New design possibilities - videos and more
It's been a little over a week of our renewed effort here on the site and it's design time.
We've been brainstorming possible design ideas and what to do with the site and we have two designs. We couldn't decide which was a better fit for you - Mastering Drupal audience.
So, we decided to put the vote to you.
School
Clean
I don't want to bias you with my own description, so please post a comment or send a message @masteringdrupal.
Our goals
You can glean some of our goals from the designs, but I'll mention them so it's more clear.
* More videos -obviously
* We currently plan to release all videos for free and have them be supported by advertising (yes, that bluehost ad is a beginning of an experiment with advertising).
* We see this site as a general learning resource - videos and potentially other content.
* We want individuals to be able to post ideas for future screencasts (maybe even wiki style for the content?) and then vote on the suggestions
Your goals
If we missed something that you think we obviously should be providing, please let us know!
Thanks!
More Drupal Screencasts
What is Mastering Drupal?
MasteringDrupal.com has one simple goal: help people to learn and become experts using Drupal. This site, videos, and most content on the site are produced by Growing Venture Solutions a Drupal consultancy based in Denver and New York.
Comments
preferred look
I like "Clean" better... The fonts bother me on the other one and I like how you use color to separate the sections of the page.
But you know, no matter what you choose, I'll still love the site!
Ron
voting for design
I prefer design school
But maybe you can make it optional for the user which one to use so make it more personal when he/she log's in
I Like "Clean"
I definitely prefer "Clean". It's less distracting--focused attention on the content. Your screencasts were helpful when I was first learning Drupal. I look forward to what's to come! :)
Voting
Clean is much better on my view
drupal
Clean
Hi Greg,
Thanks for your tutorials, they're very helpful and your delivery is great! :) My vote is for clean on this, both look good though.
regards,
Brock
Thanks for this post.
Thanks for this post.
SCHOOL!
School gets my vote - but I agree with Ron, the fonts need to be the same type throughout - basically a cleaner school. School also gets my creative thoughts going...and maybe there could be a heading to the first top box...like Seek or Browse or Start or End Frustration...just a thought.
Prefer the Clean look
Please use the Clean one.
Better blocks to scan for the user.
Useabillity wise, switch the 2 bottom-left blocks. that gives the user more choises from the bottom navigation.
Goodluck and a very nice job on your screencasts!
Henk.
actually, school
I would just change the titular fonts for the nodes to something that integrates better with the block headings.
I think Clean is nice for experienced users, but if you really want to attract new users, the school theme really will draw more interest from the kind of crowd you are seeking (folks who feel WP and Joomla arent enough for them) by engaging them in the 'next age' of drupal aesthetics. Not that Clean wouldn't do this, I just feel like School would do a better job.
color!
really beautiful this blog, but I put a little more color
I feel strongly both ways
"School" appeals to me, but in the main content of the page, "Newest Screencast" and the other section labels are in a hard-to-read font but also prominent enough to compete for attention with the title of the item itself. So my eye keeps being drawn to something that I can't read easily. My guess is that in a usability test folks would find content in those sections more easily and faster with "Clean."
On the other hand, the top banner of "School" does a better job of helping me grok what's available (other than the specific front-page items) and where to click to get to it. On "Clean," the top banner is too passive. My guess is that in a task requiring a path through those elements the folks who use "School" would recognize the right link and get to the content faster.
Perhaps "School" with a cleaner, font and less competitive labels on the main sections would work better than either.
For both designs, developers with poor vision would appreciate higher contrast. Neither the text nor the headings has sufficient contrast to pass Section 508 or WCAG 2.0. At the very least, I would offer a high-contrast link to the same content in a high-contrast theme.
Looking forward to the book!
I like the second one best.
These look great!
Hey Greg,
These are great !
I think the combination of the clean theme and the header of the "School" theme would be a good choice. The layout of "Clean" is solid and I'm very drawn to the mastering Drupal logo and instructional cartoon of the "School" theme :)
Excited to see the new design.
Clean
I vote clean - looks cleaner :D
And posted
For those interested the wait is over...the new theme is now live on the site. Thanks for your feedback, everyone!
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GVS - Drupal Consultants