The "simple" style, ... Options

[Melissa]

Don't get me wrong - I enjoy simplicity in a layout just as much as the next person. I just don't get why someone can put a little logo and nothing else on their page, call it a "simplistic, elegant style" and everybody goes bezerk.

[Melie]

^lol...there are some that i've seen that all it really needed was a couple of things and it turned out great.

here's an example:

click to enlarge

[Smangii]

I love a minimalistic style. But of course, it has to be done right where it doesn't look EMPTY, just simple. It can't give off the "unfinished" look.

Personally I find it hard to do something minimal since I always go overboard =P

[Tung]

I've seen some horrible ugly ass layouts submitted by people that looks like the work of a 5th grader. They use Paint as their main source for the layout WTF. Oh and that person is in this thread

[Melissa]

^ Well, yeah. I like sleek, not bare. I think it's actually harder to pull off the minimalist style - some people try too hard and it turns out shitty.

[Tung]

Reply to my post Mel.

[schizo]

I think it's really hard to pull off the simple thing...that's why I never attempt it. Some people are really good with making simple layouts (fainaru and fixtatik, for example). Other people....not so much.

[Tung]

some people try too hard and it turns out shitty.

Some end up looking empty instead of Web 2.0-ish. Boo!

Other people....not so much.

You mean like these

http://www.createblog.com/layouts/code.php?id=19978

http://www.createblog.com/layouts/code.php?id=26733

Come on Design Staff. What were you thinking.

[schizo]

^ I don't really see how those are that bad. The backgrounds don't match in the first one, which is not good, but other than that I think the designs are fine. They may not fit some people's taste, but there's nothing really wrong with them that we could reject them for.

[Tung]

You must be drunk, or just really nice.

[schizo]

Well, the second one you gave was accepted by Jusun himself, and I think he knows what he wants on his site. That's not the Design Staff's fault. I can't find anything in those layouts that warrants rejection (except for the mismatched backgrounds). There are ones that are much worse.

[SharperMyspace]

Hey, if people are using it, I don't see what the problem is.

[technicolour]

I actually would've rejected the second one on it lacking pizazz. It looks way too plain. And the first one, well, it looks like POO in Firefox, so, I probably would've rejected it for that.

But. *shrug*

And Tung, you could've PMed someone...

[Melie]

You mean like these

http://www.createblog.com/layouts/code.php?id=19978

http://www.createblog.com/layouts/code.php?id=26733

Come on Design Staff. What were you thinking.

how convenient that they are my layouts that you feel you need to use as examples.

[technicolour]

^ ?


Care to elaborate?

[tokyo-rose]

You mean like these

http://www.createblog.com/layouts/code.php?id=19978

That layout was accepted over a year ago, which I think was before CreateBlog raised the layout standards, so that's not really fair.

[synatribe]

well
im sorry but if [i believe your referring to me] , but if your were referring to me, I never said it was simple, but I said it was plain and peple who left replies said it was simple. honestly I love my layout [if your referring to me] and I do not see anything wrong with just a logo, but ehh, its your personal perference :]

[xDarkHope]

^i believe..he was refering to melie.

[Tung]

^ I believe...he was referring to ----

[xDarkHope]

my b. never said i was right.

[lovescream]

Personally, I think the fact that it doesn't have too much is just good to look at. I mean, if you had a really simple layout, it could look nice, but it also needs to be organized really well too. Like I've seen some where the header was extremely simple, but the way they made the font colors, the font, and just something about the blog being where it was made everything not as nice looking as it should have. Besides that, the simplicity of it is just pleasing. Ionno about you, but I'd prefer seeing a layout that has stuff, but not too much that I focus on it more, but not too little that it feels so empty.

[Gigi]

Simplicity is beautiful when done right, but it's also one of the hardest things to accomplish. Every one of your flaws can be shown. Every single element of a simple design needs to be PERFECT, or the whole thing doesn't work. People think simple is easy but it totally isn't, because if you don't have the skills, you can't pull good shit out your ass.

Most of the "minimalistic" crap I see around here is just that - crap. It's minimal and in a bad way. There's no design concept and everything from composition, colours, fonts...they're wrong. You really have to be very particular when it comes to simple things and that applies to a multitude of designing, not just web layouts.

[Melissa]

^ exactly! But it seems that some people make amazing layouts that are simple, elegant, and sleek, but then we get masses of people attempting the same thing, but not trying anything, resulting in something that looks like shit.

And I wasn't referring to anyone, Skylite, I was referring to the style in general.

Lol, Tung, I wasn't trying to point anyone's layouts out.

[venti-anemoi]

I like simple, as long as it doesn't look like crap. Or that you were just lazy. I personally can't pull it off because I always end up going way overboard, but I really like Fainaru's stuff. The example Melie posted is nice, too, although it bothers me that I have no idea what site I'm on.