What Do You Think?

This was my wavering first choice when we were playing around.  I find the color palate soothing but are the books on the sides too much?  Still needs work (all the documents are out-of-date, for example). 

Always a work in progress.

Comments

seattle citizen said…
Don't get me wrong. I love books. A lot...But, whew, for my taste it's way too busy to read. Maybe something more subtle...a solitary Kindle, low lit, on the shelf?

WV is whooping it up because it monymet...?
seattle citizen said…
and the books have no titles. IF we could each selects some titles to put on the spines, I'd be convinced to stick with it!

I, too, tho', like the palatte of the main part.
MathTeacher42 said…
ummm... I like algebra ... all this pretty picture color stuff is outside my comfort zone.

looks fine - but so didn't the last 2, or 6.

BM
Anonymous said…
Aack..too busy for my brain.

-like it simple
cascade said…
No one will agree about design. Don't ask. Readability is a different thing, and that you should ask about.

FWIW, I like the books. More to the point, the rust-colored type is easier to read than the most recent blue treatment.
Wordpress said…
Wordpress.
Anonymous said…
I usually don't care about design, but the books are too much. i think it makes it too bright or something?

tired eyes
Anonymous said…
I'm a graphic designer. The books are a bit much at first, but I tune them right out once I start reading. They could be hard on someone new to the blog.
I very much like the warm color combinations and the serif font—very readable.
SolvayGirl
SE Mom said…
I like the new colors but I agree that the books are distracting.
ArchStanton said…
The links at the top of the page are hard to read against the book background. Maybe a different font color?

Otherwise, I find it readable.
NLM said…
I found the sans serif much easier to read than the new type but I like the colors much better. Maybe on my iPad I would view it differently but on my phone? All those extra gizmos on the typeface are rough on the eyes.
Anonymous said…
I like it.

Mom in Cap Hill
CJ said…
Much better - far more inviting - that first version was a complete turnoff - cold. The books don't bother me at all - the general layout and color scheme seem more unified than the earlier trial.
CJ
Maureen said…
Prefer the palette to the blue and white. Slight preference for no books. Biggest issue is how quickly it loads--seems slower now than the original--original seemed very quick (I often pulled it up when I was waiting for my email to load and could read a post and open commments before I could access my email.)
SP said…
Sorry, but the honest truth is I still think the original blog format worked far better overall than either of the new options (visual features such as readability, contrast, font, size and framing of the main column, etc).

I totally agree with Maureen that the original one also worked much smoother for scrolling & clicking, (this one is a little better than than 1st new one, but still has to "reload" and still catches & hesitiates when scrolling which really drives me crazy- I don't have the same problem on other blogs or websites). I actually now find myself skipping over the main text and going right to comments (which has the old format), so that I then can click of "show original post" and it will be in the old zippy & fast format & easier to read!

The only parts that were lacking originally were the "functional" features that other blogs offered (ie tabs on top leading to resources, more selections along the right side).

Thanks for all your efforts to try the new system- I'm sure it will all shake out eventually.
Anonymous said…
As I scroll down, the changing colors of the books actually make me queazy. The rest is fine, but, ugh, make the books go away.
Anonymous said…
I love it!. I think the books and color palate make it feel warm and inviting and make it more of a "branded" looking site rather than just one of a thousand personal text-only blogs. It looks more sophisticated to me than the last versions.

-Regular Reader
Erin said…
I like the previous font. It was much easier to read for my myopic eyes. The colors are better, but I really didn't mind the grey. The books are too much though. Is there a tone on tone design that can be used as a backdrop instead? That way it's not blank, but not distracting either.

If you change nothing else, please, please, please change the font back to sans serif.
dw said…
As cascade said, it's impossible to please everyone with every aspect. However, one thing that's been pretty consistent here in the comments is that the color palette is much better. I totally agree. I would probably scale back the contrast on the "post info" block (the brown block with author's name, etc.), but all in all the color scheme is the best yet.

