From: Reece Dunn <msclrhd@hotmail.com>
I have made a few modifications to my Wiki-inspired front page design. It is available here:
http://uk.geocities.com/msclrhd/boost/boost2.html
The page also contains the Google search along the top of the screen with www.boost.org (now Boost) and lists.boost.org (now Mailing Lists) as a drop-down list instead of radio buttons.
The "Welcome to Boost.org!" text is juxtaposed with the search bar in NS7.1 on Solaris and is slightly obscured in NS7.2 on WinXP. The search bar overlays the top line of the box around the main text; I suspect it is supposed to be higher. The page is too busy for me. All of the lines are a distraction rather than a help.
In addition to this, it uses several different styles:
Simple -- Basic styling, minimal colour, simple menu.
The logo overwhelms the page. It needs to be smaller or a different logo is needed. The left column is more attactive, but I dislike all of the underlines. The link blue is too faint. There is insufficient contrast relative to the background. I think the icons to the left of all headers should be the same, if different sizes. The hover style is a bit too strong.
Wiki v1 -- "Traditional" Wiki style
The "Welcome..." text is mostly obscured by the search bar in NS7.1 on Solaris. It is the same as MultipleCSS in NS7.2 on WinXP. The boxes and lines are too distracting. I like the hover style.
Wiki v2 -- Alternate menu/link hover scheme
The "Welcome..." text is mostly obscured by the search bar. The left column appears the same as in Simple. The left column should be only as wide as needed for the listed links and headings. The logo should not govern the width of the left column. The hover style is a bit too strong.
Wiki v3 -- Alternate menu/link hover scheme
Ditton on the "Welcome..." text. The left column is way too busy. One's eyes are drawn there first. The hover style is a bit too strong.
Wiki v4 -- Alternate menu/link hover scheme
Ditton on the "Welcome..." text. The left column is still too busy, but it isn't as dominating as with Wiki v3. The hover style is a bit too strong. -- Rob Stewart stewart@sig.com Software Engineer http://www.sig.com Susquehanna International Group, LLP using std::disclaimer;