Desperate Paradox, site layout mockup/idea Options

[Mikeplyts]

I'm a bit frantic now to get a new website layout for my site but lately, I've been having an inspiration block. I've pretty much been on hiatus for a while to see if any good ideas spring up, and most have, but the end result just didn't look right to me anymore or I wouldn't like it anymore. I've tried this idea, because to be honest, I love the strong, serious vibe this seems to give off. A few things still bug me like the sidebar headers, but ehh. Anyhow, I'd like to get some of your opinions on this new design.

click to enlarge

Trash or keep?

UPDATE #1: (Removed brushes. Changed up sidebar content and 'meta' header. Made a different navigation. Altered body text and links.)

click to enlarge

[jiyong]

I like the body, but the header doesn't match it at all, imo. I'd change it to something else.

[Mikeplyts]

I like the body, but the header doesn't match it at all, imo. I'd change it to something else.

Please elaborate on that.



I think it could also be the brushes that takes away some, I feel like removing them, yeah?

[none345678]

Either remove the flowers or the clock. They really don't match well together.

[technicolour]

Either remove the flowers or the clock. They really don't match well together.

Correct. Or find a better way to combine the two. There's too much negative space surrounding the clock and in between the body. It looks empty. Plus the alignment between the clock and the body is off and it's annoying me.

[synapse]

What's the function of the giant clock in the header?

Form follows function.

[jiyong]

Either remove the flowers or the clock. They really don't match well together.

I like the flowers better than the clock, hence what I said.

[Mikeplyts]

Either remove the flowers or the clock. They really don't match well together.

Yeah, I thought so, I'm going to be removing the flowers later when I get back from school. Thanks Abbey. :)

Correct. Or find a better way to combine the two. There's too much negative space surrounding the clock and in between the body. It looks empty. Plus the alignment between the clock and the body is off and it's annoying me.

I'm not entirely sure on what to add to get rid of some of that negative space, help? Also, could you like tell me how they are misaligned? They're supposed to be aligned to the right, and the clock is a tonnage of shapes and blah blah, but it was meant to fit mostly right on the center of the main content area. Thanks Kristina.

What's the function of the giant clock in the header?

Form follows function.

Um, I'm not really sure what you mean... are you talking about how will it be displayed through coding or what? What is the meaning of it? Thanks Thomas.

[synapse]

Yeah, I thought so, I'm going to be removing the flowers later when I get back from school. Thanks Abbey. :)
I'm not entirely sure on what to add to get rid of some of that negative space, help? Also, could you like tell me how they are misaligned? They're supposed to be aligned to the right, and the clock is a tonnage of shapes and blah blah, but it was meant to fit mostly right on the center of the main content area. Thanks Kristina.
Um, I'm not really sure what you mean... are you talking about how will it be displayed through coding or what? What is the meaning of it? Thanks Thomas.

Yeah, I don't see the purpose of the clock, the flowers add a decorative element, that a lot of sites have, it adds interest to the page. But the clock.. it doesn't.

[mipadi]

I don't think you need all that empty space at the top. Why push everything towards the bottom?

[brooklyneast05]

i'm in the minority but the clock is the best element of the whole layout to me. i agree the clock and flowers shouldn't both be there, but i think if you took the clock and did more to the whole layout it would be better. a time/clock themed (not just a layout with a random clock, something cohesive.) layout seems 100 times more interesting to me than a black layout with flowers brushes.

[fixtatik]

The clock makes for a great stand-alone design, but as part of a website template, it's awful. I've never been a fan of a header that's taller than 200 pixels. It's just pointless to go to a new page and scroll down 500-1000 pixels every time. My other gripes are with the business of the side bar (with a scroll bar, no less--scroll bars always look awful within the body of a site), and your choice of body text. It might look good in Photoshop, but once you get it on the web, Delicious makes for horrendous body text.

For the sidebar...

You're clearly trying to avoid the typical setup of some sites with the cleanliness of everything, but the way you have your sidebar organized brings it right back to that. The norm seems to be "Navigation", "Content", "Affiliates", "Statistics" or some variation of that. This design in particular, the navigation would probably look better above the content. You could even incorporate the glow of the clock on each link when you hover over them. Navigation is important, unlike the other links on your sidebar. Make it stand out, but not as much as the content. A visitor's eyes should glance past the header and navigation to the content, then back to the navigation, then to the header, as that's the least important area.

I don't understand the "meta" heading with all the login links under it. Meta data is usually information about the site, whether it be syntax or keywords, descriptions, file type, etc. The statistics area is far too big in my opinion; while it's at the bottom, it's still shouting, "Look at me!" But I don't want to look at you; I came for the content. And Myspace/Twitter aren't exactly statistical data.

The last thing is the bar you have next to each link on the sidebar. They look a bit out of place, since you already have two borders lining the content area. Slightly smaller text might be more appealing; right now it blends in too much with the content text which really makes it distracting.

[manny-the-dino]

I agree with Gabrielle and Kristina. Try to combine the clock and the flowers, if you want to use both. If not, I think you should just stick with the clock. I mean the brushes are pretty but I like the clock more.

[Mikeplyts]

Okay, updated the first post.


edit:

I know the ads area isn't so great, but the ad blocks will be smaller in coding (if I manage to get to coding it at all).

[technicolour]

The clock still just seems so random. Everyone loves a floating clock.

[jiyong]

The empty space in the header really bothers me, it feels incomplete somehow.

[manny-the-dino]

I like the changes to the navigation but the clock does look a bit random now :/

[Mikeplyts]

Hrm, any ideas on making it look less random? I'm a bit stuck.

[Maccabee]

how are you gonna make the tab actually change depending on the page? you gonna use some javascript or php?

[Mikeplyts]

HTML and CSS...

[mizzkim]

If you did this in flash it would be great to see the clock moved also. I like the first image better. Nothing bad to say.. I like that your mock ups are simply and to the point.

[JonHMChan]

I think your lack of inspiration is being reflected here. There really isn't much going on except for the clock. One of the general rules I use for judging a design is imagining what the site overall would look like if any individual portion of it were removed: if the layout becomes typical, there isn't enough done. The idea goes that you would have to remove at least two to three elements to make a site look typical, so that all the different parts come together in a way that can only make sense if all the parts are there.

In this case, there isn't much of that going on. There's no reason to have the clock with the layout, nor the layout with the clock. Neither necessitates with the other. I think what needs to happen is a general revamping of the entire concept as a whole. What sort of theme are you going for? What kind of overarching aspects bring the whole together?

[karmakiller]

Is it too late for me to reply?

I agree with Jon about the layout reflecting your lack of inspiration at the moment. I like the clock, but it just looks a little awkward. There's so much space above and below the clock that it looks out of place. Are you going to center the layout and content? I'm only asking because on my screen it looks like the clock is centered and the content is pushed to the left, which might be adding to the awkwardness of it.