DealofDay.com - Complete overhaul! $300

[mayor]

(Admin code added by Palmer - 32670W)

Hi Gang,

I'm very pleased with the results I have gotten here so far, so I am ready to let you try your hand at a fairly high-profile site.

http://www.dealofday.com is a popular online coupon site and has been online since 1999. We get several thousand visits each day. It is time to completely overhaul our site design.

I am posting this contest, but you will be receiving feedback from myself and from Scott Hamlin. He hasn't signed up with an account here yet, but I'm sure he'll check in soon enough.

The current design is overbearing in the sense that the graphics that make
up the interface stand out too much and are not very attractive (and Scott can
say that since he designed them). We are looking for a design that makes the
content (the deals) stand out and the design of the site play more of a
supportive role. We do not plan to pull back on the number of deals
displayed on the site, so we need to reduce the degree to which the site's
design competes with or draws the eye away from the deals.

We want the design to be set over a white backdrop. The design elements
such as the tabs and the section headers, etc. should be professional and
distinctivie, but not overly gaudy and eye-catching. A sites that do this
well include:

http://www.amazon.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Deal sites that are fairly close to what we'd like to have include:

http://www.edealfinder.com/
http://www.bargainandhaggle.com/ (tabs a little weak, the boxes are a
little non-distinctive)
http://www.dealcatcher.com/
http://www.ableshoppers.com/ (the design of this site is just a little
overdone -- it limits the ability to display content a bit too much and the
site design stands out too much and the content not enough)

Sites we don't want to look anything like:

http://www.couponcollect.com/
http://www.dealprovider.com/
http://www.couponcraze.com/

I would have listed dealofday.com, but we do want to maintain the
structure. Like most sites, the dealofday.com site is dynamically generated
using a serverside backbone (CGI I believe). So, we need to maintain the
basic current structure.

If needed, we are willing to lose a few features.

- daily winner, featured sponsor, dcontests and sweepstakes (under the three top deals)
- last 8 deals clicked
- voting booth
- recent dealtalk messages

But if they can be worked in, that would be good.

So, let the contest begin! The bounty for the winner is $300.

Joel (and Scott)

[rendrboy]

Hello all,

Just signing on. I'm the "Scott" mentioned in the earlier post. For some reason Joel lets me weigh in on the design issues at dealofday.com--could be because I'm a former art director and currently director of a custom game design company :P

Anywhoo, I'm new to the world o' Design Outpost, so I'll be very interested to see how it goes.

Thanks!

Scott
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
www.eyeland.com

[Palmer]

Welcome Scott, I just upgraded your status. You will be able to see the contest holders private forum now too.

[V + E + R + T]

I'm interested, is there a deadline to the contest?

Also, do you have the logo on a white background?

[rendrboy]

Hi V + E + R + T,

:blink: I don't think there's a deadline-per se---unless there has to be (maybe that's a requirement on these sites--sorry I don't know). Sure we'd like to have something as soon as possible, but as a designer I know that good design takes a little time. Do we need to have a deadline? Thanks,

Scott

[mayor]

Scott is a newbie... yes, there is a deadline.

All initial entries must be in by August 12th. If you enter before that (and I hope many do), we'll use that time to fine tune. But no NEW entries after August 12th. I would like to finalize the winner a week later, by August 19th.

can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Scott... I think Vert wanted a logo... please tell people where they can download current assets.

Also, do we still want to keep Hopper the Shopper, our kangaroo mascot?

Joel

[rendrboy]

Hey all,

I think we plan to keep Hopper the Shopper (the kangaroo). However, I think the current logo at Dealofday.com stinks. Can that be part of the design? I see logo-ish stuff added in other templates. I'm probably showing my newbie status some more. Izzat cool?

Thanks,

Scott

[Palmer]

I'm generalizing here but most of us template people stink at logo design :) You might be better off having a logo contest as well while your template contest is going on. You'll get much better results that way but yes, you are right, the logo is part of the template and comes with the final design.

[V + E + R + T]

Hello Scott,

Have you been able to get your hands on the DealofDay.com logo design on a white bground? Much thanks. :)

[Severner]

Hi there,

I've given this a shot.

http://www.andymayer.co.uk/dodscrshot.jpg

Hope you like it. :lol2:
I havent given the logo much thought yet, just concentrating on layout for now.

