There''s been some discussion on the IRC channel about getting a site for Merb going. Since the culture around the project is pretty casual, I figured I''d just throw a few ideas together, see what you guys think. So, firstly here are three example pages, just to show off the general look and feel. http://mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/01_frontpage.gif http://mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/02_contribute.gif http://mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/03_why.gif A few notes on the design: I''ve gone for something quite clean, with most of the interest coming from the abstract shapes in the background. I know some people aren''t so keen on them, but I can''t help it. I think they''re nice :) Ez, I put in tabs for you! I think the argument for ''Why Merb?'' could be presented in a more visually interesting way ? perhaps with some illustrations ? but I didn''t want to get carried away. After all, you guys might hate the design. The colour scheme is totally flexible. This is just the scheme I got working after some initial playing about. The ''logo'' is potentially only temporary. I didn''t put too much thought into it tbh. So, what do you guys think? -- Luke.Sutton
>> The colour scheme is totally flexible. This is just the scheme I got >> working after some initial playing about. >> > > Also the "space" at both sides of the true content seems too wide, > hope that could be flexible/float.Possibly, although I don''t think a flexible layout would actually work in the case. There isn''t content to justify it. We can certainly experiment with that though.> >> The ''logo'' is potentially only temporary. I didn''t put too much >> thought into it tbh. > > I like it, but is a bit "too serious". The Merb logo that made to the > repo (with green colors) is not the same... the differ quite a bit :-PI didn''t have the original logo to hand, and masking out the jpg from the logo was fiddly, so I hacked this together. As I say, it''s temporary. I dunno, it''s at least shiney like the green one :) I wonder, should we be discussing a logo as well?>> So, what do you guys think? >> > > So far, it''s excellent. > > I''ll rearrange the order of reasons... the ORM independence is quite > important...I think I repeated a couple as well. They need a bit of editing I reckon. Thanks for the feedback! -- Luke
On 10/15/07, Luke Sutton <luke.sutton at gmail.com> wrote:> > > >> The colour scheme is totally flexible. This is just the scheme I got > >> working after some initial playing about. > >> > > > > Also the "space" at both sides of the true content seems too wide, > > hope that could be flexible/float. > > Possibly, although I don''t think a flexible layout would actually > work in the case. There isn''t content to justify it. We can certainly > experiment with that though.Also, narrowing the column for content makes it more readable. I''d even look to bring the margin on the content itself in some of the left, offsetting it from the header. I wouldn''t be afraid of the whitespace in this situation since it is bounded by the overall container of the design, maybe we can fill it later but I don''t think it''s a real problem.> > >> The ''logo'' is potentially only temporary. I didn''t put too much > >> thought into it tbh. > > > > I like it, but is a bit "too serious". The Merb logo that made to the > > repo (with green colors) is not the same... the differ quite a bit :-P > > I didn''t have the original logo to hand, and masking out the jpg from > the logo was fiddly, so I hacked this together. As I say, it''s > temporary. I dunno, it''s at least shiney like the green one :) > > I wonder, should we be discussing a logo as well?A big "m" should suffice, or not.>> So, what do you guys think? > >> > > > > So far, it''s excellent. > > > > I''ll rearrange the order of reasons... the ORM independence is quite > > important... > > I think I repeated a couple as well. They need a bit of editing I > reckon. > > Thanks for the feedback! > > -- > Luke > _______________________________________________ > Merb-devel mailing list > Merb-devel at rubyforge.org > http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/merb-devel >-------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://rubyforge.org/pipermail/merb-devel/attachments/20071015/29a65887/attachment.html
I like it. I especially like the marketbabble on the ''why'' page. I wonder what it looks like on the iPhone? On 10/15/07, James Thompson <james at plainprograms.com> wrote:> On 10/15/07, Luke Sutton <luke.sutton at gmail.com> wrote: > > > > >> The colour scheme is totally flexible. This is just the scheme I got > > >> working after some initial playing about. > > >> > > > > > > Also the "space" at both sides of the true content seems too wide, > > > hope that could be flexible/float. > > > > Possibly, although I don''t think a flexible layout would actually > > work in the case. There isn''t content to justify it. We can certainly > > experiment with that though. > > Also, narrowing the column for content makes it more readable. I''d even look > to bring the margin