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Post by letsconnect on Sept 22, 2005 11:56:23 GMT -5
What sort of colo(u)r scheme would you like to see on a dental phobia website/forum? Does the current one work for you? Or do you prefer different colours? Which ones? Also, do you like the dragon that's in the logo (I've got a license for it, so there wouldn't be any copyright concerns - it would make the job easier and cheaper). Also, do you have any font preferences etc.? What sort of general "feel" do you like in a self-help website? If you know of any sites you really like (in terms of "feel"/colour schemes), you could give the URLs.
Please post your suggestions and ideas here!
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Post by vicki on Sept 26, 2005 11:16:32 GMT -5
Hmmm... colour scheme - I quite like the one you've got - something postive/happy but not too hard on the eyes if you know what I mean! I'd steer well clear of 'dental surgery green' though  <--- You can imagine my horror when I got home from work one night to discover that my mum had repainted the kitchen in two very unpleasant shades of this colour ;D, so I'm waiting 'til she goes on holiday to repaint it again  !! The dragon is quite cute - in a scary kind of way - you could actually use it more throughout the site as well as just at the top - or do you only have the one image? |
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Post by letsconnect on Sept 26, 2005 13:56:29 GMT -5
Scary?? HE's supposed to be scared and running away, lol ;D! No, I've only got this one image. It came with a logo maker programme (which can also be used for making text etc.). I was thinking of having a logo run through the pages (at the top). I'm intending to make the site simple, to improve cross-browser compatibility and cut down on load times. If you have two columns for text, it can take ages to make them equal in length, and if you want to add anything later, it's really annoying (as I found out during my first attempt - you live and you learn!). I was thinking maybe of light blue, lime green, and orangey-yellow for buttons or bars, but that might clash with the dragon, I don't really know yet. I'd like to keep the pages themselves white with black print, because it's easier to read. What exactly is 'dental surgery green', if you don't mind me asking  |
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Post by vicki on Sept 26, 2005 14:30:21 GMT -5
I'm intending to make the site simple, to improve cross-browser compatibility and cut down on load times. If you have two columns for text, it can take ages to make them equal in length, and if you want to add anything later, it's really annoying (as I found out during my first attempt - you live and you learn!). Not a bad idea to cut down on load times - there's nothing worse than a website that takes ages to load! Speaking of cross-browser compatibility, the message board (particularly the smilies - I've had to rely on my rather rusty knowledge of JavaScript!) doesn't always work so well on a mac (which I use at work- am on PC at home) I wonder why that is (We 'Apple Worshipers' like to believe it's some sort of Microsoft conspiracy!) I was thinking maybe of light blue, lime green, and orangey-yellow for buttons or bars, but that might clash with the dragon, I don't really know yet. I'd like to keep the pages themselves white with black print, because it's easier to read. The colours you're describing sound similar to the current ones - shouldn't clash with the dragon if they're in the same tonal range (i.e. same level of brightness). White pages with black text is great because it's a lot clearer if you want to print pages out. By the way, does the dragon have a name? What exactly is 'dental surgery green', if you don't mind me asking Check out www.oasisdentalcare.co.uk - you'll see exactly what I mean!! LOL  ;D I reckon a couple of coats of Dulux Once should cover it up while my mum's on holiday heheheh!!! |
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Post by letsconnect on Sept 26, 2005 15:21:15 GMT -5
I call that "train station green", lol ;D! Don't worry, I'm not gonna go all muddy... thanks for the tip re. tonal range/level of brightness - hadn't thought of that! Uhm, silly question I'm sure, but how do you figure out if something is in the same tonal range? Graphic design isn't exactly my strong suit! The problem with the message board and Safari is at ProBoards' end (they're not related to the Evil Empire)- they refuse to do anything about it. You can use FireFox instead: www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/YaBB is supposed to be fully compatible with Safari, though. The dragon has yet to be named ;D (well, he's called "logo.gif" at present, or sth along those lines ) A lot of Mac users around here - excellent choice, if I may say so ;D! |
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Post by vicki on Sept 26, 2005 16:34:54 GMT -5
