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Geek Culture / Website Critiquing

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dab
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 17:22 Edited at: 9th Jan 2008 06:06
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Hey everyone. I had created a countless number of templates for my website. They were all decent, but I felt they looked rushed and "newbish" to say the least. So lastnight I sat down and started drawing something I saw in my head. IMO it looks beautiful. I just wanted to see what everyone else though about it.

Here is the template:
Ver. 1

NEW Ver. 1.5

NEW Ver. 1.6


Tell me what you think, what to change, what to keep, or even to just say hi.

Thanks for your time.
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Peter H
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 17:36
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looks like the soviet union...

One man, one lawnmower, plenty of angry groundhogs.
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Duplex
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 17:40
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Hi.

I auctally like it very much. The only thing I would change would be making the search function blend in a little more.

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Agent Dink
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 17:41
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He's kind of right, add a splash of yellow and it will be an even more accurate description!! But overall it looks pretty good.

Keep working on it and try to remove the USSR look. Changing the red to something else would do it for sure, but that may not be something you want to do.

MISoft Studios - Silver-Dawn

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tha_rami
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 17:47
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I think that Lorem Ipsum dolor sit amet is an absurd thing to write. However, the site looks good. The only bad thing is the buttons, the text doesn't seem to center correctly.


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BiggAdd
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 18:01 Edited at: 7th Jan 2008 18:02
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Its ok but you could consider:

>Changing the background from black to a dark gray
>Using a slightly brighter red
>Make the logo a bit lighter, only a tad
>Give the logo text a dark thin outline
>Disconnecting the Search box and floating it about 5 pixels from each edge and get rid of that random silver line.
>You have used sharp bevel edges on all your corners apart from the search button and search text field. The search button should follow the same pattern with the sharp edges
>As tha_rami said, the button text is a little off, it is very noticeable.
>The tab buttons need a little make over also , you have added the gloss to the top, but they may look better with a thin 1-2px segment missing around the edges of them.

Just some points you might want to take a look at if you want to!

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CattleRustler
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 18:43
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I like that template. Is it easily customizable? Are you making it available to others or is it for your personal use only?

My DBP plugins page is now hosted [href]here[/href]
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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 20:58
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It looks very amateurish but it's a good start if you are new to this. Put it online, then just keep re-doing it. You'll find that after you'll make a billion designs, you will start to see the faulty trends repeating in your work, and you will begin to iron them out.

Formerly known as Megaton Cat
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NeX the Fairly Fast Ferret
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 22:15
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I think it looks pretty good too. It reminds me of a music site for some reason.


Since the other one was scaring you guys so much...
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David R
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 22:34 Edited at: 7th Jan 2008 22:35
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Quote: "looks like the soviet union..."

Quote: "Keep working on it and try to remove the USSR look."


Yes, I agree, anything that is red and has a star in it must immediately suggest the USSR rather than the red colour scheme you were aiming for. How could you not realise that a red theme instantly has USSR connotations?


09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0
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Dr Schnitzengruber
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Posted: 7th Jan 2008 23:52
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Quote: "I think that Lorem Ipsum dolor sit amet is an absurd thing to write"


That's a generic thing people copy & paste on templates and do-nothing pages. Iv'e seen that exact text hundreds of times.

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NeX the Fairly Fast Ferret
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 00:13
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I think it's generated by Serif software if I remember correctly from the pointless times in which I was forced to use it.


Since the other one was scaring you guys so much...
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dab
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 00:46 Edited at: 8th Jan 2008 02:19
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Quote: ">Changing the background from black to a dark gray
>Using a slightly brighter red
>Make the logo a bit lighter, only a tad
>Give the logo text a dark thin outline
>Disconnecting the Search box and floating it about 5 pixels from each edge and get rid of that random silver line.
>You have used sharp bevel edges on all your corners apart from the search button and search text field. The search button should follow the same pattern with the sharp edges
>As tha_rami said, the button text is a little off, it is very noticeable.
>The tab buttons need a little make over also , you have added the gloss to the top, but they may look better with a thin 1-2px segment missing around the edges of them."


Thanks, I'll try and see what I can do.

Quote: "only bad thing is the buttons, the text doesn't seem to center correctly."