on the content itself in some of the left, offsetting it > from the header. I wouldn''t be afraid of the whitespace in this situation > since it is bounded by the overall container of the design, maybe we can > fill it later but I don''t think it''s a real problem. > > > > > > >> The ''logo'' is potentially only temporary. I didn''t put too much > > >> thought into it tbh. > > > > > > I like it, but is a bit "too serious". The Merb logo that made to the > > > repo (with green colors) is not the same... the differ quite a bit :-P > > > > I didn''t have the original logo to hand, and masking out the jpg from > > the logo was fiddly, so I hacked this together. As I say, it''s > > temporary. I dunno, it''s at least shiney like the green one :) > > > > I wonder, should we be discussing a logo as well? > > > > A big "m" should suffice, or not. > > >> So, what do you guys think? > > >> > > > > > > So far, it''s excellent. > > > > > > I''ll rearrange the order of reasons... the ORM independence is quite > > > important... > > > > I think I repeated a couple as well. They need a bit of editing I > > reckon. > > > > Thanks for the feedback! > > > > -- > > Luke > > _______________________________________________ > > Merb-devel mailing list > > Merb-devel at rubyforge.org > > http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/merb-devel > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Merb-devel mailing list > Merb-devel at rubyforge.org > http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/merb-devel > >-- Cheers, Kevin Williams http://kevwil.com/ http://www.almostserio.us/ http://kevwil.jaiku.com/
On 10/15/07, Luke Sutton <luke.sutton at gmail.com> wrote:> I think the argument for ''Why Merb?'' could be presented in a more > visually interesting way ? perhaps with some illustrations ? but I > didn''t want to get carried away. After all, you guys might hate the > design. > > So, what do you guys think?I think it''s cleanly designed and well done as a website, but I don''t think it communicates what Merb is about. When I think of Merb, I think of * Built for speed * Lightweight but Powerful * Minimal core code augmented with plugins I think we need more of a scientific/industrial look and less of a fun, pastel look. Maybe even black/white, but definitely more toward the feel of your designs for DataMapper ( http://datamapper.org/ ). We want people to look at merbivore.org for 5 seconds and feel that Merb is solid, capable, and serious. It''s not something to mix with ammonia, unless you''re wearing a gas mask. And we also need Louie on there somewhere. -- Geoffrey Grosenbach boss at topfunky.com ........................ PeepCode Screencasts http://peepcode.com
first I think posting the mockups was great. nothing gets a discussion going like a mockup. design based around functionality. let merb decorate itself. show code samples right on the homepage*. nicely styled with syntax highlighting/color. if you use graphics use them to illustrate, not as background. * like it does not render by default. why i use merb: doesn''t have the locking problem of rails. works with ActiveRecord or other ORM. mention activerecord. the customer will be like hey I know activerecord! fast works with HAML, and other templating systems but I don''t really think MERB is a framework,. it is a solution to the framework puzzle. it is the answer to the C and the R in MVCRT. Model View Controller Router Test MERB lets the customer choose the MV and T. Or maybe that T is an S or a B. And maybe R is part of C. But, it is a separate layer isn''t it? On Oct 15, 2007, at 12:50 PM, Geoffrey Grosenbach wrote:> On 10/15/07, Luke Sutton <luke.sutton at gmail.com> wrote: >> I think the argument for ''Why Merb?'' could be presented in a more >> visually interesting way ? perhaps with some illustrations ? but I >> didn''t want to get carried away. After all, you guys might hate the >> design. >> >> So, what do you guys think? > > I think it''s cleanly designed and well done as a website, but I don''t > think it communicates what Merb is about. > > When I think of Merb, I think of > > * Built for speed > * Lightweight but Powerful > * Minimal core code augmented with plugins > > I think we need more of a scientific/industrial look and less of a > fun, pastel look. Maybe even black/white, but definitely more toward > the feel of your designs for DataMapper ( http://datamapper.org/ ). > > We want people to look at merbivore.org for 5 seconds and feel that > Merb is solid, capable, and serious. It''s not something to mix with > ammonia, unless you''re wearing a gas mask. > > And we also need Louie on there somewhere. > > -- > Geoffrey Grosenbach > boss at topfunky.com > ........................ > PeepCode Screencasts > http://peepcode.com > _______________________________________________ > Merb-devel mailing list > Merb-devel at rubyforge.org > http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/merb-devel
