Young Writers Society

So the other day, I decided to almost completely start from scratch design-wise with the New YWS, and I'm ready (sorta) to show off the fruit of those efforts.

But before I spend anymore time on changing the design, I need to know which one users would prefer. So please, take a minute or two to look at the below two screenshots of the New YWS. One is the blue skin, and the second is the black skin. Please keep in mind that this is a choice between the two; only one of these will end up being available.

And if you can, take a couple minutes to explain your choice.

Thank you

The black skin, definitely. It looks cleaner and really makes the rest of the page pop, and it compliments the logo nicely. It also looks more refined and professional.

I also think the fonts on the New Literary Works section look more robust and mature on the black skin. Plus I like the design on the bottom.

So my vote's for black skin.

I like the black better, actually, because it looks cleaner and nicer (though where is that ad???) I just don't like the gaudy footer down below.

I never really liked the olive color with the blue as well... I like the black much better.

I voted for blue as while I do feel that the black is more professional, I think the blue is something that's more familiar and it's lighter, more care-free. I don't feel that the black reflects the fun essence of YWS or the warmth of our community, it feels a little dark and ominous to me.

I prefer the black one. The contrast is much clearer between the black background and the mainly white foreground. Also lovin' the classy edge to it XD

Blue.

Initially, I really liked the black skin (in fact I typed up a post to explain why) but then I think Heather has a point - while it's more professional and tidier, the blue skin has a more friendly, warmer looking tone to it. I just headed over to the new site and up close, it looks fantastic - I don't think the dark side would really give it that same YWS feel.

I think.

Personally, I vote black. I would be a nice change. I know I haven't been here very long but I'm really excited about this!

I love the black version. It looks a lot....cleaner, if that's the right word.


xxx

Black - Definitely. The Blue looks a little sloppy and kid-like. The Black is beautiful. Very, Very Professional and nice. (Btw, I can't wait till I will be able to see the new YWS for myself!)

I can't decide! I like the friendliness of the blue, and don't like the blue header on the black, but love the bottom thing on the black, and... ah!

Combine them. *nods*

~JFW1415

I voted for blue as well, though I really like the footer, but I don't feel it alone outweighs all the good things in the blue skin. I feel it's more YWS, though in the end I have nothing against the black skin either.

As been said, blue is more familiar.

I like the blue better. It makes me feel happier.

But that's porbably because that's what I'm used to. And although I like the footer on the black one, it looks maybe a little more girly to me. The blue is more boy-friendly, maybe.

But honestly, they both look really awesome!

I like the black better. It gives it more of a 'pop'. Also, this is really OCD but the YWS banner is blue and it's a different shade of blue as the background would be, which bothers me.
Black looks more sophisticated.

-Carly

JFW1415 wrote:I can't decide! I like the friendliness of the blue, and don't like the blue header on the black, but love the bottom thing on the black, and... ah!

Combine them. *nods*

~JFW1415

That's probably what I'll end up doing


In any case, as I told some people in chat yesterday, I'll probably go with the black one even if 90% of the site voted for blue.

The blue one is an adapted version of subsilver2 for phpBB3, which is a type of skin that is really quite basic. It doesn't have a lot of cool features (like adjusting the font size yourself or printing topics/pms) that more advanced skins have.

The black one is an adapted version of 1thank for phpBB3. I need to make more changes to it, but overall, it has some really cool features that make it a worthwhile switch.

In any case, what will end up having is the black one will be available in a light and dark style. The light style will have a blue background, while the dark style will be the same as above (maybe; Bobo is doing all the dark style stuff and it's up to him. He has a great eye for that stuff).

That being said, I'm going to take all the feedback y'all give me to make an acceptable default skin. So thank you very much!

I was with Jen, so the above most makes me very happy. xD

The one thing I don't like about black skins is it makes white too white. Like, eye-burning white. This makes me not want to stay on the page that much, just because I can't see anything when I move my eyes or look away from the screen.