Yea, I wasn't too worried about how centered it was as I knew it would be centered in the final, but I'll get that centered for you guys to take a look at.

Quote: "I like that template. Is it easily customizable? Are you making it available to others or is it for your personal use only?"


Well, I actually was making it for personal use. If you really like it I suppose I'll add a link to download the psd. It shouldn't be too hard to customize. I like to make many changes to everything. xD

Quote: "That's a generic thing people copy & paste on templates and do-nothing pages. I've seen that exact text hundreds of times."

Yea, I got the text from http://www.lipsum.com/. It's meant to keep you from being distracted by the text and focus more on the design. I can see it wan 't that effective.

Quote: "Yes, I agree, anything that is red and has a star in it must immediately suggest the USSR rather than the red colour scheme you were aiming for. How could you not realise that a red theme instantly has USSR connotations? "


Lol, well the start is my "logo" and red is a pretty important color. So I guess It'll be a hit with visitors from Russia then?

Quote: "It looks very amateurish but it's a good start if you are new to this. Put it online, then just keep re-doing it. You'll find that after you'll make a billion designs, you will start to see the faulty trends repeating in your work, and you will begin to iron them out."


Thanks for the advise, have any more on what exactly clarifies it as "amateurish"?

Thanks for the comments and ideas everyone, I'll edit it up later today and post it back up.

Edit:
Quote: ">The tab buttons need a little make over also , you have added the gloss to the top, but they may look better with a thin 1-2px segment missing around the edges of them."

I don't quite get that. Are you saying remove the gloss and put a "hole" in the outer edge of the tabs?

Edit2:
Besides the tabs, here is the "new" version :
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tha_rami
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 03:28 Edited at: 8th Jan 2008 03:30
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Jeez people, does nobody know what Lorem Ipsum actually means? The first few words actually have a meaning, you know?

And then people just assume I've got no idea what Lorem Ipsum is... Heck, even Powerpoint used it.

The actual sentence reads, correct me if I'm wrong:
Quote: "Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit"

Which loosely translates to
Quote: "There is no one who loves pain itself, who searches after pain and wants to have pain, just because it is pain"

The text is from a Cicero writing from 45BC, I recall. The rest of the thing is just random gibberish.

I liked version 1 better.


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ionstream
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 05:02
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Nobody asked, man. We could easily just google it if we want to know more about lorem ipsum.

The site is pretty good, but maybe it would look better if the top buttons were shorter?

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dab
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 05:41
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I can do shorter. I'll update the latest image instead of adding another one. :\

Quote: "There is no one who loves pain itself, who searches after pain and wants to have pain, just because it is pain"


I think it acutally means there is nothing to fear but fear itself.

But that's information I just picked up. :/
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tha_rami
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 06:16 Edited at: 8th Jan 2008 06:23
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Ionstream, nobody asked for your opinion. Yet you post something that is both totally unrelated to the website and an unnecessary opinion, and expect me to not post something that is actually related to the website and could be considered related trivia? As you appear to be a hypocritical person, I'll ignore you by answering you.

Believe me, I was thought some classic Latin at high school (one of my subjects), and my translation should be fairly accurate. There could be some mistakes, but honestly, I'm not mistaking Fear (metus, terror, or possibly timor) for Pain (dolor).

Wikipedia says: "Neither is there anyone who loves grief itself since it is grief and thus wants to obtain it"

Microsoft says: "There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..."


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Benjamin
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 06:27
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Benjamin says: "No one cares what it means."

I like the look of the web site, though the search part doesn't look quite right.

Tempest (DBP/DBCe)
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tha_rami
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 06:37 Edited at: 8th Jan 2008 06:37
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tha_rami says: "If nobody cares, why would there be information on the subject?"


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dab
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 06:39
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Ok can we please stop arguing about the Latin text?

What would make the search look better Benjamin?
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Benjamin
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 06:44 Edited at: 8th Jan 2008 06:44
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I think removing it would.

I can't really say what would make it look better as I'm not very good at design myself, I just think it doesn't quite look right the way it is. Rounding the corners may help.

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tha_rami
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 06:44 Edited at: 8th Jan 2008 06:47
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Rounded edges...