[V + E + R + T]

Hello, please view my entry below:

Click here to view! (http://www.concordio.com/clients/deal/deal.html) B)

Please note: If you wish, the layout can be maximized in width the complete way (like a liquid layout). I just didn't implement, because it can be too complex to do as a screenshot.

If you like what you see, let me know of any changes (if applicable), and I'll conclude the layout by finishing the bottom portion of the layout.

Thanks for your time! :)

[mayor]

For the record, I would like to see a logo as part of this contest. Give it your best shot, please.

Thanks!

Joel

P.S. - I'm going to let Scott comment on the entries as he has a better eye for this stuff. I will toss my two cents in as needed.

[Severner]

Working on another entry :tup:

[Severner]

Its not actually finished just wanted to show you a preview, i spent alot of time making this so i hope you are happy with it :tup:

Personelly i think i need to re-do the logo and the 3 deal images i need to create in style towards the site.

I wanted similar layout styles to some sites you have shown above but more in a unique style so you can stand out above the rest :)

Anways here is the preview.

:::
<img src='http://www.elusionstudios.com/clients/images/dodlayout.jpg[/img]
:::

[rendrboy]

Hello Severner,

You're first pass there is a little undistinctive. I do like how the "Contact Us" "Join Now" and "Main" tabs set up along the top, but the other tabs are too square. I think the light brown has a little too much green in it, and the other color probably doesn't have quite enough.

I had a chat with Joel today and we decided we're going to lose all of the items in the right had bar. We'll want to move the "Daily" winner above the categories and below the search. We want the logo to take up less vertical space to compensate (so that the categories don't get bumped down). Otherwise we'll also lose the last 8 deals clicked and the Featured Sponsor and Contests and Sweepstakes.

Thanks for giving it a shot--sorry I'm not more fired up about it.

Thanks,

Scott
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
http://www.eyeland.com
http://www.gamesinaflash.com

[rendrboy]

Hello V + E + R + T,

I really like this design--including the logo. I didn't even have a chance to say that we'd like the logo to take up less vertical space. It's very nice and simple. Using the other image of "Hopper" seems obvious once I looke at it--nicely done!

Here's a few things I'd like to add please. First we'd like the tabs to be similar to amazon.com's tabs in two respects. First the tabs don't need to be uniform width. If the tabs are not uniform, they will take up less horizontal space. Secondly, when a specific tab is selected, it would be great if the selected tab would stand out with a strong complimentary color--probably a green. Amazon.com does different colors. I don't think this is necessary for our site--we have too many tabs and I don't want to have to have a dozen different complimentary colors for the brown shade (I like the colors you've chosen so far).

I think the search is a little lonesome up there by itself, so either that could be part of the bar that changes color when you select a category or let's move it back to the left above categories. Also, I had a chat with Joel today and we decided we're going to lose all of the items in the right had bar (which you've already done--which is great). We'll want to move the "Daily" winner above the categories and below the search. And we'll also lose the last 8 deals clicked and the Featured Sponsor and Contests and Sweepstakes so that the Daily Deals can move up.

Finally, one thing I really like about e-dealfinder.com is how the segment each deal on their main page. Currently at dealofday.com we have a hodgepodge of sizes for the graphics that go with the deals and they are all on the right side. The western eye reads top left to bottom right, so they are pretty much in the exact wrong spot. So, I'd like something a little more like edealfinder.com where the deals have an 88x31 in the upper left and the deals are spaced out with a nice, simple divider of some sort.

Ok, I know that's a lot, but I really do like your initial design. Very intuitive.

Thank you,

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
http://www.eyeland.com
http://www.gamesinaflash.com

[rendrboy]

Hello Severner,

Sorry, my first reply was related to your first design. You're second design is much nicer in the stylish department and the logo is nicer. However, in the logo, the word "of" stands out too much.

In the rest of your design, there is a notable lack of white. While I think the style is certainly better than may nasty design (the current dealofday.com design), we want to shy away from too much color. When I designed the site a few years ago, I was trying to make it eye catching. Bad idea. The design gets in the way. Our eyes and brains spend time and energy deciphering colors and such. Typically our eyes have less trouble deciphering black text on white than any other color combo. The dealofday.com has so much content that the design needs to get out of the way and let the viewer take a look.

