Forum:Updating the wiki's look!
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It's that time of the year again when the community comes together and makes a decision for a newer look for the wiki! A perfect opportunity since the Master Chief Collection is around the corner along with the celebration of the wiki's decade anniversary!
First order of business: I think it is safe to say that the wiki's landing page requires a facelift. As Jugus pointed out in another forum, the landing page could be more visually exciting than just plain text and I agree with this assessment. The new design should not be too visually stimulating and, at the same time, not too simplistic or minimalistic (based on current trend with iOS). It should be closer to something in the middle; the best of both worlds.
As you can see in the image on the right, the icons for each menu item under the Navigation box (i.e. those text under "Halo Universe", "Campaign & Multiplayer" and "Real world") was created and uploaded by myself. The effort put into that design wasn't too much since the amount of menu item back then was considerably smaller than what it is now. As it currently stands, I believe that simply bringing the old design back wouldn't do much justice to the current amount of menu item under the Navigation box. And the creative mind of one person does not represent the entire community. Hence, I consider that it would be better if the entire community could contribute for the icons for each menu item. There are a total of twenty one icons in the current draft. The creation of these icons is up to you all. Just some specifics: the icons should be square in dimension and the details should be at least visible at 70px. Consistency is key!
The second order of business is about the header and site logo. Previously, we would hold a competition/contest open to all users whereby they would place their submissions and put it to a vote. Obviously, only one submission would be selected and that is with the most vote. I am proposing that we improve that method of system by adding a randomiser effect. Additionally, I would suggest we create a project page to add new headers/sitelogos to the randomiser every two months (provided that the submission obtains enough votes). It would definitely spice up the wiki's appearance!
If you have other ideas to improve the wiki's look, just place it in the Comment section! :) — subtank 13:35, 3 July 2014 (EDT)
Mobile theme
Just to let you all know that the wiki now has a mobile theme (skin?), accessible via the footer at the bottom. As of right now, most of our templates will be incompatible with this theme (skin????). If you encounter any issues or bugs with the mobile theme (skin?!?!!), leave your comment on this forum's talk page. — subtank 12:07, 17 July 2014 (EDT)
Design One
So, here's the proposed layout as of 14:26, 18 July 2014 (EDT)
- NAVIGATION
Halo universe
Character
Factions
Locations
Species
Weapons
Vehicles
Campaign levels
Multiplayer maps
Achievements
Games
Novels and comics
Soundtracks
Promotional materials
Fan-made works
Comments
A very fitting way to celebrate our ten-year birthday! Let me know if I can help with any of this. :)--Spartacus Talk • Contribs 15:13, 3 July 2014 (EDT)
- It sounds interesting. Would the logos be paired to a specific header? I personally think they should be. A logo might look brilliant paired with one background, but a mess on another.--Soul reaper (talk) 22:34, 3 July 2014 (EDT)
- I say we go with it. Plain text just doesn't do it. Granted, it does work, but in terms of exciting, not so much. Definitely could use some work. If any of you need my particular expertise, please let me know. I can provide images if necessary. --Xamikaze330 [Transmission|Commencing] 00:18, 4 July 2014 (EDT)Xamikaze330
Transformers Wiki has a nifty feature above the search bar on the side that randomises icons that link to notable articles. I'd be interested in implementing something similar, perhaps just for Featured Articles? -- Qura 'Morhek The Autocrat of Morheka 22:10, 5 July 2014 (EDT)
- Checked it out. We could create something similar by modifying the DYK template. :) — subtank 12:07, 17 July 2014 (EDT)
Just wondering, how would you all feel about a fixed width of 1280px for the wiki? This promotes some standardisation and consistency for our layouts at the very least. To test it out, just copy everything under the Sitewide test? heading and add it to your nimbus.css page. — subtank 14:26, 18 July 2014 (EDT)