Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Thoughts toward a LibraryThing redesign

Labels: design

posted by Tim @2:54 pm
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    • 41 Comments:

    1. jjmcgaffey says:
      May 22, 2013 at 3:06 pm

      LOL! Just don’t go to neon instead…

      I’ve no idea, really. LT in, say, blue, or yellow, or green – just wouldn’t look right.

      Reply
    2. runa says:
      May 22, 2013 at 3:08 pm

      *sigh* I really do feel like I’m the only one who loves the iconic salmon color. When the redesign happens, I hope the option to revert back to the original is available…

      Reply
    3. Nathaniel Campbell says:
      May 22, 2013 at 3:12 pm

      Yet, I’m actually partial to the salmon — but then, I like earth-tones in the background.

      A thought: shouldn’t a website devoted to books take its palette from the beiges and creams of parchment and paper?

      Reply
    4. Nora says:
      May 22, 2013 at 3:18 pm

      Save the salmon!

      Reply
    5. Susanne says:
      May 22, 2013 at 4:06 pm

      I’ve grown fond of the salmon…maybe amp up the intensity so it’s not so…lifeless? Also, I would rather see a tab that says “my books” rather than “your books”.

      Reply
    6. Stephanie says:
      May 22, 2013 at 6:05 pm

      Save the salmon!

      Reply
    7. KUIPERDOLIN says:
      May 22, 2013 at 7:00 pm

      Keep the salmon please !

      Reply
    8. Debbie says:
      May 22, 2013 at 7:39 pm

      Is that salmon? It has that classic pantyhose nude color on my monitor. So kill the salmon. We need a new fish mascot!

      And I totally agree with the poster who said my books instead of your books. I never understood that one. The rest of it I love.

      You will never make us all happy. Good luck trying though! ;o)

      Reply
    9. Paul says:
      May 22, 2013 at 8:13 pm

      I vote for earth tones reminiscent of books. The salmon is too bland.

      I also suggest you rough out some candidates and let the LThingers give you feedback.

      Reply
    10. Brann says:
      May 22, 2013 at 8:45 pm

      It is that “nude” colour on my computer as well. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest

      I do agree with the commenter that said that the pallett should probably come from the colours of paper and parchment–minus the optic white of some newer books.

      Reply
    11. Lorin says:
      May 22, 2013 at 9:21 pm

      I’m glad there are others who love the salmon too. I thought I was the only one! It’s a color I’ve come to associate very strongly with LT, and I’d be sad to see it go. But as long as you don’t change it to anything too flashy, I suppose I will get used to it (eventually). 🙂

      Reply
    12. Joe says:
      May 22, 2013 at 9:58 pm

      I can’t explain why I just spent 10 minutes researching whether Clan Spalding has a registered tartan (it doesn’t), but I’m just saying, that’d show them.

      That’d show them all….

      Reply
    13. Laytonwoman3rd says:
      May 23, 2013 at 6:33 am

      No, no, no…I never thought of it as “salmon”…I think of it as “LibraryThing”. It must not change! Now the “Your books” to “My books” idea is a winner.

      Reply
    14. Laura Quilter says:
      May 23, 2013 at 10:53 am

      Earth tones, I don’t mind, but there needs to be something earthy with them … greens and dark browns. Not just pale insipid washed-out pastel so-called earth tones.

      Anyway, people, even if you *LOVE* a color scheme, sometimes you just have to mix it up, you know?

      Reply
    15. Deb Morrissey says:
      May 23, 2013 at 3:40 pm

      Yes, a palette reminiscent of old books. Parchment & black, burgundy, hunter green, tan, oxblood – those old leather bindings.

      Reply
    16. Deb Morrissey says:
      May 23, 2013 at 3:41 pm

      Ooh! Like so:

      http://www.colourlovers.com/palette/2093500/Antique_Leatherbound?widths=0

      Reply
    17. Benuathanasia says:
      May 24, 2013 at 10:07 am

      So long as the colors aren’t *BAM* in your face. Keep it rather neutral. The more vibrant colors are far easier to hate; whereas neutral colors, if you don’t like ’em, they’re easier to just ignore.

      Honestly, it took me a minute to figure out what everyone was talking about becuase my eyes no longer notice the salmon.

      Reply
    18. Noisy says:
      May 24, 2013 at 8:32 pm

      Salmon = LT

      Keep the salmon!!

      Reply
    19. vy0123 says:
      May 24, 2013 at 9:16 pm

      Make the next new look of stone with colors from earliest art, 50,000+yo.

