GameKnot: GameKnot related, Menu Colors should be a choice

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GameKnot related: Menu Colors should be a choice

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markb56
02-Apr-13, 13:25

Menu Colors should be a choice

Dear GK: the recent color changes may be to some people's liking, but for me they're a distraction. Rather than having multiple shades of pink and brown I prefer that my buttons be one color (preferably WHITE!). Wouldn't it be better to offer users a choice of color palettes for their menu buttons (e.g. white only, shades of brown, etc.)? I stare a my screen for long periods of time trying to decide on my next move (probably longer than I should), and the new color scheme is giving me a headache.

markb56
04-Apr-13, 10:06

I have given this a day or two to see if I could get used to the "new menu colors", and every day they just look uglier and uglier. I hope these menu colors don't last for too many years before GK decides to redecorate the place again (I don't think any new choice of colors could be worse than the current color scheme so I look forward to that day).

What's with the puke colored pinkish browns anyway? Does anyone like this color?

timotheos
04-Apr-13, 12:10

I agree with markb56, I like the recent changes on the site but the color of the buttons is really ugly. The white buttons looked much better in my opinion

3253
04-Apr-13, 13:32

color changes are ugly

I agree that the color changes are ugly.

Especially the shady red background and button colors, besides being ugly, are not good for the eyes.

I prefer the colors the way they were previously.

Gameknot.com
04-Apr-13, 13:41

Thank you for your feedback. The problem with the old buttons is that they looked very different depending on the web browser and operating system. Colors, shading, even size were different, which created issues with layout and design. Not to mention that people who use different web browsers, say, at work and at home, had to get used to 2 (or more!) different ways the website looked. Additionally, the buttons in the new version of IE look just plain ugly by default. Now the buttons look the same across all web browsers and operating systems (well, excluding old outdated web browsers).

Regarding the color -- it is impossible to come up with a single color that everyone will like. Yes, that also includes white, or rather shades of gray if you want something more interesting than a solid white rectangle. We simply decided to go with a lightly shaded color referencing the orange in GameKnot's logo. Please give it a few more days and you'll likely get used to it. Unclear why markb56 is seeing pink -- might be an issue with the monitor's color calibration.

We do have plans for an option to customize various colors in the interface, but we can't comment on how soon it will be available at this time.

tactical_abyss
04-Apr-13, 13:53

Is that frame around the profile pic's really necessary?Maybe that seems minor to alot of players,but I think it looks alot less professional and polished.Almost as if peering through a window into the image or someone threw a picture postcard on a wall for you to take a look at it.Its not as finely "integrated"into the profile scheme as it previously was.The profile is really a sales pitch calling card for potential members to upgrade or others who are not members yet...and even the small things like the best looking picture can make the difference.So laugh all you want,but being a past professional photographer,I know that the way it was...seamless with no borders,was much better looking than it is now with the edges.

As to the brown color submit button,I prefer white as well.I think it takes an extra second to find it!Ha ha!But i'll deal with it,I suppose.

3253
04-Apr-13, 18:34

"Please give it a few more days and you'll likely get used to it."

No - that is not going to happen.

When people don't like the colors, they're not going to be using the site.

markb56
05-Apr-13, 12:52

"Unclear why markb56 is seeing pink -- might be an issue with the monitor's color calibration"

My monitor's color calibration is fine. Perhaps instead of "pinkish browns" I should have described the colors as shades of "mauve" (or a better description might have been "pukish browns" ).

Anyhow, my original post was to suggest a setup option where you offer users the choice between three or four different color palettes. That way users could choose what they found most appealing.

markb56
07-Apr-13, 12:00

Another thing that hurts my eyes is the silver border that now appears around the "thumb nail" diagrams. The brightness of the silver background makes the board hard to stare at for more than a few seconds. Maybe it's a "feng shui" thing, but please bring back the black borders for thumb nails.

I don't use IE so I don't understand what all the fuss is about the old GK colors not looking very good on those browsers. But shouldn't those of us that don't use IE also be given a choice of colors that look good on OUR browsers?

Gameknot.com
07-Apr-13, 12:41

markb56, again, it is unclear why you are seeing a silver border around the chess diagrams, we haven't changed anything regarding chess diagrams in particular in quite some time. Looking at the server log files, it appears that you are using Firefox v13.0, which is quite a bit old. Unless you have any technical issues that prevent you from doing so, please upgrade to the latest version (v20.0 for Firefox at this time), it might solve all the issues with the weird colors you are seeing.

It is generally a good idea to always use the latest version of your web browser, and with the exception of IE, all other major browsers (Firefox, Chrome and Safari) will upgrade for you automatically, unless you specifically configure them not to. It's not just for GameKnot, but for all other websites -- when using outdated browser versions you are likely missing out on a lot of newer things (not just visually, but functionality-wise, and security-wise as well). Also, many websites do not have the resources to support a dozen of old versions of the 4 major browsers -- which adds up to about 50 different versions -- and are forced to support only the latest versions, with older ones running in "degraded" mode. Which can result in visual glitches, and sometimes even in missing or broken functionality. Again, not just GameKnot, but many other websites as well.

markb56
07-Apr-13, 13:05

Yes, I use an older browser on my home computer, but that's not the problem. I just connected to GK using my company provided BlackBerry and it does the same thing! (I know my BlackBerry is up-to-date because my company's I.T. department is continually downloading updates to it).

Maybe the names I'm using for colors isn't what the html community uses for names (I said "silver border" but perhaps "bright-grey" would be more apt). Whatever the border color is called it's too bright and does something to my retinas when I stare at it for more than a short while (do the thumb nails even need to have a border?). So both the colors on my BlackBerry and FireFox13 browsers are now a pain on my eyes.

All I'm asking is that you'll consider making the old color scheme an option.

3253
07-Apr-13, 18:46

gray border ~ thumbnails

There's a distracting wide gray border on mine too.
Better would be the same dark brown as the dark squares are the board.

A plus is that the thumbnails are bigger and much easier to see than they used to be.

cyberknight999
11-Apr-13, 18:19

The thumb nails are clipped

by the bottom of the webpage. Maybe this is something that GK can change.

CK999

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