind of landscape should I use?
What color scheme should I use?


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## Captain Howdy (Feb 25, 2011)

Both of those are awful. Take that gradient gray/black center piece and stretch it (http://www.kobrascorner.com/portfolio/) - It's the least visually appalling thing on either of those sites >_>


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## Rainami (Feb 25, 2011)

Lastdirewolf said:


> Both of those are awful. Take that gradient gray/black center piece and stretch it (http://www.kobrascorner.com/portfolio/) - It's the least visually appalling thing on either of those sites >_>


I like it that way. That's not what I'm asking for advice on.

Also, what browser are you using? Because this looks exceptionally shitty in Internet Explorer because Microsoft doesn't know what CSS3 is.


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## Aden (Feb 25, 2011)

I could give you advice as to the implementation of such an idea, but the entire design right now lacks cohesiveness so much that any decision made is pretty much arbitrarily up to your personal preference.


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## Rainami (Feb 25, 2011)

That's not quite true. A big hokey shade of green would totally make everything look like crap, so grassy plains are pretty much out.

And of course it lacks cohesiveness. the gradient is filler until I know what's going to be behind it. Then when I feel not lazy I'm going to swap it out with something slightly fancier since I'm not looking to show off a cool (IMO) effect.


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## Aden (Feb 25, 2011)

Rainami said:


> That's not quite true. A big hokey shade of green would totally make everything look like crap, so grassy plains are pretty much out.


 
Why? A healthy green with the blue sky might work as an accent color, depending on your future plans.


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## Rainami (Feb 25, 2011)

Yeah, but I wouldn't know how to implement green plains without making it look shitty. I don't exactly have a fantastic color sense and my artwork is an insult to mediocrity at the moment.


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## Jw (Feb 25, 2011)

Soo, but what I've read you want someone to lay out how your site should look for you? Good luck with that...

But if you're lost and since you don't have a "fantastic color sense...", you can use this site to help pic out a decent color scheme. It even has some smaples on ways your stie will look with that color scheme, so it's pretty handy.
http://colorschemedesigner.com/

IMHO, a background that's a blatant picture generally steals too much attention from the words on the screen, even if there's a transparent overlay on top. Some abstracted pattern in the background (like some simple rectangles with complimentary colors) is generally the safest way to go in this situation.

I don't know what color scheme you're looking for, that's something you'll have to decide for yourself. Play around with that site a while, see what you like.


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## Rainami (Feb 25, 2011)

jwmcd2 said:


> Soo, but what I've read you want someone to lay out how your site should look for you? Good luck with that...
> 
> But if you're lost and since you don't have a "fantastic color sense...", you can use this site to help pic out a decent color scheme. It even has some smaples on ways your stie will look with that color scheme, so it's pretty handy.
> http://colorschemedesigner.com/
> ...


 Thanks.

And no, I wasn't going "Design this for me!!!oneon" I was just looking for direction. And I think this will help. :3


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## Rainami (Mar 1, 2011)

Rainami said:


> Yeah, but I wouldn't know how to implement green plains without making it look shitty. I don't exactly have a fantastic color sense and my artwork is an insult to mediocrity at the moment.


 UPDATE: Wow, I actually surprised myself. I managed to choose a shade of green that doesn't clash with everything.

The design's more-or-less finished. If anyone would like to suggest/comment on anything (besides the gradient thing mentioned above; I already decided that the main site gradient is indisputably awesome and will not replace it with a wider variant).


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## Kihari (Mar 1, 2011)

Hard to say. It's a bit demanding for this old box.


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## Rainami (Mar 1, 2011)

Kihari said:


> Hard to say. It's a bit demanding for this old box.


 I'm setting something up so people can see the old layout tomorrow.


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## Captain Howdy (Mar 1, 2011)

Kihari said:


> Hard to say. It's a bit demanding for this old box.


 
Yeah, mine was pulling a consistent 75% from 4gb of ram and a nVidia 8700.


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## Aden (Mar 1, 2011)

augh, it's so laaggyyyyyy

get rid of the moving clouds unless you can find an efficient way to do it
usability > "eye candy"


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## Rainami (Mar 1, 2011)

Aden said:


> augh, it's so laaggyyyyyy
> 
> get rid of the moving clouds unless you can find an efficient way to do it
> usability > "eye candy"


 I intend to make that a feature for people with accounts who want to see it.


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## Aden (Mar 1, 2011)

Rainami said:


> I intend to make that a feature for people with accounts who want to see it.


 
Yeah but how are you implementing it in the first place?


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## Rainami (Mar 1, 2011)

Aden said:


> Yeah but how are you implementing it in the first place?


