157 replies to this topic

[EliWay]

Hello everyone, I'm Eli, the designer of entry #6.

I really appreciate all feedback, and of course all of them are valid and important. However, I wanted to address some important concerns you guys had with the design.

First, some background on the actual design/layout: Some of your guys have mentioned it's an OS and not a "vacuum cleaner" however, my biggest inspiration for the design was from other successful open-source sites such as ubuntu.com , pidgin.im and others. The first one being.... An OS!

I find CyanogenMOD has a lot in common with a project like ubuntu. For starters it's growing a lot. It has a great community. It was considered relatively geeky but is slowly but surely becoming a "household name". And as such, I think the design fits perfectly. I was so happy when I read this comment because it showed I achieved EXACTLY what I wanted:

Quote

You go to the site, and it just says "Hey, what do you want to do? Download it, talk about it, or learn about it? Press the button of your choosing to do so" BAM!

I didn't just open up photoshop/fireworks and started designing. I had this tweet from cyanogen in mind: "cyanogen - Hoping this year will be the year a phone ships with CM on it ". And that's what I set out to do. Create a page for a real product , not a blog.

Fonts & Typography: I actually agree with you guys on this one, but here's the thing: It wasn't intentional. I would never, ever, release a design with 50 different fonts plastered all over the place. The page is a prototype, and there are already actually several revisions I made, but of course the one I submitted for entry is several revisions behind. I didn't use dreamweaver to create the prototype, so I didn't really put much effort on the fonts. Take the Cyanogen Tweets section for example: It's literally a copy and paste job from the current homepage.  

Spacing and clutter: Like above, I agree with you guys as well, and again, wasn't intentional. If selected, I will develop the site to stretch and space evenly to use all of your monitor's real estate. Percentages, not pixels. The reason why it's cluttered is because I knew it was going to be an image, so I squished it to fit on smaller monitors with smaller resolutions.  At the very least that's what the site would look like on a crappy old monitor.

Thank you guys for considering my work.

Edited by EliWay, 06 January 2011 - 04:13 AM.

[crackerjack06]

It's just Like the poll is currently showing. #6 is my first choice, but #4 is also very nice... great work by all!

[PdtS]

None.
Seriously guys, just refresh your current design if you need changes so bad it hurts. Or pick another nice Wordpress theme and customize it.

[Vendetta]

I voted for 1 and 3 because of the actual presence of the color cyan. 6 is a solid entry, but all three need work on the interface. I'm glad Eli mentioned that he's many revisions ahead of what we're looking at, but I will say that the balloon is tacky at best. Also, "now with gingerbread"? Besides the alpha, is there even an actual CM7RC? If the page is supposed to be marketing an actual product, should probably avoid false advertising. I voted for 1 and 3, which needs to move stuff around to really work, but 6 definitely has the most potential.

[sheanz]

pdubs10, on 06 January 2011 - 12:44 AM, said:

I'd like to know why people think this is modern and intuitive. It's easily my least favorite of the bunch for this application. CM is not a vacuum cleaner. It's website does not need GIANT text links placed around the page, with a gimmicky image-based download button and silly marketing lines thrown randomly throughout the design ("ANDROID UNLEASHED." and "NOW WITH GINGERBREAD!" or "SO FRE4K1N L33T!!1"). There's no real organization to it. We have "About | Downloads | Community | Blog" at the top, then "RUN IT on your device | Tweets @cyanogen | CM Blog | IN ACTION" on the bottom. Do any of those link to the same place? Are some of those links within the hierarchy of the site to a sub-level of a different page? Does "In Action" link to part of About? Does "Run It" link to a download (which is right above it), a wiki page, or a separate page that falls under no hierarchy?

Look at some of the big sites out there. Facebook, Twitter, Google, Reddit, BBC News. They all have a clear-cut hierarchy and design (until you get into Facebook's privacy menus). Things that are meant to pop out at you are contained in widget-like boxes that clearly contain a small subset of content that could ordinarily be found through basic hierarchy navigation.

The leading design by a fair margin is #6, which looks like a graphics-heavy brochure trying to sell me something with marketing tag-lines and enormous colorful images that add nothing as far as information and functionality. I (and others considering CM, or needing information on CM) need information FAR more than I need flash. CM is an open source project that provides and OS for your phone, hardly something that needs flash and taglines over information. Simple, easy-to-navigate, well-organized, and informative is what I need in a website. How many times have you been interested in something, only to go to their website and find that all Company X has about Widget Y is some flashy marketing jargon, with the actual information buried somewhere in the About Us page, but only if you click a link in the submenu that appears only on that page, which gives you a couple more links to sort through until you find real pertinent information...if you make it that far.

