[joshua.lyon]

This isn't really a bug, but it's not a gripe either -- I just wanted to post some feedback on the design of the new forums. First, I'd like to say that I'm glad you guys were able to make some huge improvements to the VB roll out compared to a few days ago. The VB software is much more usable and the theme work you have done makes it fairly easy to use.That being said, I do have some constructive criticism. Take it or leave it, but I thought I'd provide some feedback on some design items that are small and often overlooked, but can have an impact on usability and user satisfaction.

1. There a very large amount of space between the top of the page and the content -- on my laptop screen this is slightly more than halfway down the visible screen.2. The space to the right of the logo is wasted space. Perhaps you could move the ad here to make use of this space and decrease the distance between the top of the page and first peice of content.3+4. There is a lot of negative space to the right of the the ad. Also, having the ad in it's current position increases vertical space -- which may be a necessary evil. Again, moving the ad to the space to the right of the logo would help with this.5. Small amount of negative space above the logo. I understand that you want to leave some space there for visual appeal, but it could be brought in a bit.

 

[joshua.lyon]

http://www.slatedroid.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=29&d=1276263413[/img]1. There a very large amount of space between the top of the page and the content -- on my laptop screen this is slightly more than halfway down the visible screen.2. The space to the right of the logo is wasted space. Perhaps you could move the ad here to make use of this space and decrease the distance between the top of the page and first peice of content.3+4. There is a lot of negative space to the right of the the ad. Also, having the ad in it's current position increases vertical space -- which may be a necessary evil. Again, moving the ad to the space to the right of the logo would help with this.5. Small amount of negative space above the logo. I understand that you want to leave some space there for visual appeal, but it could be brought in a bit.

I noticed that some of the changes I suggested were implemented. I'm not sure if it was really because of my feedback, but either way I think it looks better.When you are soliciting 'ads' from third party vendors, such as the merimobiles one, are you requesting them in a specific size? It's nice to have the ads side-by-side, but it's not very visually appealing that they are two different sizes.Can you specify the height of the google ads? Or get merimobiles to send a cleaner ad that better fits the height of the other ad (or meet in the middle - average of both ad heights)? Or perhaps you could just vertically center the two ads so it is a bit more visually appealing (eg. equal whitespace above and below the smallest ad). This option really only works for a two-ad setup.

 

[Mike]

[quote name='joshua.lyon;9496]I noticed that some of the changes I suggested were implemented. I'm not sure if it was really because of my feedback' date=' but either way I think it looks better.When you are soliciting 'ads' from third party vendors, such as the merimobiles one, are you requesting them in a specific size? It's nice to have the ads side-by-side, but it's not very visually appealing that they are two different sizes.Can you specify the height of the google ads? Or get merimobiles to send a cleaner ad that better fits the height of the other ad (or meet in the middle - average of both ad heights)? Or perhaps you could just vertically center the two ads so it is a bit more visually appealing (eg. equal whitespace above and below the smallest ad). This option really only works for a two-ad setup.[/QUOTE'] You were the inspiration for shrinking the header to get rid of the blank space Yes, the Merimobiles ad is ugly I can't fault you there. It was meant as a stand-in, we'll probably have to end up re-designing it ourselves. We are actually hoping to have a theme similar to the old skool SlateDroid one put back in place which we are looking forward to.