Changing the look of this message board...

[Deuce]

While I indeed much prefer substance to style, it would be nice to see a different visual set-up for this message board.
The Blue/Grey/White that has been the standard since going to this format a few years ago is quite dull.

How about something at least remotely tennis related?

As has been suggested a few times, it would be fun to have 4 'skins' (no anatomy related jokes, please) that each user could choose from in the 'User CP' - with each of the 4 skins representing the colors (and textures?) of one of the 4 Major tournaments that make up the Grand Slam.

I stumbled upon this recently, and it just looked more 'alive' and refreshing to me... same format, better visual scheme...

http://www.forumice.com/showthread.php?t=10479

How about it?

 

[Jonnyf]

While I indeed much prefer substance to style, it would be nice to see a different visual set-up for this message board.
The Blue/Grey/White that has been the standard since going to this format a few years ago is quite dull.

How about something at least remotely tennis related?

As has been suggested a few times, it would be fun to have 4 'skins' (no anatomy related jokes, please) that each user could choose from in the 'User CP' - with each of the 4 skins representing the colors (and textures?) of one of the 4 Major tournaments that make up the Grand Slam.

I stumbled upon this recently, and it just looked more 'alive' and refreshing to me... same format, better visual scheme...

http://www.forumice.com/showthread.php?t=10479

How about it?

I think that that's actually a great idea, particularly the "grand slam skins" as oppossed to just a colour change.

 

[Serve 'em hard]

I checked out your link... What about those of us who are more interested in tennis than the sinking of the Lusitania? Would we have to switch to that too?

 

[Kaptain Karl]

I know Wimbledon has a Green theme ... but I couldn't match any of the other Majors with a color, if I had to. What are their color schemes?

P.S. I don't like those red frames; kinda grating on the eyes.

- KK

 

[Serve 'em hard]

red/orange for FO
US Open blue
Rebound Ace light green

Not sure what the Lusitania would be...

 

[TW Staff]

Thanks for the feedback, Deuce. I'll take this up with our web team and see what possibilities exist. Don/Tennis Warehouse

 

[OrangeOne]

I know Wimbledon has a Green theme ... but I couldn't match any of the other Majors with a color, if I had to. What are their color schemes?

P.S. I don't like those red frames; kinda grating on the eyes.

- KK

Actually one thought could focus on Wimbledon also using the "rich purple" as the other half of their branding (against the medium-deep green).

I think the AO has changed a few times, but often brands with strong, young colours, often a black & yellow / orange / red, although this year they took the easy option and went for a complete smattering of colours, but now I look at the site it's all blue & orange!

Maybe:

AO: Dark Green & Light-Green (or something completely different)
FO: Red & light-red (or some other secondary colour?)
W: Purple & Light-Green
UO: Dark Blue & light-blue

????

 

[Noveson]

Actually one thought could focus on Wimbledon also using the "rich purple" as the other half of their branding (against the medium-deep green).

I think the AO has changed a few times, but often brands with strong, young colours, often a black & yellow / orange / red, although this year they took the easy option and went for a complete smattering of colours, but now I look at the site it's all blue & orange!

Maybe:

AO: Dark Green & Light-Green (or something completely different)
FO: Red & light-red (or some other secondary colour?)
W: Purple & Light-Green
UO: Dark Blue & light-blue

????

Sounds like a good idea to me, but I would change a few things....

FO: Red & Orange(lighter orange)
W: I like your idea
UO: Your idea/royal blue/red
AO: Your idea again.

 

[OrangeOne]

Sounds like a good idea to me, but I would change a few things....

FO: Red & Orange(lighter orange)
W: I like your idea
UO: Your idea/royal blue/red
AO: Your idea again.

Yeah - I support both of those modifications - the orange for the FO, and definitely the red addition for the UO - they do trade off that, so yeah, would look good....

 

[Serve 'em hard]

Yeah - I support both of those modifications - the orange for the FO, and definitely the red addition for the UO - they do trade off that, so yeah, would look good....

I think the guiding principle should be the color of the courts, because it's the color that first comes to mind when thinking of each tournament, which is why I like the following color schemes in precise shades for each tourney:

French Open - Red/orange

US Open - "US Open blue", with maybe the greenish foul territory as secondary color. I don't think red belongs in this one.

Wimbledon - Rich grass green, baby. Touch of purple? If you insist, though I might favor "chalk white" as the secondary color, which would also be a nod to their clothing requirements.

Australian - vivid light 'rebound ace' green.