Colorful site designs are better for site designers who want to advertise their wares or for sites whose content is much less overwhelming than ours.

I think color behind the far left column is fine---just not behind the main deals. Also, please see my other reply regarding the stuff we want to toss out in the design.

All that said, thank you for the creative effort!!!

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
http://www.eyeland.com
http://www.gamesinaflash.com

[lang]

Please accept my submission for your consideration. Thanks! :)

<img src='http://www.mynics.net/dealofday/DealOfDay_v1.gif[/img]

[Severner]

Ok cool, Nice entry Lang best so far :tup:

[V + E + R + T]

I have completed the revisions to the template as you have requested, let me know of any changes that come into mind. :)

Click here to view! (http://www.concordio.com/clients/deal/deal2.html)

Thank you!

[motiveX]

Originally posted by V @ E + R + T+Aug 5 2003, 10:48 AM
I have completed the revisions to the template as you have requested, let me know of any changes that come into mind. :)

Click here to view! (http://www.concordio.com/clients/deal/deal2.html)

Thank you!
Very nice design man.

:)

[rendrboy]

Hello Lang,

That is a fine piece of work, for sure. Very attractive design. I'm afraid I don't think it will work for dealofday.com for that very reason--it draws the eye too much. We want the design to sit back so that the content comes out more. We feel that in our current design the site's design competes too much with the content, so we want to go in the opposite direction. Of course, not that we want an overly bland design--we just don't want the design elements to draw your eye too much. Your design is very attractive and so I'm afraid it's so attractive that it might distract from the content---at least initially. Our new site visitors need to not be looking in the wrong place and our repeat visitors need to be able to focus to get to the deals they want with a minimum of hassle, so I think we need to tone it down a bit.

Thanks for the excellent effort though. Very nice work!

Thanks,

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
http://www.eyeland.com
http://www.gamesinaflash.com

[rendrboy]

Hello V + E + R + T,

This is looking very good. :)

2 things, please. First you probably missed it in my last message, but we want to lose the stuff above the "Today's Deals" (Daily winner, et al and the Last deals clicked). We do, however, want to keep the Daily Winner--but we want to put in the right column under the search (keeping the bag icon is optional).

The othe thing is the tabs look good, except the lighter brown for the selected tab is a little flat. I don't want to do something that draws too much attention to it, though (which is probably why it's good that you didn't follow my suggestion of having the tab be a complimentary color like green. However, I think it would look better if the selected tab was that same dark brown. Further more, I think a 5-10 pixel link that's below and abutted to the bottom of the tabs to tie it together with ther brown on either side of the tabs might do the trick.

Other than that, I really like this design. I'll ask Joel to take a look at it. Thanks for the great effort on it!

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
http://www.eyeland.com
http://www.gamesinaflash.com

[lang]

Thanks for the candid feedback, Scott. I'll see if I can try a new approach for you before the deadline. :)

Lang

[mayor]

I like what we are seeing so far.

Note: If you are planning on submitting an entry before the deadline, please post a note just to let us know. We'd like to get a feel for how many more we can expect.

Thanks!

Joel

[BrianDove]

my template is nearly done!
Please wait again about 10 more minutes :D
Brian

[BrianDove]

here it is :)
im just praying it's not too late...
Brian

[V + E + R + T]

I'm going to be going to Boston for a few days, I don't know when I'll be back, but it'll only be for a few. When I get back, I'll be sure to put the DealofDay revisions to the top of my priority list.

Edit: I will be returning on Friday.

Thank you!

[mayor]

I would like to extend the deadline for this contest one more week in order to allow more entries. We have some good entries to work with, but I know there are some other approaches to the task. Does anyone else want to give it a go? Initial deadline extended until August 19th.

Joel

[Palmer]

As some of you might not know. DealofDay.com is a very popular site with a page Rank of 6 according to Google. Needless to say it would be a very nice addition to anyone's resume if you were responsible for the design of that site.

[cre8or]

Hello Scott & Joel,
With the extension of your deadline, I'd sure like to try my hand
at re-designing your site. I would however like to ask permission
to re-work Hopper as well, if I may.
Anxiously waiting for your answer,
-Kimber.

[mayor]

Absolutely.. Hopper is putty in your hands. Go for it!

