Icethetics Gets Another New Look
Sunday · Nov 25 · 2012 | 2:26 AM PSTWelcome to the redesigned Icethetics.info! What do you think?
Every so often, I get tired of looking at my own blog. And I get an itch to flex my creative muscle. So every year around this time, Icethetics gets a whole new look. This year is no different in that regard. After a few weeks of toying with different ideas, I finally settled on a design I'm happy with. Hope you guys enjoy it as well.
Along with the new look comes new features to be rolled out over the coming weeks. I'm adding member accounts so that you can register and post comments without moderation and track changes to your favorite sections of Icethetics. (For example, get an email every time new concept art is posted.)
I'll be adding some all new sections to the site (details to come) and I'm also considering trying out a message board. (How long it lives will be determined by you guys.) Let me know what you think and drop me a line if you have any suggestions.
And lastly, for the sake of posterity, here's what the site looked like before today.
Reader Comments (20)
Best look yet! Though I won't get too attached to it as you'll clearly tire of it and change it again lol.
I like it! Very professional.
Redneck: Fair enough! But I'm sure we'll get at least a year out of this one. Unlike the last one, it's pretty minimalistic, and I hardly ever tire of that.
I love it. Very slick.
I like it overall but some of the fonts get lost with all the different shades of grey. Could use a little more contrast.
I think this new look is ok. I loved the one you'd been using though.
The layout is good, but I miss the blue in the main logo. Still not that bad of a change.
Not digging it. Looks too much like a blog, and not like a professional website. Last version looked so professional. This one just looks amateurish. Maybe font changes will help?
Although I don't hateit, I find it bland, and as Glen said it looks less professional in my opinion as well.
I really appreciate the feedback! Glad to hear some of you like it. Though I don't understand at all how the new look is "less professional" than the old one. For one thing, how do you define "professional"? This is a blog, not a "professional website," so it makes sense that it would look like one. Or so I'd think.
The new look is cleaner and more subtle. The goal being to let the logos and jerseys stand out more. To let them color the page rather than have a distinct color palette for the site that might clash with what gets posted.
Anyway, grateful for the feedback! Keep it coming.
It looks amazing! Well done.
I like the grey striped background and the new gmail/facebook/twitter links but I also agree with the people that miss the old, blue hexagonal logo and color in general on the front page. It's weird not seeing any menu on the left side of the screen but I kind of like it. I don't see many websites laid out this way which is cool and the member accounts sounds awesome too.
Most importantly I'm sure the concepts and other content will continue to be excellent so that's most important. Keep up the awesome work Chris and artists!
Without the blue hexagonal logo, it's a bit like the website equivalent of a team re-branding. Perfect!
Ummm, looks kind of unfinished to me. I keep waiting for it to finish loading. :D
You should try something jersey-themed for the next one.
I think what some may be trying to say (and I more or less agree) is that the site now looks like you use a free/cheap blog template instead of a clearly-custom effort. Of course it's supposed to look like a blog- it is! - but it's no longer obvious to those who haven't read this blog regularly that you have any web design talent, though you do.
I think it looks great!! Although of course, if the NHL could get back to action and there was more content for the website, it would look a whole lot better haha!
Understood. I get where you guys are coming from now. It's interesting to hear the wide variety of opinions on the new look. Thanks for sharing!
Nice Look, kinda a minimalistic but fancy design and not too much apple-like ;)
I kinda miss the Teamicons on the Jerseys-page though
It's starting to grow on me. It is clean. Looks good on mobiles as well.
Love that you want the jerseys to color the page. Less is more, and in this case, perfect. The fonts and grays are great allowing the clean, minimalist social media links to stand out (i REFUSE to say pop!)
Now if you could just remove those horrendous Stars jerseys...