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by justjimmy 4926 days ago
Since you asked:

I'd suggest removing all the 'complicated' layering effect and transparencies. Even hovers over the year links are creating transparencies on the article text. Just leave the article text area 100% opaque, lighten the background to improve contrast. I want to read easily and not off a weave basket.

There is a tad too much variation/combo of the colors used. You have red and grey (which is good) but you have a gazillion shades of it (not good) and you have them alternating roles, ie: red text, red box, grey text, grey box, dark grey text, dark grey box - tighten your color usage. Since your colors usage are everywhere, there's no accent color. (Like I can't tell which color is used to declare text links since all text colors can be text links)

The red is a very strong color - and since author box is in red, it's competing with the article for attention (the article should be the main focus. But it doesn't mean you should make the article box red.)

Move Date under Year (navigation) or move the year next to date - don't make the readers' eyes/brain work, trying to correlate the 2.

Don't show links that aren't clickable and will never have content. ie: Year 1999 etc. Just start from 2005.

Overall the page is super busy with its big range of color shades, layering with transparencies and confusing visual hierarchy/navigation.

1 comments

Thanks for replying. It sounds like your preferred aesthetic is completely at odds with what we're trying to achieve. No harm in that.
I don't think it's that bad, probably because I quite like the aesthetic, but it really could do with being just a little bit less busy.
Just as another opinion, I love the design of the site. I saw 24ways a couple of years ago, was truly amazed at the "different" design. I still think the same design is truly unique and captivating.
Just to get some other opinions out there.. It would be nice if it responded more for large screens instead of only handling the small ones, but I love the look of the site.
Thanks. The responsiveness was retrofitted by me (not a designer) in 2011. Narrowing a design is easier than widening it.