The Particletree Team is proud to reveal it’s new design for Treehouse’s web site. It’s been a long 3 weeks, but we’re proud of the results and hope this will be a more fitting online presence for our magazine. Definitely check out the integrated shopping cart system, the contributor profile pages and all the visual delectability that comes with a new redesign. As far as this weblog goes, we’ll be using it to document the production process of the magazine and discuss behind the scene issues that come with producing a digital publication. We promise it’ll be a fun place.
That all being said, we’re still in the process of moving over and transitioning content and features, so we’d greatly appreciate being patient with us and letting us know if you notice anything honky.
I dislike it. Its very trendwhorey but in a bad way. Sorry.
Everyone needs a hug.
Ouch.
Overall I like it, though:
Would be nice for the sub-pages to be two columns. As it is now, the main content area feels a little cramped. Maybe make the layout a little wider so it has a little more room and space.
(Minor) You said “Buy this Issue Now for FREE”, shouldn’t it be something like “Download this Issue for FREE”? hehe technically you aren’t buying it if it’s free right?
But you guys are doing a wonderful job and I know you will continue to do even better. Keep it up guys.
Peace and God Bless.
Hate it. Clutter.
It reminds me of those mass produced paintings you buy at Bed, Bath & Beyond slapped on a grayscale wall at my grandmother’s house.
The background just doesn’t do it for me. It all seems very busy with way too many color choices and directions for me to go. I’m drawn to the picture, but it doesn’t insight me to click on it. Kill the third column and make it it’s own about page.
Thinking about what Zach wrote, maybe it’s not reminiscent of my grandmother’s place, but a brothel…
Yannick, your second point is correct. We are integrating movable type with our store so some things like that are still buggy. Right now we’re setting it up to determine whats free and whats not and change the verbage accordingly.
Greg, the thid column is needed for the store login and shopping cart. We did not want to separate those into deparate pages. We are working on a dynamic resolution based layout that will expand the first column for people with higer resolutions.
I understand the purpose of those items and I agree that they should be on the hompage, I just don’t feel they are well placed with the content. It’s the about us info in the third column that should take a back seat.
Ok Ryan cool. I wish you guys all the best. :)
hehe pardon me for posting both on your site and here, not sure exactly where I should leave the discussion.
In any case I had commented on the fact that the content area felt a little cramped. I have looked at it again and noticed you widened it a bit. I must say it’s much better now. Nicely done guys.
Take care.
I think it’s pretty, Kevin. I love you!
I like the design. (“I love you, Kevin!” said drunkenly.)
My complaints are more on the usability side of things: when adding an item to the cart it’s not entirely evident with the action happening two columns away. My eye is focused on Spot A but the action is at Spot B.
Some stuff is clickable but it’s not ovious that it is. For example, your Around the Web stuff in the middle paragraph is black text but is clickable. The paragraph above it is black text but not clickable. On the home page, in the Also Featuring section, it turns out you can click on 5 of the 6 lines. Why just 5? Why can’t I click on Best of the Web?
My last niggle is the date on the New Site post. It’s light green on gray. Makes it very hard to read. Mind you, it’s not terribly important but just a thought. There’s a great tool for checking contrast. ;)
I didn’t mean it in a rude way. Maybe I should of thought before I posted?
I like the colours but it reminds me too much of the default wordpress theme. The header is bare and the logo feels randomly placed
Sorry to repost. I meant the Classic theme not default
Thanks Niky :) (Everyone meet my girlfriend, Niky … Niky, everyone.)
Jonathan, those are really great points and I was actually thinking the same thing about the links in the middle column. Definitely will make as much clickable as possible. As far as the emphasis on the cart changes, we do have plans for making the add to cart link change to also say “Added to Cart.” We also have some ajax stuff planned down the road, once everything is solidified. Also, that is a cool tool for checking contrast. I’ll try to find a more accesible green.
Zach thanks for clarifying your discontent. It definitely helps when I have something to latch on to that’s more specific than “trendwhorey” :) As far as the header goes, it mimics the style of the magazine and so I personally think it’s appropriate considering our brand and such. Is your random complaint about the logo (the tree and the house and the ladder) or the titled image?
Yeah, sorry about that, looking back I regret that post.
The logo, the black and red ParticleTree in the left coloumn. Is it meant to be in the left coloumn or on the top bar? (im using mozilla/mac before you ask)
If it mimics the magazine then that’s fair :)
yea, i disagree with most of the people on here. brilliantly designed. its cleanly laid out. I am not a total fan of whitespace, only on certain occasions.
This takes up all the room it needs to and i like the little “note” and such …it really is awesome.
The search bar at the bottom is cute, but it might not work; thinking about accessiblity. people would want to come to your site and search, not have to scroll down to search, and people that arent the brightest or are really impatient wouldnt look to scroll down to find the search bar. And accessibly, it just wouldnt work out in my opinion.
overall i give it a 9/10 … my 2 cents
Everyone needs a hug. Nice Read ;)