CounterCode site template design $150 prize

[ethan]

Hi everyone, (Admin code added by Palmer - 533260J)

I'm after a template to be used for CounterCode.com (http://www.countercode.com). The site is used to promote and sell the CounterCode product, which is a script that allows people to easily run a counter service. Our customers tend to be existing webmasters and web hosting providers. The site is primarily a sales tool.

The current design was created by the previous owner of the site and while it serves its purpose, there's nothing there that I'm really attached to.

Elements that must remain:
- the live counter (at the bottom of the current site) is critical, so that potential customers can see the user-side of the product in action. There are four different counter colours you can use (red (http://countercode.com/demo/images/1.png), yellow (http://countercode.com/demo/images/2.png), white (http://countercode.com/demo/images/3.png), dark blue (http://countercode.com/demo/images/4.png))

Other than that, I'm happy to give you guys a free hand and see what you come up with. I've been really impressed by the entries in previous contests and look forward to see what you can do for CounterCode :)

Prize: $150 USD

Closing Date: 31st May

If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to ask.

Ethan

[lang]

Hi Ethan,

Will we be using your old logo as well?

Lang

[ethan]

Hi Lang,

The logo with the 16 squares with the gradient fill does not have to be included, but can be if you wish. If you have other ideas for presenting the CounterCode name feel free to try them, but of course this isn't a logo contest :)

Ethan

[geiger]

Greetings! My business, (name and link removed), currently has the following three templates for sale. If you decide you like one, we'll customize it and send it your way.

[admin edit] Geiger, you know how the site works. This isn't a thread to sell your premade templates. If you want to enter the contest, then follow the requirements of the contest holder and make a mock-up from a blank canvas with what he wants[/edit]

[lang]

Here is a feeler template to get this thing moving. Thanks. :)

Picture removed to save bandwidth. Please refer to following posts.

[Victoria]

Hi Ethan, (or anyone else who can answer my question..)
Just to verify, is this for the design, or the code aswell? :help:

[ethan]

Victoria: The competition is really just for the design. I can handle the HTML myself :)

Lang
Thanks for being the first to post a design. It looks great, but I'll break it down in terms of the things I like and things that I think could be changed.

Things I like
- The red upward graph-style Tarrow - I really like this, it really gives the impression of success and increased traffic
- The red menu at the top, which ties in with the arrow motif. (I would be interested to see this be a bit bigger, perhaps, so it stands out more?)
- The prominent Live Demo and Purchase Now links
- The colour scheme of the content box and links in the body of the page

Things that could be changed
- I find the colour scheme of the site seems a bit too dark. The dark gray on the right side, especially.
- I would like to see the blue graph image with a bit of a softer blue, making it a bit more subtle
- The blank section on the right seems a bit like wasted space... I know there isn't much content on the page, but the big gap just makes the page seem a bit barren (sorry, I'm not sure if I explained this point properly... and I can't really suggest a solution :( )
- the live counter looks like it's a bit lost over in the bottom right corner, perhaps move it to the bottom of the column under the login box?

Thanks once again Lang, I look forward to seeing your revisions and I hope I haven't been too critical :)

Ethan

[lang]

Thanks for the feedback, Ethan. I will have a revised version up within the night. :)

[lang]

And here is the revised version. :)

(My server is currently possessed so I'll have to borrow some of Palmer's bandwidth for now!)

[Palmer]

Originally posted by lang@May 24 2003, 12:30 AM
(My server is currently possessed so I'll have to borrow some of Palmer's bandwidth for now!)
Bad Lang, bad Lang :bang: :D

Ethan, I have an entry I've been working on. I hope to have it complete within 24 hours.

[Liz]

Here's a quick entry from me...

http://clients.snapfire.com/counter.gif

thanks for your consideration.

- liz.

[Victoria]

Well... I must admit i'm not too good at templates.. feedback essential! :lol2:
<img src='http://inertia.dilloway.net/DO/countercode.gif[/img]

[motiveX]

I have an idea for this site, but before I even start working on it are you looking for something more corporate and clean or something more artsy and clean?

Corporate meaning standard navigation, standard content situation and standard header/content graphics?

Hope that isn't too confusing of a question...

:blink:

[Raja]

a different angle (http://24.192.15.159/cc/) :wee:

[Palmer]

My turn! :tup:
<img src='http://www.morningstarwebdesigns.com/templates/cc/1.png[/img]

[ethan]

Wow, the entries really came in today. Thanks for the hard work everyone :)

I'll provide feedback for everyone in the same format as I did for Lang above... so here goes:

Lang:
Thanks for your quick revision!

