Hey,
I wanted to share this, but it is NO WHERE NEAR completion. It's a mock-up of how I think I may handle the front page of this site from now on. The big ad/photo in the center will focus on major themes or specific articles throughout the site and will be random. The left nav will change depending on which section of the site you are in (the top nav) and almost all of the content will be feed to the page via RSS and other technologies. Anyway... this is what I'm thinking about doing.

http://sovdesign.net/clients/

Feel free to give feedback. Just remember, this is ROUGH.

-- Added 12/27 --
Here's a new version (http://sovdesign.net/clients/version2.htm) to check out.

-- Added 12/29 --
The Version 2 page now contains previews of other pages within the site.

OH YES! YES YES YES!

It's nice layout and the return of the oldschool italics logo! YES!

I just want to reiterate the fact that I like it a lot. I can't stop looking at it.

Woah.... tasty indeed.

I'm not sure about the red/green/blue combo tho. The green doesn't really fit, looks out of place. And i was gonna say do a "latest forum posts" bit, we had that on our old church website, so that made sure everyone saw the homepage.

Nice job. Just that green to get rid of in the logo.

Here is exactly what I hate about this design right now though...

There's no content on the homepage. The whole page is links. This isn't very good when it comes to things like search engines.

Scott Z and I were talking about a retro logo when I was designing the myspace look. I have to say... I think it's working. As far as the red, green & blue combo goes, you might not like it, but it's fairly sound color theory.

true, maybe some snippets of the content, or a desciption thing when you hover over it telling you the keywords/categories.

As for the colour it is only my opinion, but i just don't like the shade of green you have at the moment, its kinda limey.

mmm... limey. I'm 80% sure it's the original green though ;)

you mean the logo used to be that colour? I prefer it all in white.

it used to be just the name in arial black ital in lime green with a white border on blue. That was b4 the praying dj was even around.

i like it, very tasty, except your bright pink Dave Richards banner doesnt match.

but i really like this layout.

Really like the way thats looking
especially because the front will naturally update as the discussions develop.
When i visit a site i want to see new content straight away not just the articles.

I like the current design but think it lacks the live info from the forum.

Think the 2007 idea has loads of potential!

Agreein' with most all the comments so far. I like it, but do see where it could cause search engine issues.

Not really related but something I miss from the previous design was being able to see the table of contents for each past zine issue. The first thing I did when I found TF was read through all the old zines (starting at #0). If I wanted to look up something later, I might remember that it was in the zine around, say, July 2004.

I know, I know. I can use the handy-dandy search feature, but there were times when I wasn't quite sure what to search for. My memory is really visually oriented. When I'd find the right zine's TOC, I knew I was at the right spot even if I didn't remember the name of the article because it looked right.

Ok, I'm rambling. But anyway.... Just my stream-of-consciousness thoughts. Cool changes in the rough draft.

Bye now........................

Actually... that's not a bad idea John. Seriously. I miss it too. I could bring that back as a content item. It's annoying to do, but worth it in the long run I think.

notice what column is on that center thingy...

Here's a new version (http://sovdesign.net/clients/version2.htm) to check out.

yeah much better

I like v2. But if you're using the cool 'headline' banners I would have make the top banner (with the logo) more minimal (like in v1 maybe).

I like it as well! BTW, Do I see the new AOG logo? Thanks!

Like Mc Donald's: I'm Lovin' It.

Wow...now that's modern and yet still retains the flavour of the site.

My only beef is that the guy in the foreground is holding a beer. I know you say that's not a static background...and I suppose all you clubbers know that beer is served in clubs  ??? ....but  it doesn't bode well with my spirit to see that image in a "Christ Centered" bulletin.

Nice design though Dave. No wonder you're such a busy guy!  >:(

it's just a demo image. still... there are a bunch of ppl on this site who do drink and if your in the biz, you'll have to deal with it.

Now that looks more eyecatching and pleasing to the eye than the other model...is there a search function like a way to look at past magazine articles? 

grrr... I KNEW I forgot something!!! I'll put it up in the nav bar.

Oh, just a thought, but you could make the snippets half way down to be a long hyperlink type thing, like what beatport does with the text in the weekly emails. Someone stumbling across the site would wave their mouse around and expect to see some interaction with things, like buttons etc... Making the whole snippet clickable would make them want to look at it... thats what i think anyway.

I like v2!

V2 is much nicer.  You might want to look at reduced ammount of text and increased font size however.  too much text on the main page has the danger of making the page look busy.

good job!!

btw, what lang is it in?

