Re: [boost] Re: Front page, one last time.

From: Rene Rivera (grafik.list_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-12-14 09:54:58

David Abrahams wrote:

> http://redshift-software.com/~grafik/boost/index.htm
> 
> (for reference).
> 
> This is fantastic.  All in all a vast improvement, and the web
> typography problem is solved!  And now, being -- as my wife likes to say
> -- a fussy virgo, I have a little more input.
> 
> When you back up and look at the overall balance of the page layout, it
> doesn't quite seem to work yet.  For one thing, we have the Google
> search box floating all by itself over on the right, 

Which wasn't a problem on the original because the search was in the 
content flow.

> and directly across
> from it on the left there is a blank space where the search box could
> nearly fit.  Why not just put it there?  Also, I'm not positive about
> this, but I think it *might* work better if the index column on the left
> were lightly shaded, or a thin line was used to divide it from the text
> to the right.  This might prove to be no improvement at all once the
> search box is moved, I don't know.  Finally, the page seems to demand
> some sort of more prominent title at the beginning of the text.  It's
> just a feeling I have, but think of how any of the major newspapers are
> titled:
> 
>       T H E   C H I C A G O   T R I B U N E
>       -------------------------------------
>       left column  middle column middle
>       left column  column middle column
>       left column  middle column middle
>       left column  column middle column
> 
>  ...
> 
> Maybe something similar would work for us.

Yes, I'll answer all that with.. My preferred layout when I do web pages 
is this (using your example):

        T H E   C H I C A G O   T R I B U N E
        -------------------------------------
        content content content  right column
        content content content  right column
        content content content  right column
        content content content  right column

It has a variety of advantages..
* It puts the content vs. navigation in the natural, for most people, 
left-to-right reading order.
* It allows the use of any left side marks on the right column to act as 
an additional separator instead of adding artificial ones as you suggest.
* It allows more flexibility with the heading without breaking the 
overall structure.

Note, I did not originally go this way because I know how much of 
"traditional" group Boost is ;-) So I tried not to stray too far from 
the current layout.

> Another issue I have with many web pages is that when browser windows
> are maximized, the lines of text are simply too long to read.  I lose
> track of what line I was on when scanning back at the end of each one.
> The only way to handle this properly would be to have a right margin
> whose position is proportional to the font size used for display; I
> don't think there's a way to do that with HTML, but then again I don't
> know much.

The margins are already font proportional. I think you meant inversely 
proportional? Which is not possible.

> Last of all, the "revised date" and copyright don't seem to add anything
> but distraction when placed on the left.  I think they belong at the
> bottom along with the other things most people don't care about ;-)

I'll push it to the bottom.

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