spreadubuntu team mailing list archive

[Pierre Vorhagen <pvorhagen@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

it has been quite a while since I last wrote something to the list, but
I have been following SU developments closely. I have a little more time
on my hands now, which allows me to come back to a couple of projects...

I welcomed the change in branding for Ubuntu with great joy and
excitement last week, we are definitely heading in the right direction
with the "light" themes and feeling. Sometimes, less is more!

At this point, I want to show you an image that I found some time ago. I
remembered it whilst reading Evan's email and thinking of possible
changes.
http://freezedriedwater.com/media/simplicity.png
This is exactly what Spread Ubuntu must not fall into if we want it to
be a central and productive tool for the community, especially with the
new branding.
Take Launchpad for instance. The UI is constantly being worked on and,
considering the massive amount of new and old features, the interface is
a slick, clean working space.


Instead of replying to every point, trying to make images clear, I
drafted a mockup of what I have in mind on the gimp.
http://freezedriedwater.com/media/homepage_mockup1-PierreVorhagen.png

Remarks:
- 5 elements in my mockup:
	* Top navigation bar
	* Marketing campaigns scrollable banners (similar to ubuntu.com)
	* Explanatory links of the Spread Ubuntu options with icons
	* A short monthly choice of well-rated materials, with a
description as to why they're good, and in need of translation.
	* Footer -> needs to be modified of course ;)

- The Get/Make/Translate/Share icons would be relevant to their meaning,
and obviously not these ones, but keeping the same style.

- The "Log In" link could be placed next to the "Share materials", in
the top navigation bar, and the appearing links (News, Account, Create
Content and Log Out) would add themselves to the top bar. There will
probably not be enough space, so I suggest removing the word "materials"
behind the links, which is quite redundant in my opinion, especially for
returning visitors that know the concept.

- You will have noticed that right now there is no reserved space for a
small description of SU. This can be added at the right of the campaign
banners I think, since it doesn't need to be long. And "Read more..."
links are great! ;)

- The monthly choice of top-rated materials might enable the marketing
team to somehow draw Ubuntu-related marketing in a specific direction,
reinforcing a unified branding over unrelated local efforts. I think
that it's very important to not just offer an exchange platform, but
also to show the way marketeers should go. To compare with the business
world, marketing is deemed to fail if the marketeers don't follow the
company direction. This is why our role as a link between Canonical, the
marketing team and the marketeers is essential in my opinion.

- If we want to make SU a central marketing resource, and not only a
repository, the campaign banners are important. In the same idea, I
would suggest that we echo the efforts of LoCo's and LUGs on a "Spread
Ubuntu Blog". The posts would appear on the homepage in a dedicated
"Marketing Ubuntu " box (which can be under or next to the top-rated
box). It's very gratifying to see one's efforts relayed on a somewhat
"official" Ubuntu site.


I have not yet drafted anything about the materials node, but I think
that with the sidebar disappearing, there will be enough space to
"un-clutter" everything a little bit, and stay in-line with the new
"light" theme. This e-mail already got way too long anyway...

Wishing you a nice day,
Pierre


On Tue, 2010-03-09 at 01:38 +0000, Evan Boldt wrote:
> SpreadUbuntu is participating in the new Ubuntu branding. We want to
> start some discussion about the new layouts, design, and logo.
> 
> Please take a look at this wiki page:
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MarketingTeam/Projects/SpreadUbuntu/Brand
> 
> Some things to discuss:
> New Logo
> Check out the current versions. See what you can make out of it. There
> is a source file on the wiki.
> 
> Navigation
> Where should the navigation be placed?
> 
> The 'primary' navigation (get, make, translate, and share) is on the
> left (top for the home page). To match the other websites, it should be
> moved to the orange bar at the top, yet the logos and descriptions are
> still desirable. What would be the best way to keep them?
> 
> Where should secondary navigation be placed? Currently it is on the left
> side only for logged in users. If the primary is moved to the top, the
> secondary will be the only thing occupying the left sidebar, which would
> be a weird transition from not logged in to logged in.
> 
> Front Page
> What improvements can be made to the home page? Is there any information
> it needs?
> 
> Is the current layout ideal? Nearly no visitor clicks any of the 'top
> rated materials'. Instead, they go for a 'media' or click 'get
> materials'.
> 
> Font
> Browsers with support for @font-face are growing large enough that we
> can pick whatever font we want. Do we want to use something like
> Liberation Sans for all text?
> 
> Materials Node
> This is the layout you see when you click on a material you want, and
> you are given the option to download images or source. It displays
> information about the material. How can this be brought to the new
> style?
> 
> Please make some mockups of what you want to see happen, and add it to
> the wiki at the top in the appropriate section.