I call that "train station green", lol ;D! I suppose that depends on where the train stations are - they're a combination of bright red, white and pus-yellow where I come from! Uhm, silly question I'm sure, but how do you figure out if something is in the same tonal range? Graphic design isn't exactly my strong suit! Not always my strong suit either sometimes ! Some days are better than others! The easiest way to see tones is to look through half closed eyes (like when you screw your eyes up because the sun is too bright) - this reduces the amount of light entering your eyes and makes it easier to see tones rather than individual colours (i.e. how light or dark a colour is or how it contrasts with other colours). For example if a group of colours in the same tonal range were to be converted to greyscale (black and white) then in theory you would see shades of grey that were all the same. If the colours were tonally different, then the greys would all be different as well. According to colour theory (which isn't always correct so it's still a question of trial and error!  ), when choosing colour schemes, colours which are in the same tonal range usually compliment each other. Obviously there are exceptions to this where some colours can be a bit more difficult to define when placed next to other similar colours. A good example of this would be the colour of sharks (incidentally, I'm coming back in the next life as one - they definately don't need to visit the dentist! ;D). The reason they're quite well camouflaged is because the grey of their skin is in the same tonal range as the greenish-bluey-grey of the sea they swim in. The only time they become noticable is when they move around a lot because then the light reflects off their skin - or when they sneak up behind you and rip your leg off! (OK, so I've been watching too many programmes on the Discovery channel!). The problem with the message board and Safari is at ProBoards' end (they're not related to the Evil Empire)- they refuse to do anything about it. Strangely enough, I actually use Internet Explorer (for mac) at work and not Safari - which has been disabled for some unknown reason. All the Microsoft (or Microsh*te as we like to call it at work !) applications for mac seem to have bugs in and don't work according to plan. The dragon has yet to be named ;D (well, he's called "logo.gif" at present, or sth along those lines ) Awww, you can't leave him nameless - especially if he's not scary! ;D A lot of Mac users around here - excellent choice, if I may say so ;D! Well said! Down with the Evil Empire I say! (even though I own a PC - although it is covered in the free white Apple stickers you get with their products. No, I'm not an Apple sales rep! lol) |
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Post by letsconnect on Sept 27, 2005 5:29:30 GMT -5
Thanks for the tonal range tips  ! Makes a lot of sense. Firefox is your man! Draggy? Druggie? nah, the dr- bit might act as a trigger, LOL ! Well, any suggestions are welcome! The new iBooks are great... competitively priced, too! (eh, I'm not an Apple sales rep either, but I love my new iBook ;D)! |
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Post by vicki on Sept 27, 2005 9:55:25 GMT -5
Thanks for the tonal range tips ! Makes a lot of sense. Glad I wasn't talking complete rubbish then! - I dredged the depths of my memory for that - the last time I used it was probably about 10 years ago at art college! You learn all this theory stuff but don't really use it in practice - not much anyway ;D! But if you need anymore where that came from - let me know...  Sounds like it - I have problems viewing quite a few websites thanks to Microsh*te! Draggy? Druggie? nah, the dr- bit might act as a trigger, LOL ! Well, any suggestions are welcome! "Druggie"? Does he have problems that we don't know about? . Funnily enough, I didn't actually see the 'dr' bit til you pointed it out - but then again I suppose that's because in the UK people go to the 'dentist' whereas in the US they seem to go to the 'dr' Draggy sounds quite cute though ;D. I must admit, I'm not that 'well read' on dragon names, although I do know that Hagrid called his baby dragon Norbert in the first Harry Potter book! The new iBooks are great... competitively priced, too! (eh, I'm not an Apple sales rep either, but I love my new iBook ;D)! Speaking of which, according to my self reward system (having passed stage one which was 'coming out' into the open - so I got the iPod Nano) when I pass the next stage (which is communicating my fears to a dentist) then I've decided that I'm having a 15 inch Powerbook. Mmmmmm.....  And as for the equipment sent from the Evil Empire (my PC), well that's going to get thrown out of the window - which BTW, is why the operating system is called 'Windows'! |
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Post by letsconnect on Sept 27, 2005 15:27:56 GMT -5
I'm sure I'll be picking your brains again ! Also depends on what buttons etc. I can get hold of (there's some free Mac-style ones here: www.aaa-buttons.com/html/macpill.shtml - they're a little muddy-looking though). Oh, nooo - I was referring to the dr-, err, handpiece ! Have they upgraded to dual processors yet? Last time I looked they were pretty poor value for money... haven't checked the website for 2 weeks though! The iBook flies along, but I suppose for graphics you'd want something bigger than 12 inch (ahem... *cough, cough* - I was referring to the screen size, of course ;D). |
