• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

questions about this site

this-justin

Member
Joined
May 21, 2011
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
two honest questions: 1) why is this website so ugly and visually unsophisticated, especially considering the subject matter, and 2) why is the "u" in the word styleforum masthead red while the rest of the letters black—what is the purpose? thanks!

don't get me wrong, i find the content interesting for the most part and that's the important thing, but man, it's 2011.
 

vaalbara

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
474
Reaction score
172
i much prefer this design over generic web2.0 color gradient bullshit, but to each their own
 

in stitches

Stylish Dinosaur
Spamminator Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Messages
66,397
Reaction score
33,106
assuming you are serious, which is questionable, good content makes a visually enhanced web design not neccessary. Until you posed this question I hadnt even thought about it, and i usually dont enjoy a web site with boring design. here however, the volume of solid content makes it a moot point afiac. and I enjoy the mistique of the scarlet letter
 

MikeDT

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
4,272
Reaction score
282
Because it's a chat forum, it's easy to use, functional and works very well. The colour scheme might not be to everyone's taste, but I like it.

TBH I despise the shiny blue gradients, distracting animations and eye candy of many so called 'web2.0' sites.
 

this-justin

Member
Joined
May 21, 2011
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Originally Posted by MikeDT
TBH I despise the shiny blue gradients, distracting animations and eye candy of many so called 'web2.0' sites.

Thanks for the comments. I will message those folks you all mentioned.

To clarify from my last post,

I, too, dislike blue gradients, distracting animations, flash, and eye candy. I am not a fan of "web 2.0" stuff at all. I call that bubble gum design and I'm not into it. I have more a swiss typography, minimalist, modern, clean, kind of eye. When I place something on the page or screen, I try to do so to help tell a story, aid in navigation, aid in understanding, etc. It needs to have a purpose. I typically dislike things that "have the look of meaning" but are really just there filling space as decoration.

(For the record, I am a graphic designer working in San Francisco; maybe I am being hyper sensitive to the visual identity of this site and forum, but I just think things can be stepped up a notch or two.)

And also, I have no problems with the colors. I love shades of grey and burgundy/maroon/brick red. I don't think the site should be "visually enhanced" the way you all are referring to. I just think that the site, as it stands now, is visually clunky, cluttered, outdated, default, unsophisticated. It is in opposition to a lot of the content, style advice, brands, etc that people discuss on the site. I actually think that a lot of the visual "stuff" (lines, boxes, boxes within boxes within boxes) scattered all over the pages can be removed, rethought, etc while not losing any of the content, but aiding in clarity. Reduce the visual clutter.

I don't mean to detract from the great job the admins have done with making sure all goes smoothly here. A lot of hard work goes into this site, I know, so I don't mean to take anything away from those efforts and those individuals. And I know a visual refresh is a lot of work. I do indeed know.

I just think that the way things are presented could be handled a little more deftly. A touch more elegantly. Take a look at Site Inspire, and all of the sites that it features, for example. Different content and information hierarchy, I know, but I really think styleforum can evolve to feel cleaner along these lines. Also check out Dowling Duncan and Mike McQuade. Even Chair Free Chicago.

I would love to see styleforum's 11 primary categories ("buying and selling", "streetwear and denim", etc) be treated in this modular way, where each category gets its own square/block/module on the main page. Perhaps when the visitor rolls over a particular category, the latest post info shows (similar to how it works on the Dowling Duncan site). Then when they click to visit that category, they are presented with a well thought out list of posts and supporting information. Again, no information would be lost. It would just be handled with more nuance, and I think better reflect the taste of many of the forum members.

Anyway, I wanted to write up a slightly longer reply as a way to clarify from my first post. Sorry for being a bit vague with that. And thanks again for the names of the people in charge.

I don't know, does anyone else see where I'm coming from, or does everyone either not care, or really enjoy what's happening right now visually?

Thanks!