Joel

[BrianDove]

hi!
it would be great if i could get some "comments" on the template i have done :)
Thanks!
Brian :D

[rendrboy]

Hi koolbrian,

Sorry for the delayed response. Deadlines--I'm sure you know the drill. The slight pillowing look and colors are great. :tup: We like the design in general. Here are the aspects of the design that aren't as exciting to us:

1. The logo. The "DealofDay.com" text isn't very substantial. I think it's the font. It should probably be a bolder sans serif font.

2. The gray for the tab isn't very attractive. I see what you're doing--you've got the gray in the design elsewhere, but it doesn't thrill. We though it migh tbe good to simply reverse the colors. The color for the Text would be the tab color and the tab color would be the color for the text. it's hard to know if that would work without trying it, but gray doesn't look good to us.

3. We're losing the "Last 8 Deals Clicked" portion of the site and we will no longer have a right column. It will go from 3 columns to 2.

4. We'd like to break apart the deals similarly to http://www.edealfinder.com -- complete with 88x31 pics to the left instead of to the right like we have them now (yuck). Right now our deals are a little too closely packed making them too hard to read.

Otherwise we think it looks great. Thank you!!

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
www.eyeland.com
www.gamesinaflash.com
www.pingapal.com

[lang]

Will take another shot at this. :)

[lang]

Less is more?

http://www.mynics.net/dealofday/DealOfDay_v2.gif

[BrianDove]

as far as the contest has arrived, It would be a nice thing if you could precise us your favorites entries... so that we will have a clearer idea of what you are looking for...
thanks!
Brian
:)

[cre8or]

Hello,
I would like to submit this design
http://www.kimberart.com/clients/templateSample.gif
as my idea for the DealOfDay.com re-design.
I completely changed the way Hopper looks.
With all due respect, I thought Hopper looked a litle on the half-starved/crazy side.
So I took the liberty of making him a little more plump and friendly.
(No offense intended).
I didn't however change the Hoper in the side-bar advert.
(If you like the new Hopper, I could easily change that).

You can see a biger version here. (http://www.kimberart.com/clients/DODtemplate.htm)
Your comments are appreciated.
Thank you,
Kimber

[motiveX]

Wow. Very nice work Kimber.

:tup:

[crimsondesigner]

I'd like to try my hand at this also.

Erika

[rendrboy]

Hi Lang,

Sorry for the delayed response. The new design looks nicer and more conservative. I think the logo has a connotation that you could not have known that we want to avoid. Perhaps it's just me, but the sign thing makes me think of a used car salesman or the sort of "deal" that's not a very good deal so they have to make the sign look more extravagant to sort of mask the fact that it's not a good deal at all. OK, that's a stretch. Maybe I should just say I like the Hopper logos better. :P

It's solid work, but I'm sorry to say I just like the direction that VERT took better. Thank you for applying your considerable talent to the the designs you submitted.

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
www.eyeland.com
www.gamesinaflash.com
www.pingapal.com

[rendrboy]

Hi Cre8or,

The design is a bit too in your face for us and I actually prefer our hopper. It's probably totally debatable, but the demographic for this site is largely housewives and people who work at home. Guys like me are just too daft to take a few seconds to get a better deal on things. So I think the cartoony look appeals more to the cute things. The 3D-ish look has more of a technical appeal, IMHO.

As we mentioned in earlier posts, we were looking for a design that's not as in yoru face as our current design. I think design looks very solid, but the design, itself, draws too much attention. Thank you for your efforts nevertheless.

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
www.eyeland.com
www.gamesinaflash.com
www.pingapal.com

[motiveX]

Hell, I thought Kimber had this contest nailed with her design...I just might have to enter now that the door is open.

:woot: :chef:

[lang]

Thanks for your candid response, Scott. I am... the weakest link. Buybye!

(Good luck to the survivors!) :)

[mayor]

Originally posted by xteriormotive@Aug 19 2003, 12:53 AM
Hell, I thought Kimber had this contest nailed with her design...I just might have to enter now that the door is open.

:woot: :chef:
Go for it! When can you have your entry ready? Be aware that we are leaning toward VERT's design, so keep that in mind.

