New Layout

Well here it is! The long-awaited (ok, maybe not) new layout and design. What do you think?

If you cannot read anything due to colors and contrast, please let me know right away. It should be very similar in both IE and Firefox, despite a few different tricks in play.

However, it seems that while I was gone, the original Ogre was stolen, so I had to find a replacement. How's that guy at the top for a replacement?

Also, thank you very much to all who came, read my various ramblings over the past two weeks, and kept at least some life to the blog (especially comments)! I'll be posting more about the vacation over the next week or 5 -- very interesting and quite non-uneventful.

This layout's not quite perfected, I'll be porting over a few other changes, including blogrolls, archive pages and the like over the next couple days. The main page will stay generally like this for now. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Posted by: Ogre at 02:31 PM

Comments

1 I love the new design and the ogre, it is a beautifully done site. In some places the fonts could be a little brighter, but that is my taste, they are very readable. Except for the real tiny link a the top of the page, I have no idea what it says.

But those are little things, and I think that it simply awesome, and the content of course is always special. Keep up the good work.

Blessings Always

Gregory Nashif
The Nashif Report

Posted by: Gregory Nashif at July 04, 2005 06:51 PM (hRWw7)

2 Thanks for the very kind comments!

The tiny words at the upper corner (I've upped their size slightly) indicate the site location for those who view the site in a frame.

I wondered about the brightness of the main font -- I really wanted to use some sort of drainpipe, green-goo, sewage background, but there's no color that works with very high contrast. I hoped the black was readable enough, but I'm sure I'll find out if it's not soon!

Posted by: Ogre at July 04, 2005 07:00 PM (lZf6y)

3 Is it just me or is this vertical again? I find it easy to read.

Posted by: VW Bug at July 04, 2005 07:39 PM (zTMeN)

4 Turn your monitor on it's side and you can pretend it's the old way...

Posted by: Ogre at July 04, 2005 07:40 PM (lZf6y)

5 Wow. That's one heck of an underbite you have there! ;-)

I like the new design. Very nice!

New blog showcase goes up within the next 90 min.

Posted by: Boudicca at July 04, 2005 11:49 PM (GiCv7)

6 I love it!!

Posted by: Oddybobo at July 05, 2005 09:37 AM (6Gm0j)

7 Great design. Strangely disorientating to be vertical again...I feel quite dizzy.

Posted by: Sally at July 05, 2005 09:52 AM (crWt/)

8 Now if I can just get through these 200+ emails that seem to have piled up in my absence...

Posted by: Ogre at July 05, 2005 10:32 AM (/k+l4)

9 I like it!

Posted by: Susie at July 05, 2005 12:07 PM (PWYyH)

10 I like it!

And the new Ogre at the top, mmmmmm sexy!

Posted by: Machelle at July 05, 2005 01:15 PM (ZAyoW)

11 Someone kidnapped your guy? Shame Shame .. .like the new look, sure is easier to read .. a little on the dark side, but I can read everything. And then again it could be this stupid monitor here at work :O Oops, work blogging, gotta go!

Posted by: Jo at July 05, 2005 01:28 PM (eY7Ar)

12 Thanks all for the very kind words! Much better response than the last change...

I'm going to stay with this one for at least a month, maybe more. I've got some really neat ideas for the next change, but they're going to be technically complex, so it may take me a couple months to work out. But never fear, it WILL have a high focus on readability (and won't be horizontal...)

Posted by: Ogre at July 05, 2005 01:59 PM (/k+l4)

13 Well, you want honesty, yes? I think the layout is great, just less professional than before. I have an issue with the left sidebar though, it overlaps the link you have for the frames - and it disappears, maybe it's something on my end?

But the contrast is great, and the center "main content" bar sort of resembles the drainpipe image you were talking about wanting...

Posted by: Erin Monahan at July 05, 2005 04:53 PM (0Ea9a)

14 Absolute honesty, yes, thank you Erin!

Less professional? Sure, I can see that. I was going a bit more for fun this time. I think the next one will be pretty darn professional-looking, but it is going to be... different.

The left sidebar disappears? I've not seen that happen in any of my testing. What browser are you using? If it's IE and one of the external links hangs, it may wait for the external link to finish before redrawing the whole side...?

Posted by: Ogre at July 05, 2005 05:17 PM (qV2zb)

15 I likey!

Posted by: Sissy at July 05, 2005 06:29 PM (uXS+O)

16 it's there until I try to click on anything, then POOF. I'm sure it's something on my end - maybe my settings or my firewall? I have no idea, I'm not much of a pc specialist. I do use IE... let me play a while, my husband uses Firefox, I'll see how his acts. Probably it's my computer having a blonde moment

Posted by: Erin Monahan at July 05, 2005 11:23 PM (0Ea9a)

17 I like the new design, but...

The green background in the main column doesn't contrast quite enough with the black type.

My suggestion would be to either lighten it up more, or maybe change the font to something larger or bolder.

Posted by: Harvey at July 06, 2005 11:48 AM (ubhj8)

18 I've wondered about that contrast, too, but there's no better color. The background is so...well... "off," that white or yellow blend in even more than black...and bold? Maybe I'll try that for awhile, but I think that looks too "in your face..." I dunno.

Thanks for the feedback!

Posted by: Ogre at July 06, 2005 02:05 PM (/k+l4)






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