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Post by jamesy on Sept 27, 2005 20:56:45 GMT -5
Druggie the Dragon???  (That would explain the crazed-out look in his eyes!) |
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Post by vicki on Sept 28, 2005 3:51:40 GMT -5
I'm sure I'll be picking your brains again ! Also depends on what buttons etc. I can get hold of (there's some free Mac-style ones here: www.aaa-buttons.com/html/macpill.shtml - they're a little muddy-looking though). Nice buttons - particularly if you just lurve the mac experience! ;D Like you said, it's a shame they're a bit muddy. If you want mac buttons, you could take a screen shot (apple-shift-3) of the 'real thing' from a dialogue box, edit it in photoshop or similar - change it's colour/size, add the text etc - that way you'd have the colour scheme of your choice. If you wanted to get really jazzy - you could then take it into something like ImageReady and apply some effects so it changes colour on rollover (that might affect download time though?). Oh, nooo - I was referring to the dr-, err, handpiece ! Oooohhh hell fire! That's even worse!  . It sends a nasty shiver down my spine just thinking about it! Ooohh no no no.... "Don't you bring that *thing* anywhere near me!" Then again, I get scared by anything in their weapons arsenal that makes any noise! Have they upgraded to dual processors yet? Last time I looked they were pretty poor value for money... haven't checked the website for 2 weeks though! The iBook flies along, but I suppose for graphics you'd want something bigger than 12 inch (ahem... *cough, cough* - I was referring to the screen size, of course ;D). No I don't think they have upgraded to dual processors yet - I was reading a review in Mac User a while ago and it was saying that there's not actually a great deal of difference in performance terms between the current powerbooks and the previous generation, so yes, the general opinion seems to be that they're not worth upgrading to if you already own a powerbook. At work I've got a G5 dual processor powermac (hear the satisfying whirring noise they make - oh yeah! ) and we've also got an iBook for 'on the move'. As for wanting bigger than 12 inch (and they say size doesn't matter! ), memory/processor speed is pretty important for me as I spend most of the time in QuarkXPress, Photoshop and Illustrator etc. I'm hoping that by the time I've earned my "reward" (which could be a long time yet - I have a feeling this is going to be a long bumpy road) they will have got round to fitting them with dual processors. Druggie the Dragon??? (That would explain the crazed-out look in his eyes!)Maybe he opted for the sedation? That's probably what I looked like the last time I had those sort of drugs! |
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Post by letsconnect on Sept 29, 2005 9:25:03 GMT -5
I'll probably leave out jazzy effects - the simpler, the easier it'll be to administer in the long run... as long as the basic colour scheme is pleasing, I reckon "keep it simple" is the way to go. I found a great page about writing for the web last night (http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/ ), and I think it might be a better idea to focus attention on the actual information. Of course, the cartoons will stay... (except for the title page one). TBH, I still don't feel comfortable using the dr- word, even in my own mind I refer to it as handpiece ;D. A little act of self-deception which definitely works for me, LOL . I thought he was running away scared?? Just the impression I got, but I may well be wrong... |
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Post by vicki on Oct 2, 2005 8:42:19 GMT -5
I'll probably leave out jazzy effects - the simpler, the easier it'll be to administer in the long run... as long as the basic colour scheme is pleasing, I reckon "keep it simple" is the way to go. As I was always taught at college: K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid. - Sounds strange but it works. It might be a bit of a culture shock for some people if it's too different from the current website - probably wants to look "new and improved" or as if it's had a facelift so it still feels like the same place that's been redecorated, rather than a strange new place?? I found a great page about writing for the web last night (http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/ ), and I think it might be a better idea to focus attention on the actual information. Of course, the cartoons will stay... (except for the title page one). Fascinating article - I found it quite useful actually as I write stuff for the internet quite a lot at work. I thought he was running away scared?? Just the impression I got, but I may well be wrong... Or it could be my eyesight that's cr*p ! Too much time spent staring at computer screens - I can't see further than the end of my nose without specs or contact lenses ;D! |
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Post by letsconnect on Oct 2, 2005 14:33:11 GMT -5
