Site Design

[Cthulhu]

Please bump this thread after my poast here, I'll have a go tomorrow. Thanks <3

 

[Pixel]

What does an RSS feed icon look like?

 

[Jason Tandro]

 

[Pixel]

 

[Fangu]

I think the surrounding box is part of the icon design though. There should be an official description on it.

 

[Jason Tandro]

The surrounding box is part of the icon design for the Facebook logo too though. I think simple is better and anybody who utilizes RSS will get the gist.

 

[Flintlock]

I like the orange as it is. Our front page is a bit lacking in contrast, so it stands out.

 

[Cthulhu]

I put it up on the forums; let me know what you think (vs keeping the orange) and I'll replace or leave it on the front page too (and actually upload it to TLS servers)

edit: actually we need to do something about the RSS feed icon anyway, IDK where to move the search bar on mobile.

 

[Mage]

I like the social media symbols being co-ordinated to TLS colours, it looks very professional.

EDIT: Shouldn't they have accessibility tags? *knows nothing*

 

[Cthulhu]

They should, yeah, but I'm pretty sure our site as it is is pretty poor in terms of accessibility already, . IDK what screen readers make of it atm, or if we even have anyone in that demographic.

 

[Jason Tandro]

I like the social media symbols being co-ordinated to TLS colours, it looks very professional.

Exactly this. Just throwing stock logos on would clash horribly with the design imo.

 

[Lex]

They should, yeah, but I'm pretty sure our site as it is is pretty poor in terms of accessibility already, . IDK what screen readers make of it atm, or if we even have anyone in that demographic.

In terms of colour our front page stuff is good, the forum is a problem because people can use whatever colour they want. High contrast is an accessibility thing so because we're dark with bright text it's quite good for poorer eyesight (and easy on the eyes generally).

 

[Fangu]

Just throwing stock logos on would clash horribly with the design imo.

I'm pretty sure the Marketing people at RSS or Facebook would look at you funnily if you referred to their brand designs as "stock logos"

 

[Jason Tandro]

Just throwing stock logos on would clash horribly with the design imo.

I'm pretty sure the Marketing people at RSS or Facebook would look at you funnily if you referred to their brand designs as "stock logos"

1) You know what I mean.

2) Facebook's logo isn't even really a logo as far as I'm concerned. You put the letter F in a blue box. Congratulations on your effort.

Relevant:

 

[Fangu]

Hey, I give close to zero shits about how things look design wise. My job is to make things 1) work, and 2) not entirely unusable interaction wise. I deal with Marketing almost daily, and almost daily I facepalm. It's just that they do what they need to do, just as Sales do what they need to do, just as IT do what we need to do. I'm pretty sure brand theory has something going for it. So while I personally don't give a shit, I have to recognize it's a Thing

 

[Flintlock]

Changing the colours of copyrighted logos is anything but professional, even if it is aesthetically pleasing.

Don’t:

• Use speech bubbles or words around the logo
• Rotate or change the direction of the logo
• Animate the logo
• Surround the logo with other birds or creatures
• Change the color of the logo
• Anthropomorphize the logo
• Add special effects to the logo
• Use older versions of the logo, previous logos, or any marks that may be confused with the brand

(Source)

Don't:

Modify the ‘f’ logo in any way, such as by changing the design or color.

(Source)

Do not...
✘ alter or partially cover the logo.
✘ alter the proportions, position or letter spacing.
✘ stretch, condense, distort or separate logo elements.
✘ alter the color or add effects (drop shadow, glow, etc).
✘ replace the logotype with another typeface.
✘ place an image within the logotype.
✘ rotate (vertically, horizontally or diagonally) or flip.

(Source)

The feed icon should not be displayed in modified forms inconsistent with the above guidelines or in ways that visually compromise the icon. In particular, the icon should not be displayed

• in a different orientation (i.e., rotated or flipped relative to the standard orientation)
• with the rounded square element of the icon replaced by a circle, triangle, or any shape other than that used on the original background
• with the corners of the rounded square element of the icon made sharp rather than rounded.

(Source)

The RSS icon usage guidelines are really just recommendations, but the other icons are registered trademarks, which we're appropriating.

 

[Shademp]

*reads Fangu's post*

...Holy shit! Fangu is Dilbert! This is awesome!

 

[Cthulhu]

Oh wow, I didn't know the social mediae were that specific about usage of their logos.

I have to say though, our site is kinda... different in terms of color-schemes; the respective companies' regular logos would look less weird on our site if we had a more traditional color scheme (light background, dark text). Plus normally they're a bit smaller and tucked below posts and the like.

 

[Jason Tandro]

Flint: I respect that you took the time to research all of that.

Now once again we're back to our TLS store question of "how much do we care?" Would we want to risk a C&D on logo usage in favor of Pixel's aesthetically pleasing icons, or should we sacrifice form unity for security?

Ultimately that's a question I'll leave to the experts. Since you bring up that point that it is a big deal, I defer to your expertise and would have no objection to following their set guidelines. After all, it's only fair that they get to market their product however they see fit.

 

[Fangu]

Oh wow, I didn't know the social mediae were that specific about usage of their logos.

Yeah, I remember bumping into the one from Twitter when I was using the logo on my blog years ago. Didn't think of digging up the source, so yep, kudos to Flint

 

[Pixel]

I dunno, if squarespace can get away with it, a little site like ours can. Thats where I got the idea for the icons
http://www.josephknightportraits.co.uk/about/

Alot of stuff on this site sits in a grey area. I dont think this would cause any trouble.

 

[Tetsujin]

Changing the colours of copyrighted logos is anything but professional, even if it is aesthetically pleasing.

I get what you're saying but we're a site that was based on hosting unauthorized translations of copyrighted material...

 

[Pixel]

I figured I'd try throwing together a new banner. Im not sure if I prefer it. I dont want this place to look really generic, but it still has that glow to it. I'll leave it up to others

 

[Fangu]

I like it!

 

[Lex]

I LOVE IT (but I do miss iconic floating Aerith)