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Subject: Re: CouchDB brand identity and design of couchdb.apache.org
From: Adam Kocoloski <kocolosk@apache.org>
In-Reply-To: <x2w46aeb24f1004130432v72325539r7c538fab8c00e5c5@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:39:45 -0400
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To: user@couchdb.apache.org

Same here - didn't hate it, but it needs a refresh.  Would welcome any =
assistance.

Adam

On Apr 13, 2010, at 7:32 AM, Robert Newson wrote:

> I second the call to see a mockup. I don't dislike the page as much as
> the OP but clearly it could be refreshed.
>=20
> B.
>=20
> On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 12:24 PM, Paul Davis
> <paul.joseph.davis@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I always quite liked it.
>>=20
>> Anyway, this is open sauce as they say. The quickest way to changing
>> something like that is to check out the site sources and mock up
>> something you think is better. Then submit it to JIRA and we'll ask
>> the community for consensus.
>>=20
>> HTH,
>> Paul Davis
>>=20
>> On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 7:17 AM, Gregory Tappero <coulix@gmail.com> =
wrote:
>>> I dare to say that i agree, it is repelling at first sight.
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>> On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 1:12 PM, James Fisher =
<jameshfisher@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>> I've recently fallen head-over-heels in love with CouchDB.  =
However, this
>>>> (my first) email will probably be at best, constructively critical, =
and at
>>>> worst, offensive, but:
>>>>=20
>>>> Does the CouchDB project have any agreed visual brand identity, or =
is it
>>>> being worked on?  I speak mainly of the pages at
>>>> http://couchdb.apache.org/.  I'm the kind of person that judges a =
book
>>>> by its cover, and it took
>>>> consIiderable effort for me to stop my eyes being repelled from =
that page.
>>>> Compare it, for example, with the simple design at =
http://www.mongodb.org/ ,
>>>> where many newbies (like me) to document-oriented DBs will be =
making an
>>>> active comparison.
>>>>=20
>>>> CouchDB's slogan is "relax", but that web design gets me all =
agitated.
>>>> There's no room to breathe: logotype squished into a corner, small =
font,
>>>> subheadings imprisoned in dark green cells.  No ample footer =
telling me I've
>>>> reached the end of the page and where I should go next; just a =
niggardly
>>>> copyright notice.  Rather than relaxing, the guy on the sofa looks =
like he's
>>>> trying to squirm as far away from the page as possible.
>>>>=20
>>>> The sofa logo I'm not particularly opposed to, but: entirely =
saturated
>>>> primary red?  That's the universal visual symbol for "PANIC!".  I =
have this
>>>> passage from The Vagina Monologues indelibly imprinted on my =
memory:
>>>>=20
>>>> ---
>>>> Then he began to undress me.
>>>>=20
>>>> "What are you doing, Bob?" I said.
>>>>=20
>>>> "I need to see you," he replied.
>>>>=20
>>>> "No need," I said. "Just dive in."
>>>>=20
>>>> "I need to see what you look like," he said.
>>>>=20
>>>> "But you've seen a red leather couch before," I said.
>>>> ---
>>>>=20
>>>> ... blech.
>>>>=20
>>>> And: who could ever relax on such an angular sofa?
>>>>=20
>>>> The index page just doesn't sell it.  A needless <h1> "The CouchDB =
Project"
>>>> tells me what I already know from looking at the logotype.  The =
messy design
>>>> schema, which could be a quirky feature (though its appearance on =
the first
>>>> page is questionable), instead sits awkwardly on top of other =
headers and
>>>> squashing text out of the way, with an inappropriate yellow =
background that
>>>> together with the green suggests vomit (oh dear, on my nice new =
sofa).
>>>> There's no big bold text telling me that I should use CouchDB.
>>>>=20
>>>> The first paragraph:  "Apache CouchDB is a document-oriented =
database that
>>>> can be queried and indexed in a MapReduce fashion using JavaScript. =
CouchDB
>>>> also offers incremental replication with bi-directional conflict =
detection
>>>> and resolution."  This jumps into jargon way too soon -- as a =
prospective
>>>> user, the first thing I want to hear is something simple, =
comforting, and
>>>> whetting my appetite: "CouchDB is a new kind of database; it will =
change the
>>>> way you work; come with me, and I will take you on a tour of its =
secrets."
>>>>=20
>>>> Next, the colour scheme.  Red and dark-half-saturated green (I'm =
not even
>>>> sure whether that colour has a name)?  Under no system of colour =
theory is
>>>> that an appropriate combination.  I suspect it hasn't consciously =
been
>>>> decided upon as a palette -- the red appears nowhere else.
>>>>=20
>>>> What's with the needless breadcrumb trail across my entire =
2000px-wide
>>>> screen?  It might be appropriate for a massive site where getting =
lost is
>>>> easier than finding anything, but not here where every page is =
easily listed
>>>> down the left.
>>>>=20
>>>> And the diagonal pinstripe background -- that's so 2003.  Nothing =
else on
>>>> the site implies that 45 degree angle.  Get rid of it.
>>>>=20
>>>> Futon displays a different scheme: red with shades of grey.  The =
slogan,
>>>> "relax," sits in a different place to the same slogan in the =
logotype on the
>>>> website.  The text sits under, rather than aside, the sofa logo.  =
The
>>>> "contract the sidebar" arrow inexplicably points up rather than to =
the
>>>> right.
>>>>=20
>>>> I'm getting into nitty-gritty now, but I hope I've made a point: =
CouchDB is
>>>> surely losing users by pushing them away with bad design.  The main =
slogan,
>>>> "relax," I really, really like, but it unfortunately doesn't come =
across
>>>> anywhere.  It should.  The whole visual design specification should =
use this
>>>> one word as its starting point.
>>>>=20
>>>> I don't just want to criticize.  Perhaps I can help -- I have no =
experience
>>>> with Erlang, and I'd be much better suited to PR in this case.  =
AFAICT the
>>>> site is hand-written static HTML/CSS, so a redesign is not a =
massive
>>>> undertaking.
>>>>=20
>>>> Opinions?
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>> James Fisher
>>>>=20
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>> --
>>> Greg Tappero
>>> CTO co founder Edoboard
>>> http://www.edoboard.com
>>> +33 0645764425
>>>=20
>>=20