General forum appearance/theme

[Dusk]

This is something that I understand not prioritizing when first getting the website running, but I think it would really help in attracting new users and encouraging people to come here more often, and it would be good to get done before people have made their final decisions on which forums they do or don't want to use. I remember when people from AT were choosing forums to move to a lot of them seemed to make their decision based largely on aesthetics, wanting a forum that looks cozy and colorful. I love the forum structure here (thanks so much, Holly, for all the work on the site so far!) but the stark grey theme isn't doing it justice and I would love to see a more inviting color (maybe plum, indigo, lavender, or sage?). I'm not a graphic designer or anything, but I have some photoshop skills and I would be happy to help with the banner/logo or something if you wanted.   

[Holly]

Hi Dusk!

I hear you on that. It seemed a toss-up between coziness and being physically easy on the eyes... I went with practical read-a-bility.

I think we'll eventually go with a space theme? I'm hunting down some stuff that'll work for background and I have to secure a logo. Setting up the forum has taken much longer than I thought and I'm still working out some kinks... add to that my IRL job ramping up to the point of being almost out of control... *phew....!*

Anywho, If you want to play with a banner / logo, I won't stop you, and tarotsphere can only pay you with a very enthusiastic plug :3 But I am always grateful for any help I can get. 😊

[aeon418]

Jul 23, 2017 1:51:53 GMT Holly said:

I think we'll eventually go with a space theme?

That sounds good.

Without mentioning anyone specific, some sites over do the 'coziness' look and end up feeling like a Tarot retirement home.

[wisely]

I actually like the grey myself, but it is my favorite color, so I guess I'm biased. I'm not sure a space theme really fits the forum, either (I definitely don't know anything about space except for what my zodiac sign is LOL), but I'm sure it or anything else we end up going with will look great~

[Holly]

Jul 23, 2017 2:42:59 GMT wisely said:

I actually like the grey myself, but it is my favorite color, so I guess I'm biased. I'm not sure a space theme really fits the forum, either (I definitely don't know anything about space except for what my zodiac sign is LOL), but I'm sure it or anything else we end up going with will look great~

It'll still be grey... kind of 😉

I'm a big fan of a clean look but a simple pop of color via a banner and a logo might be nice. Practicality will always Trump looks though. Being easy on the eyes is a priority.

[brownbear]

I like the clean look.

As long as the font is super high contrast, I'll stick around.

[earthair]

Personally I love the clarity of this forum's colour scheme. Everything south of the top tool bars is easy on the eye.

[Scarlet Woodland]

Grey and starry could be really pretty

[earthair]

Idea (quickly done in Paint so not as rubbish as this)

[Dusk]

Jul 23, 2017 1:51:53 GMT Holly said:

Hi Dusk!

I hear you on that. It seemed a toss-up between coziness and being physically easy on the eyes... I went with practical read-a-bility.

I think we'll eventually go with a space theme? I'm hunting down some stuff that'll work for background and I have to secure a logo. Setting up the forum has taken much longer than I thought and I'm still working out some kinks... add to that my IRL job ramping up to the point of being almost out of control... *phew....!*

Anywho, If you want to play with a banner / logo, I won't stop you, and tarotsphere can only pay you with a very enthusiastic plug :3 But I am always grateful for any help I can get. 😊

I definitely appreciate the practical readability! I like the idea of keeping forum post areas nice and clean and sharp like they are now (I have no issues with the white background and the black text/purple links, I think that's great) and just adjusting the banner and backdrop behind the white areas. I'll see about playing around with some banner concepts. Space theme gives me some ideas.

[Dusk]

Okay, just played around and did a few quick banner concepts going in different directions, so you can let me know what kind of feel you prefer. I went with purple because I think it will go best with the purple accents we have already, but I can easily change the colors. Same goes for fonts etc. Not much time invested in it so don't worry about hurting my feelings if you want something different!

Here they are:







And alternate font for that last logo because I like it... though I'd want to adjust the spacing:


Other thoughts for backgrounds would be some parchment texture, a grey accent if you want to keep that color in the background, some extra stars or constellations... I went with vintage illustrations because I like the feel of them but can find some stock photography if you want something more slick and modern. Just let me know!

[DracaiScira]

Those are so gorgeous 😮

[earthair]

Also I thought having the Thoth Universe as the Sphere?

[wisely]

They're all so pretty, Dusk ! I especially love the background on the first one, but the last one is wonderful too. I adore the RWS moon. ❤️ Using a parchment paper background would be cool too, it makes me feel like we're just a big study group.

[Dusk]

Thanks everyone. Earthair, I like the idea of that Universe but I'm concerned about copyright with the Thoth. The RWS I used is a scan from one of the original decks which falls under public domain in the US (and as far as I can tell Proboards is US-based?), so I feel comfortable using it. The same would apply to any decks published before 1923 (but probably not to a re-issue/restoration/etc).