|  Author | Topic: Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!!!!! (Read 1,676 times) |
Ayame
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Karma: 4 |  | Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!!!!!
« Thread Started on Jan 12, 2006, 4:38pm » | ![[Quote]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif) |
Hi everyone!
Yes yes, the time has finally come: preparations for the new Dream-Grafix website, Dream-Grafix Delta, have officially started!!! I'm covered in planning papers and ideas, but I need a little bit of feedback from you guys.
It would be grand if you could just reply to the following questions for me. You don't have to register to answer these questions, just post in the textbox below.
1) Which extra functions would you like on the website?
1.1 More profile information? If so , which information would you like to see?
1.2 More information when commenting? If so , which information would you like to see?
1.3 BB code when commenting?
1.4 Smileys when commenting (Custom or preset)?
1.5 DG friends system: where you can select another artist or a dreamer as a 'friend' of yours
1.6 DG exchanges: artificial system allowing you to request an artwork exchange with someone and logging the artist you exchanged with and the artwork itself
1.7 Global score on the artwork: calculation of how well your artwork is doing (vote / viewwise) compared to other artworks in the same section or across the entire website
1.8 Would you find it more efficient of the method of making was split up into a tool of making and extra (optional) description or do you like it the way it is?
1.9 Any additional functions you want to see on DG, please suggest, no matter how crazy they might seem!
2) Which elements on the site do you believe have to change on the DG website?
3) Which elements on the site may certainly NOT be removed?
4) Would you exchange the current system (manual processing of every artwork which does cause waiting to see your artwork online) for an automated system? Or do you prefer the current way of working which guarantees one comment and treats your art with care?
5) Do you want more interaction between the site and the forum?
6) (For people who have not yet joined the forum) Is the fact that the forum is on a different server than DG itself and looks differently a reason why you haven't joined?
7) Would DG benefit from RSS feeds?
8) How do you honestly feel about DG's look and feel? Do you think there should be a serious design change? Or are small modifications sufficient?
9) How do you honestly feel about DG's colour? Would you like for it to be preserved in the next version or would you rather see a different colour?
10) Any other suggestions you may have, please let me know!!! I can't improve the site if I don't know there's something you want or don't want to see!
Thank you soooooooo much for your feedback!!!
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beksy
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« Reply #1 on Jan 16, 2006, 11:48pm » | |
1.5 and 1.6 both sound like good ideas.
As for 1.1, more profile information is a good idea. I think adding a place for a mini bio, comments about their style and works, and maybe an updates page where they can say what they are currently working on would be a good idea.
I think the ability to have artwork removed or deleted is also a good thing to add
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Ayame
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Karma: 4 | | Re: Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!
« Reply #2 on Jan 17, 2006, 9:20am » | |
hey besky, thank you very much for the suggestions. I think that a mini bio and so would indeed be a very good idea, it would make it all a lot more personal hehe and it's always cool to find out more about other artists like that.
About your last suggestion, you mean allowing the artist to select themselves which artworks are shown? Because now it is of course possible to remove art by asking one of the mods
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Simon
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| | Re: Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!
« Reply #3 on Jan 17, 2006, 10:23pm » | |
I think the forum should be easyer to be reached, and be brought closer to the DG site itself.
becouse under the artwork itself, I dont know, but there is something that with-holds me from actually starting a discussion there. it fits more to post one line of commentary, and no answer-reply sort of situation.
It would be way cooler if under a artwork, there is actual two way discussion
thats what I think...
but I realy need to go back to my books now..
Owyeah,ant another thing, this says my name already in use by another member of the forum, and I realy thought I wasent entered, cause all of the problems I faced trying to enter the forum...
so in stead of VIDAR, I'll just use my real name
baaibaai
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Ayame
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« Reply #4 on Jan 18, 2006, 12:28pm » | |
Thanks for the suggestions simon, I will certainly be taking them into account!
as for the forum name thing, if someone registered with your username, it was most probably you in the past. Maybe check the email that it was registered with and have a password sent to it?
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Alexandria
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« Reply #5 on Jan 18, 2006, 6:13pm » | |
Okay, so Aya, I made a little time to reply.
First of all, I agree with Beksy on the mini-bio in the profiles and 1.5 & 1.6 sound like a good idea. Also which seems fun to me, is that maybe each member is capable of making a personal top 5 or so of artworks and one of artists with the possibility of commenting their choices.
