So after doing all that work on the science/chemistry/hex design, we switched back to the original plan of panels. In addition to working on these comps, we also had to give a presentation to our class, so we had to really make sure that these comps were presentable to our peers. We have two styles, a ‘pink tab’ nav and a ’science’ nav. Below are an example of each for the main page and profile view.
We’re going with the second idea here, which uses 3D space to transition and sort and all that great stuff.
So based off of what was deemed ‘the ugliest thing I’ve seen’ came new life. We looked at a totally different layout scheme and a science theme. Based off of the periodic table nav and the chemical compound comp came these two, which we have decided to go with. The previous ones look great, but they look just like ‘another really good looking network site’ and not ‘wow I’ve never seen that before.’ We want to go for the later, so we’re going in that direction now. We’ll still keep the other ideas around and incorporate them as well.
Some new comps in the previous style:
Two more refined comps. We agreed that the first one here is too stylized, and that it will become dated too fast.
Rough comp based off of the Periodic Table nav from the previous meeting:
Some examples of what we are thinking for visualizations.
The separate panel concept has now more or less become what we decided on, giving a way to ‘chunk’ the sections better. The physical element of tags and banners is apparent in all three.
We also have some more nav ideas. Pay close intention to the periodic table one.
Still experimenting, playing around with more “light” comps. Decide that we like the one example as opposed to four, since having four works, four sparks, and three or four people starts to make it too cluttered. Adam Smith, our professor / mentor for the project, told us we needed to make it feel more FI (Fantasy Interactive, a design firm in Stockholm) so we might have pushed that a little too far for that last comp. Looks sweet though.
Started to think about how the database needs to be arranged
Round 3 of comps, more refined Introduction of the banner/ribbon and tags. Navigation work becomes a priority.
Separate ideas for Nav:
More comps this time, each one done by a different person. You can see that they all have very common elements. Except for Jeff’s, they are all dark. Colors are also very similar to one another. The long shaped thumbnails is another common element that we liked, since it related to the theme of the ‘full bleed avatars.’ Introduction of textured background using carbon fiber pattern. Another element that is repatriated down the line is the use of CMYK colors, as seen on the second to last comp. It gives the site more of a print feel, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
