Ivan--GREAT WORK! :)
Ivan M wrote:
Hi everyone,
Based on the winning design proposal, I have created the HTML (XHTML
Strict) version.
You can view it at: http://www.patentpending.co.nz/openoffice/index.html
or download it from:
http://www.patentpending.co.nz/openoffice/openoffice.zip (contains the
HTML, CSS, and the images used)
In regards to Filip's comment on more graphic elements...well I rather
like this very simplistic, soothing, uncluttered design. *IF* we add
more graphics, I would keep them VERY small and either color-coordinated
with this design template, or all one complementary color. I think the
addition of a LOT of color would detract from the nice design.
This design contains a list of action statements (that have been
previously discussed on this list) which will utilize an
accordion-like effect (not implemented yet), similar to this:
http://moofx.mad4milk.net/ - in other words, clicking an action
statement will reveal more content. To get the ball rolling, here are
my proposals:
I want to learn more about OpenOffice.org
-- this could just jump straight to why.openoffice.org (BTW, when will
the new why design replace the current one?)
I want to download OpenOffice.org
-- this will contain the download options discussed in the one-click
download thread - the detected OS & language will be displayed, along
with other options - JRE/no JRE (or equivalent OS-specific options),
download a different language, download via torrent, where you can get
the CD from, and so on.
I need help with my OpenOffice.org
-- this will contain links to the various sources of support -
documentation, forums, etc.
I want to do more with my OpenOffice.org
-- links to clipart, templates and extensions, with a very brief
explanations for each of these
I want to participate in OpenOffice.org
-- links to submitting bug reports, projects, donating, etc.
Now, onto the next issue: fonts. Bitstream Vera Sans has poor kerning
(I'm running Windows XP just for reference), which is particularly
visible at small sizes, so I would advise against using it (Verdana is
currently used), and Liberation Sans has an odd property - its bold
text appears smaller than its normal text (at the same size). I would
advise against using these fonts on the website (though Liberation
Sans is used for the action statement headings, and it looks great).
There are also a few other concerns/suggestions that I came across:
- To help differentiate the various options, how about subtly making
the key words in each action statemtent a slightly darker color? This
would make them easier to spot and differentiate - i.e. 'learn more',
'download', etc
I like this idea...maybe darker AND slightly larger.
- Do we need to design for 800x600? The current design does this, but
the new one will need either less menu options or transparent tabs
because the 'wave' eats 560 pixels, leaving only ~220 pixels for the
navigation items (with scrollbar). Or, the wave could be made smaller
(both vertically and horizontally, because this design's header is
almost 50% taller than the current header.
- A dynamic flash file (fed with variables passed to it via HTML)
could replace the header heading/positioner, allowing us to use a
fancier font than Liberation Sans (i.e. the font in the original
minimalist proposal - Lacuna Regular, a free font) with a light
drop-shadow applied to it (and it could be selectable if desired). For
those not running flash, the ordinary heading, as it appears now,
could replace it.
The code would look like this:
<object class="flash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
data="/heading.swf" width="300px" height="40px">
<param name="movie" value="heading.swf" />
<param name="menu" value="false" />
<param name="FlashVars" value="title=INSERT HEADING HERE" />
<h1>INSERT HEADING HERE</h1>
</object>
enh...maybe just keep the technical aspects as simple as possible for now.
The h1 tag would replace the flash content if Flash Player is not
found or is disabled. The same file (heading.swf) would be reused for
all pages, because the string variable that contains the title is
passed to it from HTML.
But the most important thing right now is sorting out the wording of
every part of the homepage's content and just how much content we want
(do we need a footer, what links should we have, filling in the
whitespace on the right side of the page, etc). So please join in this
discussion and share your thoughts.
more later...but I actually LIKE the whitespace! :)
- Ivan.
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Kay Schenk
"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep,
is this: To rise above the little things."
-- John Burroughs
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