By itself #6 isn't bad. It would be good for selling a game or a fancy text editor...but CM is an operating system. I can't think of a single piece of software that I would want quick, easy, and organized access to real information for more than for an operating system.

Clever marketing. Catchy and artistic. With the lettering, it makes it easy for an individual to access sections of the website that they choose. Some get lost and confused and usually take to the forums to question and get flamed. With the idea of the artistic style, when choosing or clicking the 'brochure' like buttons or functions, it can accurately direct those who are lost or have question.

I know...the search bar is just fine. We as individuals are sometimes simplistic and most tend to forget that. The effort in taking to the search bar is often never used..... we all know that

[bnzrk]

#4 here!

Good job to everyone that entered and congrats to #6!

To everyone else, remember these are all drafts - it would be careless for the winner to not take into account the community's thoughts so don't be so harsh! After all, this website is for you guys!

GLHF!

Edited by bnzrk, 06 January 2011 - 06:41 AM.

[nebenezer]

WrlsFanatic, on 05 January 2011 - 09:35 PM, said:

#6 is horrible, it cannot be allowed to launch.  Anyone who knows how to root/ROM their phone already knows what Cyanogen is.  If #6 wins, a bunch of morons that have no idea what they're doing will be coming to the page asking questions they should be researching themselves.  We can't give the impression that people should be finding their first information on how to put Cyanogen on their device at this site.

Am I the only one that thinks that?

Edit: Let me be clearer... I like the layout of #6, but don't like that bottom left option.  I like the information/links offered by #4 best.

Dude, that's just filler content to give the example of the design.. I'm sure they will put whatever content there  you like

Of course they will want to welcome noobs and help acclimate them a little so they don't inundate forums with basic questions.

As a landing spot for all things Cyanogen I like #6 the most.

*I do like that #2 has the pronunciation of Cyanogen on the homepage, I was doing it wrong  

Edited by nebenezer, 06 January 2011 - 08:02 AM.

[Akusari]

I'm just in love with number 6  

[nobleRobot]

Hey all. Mark here, designer of #1.

I'd like to echo what bnzrk said. These are all mockups. The selected designer would, of course, incorporate feedback from these comments and the CM team.

Generally, a client chooses a designer, not a design, and even though I was happy to produce a mockup, I was unaware that it would be posted publicly on the forums. I am also not clear on if the vote is the single deciding factor or one of many considerations for the CM team. In any case, I recognize that this is a slightly different process, and I did provide a link to be "passed around" the CM team, so no harm done. Just be kind to myself and to Seth Thomas (designer of #2), since we did not know that this would be put to a public vote when we threw our hats in the ring.

So... since it is being evaluated in that context, I thought I might as well shill a little for my design :-), and more importantly, share my thoughts on my design philosophy since the mockup was designed to be just a basic idea of the direction. The brief I got asked for a basic reskin of the current site (and to specifically not re-reinvent the wheel), so I think the wide support for #6 comes out of its "different-ness," which sets it apart from the other designs. Personally, I feel (bias alert!) that it's cluttered visually and it has a few competing/clashing elements (I am not a fan of the green balloon), but what it has going for it is how it uses "blocks" of content instead of the traditional Wordpress blog column layout. This is a design direction I support (I also like the reduction of menu items).

But it should be noted that the design for #6 doesn't give any idea what a blog page would look like and includes no blog-specific elements. It is very much a single landing page. Other than the menu at the top, what would blog pages, or the About pages, look like? What about the footer? How about header treatments, or link styles? And maybe this is a nitpick, but on those other pages, what would we see in the section on the header bar that's currently covered up by the top of the balloon? A blank space? A search bar?

I mention these questions because while we should remind ourselves that these are simply mockups, and no matter who re-designs the site, most of the final design elements (by volume) are not included in any these images, when you evaluate the designs, try to see if you can extrapolate what these missing elements *might* look like. Are there rules established in the mockup that would let you imagine them? Think of them as movie trailers. Do they give you a solid impression of what the movie will be like?

Speaking of: I was asked to create a "single page" variant of my design, but it was not posted. Here it is:

http://www.mark-lacroix.com/clientfiles/CyanogenMod/MarkLaCroix_mockup_singlepage_122210.jpg

When I work with clients I always ask how they want new visitors to experience their homepage. What is the goal? Are they making a digital brochure that someone only needs to see once before "buying" the product, or do they want a site that expects "repeat customers" and has evolving content. This is important to determine how to layout the site. Most projects strike some balance between the two extremes, which is why many of us added a "what is CM?" block on our mockups, which is not part of the current layout. But just as we all got sick of those skip-able Flash "splash pages," it's also important to make a homepage that is friendly to repeat visitors.

