A New Design for www.DeeperBlue.com - what do you think?

[Stephan Whelan]

We've just gone live with a new look on http://www.DeeperBlue.com - let us know what you think!

I am working on a new design (along with a new modern software platform - faster and easier!) for the forums to bring it in line with the new design. More on that soon!

 

[Azrael3000]

Not bad mate. Two comments:

1.) Personally, I never go to deeperblue.com but always straight to forums.deeperblue.com. Now on the frontpage there is a button on top linking to the community. But that's it. I would think that a better integration of the forums on the front page should be done. Because for me DB is all about the forums and the stories are "just" an addition. So I would try and find a better balance between the stories and the business side of DB and the forums/community aspect.

2.) The logo is slightly out of date. I can understand if you don't want to change it (as it probably does not only appear on the website but also on t-shirts,etc.), but it does not really fit the website anymore and the style is quite 1990's

Of course these are subjective remarks but you asked for it.
Cheers

 

[Stephan Whelan]

Thanks Azrael3000! Really appreciate the comments and thinking.

1.) Personally, I never go to deeperblue.com but always straight to forums.deeperblue.com. Now on the frontpage there is a button on top linking to the community. But that's it. I would think that a better integration of the forums on the front page should be done. Because for me DB is all about the forums and the stories are "just" an addition. So I would try and find a better balance between the stories and the business side of DB and the forums/community aspect.

When we move to the new software platform for the forums we'll be able to introduce the latest threads back onto the editorial site.

2.) The logo is slightly out of date. I can understand if you don't want to change it (as it probably does not only appear on the website but also on t-shirts,etc.), but it does not really fit the website anymore and the style is quite 1990's

Totally agree and have tried to get it redesigned a few times but to no joy yet. We will look to redesign the logo in due course but can't afford to do that right now!

 

[Kars]

Hi Stephan,

I like the new clean look, well done!

 

[Simos]

Logo definitely needs updating but I wouldn't go for anything different, I'd just remove the shadows to flatten the design and removes gradients while sorting the colours out. I am sure you could do it with £50-£100 max

(if/when you end up doing it I think you should ask the designer to give you a proper palette, especially for the different shades of blue. There seem to be a few and I think they clash a little eg title/link blue with header blue).

But overall as I mentioned earlier i really like the clean look and responsive design

 

[Stephan Whelan]

if/when you end up doing it I think you should ask the designer to give you a proper palette, especially for the different shades of blue. There seem to be a few and I think they clash a little eg title/link blue with header blue).

If you have ideas on palette let me know

 

[bobdonny]

Stephen, I recently started a new business and I used freelancer.com almost exclusively.
I set up a competition for my logo with an award of 30dollars... I got about 80 amazing designs (https://www.freelancer.com.jm/conte...-a-collaborative-photo-sharing-app-28695.html). I then had a really complex mobile photo sharing app created, invited bids from 30 people around the world, with a small budget. Finally I had another competition for a new tshirt design using my company logo... again I got 40 fab entries (https://www.freelancer.com/contest/Design-a-T-Shirt-for-a-photography-social-network--33596.html)

Great resource if you maintain PM control. You should do a few comps for logo and site design. Small money and you dont have to use any, but great place to get ideas.

BUT... the clearer your brief the better the results.

 

[bobdonny]

oh... also got a few animated videos done on freelancer for the photo project...
check them out here Closr, expand your experiences with location based photo sharing

 

[Stephan Whelan]

bobdonny - thanks - I have used 99designs (same principle as Freelancer) extensively in the past, in fact the previous two iterations of DB design came from 99designs.

 

[Simos]

bobdonny - thanks - I have used 99designs (same principle as Freelancer) extensively in the past, in fact the previous two iterations of DB design came from 99designs.

In fact if you are looking, by coincidence I finished a logo today for a new project on PeoplePerHour with this guy: I can design an exclusive professional logo with unlimited concepts and unlimited revisions Hourlie - PeoplePerHour.com

You can see the logo here: Yumbles - Coming Soon

(disclaimer: I am affiliated with PeoplePerHour and very happy with the logo I got lol)

 

[Simos]

If you have ideas on palette let me know

After a lot of soul-searching I found it:

Palette / Our Journey :: COLOURlovers

What do you think? I tried to find one that does deviate a lot from the current one but still ties in well together and it's got both dark and light colours which is quite handy for websites as you need some dark ones for fonts, lighter for background etc.

These were some other contenders:

http://www.colourlovers.com/palette/390543/velvet_ocean <- I think it's not blue enough, it's got too much green
http://www.colourlovers.com/palette/358020/deeper_than_the_sea <- This was actually one of my favourites and ties in well with the DB name but a bit of deviation from the current one that has some light blues etc. I think it can give a dramatic look but need to use it sparingly so that it doesn't make the site too dark - I think it'd make a statement though but might be a bit difficult to work with as it doesn't have any lighter colours...

 

[Kars]

Ok, stephan,

I took a moment to touch up your current logo a bit.
I've removed the shadows, and lighten up and slightly shifted the colours a bit toward green.

Adjusted:

Current:

Maybe you can add a tiny bit of depth to the layout with a very supple shadow line below each blue bar. - I do not like the flat windows 8 tiles look.

 

[cdavis]

Agree with Azrael. The forums is what nearly everybody comes for. Hard to find on the new screen and looks like a minor part of the program.

Connor

 

[BatRay]

I like the new look, and I agree that the forums should be more prominent on the main page. Otherwise, it looks great.

 

[Kars]

In regard to the forum prominence, perhaps a side area where the hottest forum topics scroll by? - I agree it well deserves more attention. For me it's the extensive forum that is the reason to frequent the site so much. Also it's the reason why I direct so many people to it.

 

[Stephan Whelan]

All great suggestions and I do hear you on the latest threads - we used to have a latest forum topics sidebar for quite a while but the combination of the software used to run the forums and the editorial sites at the moment don't have a simple and sufficiently good performance way of achieving that.

We will be moving to a new software platform and design for the forums soon so when that happens i'll be able to re-introduce the latest forum threads onto the editorial area of the site.

The forums are an important part of the site and account for 50% of the traffic so i'm not ignoring it

 

[Kars]

Any response to the logo touch up?

 

[Stephan Whelan]

I'd be interesting in hearing what other people think

 

[cdavis]

Sorry Kars, I like the old one better.

Connor

 

[Simos]

I'd be interesting in hearing what other people think

I personally think it's a step towards the right direction (removing drop shadow etc) but I'd get it designed from scratch Stephan than trying to fix what you already have as it's usually almost impossible to do so (maybe if one could work from the PSDs they could fix it a little I guess).

The advantage of starting afresh is that you could get a new concept or fonts if you wanted to and you wouldn't have to spend time fixing what's there already.

If I were you I'd probably stick with the current concept (i.e. name + bubbles) to ensure continuity (broadly it works I think although as a freediver I don't make too many bubbles unless I've had a curry the night before) but I'd go for something a lot flatter i.e. no gradients or 3D effects in the letters or bubbles. Apart from being more modern the rest of the new design seems to be fairly 'flat' (and in keeping with current trends) so 3D effects will look out of place and a bit dated.