I was thinking of chaning the colours a bit, but the blue-yellow scheme on this board seems to be working well, psychologically speaking. Maybe have those types of colours somewhere in or around the side navigation bar (if I decide to go ahead with a side nav bar) and candy-coloured pill buttons for main areas at the top of each page... the logo in the top left... the actual text black on white background. The current template wouldn't work with a side nav bar. Dunno yet - it's still in the planning stage! Mainly I want to rewrite the text in a more person-centered way to make it more accessible, cut down on waffle, and reorganize material. It's all a bit vague at present... Lots of great ideas in there ! Same here - I figured out what's wrong, though: I left the shadow underneath his foot static, which suggests he's standing still. Will have to scatter it to imply movement! |
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Post by letsconnect on Oct 5, 2005 5:45:56 GMT -5
This is really frustrating - one and the same colour looks totally different depending on the surrounding colours etc... I managed to install the forum software, but e.g. the golden yellow here looks too yellow there... sneak preview at www.dentalfearcentral.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl(I have to try and get rid of that border around the logo as well). Any suggestions welcome, but don't expect me to know how to implement them, lol! Oh - and nobody sign up yet, please - wait till the template is finished!! |
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Post by vicki on Oct 5, 2005 7:17:25 GMT -5
For someone who reckons they're not sure what they're doing, you seem to be making pretty swift progress ;D! I see what you mean about the yellow - I didn't realise it was the same as on here until I re-read your post then opened the new forum in a different window to compare the colours. It probably looks too yellowey because on here it's against light blue which makes it look more 'golden yellow' - perception is everything in colour as well as dental phobia ! About the border round the logo - do you mean the outline round the letters? If you get rid of that, you might not be able to make out the letters quite so well in the logo because it's yellow. By the way, where's the dragon? I hope you're keeping him well fed and watered and that he's looking forward to his move to new premises! |
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Post by letsconnect on Oct 5, 2005 9:17:22 GMT -5
It took me about 5 attempts to install the forum software  ... I changed the yellow to a more orangey tone, if you want to have a look. Looks better to my untrained eye... I used a more greyish blue to offset the inherent gaudiness of dental phobia a bit (for a touch of class )... besides, blues are just impossible to get right!! Most difficult colour around... I wasn't talking about the outline round the letters, but in my browser, I get a grey "link" border around the logo (it's supposed to be white on white) (there's a line that needs to be added in the style sheet somewhere, apparently). I've added the dragon (due to popular demand ) - he's obscuring the letters a bit, but not *too* much... |
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Post by vicki on Oct 5, 2005 10:18:06 GMT -5
It took me about 5 attempts to install the forum software ... Well in that case, after 5 attempts you should be a pro now!!!! I changed the yellow to a more orangey tone, if you want to have a look. Looks better to my untrained eye... I used a more greyish blue to offset the inherent gaudiness of dental phobia a bit (for a touch of class )... besides, blues are just impossible to get right!! Most difficult colour around... Very nice... That colour combo reminds me of holiday brochures for some reason - which is not a bad thing considering the terrors of dental phobia! Definitely a touch of class . Blue is a difficult colour for print as well as web - not quite sure why. But it seems OK on here though. I wasn't talking about the outline round the letters, but in my browser, I get a grey "link" border around the logo (it's supposed to be white on white) (there's a line that needs to be added in the style sheet somewhere, apparently). Hmmmm.... are you using Safari? It doesn't have a line in Microsh*te Internet Explorer for mac (hey - it's done something good for a change! ) I've added the dragon (due to popular demand ) - he's obscuring the letters a bit, but not *too* much... |
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Post by gdentalfear on Oct 5, 2005 10:20:22 GMT -5
Hi "Let's", just had a peek at the new forum. Colours look o.k. But what happened to "Phoebe" our friendly phobic dragon? Has she been given some shrinking medicine? Can we please have the full-size version back? Joking aside: Please, please, PLEASE make the font bigger! Or have a "default" option and a "make it bigger" option that users can choose individually for themselves. Happy creating.  G. |
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Post by letsconnect on Oct 5, 2005 16:03:40 GMT -5
I reduced the logo text size a bit and made druggie aka Phoebe (?) bigger - hope it's ok now...