Things I like
- I like the 'lighter' feel of the template now
- The section on the right, especially is more interesting now and doesn't look like left over space ;)
- The 'View Now' link above the counter is a great idea

Things that could be changed
- I'm still a bit unsure about the blue graph at the top.. I still feel that it stands out a bit much
- Could you possibly play around with the colour of the upwards arrow and the navigation bar? I think the red might be a little strong


rabbitdog (liz):
Things I like
- I really like the feel of your template. The slight curves, the light grey background lines and the blue and orange colour scheme are all really nice and make the whole template fit together.
- The prominent boxes for purchase and live demo boxes are really good - accenting two very important areas and providing quick access to relevant details
- I also like the font that the "CounterCode.com" title is in

Things that could be changed
- The vertical break between the 'body' of the page (the leftmost column) and the right column (with the heading "Learn More") is a bit too strong. I would like to see the two columns blended together a bit more, especially up in the header area. Perhaps use just the one shade of blue up there? I was also thinking that orange graph image could go behind the grey lines a little bit on the right?
- I think the text in the orange boxes "order now" etc could be a bit more bold and perhaps smaller.
- Can you show me some link colours. The two links you have are black and grey, and while they're fine, I think the in-text links would need to stand out more.


Victoria:
Things I like
- The counter is very prominent in the template, which is great
- The colour scheme of red and blue is quite strong and distinctive
- Quick contact box shows that we are 'real people' and can be contacted if there are problems (although I wouldn't keep the mailing address there since 99% of correspondence is by e-mail)

Things that could be changed
- I think the font sizes/faces in the page could be tweaked a bit, giving the headings more emphasis. The navigation bar, especially could be bigger/clearer
- The two images next to the quick contact box are nice, but I feel they should blend together a bit more. It looks a bit much like two separate images rather than one fading into the other
- I would like to see a link 'View Now' or 'See it in action' or something near the live counter in the top right corner


ondarox:
Things I like
- The green and orange colour scheme works really well
- Bringing the development logs onto the main page in a news-style format is a good idea as the frequency of updates is something a lot of people ask about before purchasing
- The big image ("there is no better way") looks really professional/corporate and I like that style for this site. I would like to see a more 'stats' related image though, graphs or something maybe?

Things that could be changed
- I'm not too sure about the question mark in the logo in the top left corner. I see a question mark as raising a question about the quality of the product... but maybe that's just my interpretation
- The space to the left of the development log seems really empty. perhaps the grey section (with $49 in it) could be moved down there?
- I would also like to see the green shape up the top brought down into the design a bit more, perhaps continue it down behind the text?


Palmer:
Things I like
- The blue colour scheme is nice. I like the way you brought in the yellow from the graph colour on the stats page
- I really like the lightly dotted lines you have used in the header, but I would like to see them perhaps lighter still
- I like the style images in the header, although I'm not sure what the leftmost image is of

Things that could be changed
- I think the menu could be clearer. At first glance I thought it was a spot for a tagline, under the heading.
- The entire page is really clean and simple. While I normally like that style, for this site I think it's important that it look a bit 'busier', since a lot of our competitors have only page that explains their product, whereas we have an entire site with information. I think we need to bring out that fact to any potential customers to make sure they can find out as much as possible about the product
- I'd like to see a link of some sort with the counter saying "View Now" or something similar.


Phew, I hope that feedback will give you all some further ideas, and if you need any clarification about anything, please feel free to ask. I will also add that even if I have made a quite specific request under the "things that can be changed" heading, you don't have to follow it. If you think it will look better another way then please do it your way, or suggest a few different options. After all, the reason I'm here is because I'm not a designer ;)

Thanks once again for all your hard work (and sorry for the delay in responding), I've been really impressed with the quality and look forward to your revisions :D

[ethan]

xteriormotive:
For this site I'm after more of a corporate look to appeal to our audience of webmasters/web hosts.. Something more professional looking than the current site.

[coxy]

Originally posted by ethan@May 25 2003, 01:09 AM
I will also add that even if I have made a quite specific request under the "things that can be changed" heading, you don't have to follow it. If you think it will look better another way then please do it your way, or suggest a few different options. After all, the reason I'm here is because I'm not a designer ;)
Dont you wish all 'clients' were like that :tup:

[geiger]

Ethan,

A SiteSpin creation. Enjoy!