Here's a thought on the books. I like them, but I also think they're "too strong", especially when scrolling. So I did a little mock-up desaturation (washing out) experiment, and I think it's a big improvement. Not sure who is doing this part for you, but it's as simple as taking the current background image and putting a Photoshop layer on top of it that's pure white at a 40-50% opacity. Give it a try!
dw said…
Oh, and this was too funny. SC, you're not thinking through what you're saying!

I love books. A lot...But, whew, for my taste it's way too busy to read.

Followed by:

IF we could each selects some titles to put on the spines, I'd be convinced to stick with it!

You do realize that if the books had titles the whole thing would be that much more busy, right?! ;-)
Anonymous said…
Ew. Go back to the blue and white, and the sans-serif fonts. Keep it simple. Lose the books, lose the colors, lose the serifs.

-- Ivan Weiss
Anonymous said…
The archive titles on the right hand side now wrap funny, and the labels section at the bottom doesn't scroll.
seattle citizen said…
dw, yeah, "books too busy to read"! I made a funny!

Adding titles would be even busier, yes, but then we could all put our favorite titles up there, which would be fun! But....that would be even busier, yikes!

Maybe instead we can have a thread on favorite titles, add those onto the book spines pic, then relegate the bookshelf to a separate thread that people could click on if they want to see what we like to read!
LG said…
the current colors are easier to read, thanks. books? I don't care.
CT said…
The books don't show up much on the iPad in portrait mode, no issues there. The warmer color palette is definitely easier on the eyes.

CT
One problem with liking the old format - it's going away. We couldn't keep it even if we wanted to. They are also changing the interface so that may become an issue.

I will still consider moving us to Wordpress but it entails a lot more work and I was hoping to keep it simple.

I will probably go serif; my book design work says it is easier to read than sans serif (but there's always disagreement). At least it's not Comic Sans.
Anonymous said…
From someone who took numerous typography classes at the college-level, I have to agree with Melissa: I will probably go serif; my book design work says it is easier to read than sans serif (but there's always disagreement). At least it's not Comic Sans.

The marble is lovely. I think the new look is quite good now.
SolvayGirl
Anonymous said…
Our public schools don't seem to use books much anymore... copiers, "packets", "kits", google, wiki... RIF'd most school librarians... it's scary.

But your blog is great regardless.
-Happy Halloween
seattle citizen said…
Books aren't STEM, happy halloween. Educators need to prepare students to take computerized tests and get jobs in the burgeoning tech industry, so books are out. So old school. Not shiny.
Anonymous said…
Look fine. But. VERY SLOW! Not worth it.

-parent

WV: supcoma
Juana said…
Without the books (and I'm a librarian!) and neutral background keep the eyes to the words. Thanks.
visually happy said…
the colors are much easier on the eyes vs. the blue on white. thanks for the change.
Johnny Calcagno said…
I like the new design and colors, but full disclosure, I am colorblind.

By the way, the colors of the Google Calendar widget can be changed to match the new blog colors.
Anonymous said…
Is there any way to fix the jumpy slowness in scrolling and in reloading for each strand? I'm using Internet Explorer.

...its super painful to try to use!
Anonymous said…
A pleasant surprise - I actually went "oh!" when I clicked on the site.

I like the colors and the fonts.

Books? What books? The books do not show on the Seattle public library computers.

-JC.
Anonymous said…
Thanks for keeping up with this blog. A lot of work. I like the new look except for one thing. I'm reading it in Firefox and the right hand panel seems overly noticeable (wide and too large a font) so that it "fights" with the main panel.
~~CE
Anonymous said…
Me Likey! Much Better! WSDWG
dan dempsey said…
Much better without the books.

This BLOG is made for reading.
rugles said…
Too busy at the top due the District Calendar. Colors/type/box steal focus from the lead story on the left.

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