Hi Marcos,
I've pretty much reserved comment on visual aspects of the new user interface until now. My typical reaction to software updates is to initially dislike a new interface format. However, more often than not, once I become accustomed to the new format I recognize its superiority over the old. It's in our nature to resist change.
Some comparisons of SI Classic to Beta:
Classic uses larger font sizes to aid in the visibility of navigation tools. Beta uses the same font size for almost everything.
Both use sans serif font for everything except the actual message text. Beta does too, except for private messages, which are currently displayed in sans serif. A temporary oversight, I suspect.
Both sites use colored rules. Classic uses them only for navigation bars, while Beta uses them for page formatting and some navigation bars. A major difference here is that Classic always uses dark text imbedded in colored bars, whereas Beta has some darker bars with reversed white text. We've dealt with this issue on documents published on our intranet and have come to the conclusion that dark rules with light text are something to be generally avoided. To wit:
The reversed or light text on a dark background can be very eye-appealing in a high-resolution environment, such as process color on coated stock paper. Computer monitors are a different matter. Scott mentioned earlier in this thread that he was seeing a gradient in the colored bars. I observe the same thing - it's an effect of a LCD screen on a laptop. The bars will appear to have varying gradients as the position of the user's head and eyes move relative to the screen. There is also a tendency for reversed or white text to become "washed out" on a dark background. This is not observed on SI Classic because all of the colored backgrounds there use a lighter color with a dark typeface. The result of all of this is that a user in the current Beta environment must "search" for these features or labels because they do not stand out was well, thus detracting from the appeal of the site.
It's a delicate thing, to be sure. Even though Cheeky's mock up uses dark type on colored rules, it too gives the washed out effect because the blue rules are too dark.
Some continued tweaking is in order, IMHO. |