[Victoria]

Ok here are the revisions. :D
<img src='http://inertia.dilloway.net/DO/countercode2.gif[/img]

[D.Burton]

Here is my try:
Revised Below

It was actually a design that I had already made for fun, but I edited it quite a bit to suit your needs. I hope you like it! :)

[ethan]

Dont you wish all 'clients' were like that
Hehe. Yeah, I've been on the other side of things, developing systems for clients who don't seem to realise why they're hiring you ;)


And now on to the new designs and revisions :)

geiger

Things I like
- The colour scheme and the subtle shading/background bits
- The logo is really clear, which is great
- I like how prominent the pricing is up the top there, but I think it may need a bit more information..
- I'd also be interested to see the same template with the front page content in the body of the page, just to get a feel for what the page would look like when completed

Things that could be changed
- I'm not sure what the on/off switch is for?
- The counter could be made more prominent, and a link to the live demo from the counter would be good too
- While I like the appearance of the news bar on the right, we don't really have 'news' as such. While I wouldn't mind perhaps bringing the dev logs onto the main page, I think they would be given a bit too much priority on in that spot.
- I would like to see some more stats/graph related imagery used, perhaps instead of the circles in the top right corner?

Victoria
Thanks for the quick update!

Things I like
- I think the template is starting to look much more complete with the revisions..
- The graph image in the background of the box is a nice touch
- The boxes down the bottom are looking good too

Things that could be changed
- For some reason, the plain white background now looks a bit plain compared to the boxes, maybe try a grey?
- Could you try a different red for the body of the page, closer to the red/pink used around the "see it now" text?

D.Burton

Things I like
- The template looks really professional and clean. I really like the header image with the graphs
- The slightly modified CC 'blocks' logo really suits too

Things that could be changed
- I'd like to see the orange brought into the template a bit more, or perhaps just use orange as a rollover link/button colour?
- At the bottom of the page, I'd like to see two boxes (a 'try' and 'buy' box, if you will) sort of like rabbitdog's and langs's templates.
- Could you try moving the button text up and centered, next to the blue circle?

Can I also ask about any link colours you have in mind for content pages?


Thanks once again to everyone. I really appreciate all the hard work you have put in, it is definitely going to be a very hard choice :)

Ethan

[D.Burton]

Revised version. I incorporated the changes that you noted and also changed the gray background color to a light blue. I think it adds a little more color and makes it look friendlier :) .

<img src='http://www.ccmathteam.com/clients/countercode/countercode2.gif[/img]

The about button is an example of the orange mouseover effect.

DBurton

[geiger]

Here's your updated design. Didn't get a chance to add the graphs yet (and I will) because they just looked too corny the first time around. I'll redo them, rest assure. How's it look?

[Victoria]

-Added a light blue gradient to the background, grey just didn't look right :blink:
-Pink headings, not too sure if they look good yet or not..
What do you think? :tup:
<img src='http://inertia.dilloway.net/DO/countercode3.gif[/img]

[ethan]

Hey guys, the templates are looking great, getting very close to what I'm after :)

geiger
The template is looking really good now. I like the yellow/orange box... very clear, but I think we need a sub-heading underneath it to introduce the page text. The new placement of the login boxes is good, but I think they need a bit more explanation, perhaps "existing customers login" or something similar, but shorter perhaps?

The header looks a bit plain without anything, but I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like with a graph/stat style image there :)

D.Burton
The blue is a subtle difference, but does look warmer and the orange rollover example looks good. I would still like to see more orange brought into the template somehow (exactly how I don't know, though)

I like the look of the try and buy buttons, but I was thinking more along the lines of the two boxes like Victoria has in her template. I think the customer login could be clearer if the button said "login" rather than "go", but that might just be me...


Thanks again for your quick revisions and all the effort you're putting in :tup:

Ethan

[ethan]

Victoria
(just missed your post before I posted the last msg)

The blue background makes a big difference and brings the page together a lot more. I'm not sure about the red headings either, I think maybe try a few other colours (dark blue, maybe?)

Also, could you play around with the font the price is written in? It looks a bit squashed to me at the moment. I'd also like to see a bigger heading "CounterCode Enterprise Edition 1.2" at the top of the main box.

