Re: Site facelift?

[luis.roca]

Here's my portfolio

If it's decided to go ahead with a redesign — again, I'll do it. If you want someone else — certainly no hard feelings. Either way I would like to see this happen. :)

I am certainly biased about this. I've spent my entire career (art school and professional) working toward improving perception, functionality and organization through graphic design. This site HAS a design and the design says something to everyone that visits.

To me it said:
   "There are some hardcore old-school programmers that probably know a lot about Perl." That's good.

But it also said
   "We are sticking with what we know and are comfortable using and wont change no matter what." Not as good.

Those are not exactly correct (especially the second) — I don't actually think the site's made up of a bunch of grumpy old men who can code circles around those young PHP whipper-snappers. This site, in terms of content and interaction, is anything but that. It just doesn't look that way when you first visit.

My intention is NOT to offend anyone — remember I use and love this site too. I would love it if others did as well. I know designers that unfortunately wouldn't look past the site's appearance and would look elsewhere when researching developers for their interactive projects. I know other designers that would give the site a shot just because of it's retro coolness. I know it's wrong and unfair but it's true. Neither of those are positives for the site.

But hey what do I know. I put a premium on design and yet here I am a year later because at the end of the day I wanted to learn and meet good people who shared an interest in Perl.

P.S. I actually like grumpy old men and aspire to be one someday soon. I also REALLY enjoy seeing those said grumpy old men coding circles around PHP/Ruby/Python whipper-snappers. ESPECIALLY if they call them "Whipper-Snappers" while they're mopping the floor with them. No offense was intended. :-)

[JavaFan]

Here's my portfolio

Tastes differ. But if perlmonks looked like your site, I wouldn't have stopped long enough to read even a single article, let alone answer one.

[wazoox]

Howdy, come on. These examples are for media companies and advertising websites, nobody thinks perlmonks should look like that. Someone competent and talented propose to work for the website, and you just diss him? How about getting constructive?

[luis.roca]

     These examples are for media companies and advertising websites, nobody thinks perlmonks should look like that.

Least of all me. I've spent years designing for entertainment industry clients. Projects like PerlMonks.org is just the kind of refreshing change I've been looking for. I posted my portfolio simply as proof that I am who I say I am. NOT as a suggestion that PerlMonks should be designed using Nickelodeon orange with a giant space robot intro animation.

Now, a flying monk Flash intro — hmmmmmmm — maybe. ;)

[luis.roca]

     Tastes differ. But if perlmonks looked like your site, I wouldn't have stopped long enough to read even a single article, let alone answer one.

That's a little dramatic, don't you think?

[jffry]

Did you not see his giant yellow robot theme?

[luis.roca]

:-))

A vector illustration for Spike TV's 1st Video Game Awards trophy design. The concept was an Anime robot version of an Oscar. It made it to the last round but lost to a big clear acrylic Space Invader a good friend of mine designed. The Space Invader WAS pretty cool.