It's 13 point now inside the boards - is that big enough? (there is an advantage to being myopic after all...)
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Post by letsconnect on Oct 5, 2005 16:09:19 GMT -5
Very nice... That colour combo reminds me of holiday brochures for some reason Oh yes, dental tourism is in vogue these days ... Thanks for the thumbs up re. the colours. I'm trying to think what colour to use for the forum links? I've coloured them green for the time being so you can see which links I'm talking about. I'm worried that if they're left grey, people who don't use message boards normally might be confused... just a usability issue... but I can't decide between green, maroon, or the same blue as in the logo text? Suggestions appreciated ! No, Firefox. It looked fine in Safari, no line to be seen. But I got an html code to get rid of it, so now it's gone in Firefox as well! |
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Post by vicki on Oct 6, 2005 3:25:12 GMT -5
Oh yes, dental tourism is in vogue these days ... Not altogether sure that I like the sound of 'dental tourism' ;D! All the links seem to be blue/grey Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place (Wouldn't surprise me! ;D). 'Dragon Green' might be a nice colour for the links - although maroon would also be good... From a usability point of view, I would think that most people who already post on here wont have any problem as it's more or less the same sort of set up. I would think the main problem will be people 'transferring' to the new board and re-signing up as members perhaps? As for new users... They seem to manage OK at present, so maybe it could be a case of 'suck it and see'? Speaking as someone who is a little on the myopic side myself (OK, that's a bit of an understatement - I'm as blind as a bat!), the larger font size is definitely better! Will the new board have it's own URL that's memorable so that people won't need to go through the website if they're regular posters? |
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Post by letsconnect on Oct 6, 2005 9:58:55 GMT -5
Yeah, 5 minutes after posting, I changed the links to blue. I couldn't find a green that was legible AND matched the dragon, but I might try again... I know that in DreamWeaver, there's a drop function where you just drop the cursor into an image and it tells you the hex code of the colour, but I don't have it yet... anyways, Gordon was saying he likes the blue... do you reckon it's difficult to read/not enough contrast? It looks very clean though. Unfortunately, because the script is CSS, I can't colour the links differently so that you could have a look at all the colours at once and compare them... but I could change it to green or maroon later, if you want to have a look? The sign-up will be very easy, as there's no e-mail being sent out. All you do is register with a name and password, and you're in. You could try it out (register as "test" or something) and let me know what you reckon! I won't allow guest posts as the system is ridiculously simple. I'm minus 8 in both eyes, so you can imagine... don't have a problem with small fonts though as long as I've got my contacts in! Anyway, is it big enough? Well, the set-up is such that both dentalfearcentral.com and dentalphobia.proboards27.com will run on dentalfearcentral.org. The main page will be the website home page, and the forum would be the second item on the top nav buttons (after "Home"). It will be very prominent. I'm only planning on about 5 large buttons at the top of the page. The extension cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl will have to stay, because it determines all the paths the various files in the forum software use. But obviously, you can bookmark www.dentalfearcentral.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl (OK, not a runner at work ;D)... I suppose the short answer is "no", because of the way the paths are defined. But until the website is up (after the forum is up), I could redirect dentalfearcentral.org/ to dentalfearcentral.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl - it's not a long-term option, though! |
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Post by vicki on Oct 7, 2005 3:27:37 GMT -5