If the homepage is designed to just "sell" the product, you'll want a nice sales pitch and a big "download" button to dominate the homepage (as it does with #6), but it's important to ask if the majority of visits to the homepage are to read the latest news on CM (is the new version out? etc.), and so putting even a single click between the user and the latest blog post is something that should be considered seriously.

I think that if we are going to be a bit more radical with the design, the best balance might be to include the most recent blog post in full on the front page, and then include a block list below it of recent entries, along with other "block widgets" (like the about block and a screenshot slideshow) appropriate to first-time visitors. The layout for #6 would have to be seriously re-thought to be able to strike this balance.

I'd like to also note that Wordpress is designed to be highly customizable, but there is only so much it can do without calling in the designer to make changes. Sections of the page (like "download current version" blocks, or latest screenshot blocks) must be able to be updated by site admins instead of going back to the designer every time there is a change to that part of the content (the "now with gingerbread" banner in #6 is an example of an area that seems "uneditable").

Of course, one issue with realizing a new design is that the Cyanogen site currently is quite fractured, so we're really talking about the homepage/blog/about pages and not much else. Many of the the other sections of the site are completely separate php installations (wiki, forum, downloads, github).

Ideally, these sections would all live together in a single Content Management System, and be seamlessly blended, or they would all be re-designed to a similar spec. But from my emails with SatanR1, that's more than what this project currently entails. It's important when evaluating these designs to consider how they will live with this fractured structure. What should a user expect when clicking a button like "downloads," "community" or "blog" from the homepage. Should the site more clearly separate itself form the forums, thereby clearly establishing a entry point for repeat visitors, or should it try to seamlessly blend them (which may be foolish to attempt)?

I'd be happy to answer any questions about my design or how I would handle a certain layout or feature concept. I encourage the other designers to answer these questions as well, so people can select a designer, and not a design.

Anyway, that's my spiel. You can view more of my work at: www.mark-lacroix.com

:-)

Edited by nobleRobot, 06 January 2011 - 11:44 AM.

[arkara]

Don't care who wins. All designs are great. And all this paves the way on how android communities should be.

[nobleRobot]

SatanR1, on 06 January 2011 - 11:44 AM, said:

Your post sounds a little negative when I first read it. If you are unhappy with me posting your example online, then please PM me and I will remove you from the list.

No worries, seriously. My only concern was that I was not told in advance that it would be posted publicly. It was a surprise to be losing a contest I didn't enter, is all. Ha! :-) But as I said, no harm done, and of course I'm still extremely interested in the project and happy to remain in the running.

SatanR1, on 06 January 2011 - 11:44 AM, said:

So what is now cluttered, will be completley re-designed. I just wanted to keep the Wordpress element of the structure as it's easy for Steve to Blog and we like that process.

Of course, I fully agree with and support your assessment. I hope I didn't come off as disapproving of the "fractured" nature of the site. Indeed, priority one (especially for a volunteer project like this) is functionality for the site admins, not slick design integration. My point was that the final design should be aware of the realities of the site, and not try, for example, to force integrating the downloads section (currently part of the forums) into the main site, or create a bunch of new widgets that the admins have to maintain.

SatanR1, on 06 January 2011 - 11:44 AM, said:

This is not a paid project, the entire thing is completley free and funded by it's supporting members. Therefore we are desciding on what we would like to SEE not really the person resposbile for creating what we see.

I understand the point, and certainly you're not doing anything wrong here, but as a designer I'm always uncomfortable with design "contests" where the prize is work. Even a volunteer job is a job, and should be approached with the same respect for the work. Asking for a basic mockup is totally acceptable, to get an impression of the designer's skill and direction, but it is folly to rely too much on an single image, or to expect a designer to do a complete job before being chosen.

For anyone interested in what the hell I'm going on about and why it matters to me, check out http://www.no-spec.c...esign-contests/

Again, please don't assume I'm upset or anything. I'm absolutely not. I am also an ActionScript and php developer, and have made small contributions to other open-source projects, but I don't have the skills to contribute to CM myself, so I am very motivated to help out CyanogenMod in my own way. Part of why I am a CM user is because of the volunteer spirit and the strong ethical code and professionalism of the open-source community. In that spirit I feel I have to share my industry's code of ethics as well, which mean a lot to me. That code is not about money, avoiding doing work for free, or avoiding competing for work. It's important not to assume that it is in conflict in any way with the spirit of open-source development, and to know that in many ways it matters more when being considered for pro-bono work.

In any case, I appreciate the positive comments about my design, but don't expect to catch up in the vote total. However, even if I was winning the vote I would still feel the need to make these points.

Edited by nobleRobot, 06 January 2011 - 02:33 PM.