Lusitania: Swirling dark "ocean blue/black".

 

[Voltron]

"Lusitania"? Why does that get it's own theme? Am I missing something? :???:

 

[psamp14]

Actually one thought could focus on Wimbledon also using the "rich purple" as the other half of their branding (against the medium-deep green).

I think the AO has changed a few times, but often brands with strong, young colours, often a black & yellow / orange / red, although this year they took the easy option and went for a complete smattering of colours, but now I look at the site it's all blue & orange!

Maybe:

AO: Dark Green & Light-Green (or something completely different)
FO: Red & light-red (or some other secondary colour?)
W: Purple & Light-Green
UO: Dark Blue & light-blue

????

i like your selections OrangeOne

but if i may alter them a little:

AO: light green and black
FO: light tinted red and white
W: purple and solid green
USO: light blue and solid blue..with a little red/white/blue scheme as well

how about one for the masters cup?
----i would go with the colors of the country its held in, and maybe a clear-look logo of the stadium in the center

always open to different ideas....

 

[Lakoste]

I'd love the option of having a darker background, this white can really strain the eyes after a while.

 

[Deuce]

I think the guiding principle should be the color of the courts, because it's the color that first comes to mind when thinking of each tournament, which is why I like the following color schemes in precise shades for each tourney:

French Open - Red/orange

US Open - "US Open blue", with maybe the greenish foul territory as secondary color. I don't think red belongs in this one.

Wimbledon - Rich grass green, baby. Touch a purple? If you insist, though I might favor "chalk white" as the secondary color, which would also be a nod to their clothing requirements.

Australian - vivid light 'rebound ace' green.

Lusitania: Swirling dark "ocean blue/black".

This is just about exactly what I had in mind - with a nice touch of appreciated humor thrown in.

 

[Serve 'em hard]

"Lusitania"? Why does that get it's own theme? Am I missing something? :???:

Just some silliness related to the material from the link in the original post.

 

[D-man]

here's some ideas I whipped up:

Roland Garros:

Wimbledon:

U.S. Open:

Australian Open:

 

[Deuce]

D-man... The 'burnt orange' of your Roland Garros (surrounding my avatar) is just about perfect.
Having that as the dark color, with the lighter version for where the main text is is good.
I don't care for the reds at the top, though - black might be better.

Wimbledon needs to be a dark green on the left with a lighter green (but darker than you put) where the main text is. The top part (where date is) can be purple.

U.S. Open should be dark blue on left with light blue in main text part, and white at the top (where date, etc. is)

Aussie Open is tough, because the main color there is green, as with Wimbledon. Maybe they should go to permanent purple courts.

 

[D-man]

alright i tried to make it a little more like you said.

 

[jhhachamp]

I like the idea of changing the colors based on the Grand Slams during the Grand Slams, but I think during the other times, leave it as the standard colors. If some other standard is desired, TW Staff should come up with some different possibilities and allow board members to vote on it.

 

[TW CSR]

I like the idea, I've always thought these forums look kind of bland even though I think that was the idea.

 

[StunLock]

Australian open colour scheme:

 

[StunLock]

develop the colour theme from the corresponding event logo and the official event website colour

 

[Deuce]

No... as post #10 points out, it is the color of the courts that is the main association - not some fancy promotional logo that changes every few years.

Add a little purple - the color of royalty and all - to the green of Wimbledon, and that's set.
U.S. Open would be different shades of blue.
Roland Garros is primarily the 'burnt orange'.
And the Aussie Open is... well... also green.

Adding visual textures would be nice - and would help to separate the Wimbledon skin from the Aussie Open skin. Maybe some grassy type thing for the borders around the edges for Wimbledon...
The other visual textures could be created easily enough by one who knows what he/she is doing....

 

[Jonnyf]

No... as post #10 points out, it is the color of the courts that is the main association - not some fancy promotional logo that changes every few years.

Add a little purple - the color of royalty and all - to the green of Wimbledon, and that's set.
U.S. Open would be different shades of blue.
Roland Garros is primarily the 'burnt orange'.
And the Aussie Open is... well... also green.

Adding visual textures would be nice - and would help to separate the Wimbledon skin from the Aussie Open skin. Maybe some grassy type thing for the borders around the edges for Wimbledon...
The other visual textures could be created easily enough by one who knows what he/she is doing....

I'd agree that their HAS to be Purple with the green of Wimbledon- That's the true colours Wimbledon without the purple just isn't right.!

