« first day (57 days earlier)   

6:13 AM
Regarding site design, I think Adobe Lightroom could be used as an excellent color template.
Jin
Jin
you there @jrista?
It has a very pleasing, soft, darker gray theme.
Jin
Jin
hi
Yup
hi
Jin
Jin
just read your post. thanks for your honest opinions, much apprecited
6:14 AM
I used to do graphic design at many of the previous companies I worked for
so I have lots of opinions in that area :)
Jin
Jin
i did toy with the idea of using LR's interface, I like it too
yeah, its very nice
very soft
nothing burns the eyes
Jin
Jin
but i'm not too comfortable with a dark theme for main site because i just know some people would complain about readability. our site differs from LR because
in LR, you don't read long passage of text
sure, however look at dpreview.com
Jin
Jin
it's for photo manipulation, where on our site, it's mostly for reading.
6:15 AM
monster photography site
lots of text
very dark
Jin
Jin
yeah i saw those. i'm just not sure how a total dark theme would do. that's why i opted the dark theme for meta
I do think, as photographers, such people are used to dark sites, forums, and tools
it doesn't have to be black really
Jin
Jin
regarding your post: i like doctype.com too, but it's not running on SO's engine
a dark gray complimented with black and lighter gray
@Jin yeah, I figured. :(
Jin
Jin
another site you may like, that's runs on SE1.0 is creativequery.com
i like its design
6:17 AM
ah well, that was kind of fringe anyway :P
Jin
Jin
i agree with all the whitespace issues you talked about, but there's not a lot i can do about that.
because all of SE's sites run off SO's html and they're built automatically per deploy
@Jin too many primary colors for me
I think muted colors work better for a photography site, light or dark
Jin
Jin
yes. that's what i went with mostly for my design
you said you liked the slim header on doctype, but on their question view page, their header is rather thick
@Jin is it not possible to add margin around the divs that denote each topic?
@Jin well, liked the design of doctype, like the slim header of deviantart.com
Jin
Jin
@jrista sure. i can do that. but i thought one of your complaint was you didn't want to scroll for content?
6:18 AM
Scroll through a header.
so, when it comes to headers
from a design perspective
Jin
Jin
with all these SE site designs, the choices are rather limited. I'm doing a css zen garden exercise on them, but i can't change the content on/off too much.
I LOVE really fat headers, even 50% headers, on a home page
a single page that has lots of header, often with some content elements that cross the border
that has a great header
its only on the main page though, it shrinks on all the other pages
their header is still large, but from a design perspective, it also fits very nicely
Jin
Jin
that header height is almost hte same as the one i have? slightly less. i thin the main problem here isn't about exact pixel height, it comes down to how you feel. i do agree the content section is a bit cramped
there is sparse content, and the pages are not vertically super long
@Jin exactly
problem is, I love the photo rotator concept
so its a catch 22
Jin
Jin
i think what i can do is, increase the white spacing in the content section
if you look at most photography forums, they have all these huge ad banners on the top anyways
so i don't think the scrolling is a big issue.
6:22 AM
I think a darker theme would lend itself MUCH better to a fat header. Looking at litmus, maybe a dark header, with a lighter body. That would help create a more concrete division between the two areas, which I think would be more pleasing.
Jin
Jin
how about...
for hte main site, i make the header section much darker?
yeah!
Jin
Jin
the contrast would make it look skinner, and have a clear distinction too.
I think design wise that would be MUCH better.
@Jin yup, I think thats a great start
Jin
Jin
i definitely don't want you to think i'm dictating the design here. my choices are rather limited.
6:23 AM
:D
Jin
Jin
and this is your site, so i definitely want you to have a design that you're happy with.
@Jin yeah, I know. Kind of a bummer. I know they wanted to go for consistency, but for those of us in the core group, it feels so limiting.
and even more-so for me
Jin
Jin
i wanted to give photography site a unique design, and it's pretty different from the rest of the SE sites i've done
since I LOVE graphic design, and have been thinking about options for quite some time
@Jin Thanks. :)
how many elements of the design are images?
Jin
Jin
let's see...
the logo
6:25 AM
for example, the boxes for the number of answers in each topic row?
Jin
Jin
the dotted patter in the photo description area (which is the system message box)
boxes for numbers are css
is it possible to use an image background for those, so we could have a nice, rounded, soft gradient "button" for them?
I'm just curious how much we can do with CSS
Jin
Jin
we can do a lot..
box model, background images, etc.
Jin
Jin
but since i'm not using gradient anywhere else, the whole site has a flat UI so i didn't use it
btw, lemme know what you think about this:
the top nav links: question, tags etc
the ON state is white background
but i'm thinking onhover, each one of them will have a different background color
red, yellow, green, blue, magenta
6:27 AM
are these in the header, or below it?
Jin
Jin
and i can use css transition to fade them out
so it's like, discovering colors while you hover over them.
which browser are you using?
rust, goldenrod, spring green, sky blue, cherry pink
:P
muted ;)
I am a big Opera fan
are you thinking this in combination with a dark header?
or still thinking a light header?
