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mars |
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Post subject: Yep changed it again.
 Posted: Sep 11, 2004 - 06:40 PM
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Site Admin
Joined: Aug 15, 2004
Posts: 3972
Status: Offline
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Got bored this morning so I redid the site here.
I just zone out and do it when it hits me like that.
Start to finish this entire theme was 4 hours.  |
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GlueBeard |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 11, 2004 - 07:55 PM
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Pirate Critic
Joined: Aug 18, 2004
Posts: 344
Location: The Isle of GlueBeard
Status: Offline
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I don't have a lot of time right now to post in detail about this newest theme for this web site. However, some observations that I would make based upon first impression with the new theme are:
1. You did a better job of showcasing the free, donation, and custom theme options, compared to the previous theme for this site. Conversely, you did a poorer job of showcasing your aesthetic talents as a theme designer. It is to aesthetics what Bob Dole is to excitement in politics.
2. This theme rates much higher than its predecessor in the area of space efficiency. That said, there is a tremendous amount of wasted space.
3. Your handling of white space for this particular theme is a mixed bag.
4. In the area of legibility, the site gets high marks, with the notable exception of the small text size used in the Site News block.
5. Font choice is boring, and rates a near zero on the scale of excitement.
6. Mouseover sound effects and animated arrows on the 4 visible links near the top left, the ones set upon the orange background, are a major improvement of your link techniques employed in the previous theme for this web site.
7. The Portal Themes logo in the upper left hand corner I dislike in totality. Neither the text nor the flower-looking orange symbols are aesthetically pleasing. The gradient effect of the text in the logo is employed in such a way as to water down the impact of the logo and site name upon the visitor. Vivid and eye-catching are NOT descriptive phrases that I would use to describe this Sad Sack of a logo.
8. Overall, the front page yields up a very cookie-cutter look, when taken as a whole.
9. In the area of geometric originality and geometric innovation, I would rate the new theme exceptionally low. The geometry that is employed is presented in a manner that personifies dull.
10. The "portalthemes4_07.gif" graphic detracts from the aesthetic appeal of the site, and while it creates an impression of computers in my mind upon viewing it, it doesn't conjure up the image of themes. That is the type of graphic that should be drowned in a bath tub.
11. Your use of bordering is bland in this theme. Border effects tend to be one of your high points, in previous themes that you have crafted. Here, the concept of borders was apparently given nothing more than a cursory treatment.
12. Your use of alignment techniques rates higher than in the previous theme for this web site.
13. Title bars in some of the themes that you have created have been very impressive. This is not, however, one of those instances.
14. In the area of color coordination, I would rate this latest theme as unimaginative.
15. Creative use of coloring borders on the near morbid. Contrary to recent tradition, where your theme crafting is concerned, there are more colors than just orange in the theme designer's rainbow.
16. The text work is legible largely through employment of oversized text in several areas. This is not bad. That said, these very same oversized text instances suffer from fuzziness, due to lack-of-attention to detail in the area of contrast.
17. I am out of time for now, but if I were looking to buy a custom theme and happened to come across this site's theme, there is nothing about the theme that would entice me to give you the job, where this newest theme for the web site is concerned. |
Last edited by GlueBeard on Sep 12, 2004 - 07:07 AM; edited 1 time in total
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xcat |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 11, 2004 - 10:12 PM
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Joined: Aug 23, 2004
Posts: 67
Status: Offline
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| omg I would hate to see when he does have time to comment. hehe just messin with ya man. |
_________________
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mars |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 11, 2004 - 10:15 PM
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Site Admin
Joined: Aug 15, 2004
Posts: 3972
Status: Offline
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lol!
Ok ok guess I need more than 4 hours on it..  |
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mars |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 11, 2004 - 10:22 PM
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Site Admin
Joined: Aug 15, 2004
Posts: 3972
Status: Offline
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GlueBeard |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 11, 2004 - 11:26 PM
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Pirate Critic
Joined: Aug 18, 2004
Posts: 344
Location: The Isle of GlueBeard
Status: Offline
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Mars,
If I may suggest, I think that the core problem with this design had far less to do with the amount of time spent on it than with perhaps a lack of clearly defined vision, with regard to what you wanted the theme to convey unto the site visitor.
