Best and Worst of Novemer / 2005
I suppose I'll start the show off with a monthly review. So without further adu, I give you The Worst Journal of the Month:



Anti-congratulations to awesome_layouts. (screencap)
Unable to contact them due to "frieds only" replying option selected in their community.
How fun is it that we get to start off with a ratings community for an awful layout. But you have to admit, the design is pretty off-putting. I should make it clear, before we go much further, that yes, I understand that there are far more hideous layouts out there, but a. you'd be surprised how hard they are to find, and b. i'm not going for general ugliness, because i could pick on a lot of people using default layouts with bad colors if that were the case. There is a certain level of knowledge that must be appearant before you will get a bad review. That said, let's get back to to awesome_layouts.


Why it was chosen:
- It is generally annoying.
- I get the concept but the execution is lacking.
- Animated .gifs are a priveledge, not a right.
- I highly doubt it works in any resolution lower than 1024 X 768. Even on a resolution that works, it is too big.

Positives:
- The graphics aren't terrible, but I have a strong feeling it's a screen cap.

This layout could be a lot better, even keeping with it's current concept by employing a few simple fixes.
The first issue is the brackets ([]'s) around the date/time stamp. It looks sloppy and is a pet peeve of more than one designer. To fix this you simply add:
p .index {
color: (*background color hex code);
}
to your GLOBAL_HEAD. Nothing major, easy to fix.
I would like to see something more interesting for the comment links section. centering and changing the words is amaturish. It would be greatly improved if you try something more simplistic, trends seem to be going towards simplicity. Perhaps a simple #|C (# = number of comments) would look a little better.
The link hover effect is obnoxious. Lose it. There's nothing wrong with a simple color change. Lighter or darker red would look better. I'd go for darker.
The navigation links are confusing. Most people do not like having to check the navigation bar at the bottom of their page to see where they're going. Or worse, clicking to find out and hitting back. Navigation is probably the most important part of any website. It should always be clear to viewers where they're going. I'm referring to the links in the sidebar here, the play/forward/back buttons above that to the moderator journals are just annoying. At least have the rollover and indicate where they'll take us to.
The title gets lost in the entry. Perhaps making it bigger or bold would make a difference. Try:
p table table td.caption {
font-family: (your font);
color: (the hex code you want to use);
font-size: (##)pt;
font-weight: bold(or normal, whatever);
}
for a little variety.
The sidebar ends far before the entries. Try:
LASTN_OPT_ITEMS=>5

The number 5 can be changed to fit your needs. It defines the number of entries per page.
And the scrollbar - this CAN look good. In this case, it doesn't.

I would suggest, however, that you go for something a bit more steamlined. Little. Not music related, since music has nothing to do with layout ratings in the first place.

I expect I will find far, far worse layouts to review in the future, so let me have those nominations.




On to the Best Journal of the Month! Give it up for override_lj. (screencap)


Fantastic job. There are a lot of journals that are amazing on my list to be awarded Best of the Month, but this one really stands out. The blue might seem a little over-powering at first, but try mousing-over one of the layout previews. The animated .gifs are used here in abundance, but responsibly, giving one the impression that the author somehow incorporated flash into LJ. (You can't do that, by the way.) Everything gives the strong impression of interactivity, even normal links to normal places. Everything is clearly marked and straight-forward. It is slick, steamlined, and very well designed. Kudos.


That's it for November. Tune in for further updates, and don't forget to nominate journals you think need a little (a lot of) help, and those that knock your socks off.