Jin
Jin
i'll use a darker header
i was thinking the hover state of the main nav links
they'll each have a different color
so when you mouse over the links, it's like seeing a color swatch
with a dark header, if these links are in the header like in your current design, it might be nice to start out with a light light gray, and on hover, fade the text into one of those colors, rather than the background. And maybe put a dotted border around the hovered link
Jin
Jin
ok i'll play around. also keep in mind, from experience i tweak the site a lot after launch
6:30 AM
I like the idea
Jin
Jin
so nothing's final.
k
dark header, fading links
good stuff :)
Jin
Jin
from launching previous SE sites, what i learned is, when I post my design concept on Meta, not a lot users comment
mostly because they don't visit meta often
but once the design goes live, they're very vocal.
maybe a dark gray header, white body, medium gray footer
Jin
Jin
sounds good.
in fact, lemme show you how it looks with a darker header
6:31 AM
do you have some preview site you work with to test it out?
creative query's site is nice
its colors work well with their design
Jin
Jin
we have a dev server. but what i just uploaded is some changes in photoshop
@Jin Love it!
Jin
Jin
i'll add more padding to each question block
the contrast between the header and the body definitely helps
Jin
Jin
so they have more breathing room
also, i'll make sure to increase the line-height in the body text too.
6:35 AM
maybe make the very top bar, with the stackexchange dropdown and user info black?
@Jin perfect
Jin
Jin
sure. would be ok if the Meta is still an inverted theme?
the green boxes in the body might do well with a rust color, or some other muted, earthy color
Jin
Jin
but i think instead of using pitch black, i'll try to make it look more like LR's color scheme
ok
@Jin Hmm...not sure. yeah, a more LR-like scheme would be nice for meta, I think.,
like, make the body area a gray color, and maybe use a darker gray for the footer?
I like the square dots for badges
Jin
Jin
i'm thinking of a dark gray
almost like the one i just used for the main site's header
6:37 AM
yeah, Ithink that would be nice
Jin
Jin
and body text won't be #fff
it will be an off white, so it's not too harsh
i find DPreview's contrast way too high
Jin
Jin
i know people read it because they have good content, so they put up with it
@Jin me too, definitely too high. I wish they would use a light light gray for their text, and maybe a dark gray rather than black for their background
Jin
Jin
Jeff normally likes to compact stuff on SO.. that's why there's not a lot of white space
but i think the nature of the photo site, as you said is totally different from SO's audience and usage
6:39 AM
yeah
Jin
Jin
so I don't think I should go by the typical rules
were more artistic ;)
Jin
Jin
i often remind him that, he's not the user of these SE sites, you guys are
cool. i'll work on this all night tonight. we're shooting for launch tomorrow at 3pm EST
he really doesnt use them much, does he?
I see him in the teachers lounge sometimes
but not much other than that
Jin
Jin
well he uses some of them, webapps, webmasters etc
6:41 AM
@Jin sweet! :D
Jin
Jin
but i doubt he uses the photo site
well, thanks for all the work
I'm pretty excited
its been almost 4 months now
Jin
Jin
you're welcome. I'm not sure how to reply to your post on meta
pretty nice to be going live
eh, you don't have to
Jin
Jin
yeah thanks for the patience. we're pretty swamped
6:41 AM
I actually might delete it
since we chatted here
Jin
Jin
yeah. i was hoping to catch you here, and i'm glad i did.
me too :)
Jin
Jin
after the site launches, i'd like to work out some details about the weekly photo thread
ok, deleted that post, since it is pretty irrelevant now
Jin
Jin
and see what's the fairest way to select the weekly photo
6:42 AM
@Jin yeah, we will probably need to experiment a little
Jin
Jin
if we do it weekly, that's only 52 photos per year
my worry is there won't really be enough in the way of submissions in the long run
Jin
Jin
weekly is just my initial idea.. but it can be whatever.
we'll see. i think we may get more.. the link "submit yours" really drives more users to meta
it will probably be a thing of interest initially, but without any way to pin topics
i think each weeks thread will get lost as time moves forward
Jin
Jin
also, so far on photosite, we don't really have a "show 'n tell" type of thread you see on most photo forums
6:43 AM
yeah
well, sounds good Jin
Jin
Jin
people love seeing pictures
thanks for listening to me :)
Jin
Jin
I used to participate on a lot of Flickr forums. one thing I love about them is they have a good mix of Q&A and show case type of threads
its heading on 1am here, and I gotta be at work tomorrow AM
Jin
Jin
it's 2:44am here :)
i'll be up until the site goes live
6:44 AM
@Jin I'm a bit of a noob on flickr. I never knew how big it was until recently. I'm still finding my way around it.
@Jin have fun :)
Jin
Jin
what camera do you use?