Sorry Benjamin. I meant corners. As you posted before me, I will sit in a corner and cry now.


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dab
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 06:53
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Hmm I rounded the edges and I do agree that it looks better. See the new image.
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Benjamin
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 07:00
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Much better.

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dark coder
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 07:05
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Making the search box similar the other tabs but aligned to the right would probably look better too. Also why are some edges round, some 45 degrees and some 90? Plus it looks a bit strange, are we looking at the actual in browser representation of the site? Or is this some pre-sliced image editor design?

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bitJericho
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 07:08
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@Rami, way to be spot on in the translation. Anyways, I didn't know what it meant, so I appreciate the lesson

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dab
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 07:20
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Quote: "Also why are some edges round, some 45 degrees and some 90?"

You know, I'm honestly not sure. I use the same tool for the boxes. :S

Quote: "Plus it looks a bit strange, are we looking at the actual in browser representation of the site? Or is this some pre-sliced image editor design?"


This is the image saved from Photoshop. In reality, almost all the font isn't final. It WILL change when I slice it up and put it into code. Well some text might not change. I don't know really. It depends on my mood.
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tha_rami
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 07:38
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He means: why are there non-rounded corners on the white part, rounded corners on the rest and those edges on the tab buttons?


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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 17:19
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dabip: I like that design a LOT - its simple but colourful! Very well done...

Suggestions:
1) How would the red background look if it was SLIGHTLY gradiented so it was darker at the top and the gradient lasted about 200px (vertial)... Say start it at #C03333 and fade it to #E03C3C (your red as is now) within 200px in the background. Just an idea...

2) I think the white text area would look better with rounded corners. Looks odd because everything else is rounded and it isn't...

3) The tabs have some weird grey effect on them - why? Try a consistent gradient like the Search box...

I'd be really interested to see how this turns out. Its so rare to see a nice web design!

[center]
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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 18:26
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tha_rami: Is there a reason you've always got this irritating chip on your shoulder?

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tha_rami
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 18:27
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@Aikicat: Of course there is.


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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 19:54
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I have a few guesses why, none are very positive.

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tha_rami
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 19:58
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Then your guesses are wrong, I'm afraid.


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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 20:18
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You're saying there are positive things to having inferiority complexes? Like arguing about religion on internet forums when no one even brings it up?

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BiggAdd
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 20:23 Edited at: 8th Jan 2008 20:24
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Why do you have a chip on your shoulder Aikicat?

Not starting anything here, just seemed like an unprovoked attack.

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tha_rami
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 20:27 Edited at: 8th Jan 2008 20:28
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Don't worry about it, BiggAdd, thanks, though. Personally, I think the guys' a joke and his posts should be read as such. His posts are never to be taken serious - waste of your time and effort.


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Xenocythe
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 20:37
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Hey, rami and akicat. I respect you both very much, but Dabip here is a good friend of mine, he taught me everything I know about html, css, php, mysql, and even some javascript. Don't kill his thread, please.



Dabip, I like the design i think the search is fine there as it is...

What you could do is add a footer, but the footer should have non-rounded corners. I think a different color than red would be better, though.

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tha_rami
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Posted: 8th Jan 2008 20:45
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Sure, Xeno. Would indeed be stupid to kill this thread over such a thing.


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dab
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Posted: 9th Jan 2008 01:13 Edited at: 9th Jan 2008 06:08
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Hmm I made some other changes, but I'm re-doing the tabs. So I'll re-upload it when I finish with that. Although I have homework to do so that'll have to be done later.
Edit:
Ok, homework done and the new image uploaded:



And, the tab with red is the "hover" tab. So the one on the left is the tab you're viewing, and the 2nd tab is(are for the future) the non-viewed one(s)
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 9th Jan 2008 10:22
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That's looking very nice indeed! I am impressed!

Suggestion - try aligning the search button to the right and making the search box bigger. To me it looks a little odd to have a wide box but not use the space.

Do the rounded edges on the inner-white box have the same radius as the rounded red corners? The looks slightly different to my (picky) eye...

Apart from that - that's a VERY nice and clean design!

[center]
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BiggAdd
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Posted: 9th Jan 2008 13:25
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Its looking much better now! Keep it up.

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