The two-way-discussion Simon suggested seems to have potential in my eyes, but then you still need people who want to discuss it that way. But it's a good idea.
Next, about the colours, well, I never really liked them. Now it's not bad, I just am not fond of Pink and Purple and flashy. Of course this is personal taste but I also feel it all comes over kind off girlish, maybe not really professional. Before you ask, "why didn't you say so before?". Well I never really took the time to look at it this way and I have also undergone changes this last year in my boldness.
Now about the structure.
First, I want to discuss the Main Page. The menu is tiny, you can easily push the wrong button. It's cramped to the left side as if it's not the most important thing on that page. Also I remember in the beginning I kept thinking the menu was in the banner. You have two parts in your menu but it might be better if contests, hall of dreams, ... aren't with the artsections. It's rather confusing
another thing as I see it, people come to Dream-Grafix to see the art but instead they are confronted with this big block of text. That's not what they came to see. The update-idea would be fun if you had anything new to say but otherwise try to keep it at 5, not more. The artwork don't strike out enough, it's as if you have to go look for it. People are lazy, they don't want to search.
The most important things about the Main page are pushed to the sides: The menu, the Daydream, etc.
Also, you have been granted award, Flash them around, show them, be proud, people like to know those kind of things, they will grade your site on it and tell others about it if they like what they see.
--> My suggestion for the main page. (It's hard to find the right words to explain so forgive me) Focus on the menu maybe like for each section in big bold letters with next to it the latest example. Do updates per section or something. Just show what's important.
For the seperate sections, again I'm faced with all this text. Again you push the important things the sides. below you've got the archived artworks while I think it should be on top. And for the latest artwork, it's not to much but it's to cramped together. Now I get the idea that your site does not have much space left for new artwork. It's rather cramped. Ofcourse we need a little menu now to jump from page to page, but things like the daydream and so, I don't need to see that, I'm not looking for that in the sections. Just keep it simple and concrete.
Most pages just have to much text and are to cramped together, except the "About DG" page.
About the Members page, maybe split them up in groups. Now I don't know who's just member and who actually submits art and in which sections.
About the FAQ-page, you've got a lot of questions, I don't know if that good or bad.
About the Affliates page. Again very cramped and from who is which site?
Now the profile page. The favourite page was an excellent idea in my opinion but I have this whole page empty because I'm not an artist, on the other side, I could be telling their why I joined, what I like about this site, who I am, what kind of artwork I like, which artists I prefere, ... Maybe make a seperate tab for the persons artwork?
About the Forum, it's not really mixed with the site. Maybe put seperate links to seperate parts of the forum with artworks or sections to get things going, I don't really know how to mix the site and the forum but I do know the forum doesn't show enough in the site.
I guess that was my critism, I hope I didn't come over offending, that really isn't what I want to do. Just trying to help.
Another little suggestion from my selfish self. Aya, I don't draw, can't draw, paint, ... but I am a writer. To me it would seem fun if I could show that talent through the site. It's a totally different public.
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Kafine
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Karma: 1 | | Re: Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!
« Reply #6 on Jan 26, 2006, 4:18pm » | |
1.1 More profile information? If so, which information would you like to see?
I'd like a little bio-y thing, it's nice to let people know more about yourself, rather than just a username. Paticularly for the people who don't have websites. It's also nice to let people know about your current projects and training, if you are thinking about it from a professinoal point of view. possibly an "Available for commission: yes/no" thingy also.
1.3 BB code when commenting?
needed? I don't think so.
1.4 Smileys when commenting (Custom or preset)?
the basics would be nice, happy, sad and so forth. The larger ones would look strange.
1.5 DG friends system: where you can select another artist or a dreamer as a 'friend' of yours
Always good. I like the watching system on deviantart where it tells you when someone on your freinds list uploads a pic.
1.7 Global score on the artwork: calculation of how well your artwork is doing (vote / viewwise) compared to other artworks in the same section or across the entire website
Not really. tell you what would be nice though; being able to tell how many people have favourited a certain pic. the email notification could get annoying as the site gets bigger.
1.8 Would you find it more efficient of the method of making was split up into a tool of making and extra (optional) description or do you like it the way it is?
What? Do you mean method of making and reson of making on the submit form?
I do find those odd. I think people may be put off by "reson of making" because you do see a lot with nothing there, or "just for fun/practise/because I felt like it". I think just putting "description" would be better. But the method of maknig one is fine.
