Rate our layout

[Monkey Trainer]

What do you think of the 1KM1KT layout?

This website is designed for you - not us. If you have a suggestion for improvement, we want to hear it! Let us know if you think it's difficult to read, hard to navigate, needs more StickGuy references - whatever. If you haven't checked out some of our latest features, please take a moment to take a look and give us some feedback.

If there's anything you'd like to see that we're not doing, friggin' tell us already! If you have some nice things to say that's alright too, but don't get too mushy.

Thanks,

MonkeyTrainer



New(ish) Features:

Breadcrumb Trail - That little thing under the logo that tells you where you are in the site. -

Form based article submission -

The search feature -

[Rob Lang]

I love the content and features of this site but the design does suck monkey balls. Here's why:

Contrast:
Monitors don't show high contrast very well. You get high contrast where you have very dark colours with very bright ones. This can be really hard on the eye. There is also a dark grey gradient on the site, which does help but does not take away the shock of it. The grey border on the right draws the eye away from the content while you read, which is distracting.

Colour:
The black/white dominance over the page is so great that it can not be softened with the blue links and blue grey gradients. If anything, the grey contributes to making the whole site look somewhat drab. There was some research done early on in the web that suggested that 3 or 4 colours should be used and that greys should remain light. I think more colour in the site would be great. You don't really need to use a lot of it, just some.

Use of screen space:
Given that the site has a lot to offer, the site is quite narrow. I would make full width of the screen. This lack of space is especially noticable when you view a review. The menu on the left and the internal adverts on the right make the actual space for the review somewhat limited. I would argue that the right hand column only need be on the front page.

Fonts:
Courier and other fixed width fonts are great for displaying code but that's about it. They look old fashioned.

Theme:
A site should either follow a theme or set its own. Graphics should be held in a similar style fitting to the content. For 1KM1KT, I think it's probably wise to have a non-rpg genre specific front, unlike RPGHost who gives a fantasy feel. If you wish to continue with the typewriter-style of 'hammered out in my bedroom' feel to it, then I would add further stains and the like to the site. The forum at the moment does not feel part of the site and its colours are drab too.

Graphics:
The site has next to no graphics at all. The main page should really grab the user. There is nothing on the front that really set the rest of the page up.

Navigation:
There seems to be two menus on the front page, a horizontal and a vertical. In my experience, it's normally best to have just the one.

Here's some example sites of directions I think 1KM1KT can go:
Simple Layouts
All of the below are quite clean and simple but have a colourful image that catches the eye.



High Content Sites
Customize is interesting to look at but doesn't actually have a big grabbing graphic. The content is boxed pleasantly in greys with orange to round off the site.


Pixelated Design
This is another site with lots of content on its main page but the subpages are broken down at lot. The graphics used are simple but effective.


Conclusion
I know this sounds really harsh but I like 1KM1KT a lot and I think it should be much more than it is. To be able to grow and get people to give their work in will require a much better look than you (we?) have at the moment. I am even keen on giving a hand with the graphics, if need be.

Some web resource can be found on my home links page:

Some of my art and previous websites can be found:

[Juicetyger]

Does anyone else agree or disagree with any of the above? I've been feeling most of Rob's suggestions for a while now and will be starting a redesign soon. It won't be coming for a while, but if you have some feelings on how 1KM1KT should look now's the time.

Rob,

Thanks for the input! I'm putting together a response that I'll PM to you.

[Rob Lang]

Splendid! Nice to see some comments (some of which are harsh) are actually being taken on board!

[Simon W]

Rob Lang has pretty much said it all. I wasn't as harsh as him though, because I'm not really up to much in the 'web design world'.

Anyhow, my main gripe would have to be that the front page is such a mess. It's too long and has no immediate impact that says "delve deeper - this site is good".

There you are, that's it.

[NeverDie]

Eh, I think it is fine as it is. I like the how the font makes the place seem old fashioned. I like the grey scheme. I don't think it looks drab... it's soft on the eyes which is refreshing for a website. I say keep it.

[Praetorian]

[Rob Lang]

[Praetorian]

[napalm]