[glimmerman]

Hey Im trying to come up with a really conceptual bg image to match with the interface style of the page, but Im shooting blanks, Ive tried plastic like tiles, ornate patterns, and other repeats, but those look kinda out of place are a little distracting. I was thinking about doing a long,large bg image that stretches across the bottom. Something that has that "graphic feel" ya know. Its buggin the hell outta me. Any suggestions on how to fix it would be much appreciated.

p.s. My side navigation hasnt been finished yet.

heres a link to the page: http://www.apgraphicsonline.com/test/tester.html

_edit_
give me a little bit, cause for some reason my images arent showing up so I gotta find whats wrong in the code

[skyrocket]

Tiled patterned backgrounds can be cheesy & distracting as you say. 9 times out of 10 they don't work for me and I often find simple is best but I tend to like minimalist stuff. You have some nice white space happening there. It's plain but somehow works. Like the wise guru Eric Cantona once said "the peace and harmony of the calm water is ruined by the wake of the fishing trawler and the grating cries of the flock of seagulls following behind" (or something like that). Each to their own.

[glimmerman]

Yea I was considering leaving it be. I think I'll try a few versions and see what works best. I guess its back to the thumbnails! Maybe I just need to see what it looks like with the navgation menu up and running...

Oh, and can you see the images, cause for some reason theyre not showing up on my browsers, and everything works fine locally...I mean its crazy cause It was working just a few minutes ago...Its either the host, or its me. I cant figure it out...

[skyrocket]

Can't see any of your arrows anymore. It's all floating in a sea of white space now - which is not a bad thing but it's not what you're after I guess...

[glimmerman]

Originally Posted by skyrocket

Can't see any of your arrows anymore. It's all floating in a sea of white space now - which is not a bad thing but it's not what you're after I guess...

O, well I scrapped that design a few days ago, and went with another template...Although this is killing me cause I still cant get the images to display correctly.

[brooks]

the type is a bit too small for me, and im not a fan of the structure being that small, the menu seems a bit random to me too shoved on the left. keep working on it though, i'll see where it goes.

[glimmerman]

Originally Posted by Upleft

the type is a bit too small for me, and im not a fan of the structure being that small, the menu seems a bit random to me too shoved on the left. keep working on it though, i'll see where it goes.

Okay folks Got a new link for you to look at. I figured out the problem kinda? a just rearranged some files on the site map.

I know it prolly wont change your overall opinion Upleft, but here is what it's supposed to look like so far.

http://www.apgraphicsonline.com/tester.html


Thanks for the constructive crits so far guys, the input is helping alot. I think I will make the text a point bigger maybe...I just dont like big body text, it looks awkward and unappealing to me, but thats really a matter of personal style and preference. Does it feel too boxy? I mean I really like the header, but I would like something sleeker.

[skyrocket]

That leftnav looks odd floating to the side like that. Doesn't look part of the page somehow. The whole design looks awkward IYAM. In the modern generation browsers you can re-size text anyways.

[glimmerman]

Originally Posted by skyrocket

That leftnav looks odd floating to the side like that. Doesn't look part of the page somehow. The whole design looks awkward IYAM. In the modern generation browsers you can re-size text anyways.

I havent finished the graphics for the left navigation yet. So Im not sure if that would change your view on it. what exactly is awkward about the "whole design"? is it the fact that the content and nav are centered in the page...or the style of the graphics? Or even with the nav graphics complete, should I switch placement of the links to the right of the content box? Im trying to understand so I can make it look better. Ive given up trying to finish this site before my classes start up again. Might as well come up with more ideas for the design.

__edit__
just added the nav graphics, and left aligned the layout so take another look...

[glimmerman]

Hey folks I posted A newer template. And this One I definetly dont have qualms with. Im relatively satisfied with it. All I have to do is figure out how to make drop down menus. I centered the layout, but this time is one slender block about 500 pixels in width with a large header.
I was in inspired by the splash page of http://www.backbeatmedia.com/. I liked that front layout. And I looked at some other designs.

here is the link for my new template: http://www.apgraphicsonline.com/tester2.html

here is the link for the old one: http://www.apgraphicsonline.com/tester.html

[Intrinzik.v2]

ahh this one is soooooo much better, I dont understand why your using the toggle text? idk maybe just for fun, It might a good idea to incorporate that into the nav somehow, like have it pop out from the side once you click an arrow icon. It's definatly gradually improving.

[glimmerman]

Originally Posted by Intrinzik.v2

ahh this one is soooooo much better, I dont understand why your using the toggle text? idk maybe just for fun, It might a good idea to incorporate that into the nav somehow, like have it pop out from the side once you click an arrow icon. It's definatly gradually improving.

Thanks, Im almost getting there...Im in the process right now of coding a drop down menu so I can save on page space. The toggle text is just to test how it looks extended with extra content. It helps me see if there are any misalignment issues. I dont plan on using it at all in the actual site. Yea, Im sticking to this design, less coding problems and really the most serious stuff I have to worry about now is content and Image graphics.

____edit____

I found this simple drop down menu, there are no definition or unordered lists, I mean part of it is css, but its primarily javascript. It took me forever to find a SIMPLE, easy drop down menu that is compatible with IE and this is it. "This script works in all the major DHTML browsers- IE4+, NS6+, and Opera7+" (and firefox) and is much simpler in my opinion than all those suckerfish, definition list, and others. I know u big web guys prolly code with a hand tied behind ur back, but Im still new to coding css navigation menus with that kind of detail. I might end up using those heavy css menus some day, but for today I think I'll compromise with javascript.

heres a link to my new template with the dropdown navigation: http://www.apgraphicsonline.com/tester3.html

and heres a link to that page that gave me the tutorial for the navigation: http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamici...pmenuindex.htm

[skyrocket]

Yes, that's looking better. It's got a nice warm glow thing happening and I like the aqua-gel orange stuff. The top header is a bit in-your-face for my liking and I really don't know why you're designing to 500px fixed width. I like the horizontal navbar but you don't need no fancy drop down JS code-soup menu unless your site is going to be over 50 pages with heaps of sub-sections. Keep it simple and cleaner - it's fine as it is. Not sure about the cross-hair mouse pointer. Have you been playing too many Tom Clancy inspired PlayStation games in sniper-mode?

[moceanz24]

I really don't like the font size change on hover for your menu. the rest is pretty nice looking. I like your use of orange and the shadows.

[glimmerman]

hmm, I'll keep that in mind. I wasnt too sure about the text-transform myself. Now that I have someone else saying that I might go ahead and just keep it all lowercase. Sorry I havent posted or made updates to the page in the last 3 days. I just moved in back into my apartment and my ethernet port is screwed up or something so I have to have our service provider check it out either today or tommorrow. Im at my job right now, lol. I'll get something up soon.

Oh by the way, Im looking to design a graphic, or illustration to place in the content space for the front(home) page. If u guys knew me, Im a pretty humorous, silly guy. So I was thinking of doing a funny cartoon/illustration or graphic. I mean I know it wouldnt be funny to everyone, but ya know..Any ideas? I had some ideas. I mean I take my work seriously, but I dont personally take myself too serious. Makes you seem too self-important or whatever.