[sorahedgehog]

I vote for number 1.
But only if one little minor change is made to the design.

I think the two side columns should be swapped around along with the contents in the header.
So essentially flip the design vertically and I think it's a great design for 2011.

And if this design gets selected. I'm happy to do the development work to get the new design up - if the designer doesn't want to implement it himself. :-)

[pdubs10]

EliWay, on 06 January 2011 - 04:09 AM, said:

I find CyanogenMOD has a lot in common with a project like ubuntu. For starters it's growing a lot. It has a great community. It was considered relatively geeky but is slowly but surely becoming a "household name". And as such, I think the design fits perfectly. I was so happy when I read this comment because it showed I achieved EXACTLY what I wanted:

You make a fair point. Sorry for hatin' so hard on your design; it's a good design (very eye catching), just not what I look for in this situation I guess. I think if you can tone down some of the in-your-face catchphrases and graphics, maybe focus the structure in a way that's a bit more like the Ubuntu site than the Pidgin site, then it'd be something I could get behind.

[UnamusedPunk]

Bryan, on 06 January 2011 - 03:46 AM, said:

I'm not trying to hate but personally I think the current one is better than all these new designs, and that's coming from someone who does web design and development for a living.

Seriously.

OP can we have a voting option for current design. It's perfect.

[Xeroproject]

#6 is far too loud

and where is the "puke on all these designs" option?  Current site is fine as is, or at least better than any of these.

God, I just looked at 6 again, what the hell guys?  How can these poll results even be accurate?  If anything I'd expect 3 or 5 to be doing better, at least they're clean and not screaming at you.

[sheanzy]

WrlsFanatic, on 05 January 2011 - 09:35 PM, said:

#6 is horrible, it cannot be allowed to launch.  Anyone who knows how to root/ROM their phone already knows what Cyanogen is.  If #6 wins, a bunch of morons that have no idea what they're doing will be coming to the page asking questions they should be researching themselves.  We can't give the impression that people should be finding their first information on how to put Cyanogen on their device at this site.

Am I the only one that thinks that?

Edit: Let me be clearer... I like the layout of #6, but don't like that bottom left option.  I like the information/links offered by #4 best.

I HIGHLY disagree with this ignorant post. #6 is not horrible by any means.

Quote

"We can't give the impression that people should be finding their first information on how to put Cyanogen on their device."

Cyanogen FORUMS should be a place to go learn how and where to get CyanogenMod. If that isn't the case, then what is the point of these forums? Post bug reports? Discuss religion and politics?

With that design, Cyanogenmod.com will or could be a one-stop shop on where and how to get CM on your phone. However, I do believe individuals should research, research, and do more research, but keep in mind that it doesn't hurt to lend a hand.

ALL the designs are excellent and are well deserved to be showcased. Easily, #6 takes the cake . Flashy, fun, and not boring.

[dasunsrule32]

I was torn between number 5 and 6, and ultimately went with 6. It's clean, 5 looked too bloggy. 6 was perfect, looked more like a website rather than a normal blog. Although, if the graphics could be brought from 5 into 6, that could be awesome. 5 wins for graphics, 6 wins for layout...

[nsalois]

WrlsFanatic, on 05 January 2011 - 09:35 PM, said:

#6 is horrible, it cannot be allowed to launch.  Anyone who knows how to root/ROM their phone already knows what Cyanogen is.  If #6 wins, a bunch of morons that have no idea what they're doing will be coming to the page asking questions they should be researching themselves.  We can't give the impression that people should be finding their first information on how to put Cyanogen on their device at this site.

Am I the only one that thinks that?

Edit: Let me be clearer... I like the layout of #6, but don't like that bottom left option.  I like the information/links offered by #4 best.

Have you ever seen the cyanogenmod wiki? People have worked hard to bring all of the information needed to run cyanogenmod on supported phones. If the bottom left link pointed to that why would that be an issue? That would be counter productive to getting cyanogenmod on as many phones as possible. Unless I'm mistaken theres no un-moron hardware restriction to cyanogenmod.

My two cents

+1 for 6

[rstuckmaier]

Mark, after reading your post it seems that #4 would fit what you are trying to "sell" as a good design.  Honestly I think something similar to Google's homepage would be VERY fitting: simple and search friendly.

Really though, my bookmark points to forum.cyanogenmod.com and that is where the "regulars" will most likely go on repeat visits.  The plain cyanogenmod.com homepage should be for new comers (again, in my opinion), and I think 6 fits this well.  It's flashy but not overwhelming as a few other options here.  Once the fonts and colors are cleaned up a little I think it would be outstanding.

But I understand your concern about not knowing this was going to be a public vote; it would have been nice to have a brainstorming session before these were designed (or maybe I just missed this if it happened).