Yeah, 5 minutes after posting, I changed the links to blue. ;D Thank god for that - I thought it was me cracking up! do you reckon it's difficult to read/not enough contrast? It looks very clean though. No it looks fine to me - very clean and smart - From a usability point of view it should be pretty obvious which parts are forums - especially to those of us that post on here anyway! Maybe you could have a link to a short 'idiots guide to' type thingy some where near the top that covers things like using quotes and smilies etc - the smilies work OK on PC but I have to type in the code when on a mac (in sh*tty Internet Explorer)! Unfortunately, because the script is CSS, I can't colour the links differently so that you could have a look at all the colours at once and compare them... but I could change it to green or maroon later, if you want to have a look? You could try it out and see what it looks like - although thinking about it, it could start to get a bit confusing as the colours assigned to moderators and admin are green/red aren't they? The sign-up will be very easy, as there's no e-mail being sent out. All you do is register with a name and password, and you're in. You could try it out (register as "test" or something) and let me know what you reckon! I won't allow guest posts as the system is ridiculously simple. I wonder why some people prefer to remain as a guest? Perhaps it is the email aspect of it - fear of being identified maybe? I dunno. I'm minus 8 in both eyes, so you can imagine... don't have a problem with small fonts though as long as I've got my contacts in! Anyway, is it big enough? I'm not quite that bad yet (-7.5 & -6.5 and still deteriorating ;D) but lets just say I wouldn't get out of bed without my specs on or lenses in ! The text is plenty big enough for me (sometimes have a problem when I've got my contacts in but I just move the screen closer 'cause I'm lazy !). Well, the set-up is such that both dentalfearcentral.com and dentalphobia.proboards27.com will run on dentalfearcentral.org. The main page will be the website home page, and the forum would be the second item on the top nav buttons (after "Home"). It will be very prominent. No worries then! As long as it's easy enough to find Yeah, obviously I personally wouldn't want to bookmark the page at home or work (still not ready for anyone to find out if they used my PC or mac and came across it  - It's definitely bookmarked on my XDA though ) |
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Post by letsconnect on Oct 7, 2005 9:06:40 GMT -5
Is that only on here or on the new forum as well? While ProBoards was based on YaBB, the programmes are not identical, and the "duplicating smilies" problem, for example, doesn't exist. If you'd like to register as test4 and try it out on IE, that would be great (I don't have IE at the moment...). It works perfectly in Firefox, and in Safari, the only problem is that the cursor moves in front of the smilie (not a huge problem). The dummies guide - there's a "Help" button in the top box, but it's not very prominent... maybe just have a sentence telling people to click the help button for more info if this is their first visit to a message board? Those colours don't show up in the same way they do here (only in posts etc.). But I'm kind of fond of the blue-white scheme (because it's inverted in the categories compared to the boards - i. e. white on blue for categories, blue on white for boards, which is a nice effect... I reckon). So I'll probably leave it blue for the time being, and if anyone finds it confusing, I can always change it later. That might be it (or they might expect a lengthy registration process?). But it would make things easier when dealing with spammers (you can delete all posts by a member at once, whereas with guests, you have to delete them individually. I was up till 4 am one morning when someone had decided to mass-post advertisements for the horror-flick "The Dentist II" ...) Err, stupid question, but what's an XDA??? Many thanks for the KISS tip - I was wondering last night how to create a dentist database and it struck me that I can use another message board for that purpose (strip it down to its basic components, don't enable posting, and have everything neatly categorised by country, state/county, and city... very easy to administer, modify and back up! And free!). I thought that was quite an ingenious little idea... |
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! Makes a lot of sense.
- It's definitely bookmarked on my XDA though