> I think we need more of a scientific/industrial look and less of a > fun, pastel look. Maybe even black/white, but definitely more toward > the feel of your designs for DataMapper ( http://datamapper.org/ ).I had thought of that approach, but wanted to avoid something too similar. Still, I see where you''re coming from. What about if we try simplifying the layout ? ditch the decorative elements ? and go for a monochromatic colour scheme? As you suggest, black and white would work well I think. -- Luke
> What about if we try simplifying the layout ? ditch the decorative > elements ? and go for a monochromatic colour scheme? As you suggest, > black and white would work well I think. > > > After all, no color is less than no color! Yeah keep it simple, > perhaps some greyscale.LOL! Very good :)
On Oct 16, 2007, at 09:58 , Luke Sutton wrote:>> After all, no color is less than no color! Yeah keep it simple, >> perhaps some greyscale. > > LOL! Very good :)For a neat, subtle gray-scale tech website, see Io''s: http://iolanguage.com/about/ -Olle
Ok, so I''ve had a good think about the critisims and suggestions and I thought it might be worth trying out something a fair bit different to the last one. Here it is: http://mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious.gif This layout is mainly black and white, with just a few colours to accent the design. I particularly liked Geoffrey''s suggestion to emphasise a few key features of Merb. I''ve gone for the phrase ''Built for speed, lightweight, powerful''. I also think John''s idea of having code examples on the front page is tops. I couldn''t think of anything particularly illustrative, so I''ve just put the install instructions in there for now. And? the logo. I actually put a little more time into this than I originally intended. There needed to be something that would suit the almost monochromatic colour scheme. Also, I think the glossy/shiney logo look is a bit overdone by now. We should be looking to differentiate Merb from everything else out there. So I created some custom type to spell the name. A logotype is the best solution IMO, since it''s hard to link merb to a single concept that can be easily represented in a logo. So! What do you guys think? -- Luke
visually i like this direction. the icons add a touch of humor and lightness. they could be links to (all as one, or individual) to explain merb''s health benefits. personally i would stay away from trying to tackle a logo and a design at the same time. work on one or the other and keep the conversation focused. i will say this about the logo: 1+1 is 2 or more in visuals. the interior negative stroke on the face is adding a lot. I don''t think of Merb as being about minimalism, but I do think it is about being less and lightweight. peace - john On Oct 16, 2007, at 5:08 AM, Luke Sutton wrote:> Ok, so I''ve had a good think about the critisims and suggestions and > I thought it might be worth trying out something a fair bit different > to the last one. > > Here it is: > http://mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious.gif > > This layout is mainly black and white, with just a few colours to > accent the design. I particularly liked Geoffrey''s suggestion to > emphasise a few key features of Merb. I''ve gone for the phrase ''Built > for speed, lightweight, powerful''. > > I also think John''s idea of having code examples on the front page is > tops. I couldn''t think of anything particularly illustrative, so I''ve > just put the install instructions in there for now. > > And? the logo. I actually put a little more time into this than I > originally intended. There needed to be something that would suit the > almost monochromatic colour scheme. Also, I think the glossy/shiney > logo look is a bit overdone by now. We should be looking to > differentiate Merb from everything else out there. > > So I created some custom type to spell the name. A logotype is the > best solution IMO, since it''s hard to link merb to a single concept > that can be easily represented in a logo. > > So! What do you guys think? > > -- > Luke > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Merb-devel mailing list > Merb-devel at rubyforge.org > http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/merb-devel
Ok, so I thought I''d just plug along and work on a few more pages. This should shake out more ideas and give us a better idea of how suitable/flexible this layout is. I agree about the logo. Best left for a later point. I''m hoping that we keep the site suitably simple that a logo can be dropped in without needing dramatic changes. I haven''t added an overview page, I think ''Why Merb?'' covers that to some extent, although it could just be labeled overview instead. www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_front.gif www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_contribute.gif www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_why.gif www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_get.gif Take it squeezy, Luke
Just for the hell of it I also tried the front page with the existing logo taken from the app skeleton. I actually really like it! :) It works better than I though it would. www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_logo_test.gif -- Luke
