On 06/27/12 17:58, Peter Laufenberg wrote: >>> Speaking personally, I wouldn't mind if OpenBSD's website were >>> updated. Just no one has volunteered yet to do the dirty work of >>> actually coming up with a functional design and then updating the >>> HTML. >>> >>> Talk is cheap. > > I'm willing to indirectly donate to OpenBSD by paying a professional > graphic designer to redo parts of OpenBSD's visual design. ...
No, this is the wrong direction. A good graphic designer is about as rare as a good programmer, but that's not what the website is about (and yes, a bad graphic designer is about as common as a bad programmer). However, I don't know any graphic designers who understand our goals and needs, and I can't imagine it...it's kinda like asking a concert pianist for advice on designing a chop saw. Technically, there's no reason a concert pianist couldn't be an expert on chop saws, but it is the kind of thing I'd kinda hope they would keep their hands really far away from, as it could really interfere with their primary occupation. OpenBSD is not trying to SELL anyone anything. IF you chose to come to OpenBSD, we wish to provide you information on using it, through many possible tools and mediums. If someone comes to the OpenBSD website and walks away because of its "desing", that's good. If someone becomes an OpenBSD user BECAUSE of its "desing", I really think that's bad. > Graphic design is about communication, it's a means to an end, > whatever gets in the way is a problem. Why you fail to get your > message across doesn't matter -- OpenBSD's current anachronistic > design or Wired-mag type sensory overload. Other than "boring", no one has actually STATED a problem of the OpenBSD website. What message are we not getting across? If there is a PROBLEM you see that makes getting its information to you difficult, please state it and indicate what could be done better. i.e., saying, "what you did to the faq/index.html page for this release makes no sense to me as I'm blind and using a screen reader" would be constructive and useful (and I have no freaking idea what to do about it, and in fact, I've just made myself feel really guilty, as if someone WERE to say that to me, I don't want to undo it...) And really, if the website is about showing the product, what better could it be than "boring"? Exciting to install? nope. Rushes to do emergency upgrades because of yet another vulnerability? nope. Exciting website? nope. Fits, eh? :) Nick.
