$200 BetaDot.com Redesign Contest

[Refrozen]

Hello all,

I have a contest for you! A full redesign of BetaDot.com (means, at least two pages: home/category and article view page, potentially more pages, it's up to you), coded.

I want this new generation of BetaDot to be significantly more advanced than the current one. I really like the News.com style, as well as that "Web 2.0" large slight gradient feel.

The colorscheme should stay gray/orange, but, you can work it as you need. A new logo is not a must, but it is your responsibility to make the new design look good, if the logo doesn't fit with your new layout, a new one is potentially a good idea.

BetaDot 2.0 is going to be a significant overhaul of the current site, putting more force on community orienteation, particularly in the commenting aspect.

Before you start on any layouts, ask any questions you have.

The $200 will be paid via PayPal to the winner of the contest once I have picked a layout I like enough to use.




The Web 2.0 effect I referenced: http://9rules.com/
The News.com site I referenced: http://www.news.com

 

[GFX^^]

how many times have u got?

 

[dchesterton]

GFX:

The $200 will be paid via PayPal to the winner of the contest once I have picked a layout I like enough to use.

Expect something from me soon :D

 

[Sylense]

So let me clarify something. You just need a design template for the main index page and the article page coded in html?

You can expect an entry from me. Is there a set date for the deadline? Contests usually go alot better with a deadline rather than leaving it open.

 

[Refrozen]

So let me clarify something. You just need a design template for the main index page and the article page coded in html?

You can expect an entry from me. Is there a set date for the deadline? Contests usually go alot better with a deadline rather than leaving it open.

I need a layout that I can reimplement the site with, you can see the pages there currently are; things such as category-listings can usually use the same layout as the home page, but, if they cannot, you would need to implement that as well.

I'm hesitant to set a date, because I want to ensure I get something I'm extremely happy with. As soon as I see a layout I really like start to evolve, I will set a date for others to contribute

 

[vivsin]

Means you want new skin for your current website?
I am really confused .

 

[WillisTi]

I think what he is saying is that he expects most of the pages will look the same in the terms of the layout so there is no need to create these pages. But if there is a page that has a different layout then you need to implement it.

 

[Wybe]

I'm working on it I'll send you a PM

 

[Refrozen]

WillisTi, that is essentially what I mean. Currently, the entire site uses one and a half layouts, because they all have the same "idea", (white boxes around the content, essentially).

If you would like to really impress me, you should at least mockup the category/post pages, but, for maximum effect, they should be entirely designed as well. If your homepage layout will not work with the category layout, you must design a category layout too; same with the read-a-post page and any other pages that may be needed.

 

[Albino]

sounds good

any specific requests for the layout? nav menu links etc?

 

[WillisTi]

I will be entering this contest expect a design in the next couple of days.

When I build the homepage would you like me to include the content as seen on your current site?

 

[gio~logist]

This design was made especially for this contest, however, i did not put BetaDot.com due to the fact that i would like to sell it if it is not sold in this contest. So in the meantime, it'll be beneficial to me to just leave it as SiteName.com so that others can see it in the meantime until i know whether or not i will win this contest.

This template was made with a feel of the mixture of both sites you showed me and some ideas i had as well. I am proud of this design and hope you like it as well. The design is ready for content and can fit a lot in it. Also, a subpage can be made.

http://www.dopegfx.com/uploads/orangeblue/
http://www.dopegfx.com/uploads/orangeblue/index2.html

The two links show the same template, just different ways of laying out the background/header.

 

[Refrozen]

This design was made especially for this contest, however, i did not put BetaDot.com due to the fact that i would like to sell it if it is not sold in this contest. So in the meantime, it'll be beneficial to me to just leave it as SiteName.com so that others can see it in the meantime until i know whether or not i will win this contest.

This template was made with a feel of the mixture of both sites you showed me and some ideas i had as well. I am proud of this design and hope you like it as well. The design is ready for content and can fit a lot in it. Also, a subpage can be made.

http://www.dopegfx.com/uploads/orangeblue/

I really like it, the only thing I don't like right now is the colorscheme.