 Please clarify your question. I don't know what you are asking for.


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## Aden (Mar 1, 2011)

Rainami said:


> Please clarify your question. I don't know what you are asking for.


 
What was your method for making the moving background? How did you go about it?


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## Rainami (Mar 1, 2011)

Javascript:

```
var time = 0;
      function cloudpano()
      {
      var temp = (1920 - time);
      document.getElementById('backgroundtop').style.backgroundPosition = temp+"px 0px";
      time++;
      time %= 1920;
      setTimeout("cloudpano()",100);
      }
```
It changes the CSS backgroundPosition property of a div tag according to a function of time. (Time increases from 0 to 1919 at a rate of 10 ticks per second. Then gets set back to 0.)

Also, check it out now. The features are turned off by default, and I've added options in the user profiles to allow people to select their preferred layout and whether or not it animates.


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## TheStory (Mar 6, 2011)

I'm surprised no one asked what the sites purpose is? I can't tell, and its hard to give advice on a design when you do not know its function. Goes with the whole rule "Form follows function."


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## choochoobracket (Mar 6, 2011)

Why would I want to log in to see one person's work? Literally nobody else does this. Why do you have an About _and_ a FAQ? Why do I have to navigate your blog through the archive page instead of with back and forward buttons? As a web programming exercise your website makes sense; as web design it's bizarre. And the background is cute, but I'd personally suggest a landscape as background and maybe your characters as a footer, in the foreground. Because subjects of a picture look pretty weird as part of the background.


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## Rainami (Mar 10, 2011)

choochoobracket said:


> Why would I want to log in to see one person's work? Literally nobody else does this. Why do you have an About _and_ a FAQ? Why do I have to navigate your blog through the archive page instead of with back and forward buttons? As a web programming exercise your website makes sense; as web design it's bizarre. And the background is cute, but I'd personally suggest a landscape as background and maybe your characters as a footer, in the foreground. Because subjects of a picture look pretty weird as part of the background.


 Because I'm awesome. That's why.

About pages are supposed to be self-aggrandizing narratives written in transparent "third person," whereas FAQs are like a dialogue with the reader. Why not have both?

Someone else has suggested back and forward buttons. I'm going to add them soon.

Your final suggestion has been noted, though I probably won't use it for this specific layout.


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## Aden (Mar 10, 2011)

Rainami said:


> (Time increases from 0 to 1919 at a rate of 10 ticks per second. Then gets set back to 0.)


 
Which implies that your image is a whopping 1920px wide and who knows how tall (and I'm willing to bet you didn't compress it that much). That's what's lagging shit up. It should be more like 500px wide.


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 10, 2011)

Please design your site in a simple manner. If you start ostracizing people because of poor design choices you utterly defeat the purpose of your site. Unless that's what you want - no one visiting your site.


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## Ilayas (Mar 10, 2011)

Rainami said:


> Because I'm awesome. That's why.
> 
> About pages are supposed to be self-aggrandizing narratives written in transparent "third person," whereas FAQs are like a dialogue with the reader. Why not have both?
> 
> ...


 
Gonna be honest with you here kid I would not log in to see your work. I also have no idea what the point is of your website is.  What is the point of making this website again?  If it's just to learn how to make a website then I guess I can kind of see the point maybe. But if you are actually making something that you intend people to visit then I don't understand WHY I should go to your site.


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## Rainami (Mar 11, 2011)

Ilayas said:


> Gonna be honest with you here kid I would not log in to see your work. I also have no idea what the point is of your website is.  What is the point of making this website again?  If it's just to learn how to make a website then I guess I can kind of see the point maybe. But if you are actually making something that you intend people to visit then I don't understand WHY I should go to your site.


 Then don't go to my site. Fuck. Nobody's saying you should.


Aden said:


> Which implies that your image is a whopping 1920px  wide and who knows how tall (and I'm willing to bet you didn't compress  it that much). That's what's lagging shit up. It should be more like  500px wide.


500px wide = tessellates four times on a 1920x1080 resolution monitor and looks like lo-res crap. No thanks.


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## Aden (Mar 11, 2011)

Rainami said:


> 500px wide = tessellates four times on a 1920x1080 resolution monitor and looks like lo-res crap. No thanks.


 
This is the internet, not a god damn first person shooter


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## Rainami (Mar 11, 2011)

Aden said:


> This is the internet, not a god damn first person shooter


 True, but I like the way it looks.


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## Arshes Nei (Mar 11, 2011)

Just do what you want and stop asking us for advice then. I am close to closing this thread.


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