 

[zapvor]

why dont we like set up a poll and take a vote and if we get like some X number of votes that should be enough for TW to change the format?

 

[StunLock]

First off, I really like the idea of having different colour schemes for users to choose. I thought it is great.

Regarding the colour choice, the first colours come to my mind when thinking of a tournament are those of the logo -- that's where the touch of purple came from for the Wimbledon theme suggestions. If you think about it, the logo colours actually guide the colour setup of the court (with the exception of Australian Open) and the entire stadium.

I thought it would be a good idea to use the event logo and official website colour schemes. They're designed by world-class professionals to represent the true tradition and spirit of that tournament and have worldwide recognition. They are also aesthetically classic. I don't know whether the logos change every few years or not, but if they do, we actually should also change to reflect the current colour scheme of that event.

I concur with the suggestion of a 5th skin for the Masters Cup. They have their own established colour scheme and it's very distinguishable from the 4 Grand Slams'.

 

[TW Staff]

How about a contest to design the forum styles. The 4 best (most voted for) can be included as an optional look to the forums. Users could select one of these styles or stick with the regular style. Here’s some more info provided by Jon here at TW on how this would work:
“There are over 60 buttons/images that may potentially need to change. We can have a new thread for member submissions, I can post a zip file with all the images that need changing. They can make the templates, the entries can be reduced to a final 10 entries and everyone votes on these 10 or so to net the final 4 themes. I can then load the images and color schemes for the final 4 themes.”

Let me know what you guys think?

Chris, TW.

 

[morten]

I must admit i love the way it looks now...

 

[Deleted member 6835]

How about a contest to design the forum styles. The 4 best (most voted for) can be included as an optional look to the forums. Users could select one of these styles or stick with the regular style. Here’s some more info provided by Jon here at TW on how this would work:
“There are over 60 buttons/images that may potentially need to change. We can have a new thread for member submissions, I can post a zip file with all the images that need changing. They can make the templates, the entries can be reduced to a final 10 entries and everyone votes on these 10 or so to net the final 4 themes. I can then load the images and color schemes for the final 4 themes.”

Let me know what you guys think?

Chris, TW.

that would be pretty fun.. and interesting

 

[armand]

How about a contest to design the forum styles. The 4 best (most voted for) can be included as an optional look to the forums. Users could select one of these styles or stick with the regular style. Here’s some more info provided by Jon here at TW on how this would work:
“There are over 60 buttons/images that may potentially need to change. We can have a new thread for member submissions, I can post a zip file with all the images that need changing. They can make the templates, the entries can be reduced to a final 10 entries and everyone votes on these 10 or so to net the final 4 themes. I can then load the images and color schemes for the final 4 themes.”

Let me know what you guys think?

Chris, TW.

Deal me in.

 

[Phil]

Why not just make the background pink or a nice powdery blue, put lots of small colorful flowers around the edges and borders (and maybe an angel or fairy or two, for good measure) and be done with the re-decoration of the site? Are we all good with this? Great. Next issue, please...

 

[chlsmo]

Awesome

How about a contest to design the forum styles. The 4 best (most voted for) can be included as an optional look to the forums. Users could select one of these styles or stick with the regular style. Here’s some more info provided by Jon here at TW on how this would work:
“There are over 60 buttons/images that may potentially need to change. We can have a new thread for member submissions, I can post a zip file with all the images that need changing. They can make the templates, the entries can be reduced to a final 10 entries and everyone votes on these 10 or so to net the final 4 themes. I can then load the images and color schemes for the final 4 themes.”

Let me know what you guys think?

Chris, TW.

Even though I won't participate in the creative process, I really think it is cool that you're will to go through the trouble. I think 4 schemes (one for each slam) is a great idea.

 

[Serve 'em hard]

Why not just make the background pink or a nice powdery blue, put lots of small colorful flowers around the edges and borders ...

I think this would be great, provided the flowers were indigenous to each of the four countries that host grand slams...

 

[Deuce]

How about a contest to design the forum styles. The 4 best (most voted for) can be included as an optional look to the forums. Users could select one of these styles or stick with the regular style. Here’s some more info provided by Jon here at TW on how this would work:
“There are over 60 buttons/images that may potentially need to change. We can have a new thread for member submissions, I can post a zip file with all the images that need changing. They can make the templates, the entries can be reduced to a final 10 entries and everyone votes on these 10 or so to net the final 4 themes. I can then load the images and color schemes for the final 4 themes.”

Let me know what you guys think?