Justin
 

unjung

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2008
Messages
6,346
Reaction score
13
I think it's tough to make the forum software work in any way other than how it was designed, so that's probably more the issue, but PM voxsartoria to discuss further.
 

redcaimen

Bigtime
Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
6,787
Reaction score
552
Im going to add my voice to the general consensus and suggest you take this up with Vox. This is pretty much his bailiwick. It would probably be more productive simply to PM him rather than start a thread on the topic. Specific discussion of this sort has a way of getting off topic here in the general forum.
 

MetroStyles

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
May 4, 2006
Messages
14,586
Reaction score
30
Everyone is trolling you, bro.

The reason this site is designed like this is because vBulletin is the preeminent (and best) forum platform available. This site uses vBulletin for its boards. Another benefit of using vBulletin is that most new users are already familiar with how to use the boards as they have likely encountered it before.

StyleForum is mainly a discussion site. There is some original content, but it is limited. As such, having a portal or cutesy designed splash page like the ones you linked to would only detract from the real reason its users visit the site. Style is good but it must be functional - in this case it would be the opposite.

If you can point to forums that are better designed, go ahead, but comparing a vBulletin board to a regular website is as fruitless as comparing apples to oranges.
 

Master-Classter

Distinguished Member
Spamminator Moderator
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
8,366
Reaction score
1,236
^^ that's your answer.

as for the highlighted "U" in Forum, it's a throwback to when the forum was originally made and I think it was supposed to be some sort of 'style for you' thing.
 

imschatz

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2010
Messages
855
Reaction score
32
Originally Posted by MetroStyles
Everyone is trolling you, bro.

The reason this site is designed like this is because vBulletin is the preeminent (and best) forum platform available. This site uses vBulletin for its boards. Another benefit of using vBulletin is that most new users are already familiar with how to use the boards as they have likely encountered it before.

StyleForum is mainly a discussion site. There is some original content, but it is limited. As such, having a portal or cutesy designed splash page like the ones you linked to would only detract from the real reason its users visit the site. Style is good but it must be functional - in this case it would be the opposite.

If you can point to forums that are better designed, go ahead, but comparing a vBulletin board to a regular website is as fruitless as comparing apples to oranges.

Add the fact, that to have a 'cutesy designed splash page' that would function with the number of people that frequent this site .. would likely cost 10x as much.
 

redcaimen

Bigtime
Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
6,787
Reaction score
552
Originally Posted by MetroStyles
Everyone is trolling you, bro.

The reason this site is designed like this is because vBulletin is the preeminent (and best) forum platform available. This site uses vBulletin for its boards. Another benefit of using vBulletin is that most new users are already familiar with how to use the boards as they have likely encountered it before.

StyleForum is mainly a discussion site. There is some original content, but it is limited. As such, having a portal or cutesy designed splash page like the ones you linked to would only detract from the real reason its users visit the site. Style is good but it must be functional - in this case it would be the opposite.

If you can point to forums that are better designed, go ahead, but comparing a vBulletin board to a regular website is as fruitless as comparing apples to oranges.


Comparing apples to oranges may not be useful but its hardly fruitless.
 

LA Guy

Opposite Santa
Admin
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2002
Messages
57,336
Reaction score
36,171
We are actually going to go to a new system, with both increased functionality, and hopefully, visual appeal. We are actually in the testing and user-review stage (as some of you know).

Fortunately, we are not going to a format like any of the examples posted by the OP, all of which I find to be unintuitive to use, overly trendy, and about-to-be-dated. As in, they will be the Avocado Green of 2011. Ugh. I nearly threw up my delicious lunch. I know a lot of graphic designers, and we work with some. The problem with graphic designers is the same as the problem with fashion designers. The best ones make something appealing, and move on. The huge middle of the pack pick up on an idea, and run it into the ground. The design of those websites are deader than that '59 Playboy Playmate.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 45 40.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 44 39.6%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 5 4.5%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 18 16.2%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 25 22.5%

Forum statistics

Threads
504,422
Messages
10,573,926
Members
223,687
Latest member
corcelleglauru
Top