Joel

[BrianDove]

I'll post my modifications...
Thanks for your patience :)
Brian

[rendrboy]

Hi everyone,

Are there any last minute posts? We can extend the deadline to noon tomorrow (August 20th) Central standard time. As Joel mentioned we're leaning toward VERT's design although he hasn't popped in in a while--might be AWOL for all I know.

Thanks,

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
www.eyeland.com
www.gamesinaflash.com
www.pingapal.com

[V + E + R + T]

Originally posted by rendrboy@Aug 20 2003, 01:28 AM
Hi everyone,

Are there any last minute posts? We can extend the deadline to noon tomorrow (August 20th) Central standard time. As Joel mentioned we're leaning toward VERT's design although he hasn't popped in in a while--might be AWOL for all I know.

Thanks,

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
www.eyeland.com
www.gamesinaflash.com
www.pingapal.com
Sorry, I'm still here. B)

I'll make the modifications ASAP.

[BrianDove]

updated entry:
( News button is the mouse-overed effects ) and I tried to "emphasize" the "Today's Deals" items...
Regards,
Brian Dove

[V + E + R + T]

I have finished the modifications to the template as you requested.

Click here to view! (http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mspan5/deal-rev3.html) B)

Edit: I just noticed that there are some color and contrast discrepancies because I used a new optimizer tool. If you wish to see the "better" optimized file, let me know. Thanks! :)

[motiveX]

Originally posted by V @ E + R + T+Aug 20 2003, 10:04 PM
I have finished the modifications to the template as you requested.

Click here to view! (http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mspan5/deal-rev3.html) B)

Edit: I just noticed that there are some color and contrast discrepancies because I used a new optimizer tool. If you wish to see the "better" optimized file, let me know. Thanks! :)
Lookin very cool man, VERY!

:tup:

[Raja]

I concur!

[Mike]

Looks like VERT is back in the game, awesome :D

[rendrboy]

Hello,

Joel and I would like to thank everyone who entered this contest. This was my first experience with designoutpost and I'm really impressed with all the talent that is here. Thank you to everyone who applied their talents to the Dealofday.com design. I'd especially like to thank Koolbrian and Lang who did exceptional work, IMHO, but we felt they weren't quite right for our site.

V.E.R.T.'s design is the winner. There are a few small changes we'd like to ask for. I'm not sure if we do that here or privately. Please let me know. Is there a means to communicate off the forum? Is it allowed?

Thank you again everyone. :tup:

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
www.eyeland.com
www.gamesinaflash.com
www.pingapal.com

[lang]

Congrats VERT on a well deserved win! :)

[Palmer]

Excellent work Jeff, maybe this will convince you to hang out here a little more often ;) Congratulations.

Thanks Scott, thanks Joel :tup: I'm looking forward to seeing the new site. let us know when the new design is up.

[BrianDove]

Vert Vert Vert....
I will never be able to beat you ;)

Congrats !!!!
Brian
:lol2:

[V + E + R + T]

Thanks for all the kind comments everyone, much appreciated!

rendrboy, you may contact me via e-mail for the changes you need for the template, feel free to let me know.

Thanks again!

[rendrboy]

Hello,

I've tried to e-mail V.E.R.T. several times from this site with no luck. Does the e-mail feature on this site work? Is there another address or method I should be using. Obviously we'd love to get this design up and running.

Thanks,

Scott Hamlin
director, Eyeland Studio, Inc.
www.eyeland.com
www.gamesinaflash.com
www.pingapal.com

[Palmer]

I believe he has a new email address. I will contact him a.s.a.p.

[rendrboy]

Hello,

Still haven't heard from VERT. It's possible, however, that he e-mailed me and it didn't go through. My e-mail address was slammed by the Sobig virus and it goes over Quota often. VERT could you please e-mail me again and/or Palmer could you please contact VERT?

Thanks,

Scott

[Palmer]

Yes, he told me he sent several emails and also added that they weren't bounced back. I'll PM you his email address.

[rendrboy]

Hello,

It appears we've lost touch with V.E.R.T. again. I've e-mailed several times with no response. Anyone hear from him? We still haven't gotten the design from him. We're getting more than a little antsy. I imagine V.E.R.T. has been paid his contest winnings long ago, but as yet we don't actually have the design.

Thanks,

Scott

[Palmer]

I'll contact him.