2) Which elements on the site do you believe have to change on the DG website?
Personally, I'm still confused by the artwork categories. I have pictures that I would like to submit, but because they don't classify as "manga" or "fantasy", I don't feel I can. Unless it's deliberate (by which I mean, if you want to be a site specifically for those kind of illustration), I think there should be more diverse categories.
4) Would you exchange the current system (manual processing of every artwork which does cause waiting to see your artwork online) for an automated system? Or do you prefer the current way of working which guarantees one comment and treats your art with care?
I like that. But what are you going to do as the site grows?
5) Do you want more interaction between the site and the forum?
Not really. I agree with what the others have said about the commetning system being a little tight though.
8) How do you honestly feel about DG's look and feel? Do you think there should be a serious design change? Or are small modifications sufficient?
On a smaller resolution there are still sideways scrolling problems. I know most people use 1024x768 at the moment, but flexibilty is imporant, I think.
9) How do you honestly feel about DG's colour? Would you like for it to be preserved in the next version or would you rather see a different colour?
I'm not a fan of red and pink personally, but it doesn't really bother me.
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Ayame
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Karma: 4 | | Re: Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!
« Reply #7 on Feb 2, 2006, 3:56pm » | |
1.1 I think that from what I hae seen now that the biography thing is a popular request, so that is a yes on the checklist. I like your idea about the commisions thing, I could do a lot of things that way, linked to the profile of the artist and them maybe a link with saying email me or so? (I'd like to stay away from private messaging as that will take up unnessecary serverspace and as DG is ad free it means it's sponsored by me!*gulp*)
1.8 I'd like to keep the reason for making because it makes DG unique, not that many places have it and a lot of ppl leave it blank, sometimes ppl on DG bypass it but they're not supposed to lol but anyway, the reason for making is required for an artwork as it's part of DG's special identity ![[image]](http://www.dream-grafix.com/images/forum/smileys/jap.gif)
2) I know... Superman and I are looking into the categories thing and once Soring finishes his exams i'll bombard him with qs and such as well
4) scout for more moderators lol
6) I consciously chose for a resolution of 1024 x 768, but I have made sure that you can always view the artworks on an 800 x 600 screen if you have no favs bar, because the images are max 720 pix wide, so I compromised. I intend to keep this for the next version as we are 2 years down the line now and more and more people have 1024 x 768, so that's where I draw the line. However, as I said I do allow for flexibility by not allowing the artworks to be bigger than 720 px wide
Just want to say thanks for your comments everyone! I hope more ppl comment tho 
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aboniksredux
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« Reply #8 on Dec 17, 2006, 2:52pm » | |
I'd vote for auto-uploading. Much as I like having a guaranteed comment, I'd rather see artwork updated more than once every couple of months. New users coming to the site aren't likely to stick around and contribute unless the site looks like it's actually being maintained and used by artists and the staff. Similarly, an auto approval system for contributors to the site would be nice for the forums. Waiting weeks to be approved for the forums for contributors doesn't make much sense.
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Ayame
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Karma: 4 | | Re: Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!
« Reply #9 on Dec 19, 2006, 4:18pm » | |
Thanks for the feedback aboniks,
indeed I have been wondering about wether or not to change the auto posting system, but I will just make the administration system more simple, so that adding an artwork is a lot simpler than before. I like to differentiate DG from other communities. And true, lately I have been terrible with uploading artworks, but from 2007 on that should change .
For the forum I will possibly change that
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reached 1000 posts on Nov 10th, 2003, 9:47pm
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Ayame
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Karma: 4 | | Re: Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!
« Reply #10 on May 14, 2007, 10:25pm » | |
first draft of the design is available! Please preview on http://www.dream-grafix.com/delta/index.php
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Kafine
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Karma: 1 | | Re: Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!
« Reply #11 on May 15, 2007, 12:33am » | |
That looks okay!
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neclordsword
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Karma: 2 | | Re: Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!
« Reply #12 on May 15, 2007, 7:29am » | |
I'm diggin' it.
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Ayame
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Karma: 4 | | Re: Dream-Grafix Delta: preparations have started!
« Reply #13 on May 15, 2007, 7:58am » | |
Thanks! I tried for it not to be too fancy or over the top to make sure the artworks come out real nice. I'm still working on previews for all the pages, but as you see I already have a good idea of what it should be
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reached 1000 posts on Nov 10th, 2003, 9:47pm
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