On 10/18/07, Luke Sutton <luke.sutton at gmail.com> wrote:> > Just for the hell of it I also tried the front page with the existing > logo taken from the app skeleton. > > I actually really like it! :) > > It works better than I though it would. > > www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_logo_test.gif >Love the green logo ("Merb, environmentally friendly"). Love where you''re going with the layout idea. Still don''t care for the colored squiggles on the first page ;) ~Wayne -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://rubyforge.org/pipermail/merb-devel/attachments/20071018/a1151383/attachment.html
>> It works better than I though it would. >> >> www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_logo_test.gif >> > > Luke, I really like your work!, and the time you''ve invested on > it! :-)Thank you. I''m doing it coz I think Merb is? awesome!> It''s great! > > I''ll add some syntax highlight for the code, ad gt eh headers fixed > (the why page list eh advantages and the get page list the procedure > of download) :-Doops :)> But guess we could create some "Merbiant" (A Radiant Merb Clone) with > DataMapper ;-)That would be a top idea. For one thing it''d be a really great example of a Merb app, the sort of thing people ask after all the time ? ''is there a good cms for [rails, merb, php]''. -- Luke
On Oct 18, 2007, at 3:50 AM, Luke Sutton wrote:> Ok, so I thought I''d just plug along and work on a few more pages. > This should shake out more ideas and give us a better idea of how > suitable/flexible this layout is. > > I agree about the logo. Best left for a later point. I''m hoping that > we keep the site suitably simple that a logo can be dropped in > without needing dramatic changes. > > I haven''t added an overview page, I think ''Why Merb?'' covers that to > some extent, although it could just be labeled overview instead. > > www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_front.gif > www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_contribute.gif > www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_why.gif > www.mr-eel.com/tmp/merb/serious_get.gif > > Take it squeezy, > LukeLuke- This is starting to look really sweet! I''ve been in the process of moving for the last week or so so I''ve been AWOL but I really like the direction you''re heading. I''d like to get merbivore.com up by rubyconf so I guess I need to make a little app we can use those mockups on. Cheers- -Ezra
> This is starting to look really sweet!Thanks man.> I''ve been in the process of moving for the last week or so so I''ve > been AWOL but I really like the direction you''re heading. I''d like > to get merbivore.com up by rubyconf so I guess I need to make a > little app we can use those mockups on.There was a suggestion of a merb app similar to Radiant ? although perhaps a little more simple ? on the IRC channel. A good idea I reckon. It could go into use on merbivore, but would also serve as a good showcase for Merb. Just a thought anyway. I''m ready and willing to pitch in with the CSS/HTML coding and anything else for that matter. 2 week deadline. We can totally do that :) -- Luke
> Love the green logo ("Merb, environmentally friendly").I''m not sure who did that one originally. All credit to them.> Love where you''re going with the layout idea. > Still don''t care for the colored squiggles on the first page ;)Well I like em, so there! :p -- Luke
>> There was a suggestion of a merb app similar to Radiant ? although >> perhaps a little more simple ? on the IRC channel. A good idea I >> reckon. It could go into use on merbivore, but would also serve as a >> good showcase for Merb. >> > > Was me :-)Sorry Luis, I couldn''t remember.> Radiant is way to complex, now with all their Page inheritance and > (Extensions) thing. > > I cannot commit to the project and do that (since I''ve my hands full > of OSS projects). > > I could hack something with help, but since this will have two sides: > Front and CMS, maybe 2 weeks deadline are less than ideal.For something moderately complicated, that is true. I''ve learned to be a little more conservative with deadlines. IT never works out how you hope!>> Just a thought anyway. > > Maybe a almost static-served-by-merb site could do for now, and later > migrate to a full CMS (obviously, powered by Merb).That might be the go. We could actually just make something totally static, no Merb. We could easily hit the deadline at that rate. Something like Webby (http://webby.rubyforge.org/) to handle the templating and output plain HTML. Then we just stick it on a server. I''ve had great success using it on the datamapper site. Awesome, awesome little app. Later on we can look at making a ''showcase'' application. Maybe Mr. Blog could get some love?>> I''m ready and willing to pitch in with the CSS/HTML coding and >> anything else for that matter. 2 week deadline. We can totally do >> that :) > > I like you enthusiasm :)I''ll be doing what I love!> Looking forward to test-drive it (browser compatibility check) ;-)That would be excellent. It''s always difficult to test everything, especially IE since I''m on a Mac. -- Luke