The idea of “Dark”
Nov 22, 2010 (about 1 year ago)
Yesterday, I performed a rollout of some design changes to the CrunchBang Linux website. I basically changed the design from dark on light, to light on dark. The idea for the change came from reading this:
The new style in Ubuntu is inspired by the idea of “Light”.
Poppycock? Who knows, but as inspiration for the idea of “Dark”, it worked wonders for me. To be honest, the idea of dark is nothing more than having an idea to invert the colour scheme on the website. I would attempt to dress it up as something more, but I struggle with creative writing.
At this point I should probably state that when I started making the changes, it did occur to me that some CrunchBangers, especially the regular forum users, might not be overly enthralled with the new design, but by that time the idea of dark had truly taken hold, and so I cracked on with the redesign.
I did not consult the CrunchBang community about the new design. This was a conscious decision as I really did not want the idea of dark turning into an exercise in painting the bike shed.
Anyhow, the new design went live yesterday and as expected, the initial feedback was mixed. Some people seem to really like it, others, not so much. Again, this was totally expected, especially since the change in style was not very subtle.
At the moment, I am not sure if any of those who have expressed a dislike are genuinely appalled by the new design, or whether some of their negativity can be attributed to change itself?! Either way, these are early days for the new look and I think some time should be given before any changes are made, if they are to be made.
Personally, I really like the dark background and I would like to see it stay. A few people have suggested that an alternative theme could be offered, especially for the forums. I like this idea and I will probably implement it at some point.
2 responses to “The idea of “Dark””
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Nov 23, 2010 (about 1 year ago)
Give them a day or six. It’s a good idea and looks good. Scientifically proven fact dark’s better for your eyes too. White pages are like staring at a lightbulb all day.
Good job as usual.
Nov 24, 2010 (about 1 year ago)
It seems an issue is readability. Regulars on the forum spend quite some time there, and reading on the new design can strain the eyes a bit more than the new one.
I don’t think this is something you need to change, or a problem really, as long as like you said, an alternate theme is offered.
Personally i quite like the design, and it doesnt seem like many people on the forum are actually against the design in principle.