We have a new logo for the XOOPS project - now we need a matching theme for the xoops.org websites and this is where you come in.

Should the theme use a lot of the blue as in the logo? Or mainly white? Something totally different?

Let's hear the ideas, see the suggestions and together develop candidates.

I think that in the new theme, blocks need to be more separate from the main content of the site - using strong borders etc.

Also, I think that you should avoid using too many greys - they make the site look dull and old.

The forum needs a new lease of life - you could use the newbb2 icons to spruce it up a bit.

I think that some consideration should be shown to 800x600 users - and whether the theme is fixed or fluid, it should not need horizontal scrolling for these users. Joomla's site is an excellent example of this, and I also like Joomla's uncluttered home page

That's my take on the theme issue

Does this project also include suggestions for the default XOOPS modules? Now I am a happy man already if I can find a matching tie in the morning before I go to work, but personally I think the colors of this forum look very odd with the theme as it is now.

Also I think there is too much of one color, making it look a bit dull instead of dynamic. Dynamic is what fits this community better I think.

The modules? To some extent, yes.
I don't think we will want to make extensive changes to the templates, but it is important to get the proper look in modules, too.

So rather make suggestions that go too far than not far enough

One thing to consider is that we plan to reduce the content on each page. Today the front page is too "busy" and geared towards a discussion site. We want to push it into clear defined areas such as

- Front page : Focus on the product XOOPS. What it is and where to download it
- Community : News from the community, forum threads, comments

So the end result is more "portal pages" with less content on each, making it easier to find the information you need.

I agree completely with wtravel - this forum (as with many modules) is looking miserable at the moment. The light blues and greys don't work together.

Just an thought - it would be nice if XOOPS could use a full CSS layout, making the theme simpler to maintain, and showing class to the visiters of the XOOPS site

Mithrandir got in his last post just before I submitted my reply to wtravel.

Again, I completely agree with Mith - there is too much clutter, and I expect many people wonder what the hell XOOPS is when they hit the homepage. We need to give the homepage a slightly more corporate feel.

Herko will elaborate with further information, but getting the first ideas into the air won't hurt, I think.

I would like to see a mixture of Blue and White and maybe more of a less 'square design' so to speak like this XOOPS site:

http://dsgaming.co.uk/html/modules/news/

Maybe something like that with a more round feel to it would make the site more inviting

I ported that design for the owner from a PSD-based template. Trust me, it's way to heavy for this site. It's a nice site mind you, but the load would be too much and this site would slow to a crawl.

IMHO, given that that XOOPS is a modern CMS, I believe the look needs to instantly convey this image at first glance. Xaraya and Joomla have both done this quite effectively, and I believe with the talent we have here, we could easily raise the bar.

I agree that we should look more to CSS, but a full CSS theme w/o tables wouldn't fly either. There's too many tables in the module templates and that will get real ugly to fix. It's just not realistic at this time.

Suggestions:
* IMHO a lot of effort should be put into standards compliance
* Minimize use of tables as much as possible
* Do a little research on the psychology of colors and use colors that convey strength, reliability, and calmness
* Cut down on all the white. It kills the eyes after a while. Break it up a little.
* Keep the graphics to a minimum, use CSS for decoration instead. See work by StudioC for good examples.
* Employ an alternate stylesheet for printing (see my site)
* Optimize the META tags! Many big search engines (See Overture companies) still use them and it only takes a few minutes to optimize them.
* A 2-column layout would be much more friendly to 800x600px screens and it would make it a lot easier to find information. (Less information overload)
* Integrate the search bar into the theme (one less block).
* Add redundant navigation at the header and footer for the most recently used links (better SEO and more user-friendly)

That's all I've got for now, off the top of my pointed head.

Great to see the ball is rolling on this.

Best Regards,

James

I think for a theme contest, it would be good to keep it as open as possible. People might present a completly diferent alternative to the design and layout ideia.
Use logo as a guide and go from there. Since many here are designers (both professional and amateurs) I'm sure some very cool themes and layout compositions will appear if given the oportunity.