Okay....please...I'm not trying to get political or spiritual here Dave. Really...I'm not against drinking per se, but only the image we present ...especially on the front page right off the bat like that!

Yer right...I understand that ppl drink on this site, and I'm not wanting to start an argument about that. Same could be said about smoking. But "I" don't have to deal with that at all. That's just it. I have never stepped foot in a club or bar or whatever. And I am in the biz so to speak. That's such a stereotype. Some people (like me, and most of the people who contact me) only care about the music. Not the club scene. And even if I needed to delve into the whole club scene to be in the biz, as a Christian I don't have to conform one iota. SO you are saying...right...well this site happens to be about "the scene" so if you don't like it then this site isn't for you.
Step back. This site is no more about the scene than it is about Christianity. It is about a culture of Christ based electronic music and it's listeners, performers, DJ's and producers. THAT DOESNT MEAN A CLUB SCENE at the expense of all others. All I'm saying is that I think in order to make some kind of difference in "the scene" we need to move away from the grey areas (at least insofar as the first image people see is concerned). Understandibly there are grey areas...but do we have to represent our culture here by beginning there?

Just my 2 cents. I liked the front page but if I didn't say it, then I wouldn't be able to justify my sleep tonight.  :laugh:

don't worry... It'll be changed eventually :) I DO understand and agree with you about the look thing. ;) This one just slipped past me though. I was too busy watching him play with his cell/pda in the other hand. At least I THINK that's what he has.

in fact... it should be removed now ;) I also added the search box.

Mook, the page should be in english.

I think the overall look was bang on.  8)  Im excited about the whole thing tbh

:P
I meant programming language.  What will you be coding the site in (and don't say html, I mean for the dynamic content). ???

Surely thast should be the other way round, seeing as Christ is the foundation of our faith rather than the EDM scene. So: "The culture of electronic music based on Christ". Its the same yet different, cos of Jesus.

my £0.02 worth. ;)

I'm guessing It'll still be on Joomla, which is written in PHP?  Am I right, Dave?

Joomla. I ain't changin' Soo... that means invalid XHTML, CSS and php :). The XHTML is invalid partially b/c of joomla and partially b/c I'm not the only one adding content. The people adding content makes a HUGE difference.

Splitting hairs aren't we :)

The Version 2 page now contains previews of other pages within the site. So... check it out again.

Man...that looks stunning. 8)

How much to revamp my website for me, Dave?  :P

No more than $10k.

i like the change to the blue-ish colour scheme. Not sure about the purple in the forum tho...

otherwise i think its 11/10!

the purple is just an example. Hopefully... I'll find another theme ;)

dave...check your PM

I see something that a LOT of TF members shouldn't know know about yet....Not gonna say what it is. Shhh.

keep drawing attention to it then why dontcha ;)

well couldn't you get a screen cap with you not signed in? LOL

If anybody is interested... I've started putting things together. Here's the new homepage:

http://www.tastyfresh.com/content/blogsection/0/104/

It's about 2/3's complete right now.

This whole redesign MIGHT be done faster than I was originally thinking.

When are you aiming to put it up by?
For the next edition?

The rounded corners are HAWT!  :-X

Only thing i see (and you should take this with a grain of salt, or perhaps a pound) is some of the advertisement colors clash with the header, and it looks kinda funky.

But, i'm a coder, and you probably know our awful sense of design and art. ;)

When it gets done and not a day sooner. ;) Originally I was thinking 3-6 mo from now.

Thanks. Shame I gave up on the web standards for this. Problem is that Joomla can't deliver a 100% tableless layout so I'm not going to waste my time on it :) Shame on me.  :-*


Yeah... that'll happen no matter what. At least you know your ad will be seen ;)


At least you know it :) Some don't.

I am still happy the aog logo is down there. Thanks a ton!

Just a feature request.  I know it's been asked in the past but an RSS feed of the forum posts would be nice.  It would help me keep up to date with what is going on here, especially since sometimes I get so busy I forget to check in.

M<><

well... that feed only has NEW threads in it. New posts aren't provided.

BTW, I started playing with the design again. Justin M and S.Z. have seen it and given me their blessings :) A few more tweaks and I might get it into "proto" production.

Oh... and I'm messing around with a new forum skin too. Please... ignore the gray. I know I am.

yeah, i go to look at the cow pie thread and its all white gray and red ???

yeah, not liking the change atm... everything's moved! :(

and the red/white/grey theme is pretty hard on the eyes.

the colors will change eventually. Just don't have the time today to do it all. Not everything has moved though :P

I must be the only one who likes the grey/white/red. Maybe the grey needs to be a bit darker? I dunno. But I do like it a lot.