      Reply
    20. Elisa says:
      May 24, 2013 at 9:28 pm

      Thanks for a bit of Friday humor! 😀

      Reply
    21. Chuck Gilbert says:
      May 25, 2013 at 8:01 pm

      I thought that the post was a “NO FISHING” notice…Keep the color, it is neutral and easy on the eyes.

      Reply
    22. BookLizard says:
      May 25, 2013 at 11:02 pm

      I thought it was supposed to be a red herring. I was wondering what the mystery readers had done to earn your wrath.

      I like the salmon color just fine.

      Reply
    23. Lee Swetnika says:
      May 26, 2013 at 12:10 pm

      I love the idea of tones of books, creams, beige, browns, some rich deep reds and greens to accent.
      Bandaid pink just isn’t my thing.

      Reply
    24. Jill ONeill says:
      May 26, 2013 at 12:43 pm

      I vote for a move away from “salmon”. I think you want something a bit stronger or livelier than that.

      Reply
    25. Oscar says:
      May 28, 2013 at 5:04 am

      Please Librarything, don’t change! Until I came across this I had never thought about the colours on the site, which shows they are well done. Same principle as well designed lamps – they should not be noticed, but should light to good effect and be pleasing if the eye should settle on them. This is a site for readers and book lovers and does not need distracting colours. As to ‘your’ books, it’s perfectly understandable and has the pleasingly collegiate feeling of Librarything looking out towards the user rather than the implicit separateness of a ‘my’ books site. The endless isolationist self obsession of things which accentuate me-Me-ME! is so depressing.

      Reply
    26. Melora says:
      May 28, 2013 at 4:42 pm

      I like the color! I wouldn’t have said “salmon,” though. Isn’t salmon much brighter? Maybe it is just lox that is bright. Or my computer monitor is muting the color. Anyway, it is a very nice color.

      Reply
    27. Diane says:
      May 28, 2013 at 9:08 pm

      PLEASE don’t change “Your books” to “My books” as someone suggested above. Please don’t redesign. Please.

      Reply
    28. Valari says:
      May 29, 2013 at 5:15 am

      Hello!

      I have joined LibraryThing only a couple months ago but I like the current look. It was one of things which attracted me to LT and which I couldn’t stand on other book sites.

      Please don’t change it or at least give us the option to choose between the old and new look.

      Reply
    29. Maureen says:
      May 30, 2013 at 1:06 pm

      It was a combination of salmon and green that gave such an iconic look to the Nastassja Kinski remake of the 1980s movie remake of Cat People. Of course, the David Bowie songs and Giorgio Moroder soundtrack didn’t hurt, either.

      Reply
    30. Maureen says:
      June 5, 2013 at 5:46 pm

      a redesign would be great. salmon is ok I wouldn’t mind seeing another color or font. modernize it a bit.

      Reply
    31. JLS Hall says:
      June 6, 2013 at 9:16 am

      When we say “redesign,” exactly what are we talking about here? I’m thinking it’s more than just changing the shade of the header, right? And that makes my blood run cold. After having lived through a couple of disastrous “new and improved” redesigns (most notably Flickr), I’m really not ready for any major changes here at LT. I like the way it looks and the way it works, and while I don’t mind a little updating now and then, I’m really hoping it doesn’t turn into just another “social network” site with lots of pointless bells and whistles.

      Reply
    32. Mark Baraniecki says:
      June 7, 2013 at 3:40 pm

      Change for the sake of change is just irritating. Why not change something that needs to be fixed (like adopting Amazon style comment threads beside reviews).

      Reply
    33. Nicole says:
      June 17, 2013 at 12:00 pm

      In the words of Garth Algar, “We fear change.”

      Reply
    34. kingdom tales says:
      June 21, 2013 at 2:09 am

      I’d stick with the salmon for sure!

      Reply
    35. Ian says:
      June 25, 2013 at 6:23 pm

      Too many options and features up front can be off-putting (and confusing). Keep it clean and simple. Google rose to the top for a reason.

      Reply
    36. Curtis Hedgepeth says:
      June 28, 2013 at 1:02 pm

      I’m from the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” school and I don’t think LT is broke.

      Reply
    37. esta1923 says:
      July 2, 2013 at 9:43 pm

      AHAFirst view of the new, and I think it handsome!

      Reply
    38. esta1923 says:
      July 2, 2013 at 9:45 pm

      please read the above as AHA!!

      Reply
    39. Anthony says:
      August 18, 2013 at 3:38 pm

      Way too late now, but I like the “your books” instead of “my books”. It’s LibraryThing telling me “these are *your* books”, acknowledging that there’s a distinction between me and a website which I use.

      Reply
    40. Alanna says:
      September 14, 2014 at 10:55 pm

      Ignore the old fogies. Change already. The old design is off-putting.

      Reply

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