Chris, TW.

Good idea.
Thanks.

I'm quite lousy at computer manipulation - but here's my shot at it...
I know - I didn't do the 'Reply' button - but you get the idea...

Aussie Open...

Roland Garros...

Wimbledon...

U.S. Open...

 

[zapvor]

How about a contest to design the forum styles. The 4 best (most voted for) can be included as an optional look to the forums. Users could select one of these styles or stick with the regular style. Here’s some more info provided by Jon here at TW on how this would work:
“There are over 60 buttons/images that may potentially need to change. We can have a new thread for member submissions, I can post a zip file with all the images that need changing. They can make the templates, the entries can be reduced to a final 10 entries and everyone votes on these 10 or so to net the final 4 themes. I can then load the images and color schemes for the final 4 themes.”

Let me know what you guys think?

Chris, TW.

i think its an outstanding idea

 

[admin_old]

If you don't have the resources to manipulate our template like Deuce has done in a previous post, then have a look at the templates in the links below and choose one that best represents your color preferences. To all of you that like the current template and do not want to see it changed, rest assured, these new templates are simply options (selectable in your user CP), and the default template will remain the same.

Links:
http://www.themesbase.com/?category=vBulletin

http://www.forumtemplates.com/vbulletin/

There are lots of sites out there with templates, you can always search 'vbulletin skins' or 'vbulletin templates' or 'vbulletin themes' for more results.

If we get enough response I will start a new thread showcasing all the entries and we can vote on our favorite 4 or so themes. I think June 5th allows enough time to make/find your favorite color schemes. On June 5th I will organize the entries and we can vote to determine the final 4. Any questions/suggestions?

Thanks, Jon

 

[Deuce]

I don't really understand how you want us to choose the one(s) we like from those links, Jon...

In any case, I see that we can download some of those templates.
If we do that, is there a way that we can use the downloaded template here on this board, as per the instructions which come with the download:
INSTRUCTIONS ON INSTALLATION::
1. Extract ZIP folder.
2. Upload folder found within Upload folder into your forum images directory (eg for titanux, upload the titanux folder into your vBulletin 3.5 images folder.
3. Log into your admin control panel.
4. Choose Styles -> Download/Upload Styles 5. Under Import Style XML File, click on "Browse..."
6. Find the Upload folder (from the ZIP you downloaded). Select the file the file that ends with .xml (there should be only one file).
7. Click Import

Despite my 'beautiful artwork' above, I really have no clue how to do much computer manipulation - the instructions above seem to indicate that after we've downloaded a particular template, we can use it on any v.Bulletin board, if the option to do so is available.
Is that indeed the case?

Thanks.

 

[nautika721]

You could have ads for Garnier all over the Aussie Open skin too. That's what I always think of when I think AO...weird but I guess their advertisements are working.

But in all seriousness, this is a great idea and I support it. Hopefully it'll come to fruition.

 

[armand]

I like this because the dark color makes it easy on the peepers.

Throw some purple in here and you got Wimbledon

 

[admin_old]

I don't really understand how you want us to choose the one(s) we like from those links, Jon...

you can do like armand did above and use a screen capture or post a link to the template you like.

example: http://www.forumtemplates.com/template/248.html

Despite my 'beautiful artwork' above, I really have no clue how to do much computer manipulation - the instructions above seem to indicate that after we've downloaded a particular template, we can use it on any v.Bulletin board, if the option to do so is available.
Is that indeed the case?

Sorry for not explaining this more thoroughly. The links I posted are for color examples only. You cannot use these templates on our message board unless they are uploaded and configured on our message board server. The idea is to create your own color scheme like you (deuce) have done above and post them, if you don't have the resources to do this I gave you links to see what others in the vbulletin community have done . If you see something you like, post a screen shot or link to the color scheme that best resembles what you would like to see like armand did above. Armand's last post best displays my intended use of the links I posted.


Thanks, Jon

 

[Deuce]

Ok, thanks for explaining, Jon.

So there's no way you could enable the option to allow us to download whatever template(s) we like, and use them here?

 

[Deuce]

If we get enough response I will start a new thread showcasing all the entries and we can vote on our favorite 4 or so themes. I think June 5th allows enough time to make/find your favorite color schemes. On June 5th I will organize the entries and we can vote to determine the final 4. Any questions/suggestions?

So, what has become of the suggestion to add new 'skin' options?

Keeping this topic exclusively in the 'TW Questions and Comments' section certainly won't bring it much attention.