Comments on: USSM redesign request for recs

By: ballparkclassics

ballparkclassics — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:04:22 +0000

our design, marketing, and ad agency would be glad to help as we all read USSM and discuss it in the office. We are http://www.glg.com and are located in downtown Seattle at 5th and Pine. Derek and Dave, I will e-mail you with info. We built http://www.charlesinspace.com which is an over-the-top flash site with a wordpress backend. Agree with the comments posted here that design needs to get out of the way of the great content, but it can aid in readability, ease of navigation, and mobile access for sure.

By: JoelE

JoelE — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:26:31 +0000

It’s easy to confuse design with styling. I highly doubt that USSM is looking for an over-the-top, obnoxious new look, complete with heavy, slow-to-load header graphics featuring WFB and pink pony wallpapers.

That’s what the USSM MySPace page should be all about.

The content is what makes the site great, obviously. A good design should be able to maximize the readability & searchability of the content here.

By: pensive

pensive — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:37:09 +0000

I’m firmly entrenched in the camp “here for the content”.
I like and appreciate the current design and simplicity.

Not sure why it has been loading slow lately.

Naturally whatever makes it easier for the authors is most important.

By: windwardtrades

windwardtrades — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:25:03 +0000

My .02, after taking a peek at your source code I’d suggest you don’t have to upgrade to each minor version upgrade of WP. You are running your feeds off your site and using feedburner is a lot easier and less breakable. I use a commercial theme that is well thought out and uses an innovative approach to CSS. It uses a standard CSS file and a custom CSS file which allows easy and safe enhancements. It’s also media friendly. Is commercial, but not expensive at all. The developer site is at http://diythemes.com/thesis/ and my licensed version is at http://agediscriminationblog.com

By: Lauren, token chick

Lauren, token chick — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:00:26 +0000

Can you please put the thread up where we can say “Whaaa? We’re here for the content, screw a snazzy design which will only serve to lure in the obnoxious.”

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:25:42 +0000

I don’t have any association with them but I like a number of the blogs designed by Unique Blog Designs. http://www.uniqueblogdesigns.com

By: cfbauer

cfbauer — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:06:55 +0000

I do Wordpress theming. You can check out my portfolio at http://chrisbauer.org.

You can see the Padres blog I designed at http://thesacrificebunt.com.

By: mln

mln — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:48:24 +0000

Whatever the new site design is, it should have pink ponies, Burger Chef, and a blowup of WFB’s face as wallpaper background, doncha think?

By: seattleslew

seattleslew — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:02:21 +0000

I’m a local web developer/designer with WP experience. I’ve done WP projects for sports related sites as well. However, for more flexibility I recommend checking out Expression Engine. http://www.expressionengine.com

By: julian

julian — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:48:12 +0000

Agreed. One important decision that will have to be made is whether to stick with a flexible-width design (i.e. the middle column expands to fill the space available to it) or go with something fixed-width. Many more design options if you go with the latter.