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I always wanted GoatMatrix to be a collaborative ongoing development. When I realized that I needed default icons for things like text posts or link posts where we couldn't find an image for it, I went looking for icons. I never was that happy with what I was able to find. It would be nice to fall back on the community in the areas I suck at so I can focus on being productive where I'm strong. The smaller areas of design is where I always appreciate help.
I think icons are an area where we can improve. There were a lot of other things I was trying to get in around that same time. I actually made both of the current ones myself. So once I had something that was "good enough" I moved onto other things. But it's time to revisit it.
What do you think are the best link and text post icons on the internet?
I get a lot of feedback that the area that is lacking on this site is design, but if I ask what specifically needs improvement or how they would improve it, it's always zero response.
This is your chance to have an impact on the site. Share your favorite icons and vote on the best ones. Then we will adopt the community selected icons.
In my opinion, site design is a much bigger and ongoing conversation beyond just icons.
It took a while just to develop the SaidIt logo consulting with M7D3 to where we were all happy with the final results (purely coincidentally the logo ratio is 7:3), though oddly they continued using old logos here and there, and for whatever reason didn't use the square favicon with the "S" in the bubble. I even handmade an ASCII version of the logo to head all of my CSS themes there.
In my opinion, it would be better to consider redesigning everything holistically rather than in fragments.
The first stage includes discussions about intent, purpose, goals, functions, aesthetics, preferences, options, and as much reference materials as possible to see the pros and cons of what works and what does not. For example, banners can set the tone for a site or sub, could be random from a select set - or maybe we prefer none at all. We could also discuss theme banks, where folks could upload, share, and modify them. Perhaps there are GUI standards we could adopt to cross over to apps/sites/things, maybe with custom GoatMatrix specific allowances or exceptions.
Included in the second stage would be making graphics and illustrations to analyze and discuss what currently exists, as well as mocking up some new images to consider and criticize. We could also design with the future in mind and come up with feature wish lists, community wish lists, GUI wish lists, etc. and include some of them in the mock ups in anticipation, even if they don't get implemented soon or ever - at least we'd be ready, have considered things, and have a roadmap. (Mock ups are so much easier to design than using CSS - a tedious painful lesson I learned working on several themes on SaidIt.)
With this graphic vocabulary we'd then refine and tweak and tweak and refine endlessly until we arrive at the graphic goals that can then be translated to CSS. It might not simply be one single design if we develop several modes: day & night, big (mobile) & small (PC), basic & advanced & expert, clean & detailed, round & square, and then there are colour schemes, fonts, styles, moods, etc. (Instead of CSS, having GUI sliders might be neat - or it might be more trouble than it's worth. All of this is worth discussing, I think.)
I could go on, but that's fair start. Perhaps it's not what you want to hear. I hope it's helpful. I can now make some time for a larger project like this.
True, but we do have to do one thing at a time. So we focus on one thing and then do the next.
Also try this theme and report back:
https://goatmatrix.net/c/Themes/Cc5ZcMsWC2
One first triplet thing: discuss, determine goals, and make plans.
I don't know where you're going or what you like/want/need, or anyone else for that matter.
We can't keep going back to the beginning. Eventually one has to be able to do the things in the middle without demands to start over being the only thing discussed. How many times should things start over?