One of your strongest points, as a theme designer, in my considered opinion, is in the area of aesthetics. Yet, this most recent theme that you came up with, while it was a fairly "clean" design, one that was not really cluttered at all, it simply wasn't very attractive.
Of those who are potential customers for your custom themes, how many of them do you think would likely be in the market for a "clean but unattractive" theme?
It is true, and I will concede it upfront, that beauty is largely in the eyes of the beholder. That being the case, the issues of clean and uncluttered aside, tell me what you think is beautiful about the theme. Problematic about it from my perspective is that I can't find anything about it at all that I think is actually beautiful.
It is a straightforward design. It is not entirely without its good points. But, it does not play to your established, proven, and demonstrated strengths as a theme designer.
I suppose, in at least one sense, it demonstrates that, if you so choose, you can render the concepts of "clean" and "uncluttered" in your theme craftwork.
But, are those the sole or primary objectives in leaving your personal imprint upon themes that you create?
I do not enjoy the luxury of never having seen any of your handiwork and talent made manifest before. I can, will, and do use your own prior accomplishments in the arena of thematic design to judge your newer creations against.
The theme for this site should be geared towards projecting the cutting edge of the sum totality of your theme crafting skills. It should be the pinnacle of your ability laid out on thematic canvas. It should, in a nutshell, be second to none.
That you created a new theme for your web site is commendable. Change can be a useful tool in marketing your products and services. The fact that the site had changed injected a sense of anticipation into me, as I began to watch the new theme unfold before my eyes. Once it had unfolded, though, I felt a sense of disappointment, though.
It isn't that you can't do a site that is predominately white in color, either. Win-Bytes.com's theme, which you designed, is a vastly more attractive theme than the one currently under scrutiny, and which you have now replaced with the previous theme for this site.
I know that spending 4 hours on a new theme for the site, only to have someone like me come along and basically levy criticism after criticism after criticism against it is probably not exactly the response hoped for. But, the alternatives are that I could either lie to you about what I think about the new theme, or I could simply withhold commentary on it.
My opinion is, ultimately, an opinion of one - namely, myself. Others may come to different conclusions. By all means, they are more than free to voice their opinions and to articulate the details of their own criticisms, if indeed, they have any.
I find it rather ironic that you chose Mars as your moniker. It is a name that befits a planet, or even a deity. But, that most recent theme creation was somewhat considerably less than cosmic or pantheonic in stature.
You possess considerable skills in artistry. I would suggest to you that spending your time, even when bored, crafting the thematic equivalent of a stick man, when you should be rendering contemporary thematic renditions on the scale of Michelangelo, Raphael, or Leonardo da Vinci is simply doing an enormous disservice to yourself.
If you prefer that I say that the most recent theme clearly demonstrates that you are quite proficient and competent in crafting cookie-cutter looking themes, albeit admittedly clean and uncluttered in appearance, then I will certainly concede that if someone out there wants a simple, cookie-cutter looking theme, they shouldn't hesitate to contact you forthwith and without delay.
But, my God, man, if anyone's web site deserves to have the absolute best theme possible, it should be your site - This site right here.
Why settle for plastic statuary, when Mt. Rushmore-esque thematic wondery is yours for the taking?
You possess skill, talent, and ability on a Himalayan scale, and yet this most recent thematic endeavor is tantamount to a mere ant hill in scale, creativity, and complexity.
The most effective way to sell others on your talents is by impressing them. This newest incarnation of thematic handiwork was noticeable, because it was new, but what was impressive about it? What was original about it? What part or portion of it plumbed the depths of your creative soul?
Instead of spending 4 hours whipping up a whole new theme for the site, since you had some spare time and was bored, why not spend 4 hours just starting on a masterpiece?
Or have the wells of your imagination now run dry?
I challenge you to impress me, Mars.
Are you up to the challenge? |
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