Re: New index.html-- any objections?

[Steve Hall <digitect mindspring com>]

From: Aaron Weber, Jan 6, 2004 11:52 AM
> 
> There's a mockup of www.gnome.org/index.html up here:
> 
> http://www.viralata.net/gnome/top_page_mockup_v10.html
> 
> Aside from the mention of the 12/31/03 deadline (which we should of
> course delete, now that it's past), does anyone have any objections
> to this page?

Generally, the page rocks, except for the header title ("The GNOME
Project") through the header image simply does not work:

o Black text, without outline, shadow or any other separating haze is
  nearly impossible to read over any background image with colors
  darker than about "#eeeeee".
o Use of a variably sized object within a fixed size space is asking
  for trouble:
  * For me, the "j" decends out of the header (Win32, Firebird 0.7,
    normal size font) which destroys the design idea. The graphical
    logic is lost in any case where a user's display does not exactly
    correspond to the range expected. (Try bumping zooming up the font
    size two clicks. My first impulse was to ask why the text was not
    centered within the header, but then realized you may have
    intended it that way.)
  * Readibility can easily be lost when other objects are re-arranged
    around the title. For me, the title overlaps the navigation text
    at IE's "largest" font setting.
o The whole point of the design is the contrast of the header image's
  spatial quality against the page body's 2D quality. Splotching text
  across the header is at best graphically insensitive. ;)

*Please* consider placing header titling the way it is done at

  http://www.gnomedesktop.org/

that is:

o Scaled absolutely
  * Fit and position
  * Unaffected to browser zoom level
o Right justified (balanced)
o Right justified (not obscuring the background image)
o Contrasting in color

While not text-only/CSS beautiful, this is much more accessible than
the proposed.

Otherwise, the page looks great! (Oops, have to add that the top nav
links are spaced too far apart and suffer wrapping problems at small
res/large font.) I'd be happy to do the graphic if help is needed,
too, although it looks like the work is already in capable hands.


-- 
Steve Hall  [ digitect mindspring com ]