Events of Late
Things have been really busy over the past couple of weeks. Work's got me staying in evenings and weekends, whilst at home I've been spending a fair quantity of my time writing a (seemingly never-ending) series of articles for .net magazine. I haven't had time to do barely any blogging nor spending much time with the wife, but with luck will be back to normal later this week. It's a whole lot of fun. No - I'm kidding. It's tiring as fuck.
Nevertheless I have managed to put a few ideas onto paper, so to speak, and here it is; version 11. It is actually only the third true redesign of the site (all the rest were just continuous tweakage to various levels). In some ways I've taken a big step away from the last version, whilst in others you can definitely see similarities. Here's the lowdown:
The two column layout of homepage content and envelope details have stayed put, as has the muted photograph of yours truly. The speak bubble remains, albeit redesigned from the original to suit the appearance of this new design. So too does the fixed position header, though I've reduced its height and rendered it in varying levels of transparency. Of the new design I think you could sum it up as looking more sophisticated, yet still clear and easy to read (or at least that was the intention). Certain categories of content have been moved within boxes that draw in from the right of the screen and sit in the centre of the page. The latter feature was actually surprisingly difficult to achieve to the standard I wanted in CSS, principally owing to its combination of flexible and fixed characteristics.
The biggest change is the colour scheme (or lack of one). I consciously made the decision to mute everything down, in search of a minimalist appearance. I think this decision will either make the design or break it, depending on your preference.
Anyway enjoy the visit and, as always, feel free to drop in your opinions.
02/04/2007 
8 Comment(s)
On 13/02/2007 James said:
I like it more than the yellow however it seems a big re-design! lol
p.s. those sums are getting harder!
On 13/02/2007 Andrew said:
I almost didn't notice the header was transparent. I like that a lot.
On 14/02/2007 Steve Tucker said:
@James: You're right, it was a big redesign. I had to completely restructure the XHTML to support the new visuals, and I went through about 5 concept pieces before I settled on this. I actually began designing a couple of months ago. The version 10 tweeks are a direct result of the concepts.
p.s. maybe I'll stick some multiplications in there somewhere ;)
@Andrew: Glad you like :)
On 14/02/2007 P.J. Onori said:
Congrats on the chance to write for a publication - that's really awesome to hear! :)
Just remember to take care of yourself man - burnout is not a fun thing...
On 14/02/2007 J Phill said:
Wow, this is a very nice design, and something new. I like it alot!
On 14/02/2007 J Phill said:
And um, I think you redesign more than you blog :)
On 14/02/2007 Jen said:
I really, really, really like that box above the comments.And I also fancy that the header is transparent. Good job Steve!
On 14/02/2007 Elessar said:
This new looks rocks! I love the platinum look :)
On 14/02/2007 Owen said:
Another redesign already Steve. I was feeling bad enough until I saw this ;)
I like it. It is very grey though, but as you said you were going for a muted feel. The transparency in the header is a nice subtle touch.
Keep up the good work.
On 14/02/2007 Steve Tucker said:
Wow, thanks for the great comments guys :) It's great to have such a positive response.
@PJ: Thanks for the concern, I'll make sure to give myself a break soon :)
@John: Urm, what else have I redesigned recently, other than my blog?? You know something that I dont? :D
@Jen: Glad to hear you like the boxes - they were quite a challenge so it's good to hear they work for people. Thanks Jen!
@Elessar: Platinum look? I like that term; very appropriate, nice one! :D
@Owen: Sorry owen, didnt mean to bring anyone down, promise ;). Some people were bound to miss the colour of past versions, and in many ways I feel the same. Like you say I just thought Id try something different. Glad you like the transparent header :)
On 14/02/2007 Dustin said:
Elessar again...slowly changing my name over. Anyway, i don't see anyones names in the comments. Using FF 2.0.0.1 if that helps :)
On 14/02/2007 Stu said:
For God's sake man, leave it alone! Seriously you put us all to shame. I really like this one, nice to see you using Andy Rutledge's 'What now?' as well! Can I make a teeeeeeny suggestion; maybe right-align the 'Where Now' and 'Leave a Comment' boxes so they line up with the edge of the dark comment envelope strip? Unless there's a reason of course, I'm prob not trendy enough! Nice work thoughh...
On 14/02/2007 Steve Tucker said:
@Dustin: Are you aware that the comment envelope (name, etc) appear in the dark right hand column?
@Stu: Cheers mate, You're right I should leave it alone! Yes, I thought I'd take inspiration from Andy as I though the method worked so well for his site (cheers Andy). I like that right aligning titles idea in theory - I'll give it a demo over the next day or so and report back :) Thanks for the feedback, Stu!
On 14/02/2007 Lorissa said:
Wow - nicely done! Loving the greys. If it's any consolation at all, I've really been enjoying your .net articles.
On 14/02/2007 Dustin said:
Wow...i feel stupid :P Great job on the re-redesign :)
On 14/02/2007 kitsimons said:
Very nice. Very classy as well. I particularly like the end-of-article-box-thingy that runs off to the right of the page.
The only thing I'd mention is that the association between comments and author info isn't immediately apparent - like Dustin I didn't spot them off the bat. I'm not sure how you would tie them together clearly without spoiling the design though...
There we go - I had to find something. Didn't want to kiss your ass too much you see... :-)
On 14/02/2007 Steve Tucker said:
@Dustin & Kit: If you didnt spot them then I obviously need to rethhink the approach a little. Thanks for the feedback guys, very helpful :)
On 14/02/2007 Elessar said:
Steve, add a dotted line that stretches across the gunmetal (?) right sidebar that matches the height of the comments...?
On 14/02/2007 Steve Tucker said:
Good thought, but I've got another more adventurous idea. It'll be a little more tricky and theres no guarentee it'll look right, so it may be the dotted line after all. Thanks for the consideration mate!
On 15/02/2007 Elessar said:
No problem, i assume we'll know when you've implemented the new comment look :P I was going to ask that you make a note in the post about the comments being changed but its likely that we'll all see this adventurous idea :)
On a side note, what system are you using? Text Pattern, Wordpress, Drupal? I've been meaning to ask but never got around to it.
On 15/02/2007 Steve Tucker said:
I'm sure you will notice, but I might use make a post of it as well ;)
I dont use any pre-built system. I built this one by hand in PHP and it's just kinda evolved with the design.
On 15/02/2007 Elessar said:
Thats even more amazing...so you had to build everything from comments to posts, etc. ::props::
On 22/02/2007 karmatosed said:
Great redesign love the subtle colours and contrast levels. The little tweaks also really make it smooth.
On 04/03/2007 Steve Tucker said:
Thanks for the kind works, Tammie. The tweaks shall continue :)