The colorscheme should stay gray/orange, but, you can work it as you need.

I really want to retain the same gray/orange feel, as much as possible, as it's already a branded feel of the site to many of my repeat visitors, and to be honest, the current colors of your layout don't appeal to me.

However, I must be clear, that layout is almost -perfect- in terms of covering the style of homepage I'd like. I really like the entire sidebar with the blocks, and the spots for images, as Cnet's News.com does.

The most important change right now would be the colors. The "Whats new in teh scoop" part is my favourite, as I could have it replaced with a headline and short description for the articles covered by the images immediately above.

By the style of that page, a subpage will definitely be needed, however, we can wait on that until either we feel happy with this particular layout, or even until I decide the winners.

When I build the homepage would you like me to include the content as seen on your current site?

If you want, or you can just use placeholder content, it doesn't matter.

any specific requests for the layout? nav menu links etc?

It must be able to do everything the current layout does.

 

[gio~logist]

I really like it, the only thing I don't like right now is the colorscheme.



I really want to retain the same gray/orange feel, as much as possible, as it's already a branded feel of the site to many of my repeat visitors, and to be honest, the current colors of your layout don't appeal to me.

However, I must be clear, that layout is almost -perfect- in terms of covering the style of homepage I'd like. I really like the entire sidebar with the blocks, and the spots for images, as Cnet's News.com does.

The most important change right now would be the colors. The "Whats new in teh scoop" part is my favourite, as I could have it replaced with a headline and short description for the articles covered by the images immediately above.

By the style of that page, a subpage will definitely be needed, however, we can wait on that until either we feel happy with this particular layout, or even until I decide the winners.





If you want, or you can just use placeholder content, it doesn't matter.



It must be able to do everything the current layout does.

I just edited my post with 2 links now. It may help a tad to know which one you like better :p Also, the color scheme issue is not a problem, that can be changed free of charge.

 

[Refrozen]

The only difference I see is the bar across the top, and I definitely prefer it going all the way, however, I really don't like the color of it, but, thinking about it, I'm not sure if it would look very good changing the entire colorscheme to gray/orange.

I'm unsure how the layout could be changed to:

A. fix the colorscheme to something that I really like.
B. to keep the gray/orange feel of BD.

 

[gio~logist]

Just out of curiosity, is it the colors that you don't like or the fact that the colors do not match your current template?

 

[Refrozen]

Actually both.
I don't like the colors themselves: they don't lend to the professional move I'm trying to push on BetaDot, overall I just don't like the colors :P

And, I don't like the fact they go against my current colorscheme.

 

[jaker]

I went for a more professional look and followed your current website a bit more also. There are a few different font styles that I included to show different possibilities.

 

[Refrozen]

I really like the professionality of it, however, I'm trying to move away from that linear-style, to something more innovative; if you look at DopeGFX's layout, he's gone for something more innovative, and, in my opinion, something that would make users remember the site, and have more desire to come back.

If you can take the idea you've already made, and convert it to something more unique, and less like the current layout in terms of actual naviagation and content access, I think I'll really like it.

Another thing I want to tell you guys is BetaDot 2.0 is going to feature substantially fewer categories (probably about 5), you can take that in to consideration while designing.

The full article texts will also be longer.

 

[jaker]

I really like the professionality of it, however, I'm trying to move away from that linear-style, to something more innovative; if you look at DopeGFX's layout, he's gone for something more innovative, and, in my opinion, something that would make users remember the site, and have more desire to come back.

If you can take the idea you've already made, and convert it to something more unique, and less like the current layout in terms of actual naviagation and content access, I think I'll really like it.

Another thing I want to tell you guys is BetaDot 2.0 is going to feature substantially fewer categories (probably about 5), you can take that in to consideration while designing.

The full article texts will also be longer.

When you said you like news.com, I figured you were heading more into a "standard" news website with a fast loading, easy, clean interface...people remember good designs, yes, but also good organization and content. People won't come back if they can't find what they are looking for.

How drastic do you want the new design to be different from your current site? Do you even want the current content to be placeable in the new design? It doesn't look like it....