ian weller

July 11th, 2008

deviantART’s website, v6, just went live for everyone. The new message center is awesome.

Tags: deviantART, websites | Comments Off

devART: (Super Secret) Version 6

May 5th, 2008

I knew it was time for a new design when some of the latest deviantART features didn’t match the rest of the site design… and lo and behold, version 6 is out in “super secret” mode.

Well, it’s not a secret anymore. Hopefully the clowns and other devART ninjas won’t kill me for this tour and review.

Overall, the new design looks more advanced, but less flashy at the same time, something that isn’t easily matched by designers. A lot has turned into some really neat AJAX stuff. The home page is now a simple Browse page, browsing the newest deviations, leaving the Popular, Prints, and Daily Deviations (by default) “streams”, as they’re now called, to the bottom of the page in a fancy sort of toolbar thing.

So far so good. Even better, clicking any of the categories to the left will instantly take you to that category, using some sort of magic AJAX. Plus, the instant ability to see any category straight from the home page could prove to be a beautiful way for your art to be seen better by the general public. It allows for more interest from first-time visitors.

Unfortunately, most of the other pages are still the same style, just put in some different chrome. Take a look at a deviation page, for example… one with tons of comments…

Blegh. Same old, same old. Can’t you guys spice it up a little? (Badass art though, brought to you by `zemotion.)

User pages bring no love either.

Did anyone notice the toolbar at the top? It’s customizable now, with all sorts of fun stuff.

In the end, I think it’ll be a beautiful concept, especially when user feedback gets molded into the new design.

Looks like I’m gonna start on my grayscale theme again for deviantART now. I like the colors even less. :D

Tags: deviantART, web design | 3 Comments »