I use a Canon 450D right now. Its become a real limiting factor for my work, though, and I am desperately awaiting the Canon 5D Mark III. I have a bunch of L-series lenses though: 16-35mm L II, 100-400mm L, 24-105mm L, and soon, hopefully, the 50mm f/1.2 L
I really can't say how limiting an APS-C sensor is for a landscape photographer. It makes it so difficult to get wide angle shots.
Jin
Jin
flickr.com/groups/canon450d/discuss that's the group for your camera
so flicker also has forums?
Jin
Jin
flickr group has the most pleasant people i've ever seen on the internet
yep.
each group has an "image pool" and a "forum"
not all groups' forums are active though
6:48 AM
@Jin heh, some do...someone linked me to a critique group on flicker...it was one of the more brutal places I'd been to on the net...almost as bad as 4chan
Jin
Jin
oh yeah, i mentally blocked those forums out of my head.
lol
they were so bad
Jin
Jin
anyway, i'm excited for the photo site. look for the launch around 3pm EST.
you know, thats an area where Jeff and crew might be able to expand into.
a system that would support critique forums
or something like that
Jin
Jin
yeah
6:49 AM
the mods here on photo.se discuss how to do photo critiques regularly. We've thought about using this chat, but haven't figured out how to properly moderate it yet.
Jin
Jin
oh btw, the photo chat room will have its own skin also
after site launches
oh, nice :)
Jin
Jin
but it may not look too different from this room now..
so, will we still need to keep someone logged in here to prevent it from being archived?
we had started a couple of these
Jin
Jin
i'm not sure how that works.
i'll ask the chatroom devs
6:51 AM
I finally just decided to stay logged in at all times to prevent it from being tombstoned
k
well, one last suggestion before I head to bed
Jin
Jin
sure
if you can, perhaps a very light bokeh effect in the background of the dark gray header. It could be monochromatic, just something to give a little texture to it. Similar to the litmus header
if the very top bar above the header was black
Jin
Jin
btw, if i make the top bar black, what color should i make the alert dropdown box? i was going to make that black
I think that would create a fantastic design
@Jin hmm....
the one that says "stack exchange"?
Jin
Jin
no
the one that says "you've gained XXX badge etc"
it only happens in some occasions
6:53 AM
ooh
how about rust colored?
maybe use rust as a highlight color
used for the green boxes, the alert dropdown, etc?
Jin
Jin
orange?
something orange is a good color to go with black/white
or that, like the orange box you have at the bottom right now?
with the "Looking for more? ..."
yeah, I think that would work
Jin
Jin
that's a light yellow
i was thinking more orangier. not as orange as stackoverflow's
i'll see if i can work in that bokeh effect. there's a lot going on in the header already
hmm, it looks orange to me
color calibrated screen?
Jin
Jin
also i'll have to check the css feasibility too. right now i'm using the rotator image as the background image for the header section
6:56 AM
if not...you might want to calibrate it. We photographers tend to be rather obsessive about our color accuracy. ;)
@Jin ah, ok
Jin
Jin
the hex for the bgcolor of that box is #f8edc7
definitely more of an orange tint than a yellow on a calibrated screen
Jin
Jin
ok
I generally use #ffffcc as a light yellow
if you want to see what I'm basing that opinion on
thing about a calibrated screen, is we tend to have our brightness down quite a ways
my screen can pump out 400mcd, but its currently at 85mcd
that ffffcc looks almost white on a full-brightness screen
but calibrated, it looks quite yellow
Jin
Jin
i've realized gamma no longer matters when creating these sites(exception for photography site maybe)
you'd be surprised how many of our users use a washed up lcd screen
6:59 AM
yeah, we are kind of a box of exceptions here :)
oh, believe me, I am aware. Where I work, we have more managers than software developers.
Jin
Jin
the Math people had some major problem with the contrast of the design
i had to tweak a bunch
Every one of them has an ancient laptop with horrid screens and super bright, bleached colors. YEch.
I have a couple ideas for our title and the icon next to it.
would you mind if I poked around photoshop for a while, and sent in some options?
Jin
Jin
yeah sure
you mean the logo?
@Jin ty :)
yeah, the logo
Jin
Jin
ok
7:01 AM
maybe a way to factor in a second image each week
I'll mess wit hit....might be something you would have to throw in after the site goes live
well, 1am
Jin
Jin
yeah. keep in mind though, the description box is really site's sysmte message box
we can't really have 2 description boxes.
very nice meeting and chatting, Jin. :) Best of luck with the release. I may not be able to be around for it, as it'll be 1am during my day tomorrow, and I tend to be pretty busy around that time.
Jin
Jin
ok
nite
Jin
Jin
ttyl, thanks for the input, glad we worked it out.
7:07 AM
np :)
 
4 hours later…
11:16 AM
@jrista I think something needs to be posted within 7 days
 
1 hour later…
12:35 PM
Announcement: with chat.SE now open for business, I have migrated this room here
I can assign owners etc easily enough when people are in the room.
(or just flag down a moderator)

« first day (57 days earlier)