Thanks for your continued revisions :)

Ethan

[Victoria]

Some quick revisions. :)
<img src='http://inertia.dilloway.net/DO/countercode4.gif[/img]

[geiger]

Here we go. All set for you. :)

Have a good day.

[D.Burton]

I added a bit more orange to my last one :D .

[lang]

Revision!

I think that changing the nav/arrow button to a blue color compliments the main graphic more. :)

Picture removed.

[geiger]

Where'd you go, Ethan? Haven't seen you in a couple days.

[ethan]

Thanks for the final revisions everyone, I really do appreciate the effort everyone has gone to and apologise for not checking in as regularly over the past couple of days... I was actually tied up launching a completely new backend I had written for another site (http://www.planetpapers.com) I run and came across a few problems (of course :P) that had to take priority.

Anyway, I will post some last minute feedback about the new designs, although they are all looking pretty complete at the moment, so my suggestions will really just be minor, and don't worry if you don't have time to make these final adjustments. I will announce a winner tomorrow or the day after at the latest.... It will be a very hard choice, but I'm looking forward to giving CounterCode.com a facelift :)


Victoria
The template's looking pretty complete now. I like all the changes, although feel that the title could be a bit clearer (I prefer the more distinctive font though).

geiger
The stats image you added on the right looks good, but I think the second CounterCode logo seems redundant. Also, I'd like to see perhaps more in the way of stats images, more like a montage and more in the background blue to break up that solid colour up there. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this properly though <_< . Just ask if it's not clear.

lang
Yeah, the blue does make the header feel more 'attached' to the page and brings it all together. I wouldn't mind seeing a different colour instead of the green sub-headings in the page text and perhaps bring out the heading "CounterCode Enterprise Edition 1.2" a bit more.

Thanks once more everyone! Just a day or so to go now :D

- Ethan

[lang]

Final revision.

http://www.mynics.net/countercode/CounterCode_v4.gif

[Victoria]

:D :tup:
<img src='http://inertia.dilloway.net/DO/countercode5.gif[/img]

[Palmer]

I will have my update today.

[D.Burton]

Updated Entry:

http://www.ccmathteam.com/clients/countercode/countercode3.gif

[Palmer]

Here is the revised version. The image on the top right represents abstract numbers and graphs to go along with what the women is seeing on her computer screen. She's looking at the stats. I wasn't sure what you meant by making it "busier" but I added a few things to liven it up a bit. Hope you like it.
http://www.morningstarwebdesigns.com/templates/cc/2.png

[geiger]

...and you're all set.

[lang]

There are some nice entries in this contest. :tup:

[ethan]

Well... the time has come to announce a winner :D

Firstly, though, I'd like to thank everyone who posted a template and give a big thanks to those who went the extra mile with numerous revisions in response to my replies. I was really impressed by all the templates (as I knew I would be ;)) and was very pleased with the variety of different ideas that people came up with for this rather open-ended competition. However, there can only be one winner. And the winner is... D.Burton. Congratulations :tup:

Ethan

[Palmer]

Thanks Ethan and best of luck with CounterCode.com.

Congrats Dan on your first win. :clap: Send me your paypal info.

[lang]

Congrats, Dan! Great template. :tup:

[Victoria]

Way to go Dan :tup:

[geiger]

Nice job, Dan.

Eh, so much for contests :huh: I think I'll go back to custom design. :tup:

[toddski07]

Originally posted by geiger@Jun 1 2003, 05:05 PM
Nice job, Dan.

Eh, so much for contests :huh: I think I'll go back to custom design. :tup:
Hmm...."custom design"....thought your first entry into this contest was just posting three pre-made templates and stating to the contest holder you could edit one if they like it. The individual posting a contest on Design Outpost is hoping for "custom design"...that is the nature of the site. :) I will say your revised template to meet the contest holders requirements does look nice. Just didn't win but it is nice.

Sorry for the comment from a "peanut gallery" member but I just had to chuckle when I read your comment...especially considering how you first entered this contest.

[geiger]

lol well yes... but I can explain!

Didn't think I had the time for a "contest" and I rarely enter them anyway. I had made 3 pre-made templates in the past which had yet to sell and I was working on "real" jobs (not meant to be derrogetory) so I just stuck those up there. Worth a shot! Who knew it was against the rules (it is?)

Anyway, I barely have time for these anyway and I really don't need them to keep work coming in, so as I said, "So much for contests" ;)

Cheers.