Re: Opinions on the CSS-Tricks new layout

[Hutch]

I’ve got to admit, I also wanted to sign up on the forums to give some input. I’ve been following the site daily for the last two months, and this seemed like a good opportunity to jump into the mix. The design has definitely lost its previous feel with this new design, and maybe that was the goal? Either way, I think all the design lacks is a bit of refinement. Here’s what would improve it in my eyes:

Colour (ignore the Canadian spelling)
• The new colours look okay together, but I think the warm colours made the site before.

Navigation
• The blue extension after "SNIPPETS" looks like something is missing. I would remove the extension entirely or create more definition between the navigation and whatever you choose to put beside it.
• Tabs need more distinction. I wouldn’t do anything too predictable like a basic gradient, but a simple texture, divider, or border could help. How about a textured border/fill to go with the background’s look?

Layout
• The content area is too wide. It creates long lines of content text/descriptions that spread out too far (like this post). Cutting the blank blue nav gap to the right of "SNIPPETS" by 50% would help. Also, below each header I would consider indenting the text by creating a left/right margin of at least 10px.
•The "LATEST SCREENCAST" section is a good example of making the width work. The image creates better balance.

After saying all that, I hope Chris is happy with his site’s look. I would like to know what he felt about his own design prior to uploading it for the world to see. What reactions were you looking for? What stronger/weak points do you think existed prior to uploading? What do you think about our feedback? The response to those questions could make a cool site review video.

Anyway, thanks for the great coding resource! That is why I come here most importantly.