Mozilla Creative Collective Site Design: Round 1
Work on the Mozilla Creative Collective has shifted from creating the logo to designing the website, and once again we need your help. The initial mockup from the design wizards at Airbag Industries is below…take a look and let us know what you think via the comments section here, by tweeting or blogging about it, or by whatever other mode of self-expression you favor.
As a quick recap, the Creative Collective will be the online home for Mozilla’s visual design community. Users will be able to upload their Mozilla-inspired artwork into a publicly-viewable gallery and participate in design challenges on specific topics (with the winner determined by a public vote). That’s just scratching the surface, really…for a much more in-depth breakdown, check out the project’s wiki page.
A big source of inspiration for the site design was the logo itself, as Airbag incorporated its colors, style and major elements whenever possible. They also made an effort to evoke the feel of other Mozilla sites (especially mozilla.com and QMO), resulting in subtle textures, rough edges and a generally open, handmade feel. As always, the goal is to reflect Mozilla’s “people-powered” essence rather than creating something slick and corporate.
We tried to structure the homepage so it would show off as much community artwork as possible, and provide interesting ways for people to get involved or connect with other designers. Here’s a quick rundown of the key elements:
* header featuring the logo, project name and basic nav (note: this area will be smaller on the drill-down pages).
* main area of the site focuses on promoting the current design challenge and showing off a slideshow of particularly interesting recent images (challenge winners, staff favorites, etc).
* smaller mini-gallery of “hot” designs that have been favorited by the community.
* recent imagery from designers you’re following (if you’re signed in), plus a news feed of relevant blog posts.
It probably goes without saying, but all specific text and imagery in this mockup is totally placeholder and will change for the final release. So, with that in mind, what do you think? Does the site make you want to get involved? Will it appeal to designers? Does it communicate the basic concept of the project? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts…
April 27th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Yes, it does.
April 28th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Yes.
April 28th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I commented on the flickr image, but thought I should say here as well that I really like the design and color scheme of this mockup. I showed it to Juan Becerra and he raised his eye browses in a way that I think summarizes it all: this is sexy!
April 28th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I’m not a huge fan of the red on black header myself, though I like everything else about it. FWIW the footer doesn’t bother me, so maybe it’s just specifically the red on black.
I would also want to give better prominence to the top part that explains how to get involved and the “latest design challenge” box.
Something else to keep in mind, on my small monitor (13.3ws) the Hot Designs and Designers You Like stuff will be below the fold. This might not be a concern with designers though.
It’s definitely a really cool design concept and I don’t see it having a problem getting people excited about what’s going on.
April 29th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
These mockups look great; can’t wait to start testing!
April 30th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Perhaps I’m too jaded by Web 2.0, but it seems to me like there are too many sharp corners. It seems more like a museum website than an open community that actively accepts submissions. (I wonder if it’s also the extensive use of the tan colored background?)
I’m also not sure that the choice of placeholder images gives off the right vibe.
Other than that, it’s a pretty good first attempt… unlike those suggestions for the Mozilla.org redesign….
May 4th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
[...] has been covering the design process of the logo, and more recently the first round of website designs (which look amazing by the way). But I’d like to delve a little deeper and reveal some of the [...]
May 5th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
[...] week I posted the initial design direction for the Mozilla Creative Collective site for review. I was extremely pleased with Airbag’s work, but based on your feedback as well as [...]
May 6th, 2009 at 8:22 am
I personally like the retro feel and sleekness of the site, but I don’t like how it lacks pop. Even your choice of images have a muted color quality.
I think that the idea is a wonderful one though, Firefox WOULD be the company that helps spotlight organizations that are designing and developing correctly, unlike that other company – what’s their name?
Keep it up.
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I think this a beautiful first attempt, Firefox & Mozilla really are making the web a better place, and Airbag definitely has some design chops. Can’t wait to see what’s coming.