vB3 Final Report Card - Graphics

[Tungsten]

I'm just curious as to what you all thought of the vB3 Final graphics package. Please vote and let the numbers speak for themselves. Thanks. :)

[cirisme]

I like them... but I will continue to use our own graphics which fit with our theme better. :)

[Marco]

I don't think they're that bad. I've customised them for my own forums (http://forums.totallyre.com/), haven't had any complaints so far. :)

[Ryan Ashbrook]

I'm using my own graphics... but they're good. I like them. :)

[i am coo man]

Yeah they look really good on your forums Marco, I think actually with this defauly VB3 layout they dont look so good.

[filburt1]

I think that many of the buttons are simply not needed in the first place and should be replaced with text. "Post Reply" doesn't need a button, Quote doesn't, Report Post doesn't, etc.

I am redesigning my site when I upgrade to vB3 to be mostly textual and rely heavily on CSS. That gives the illusion of graphics, allows for a beautiful design, and does not sacrifice on download times or accessibility.

[HexOnxOnx]

The only graphics I am not using are the two big ones, the post reply and quote buttons, they don't match my colors and I haven't played with photoshop enough to change them.

Other than that, I love 3.0 gold!

[Gary King]

I like these graphics much more :)

[Nicholas Brown]

Im not too keen on the graphics, was hoping for something more - I dont know what, but more.

Maybe they will grow on me - we'll see :o

[Tungsten]

Im not too keen on the graphics, was hoping for something more - I dont know what, but more.

Maybe they will grow on me - we'll see :oI guess I like 75% of the new graphics and dislike the other 25%. The ones I really dislike are the smilies, which I won't be using, and the showthread buttons. Everything else is good enough to use until I can come up with something custom.

Even though the percentage of graphics that I liked versus those disliked was in favor of the former, I was a bit disappointed with the graphics overall. There does not seem to be any true continuity in the general look and feel of them when you compare it to something like Invision's default graphics pack.

But of course vB3 stomps Invision into the ground on all other areas. ;)

[i am coo man]

Whatever the case, the offline/online icon in posts is absolutly horrendous :-|

[Nicholas Brown]

well ive been browsing, and im disliking the graphics even more.
The folder icons at the top of the page that form the tree look tacky, the new thread/reply, and postbit icons dont go with the style, and the icons on the index page are just nasty :(

oh and the smilies...they look really tacky

think i'll either use the RC4 images when i buy vB again shortly, or have to make my own

please dont take this the wrong way...ive been a vB worshiper since v1 - the overall product is still great in my opinion :D

[Chroder]

They're alright, I was hoping for something a little better. Everything looks outstanding in the full size they are found in the PSD's :D

I went back to the old graphics. Mostly because of the post indicators -- I couldn't get used to the new ones :D

[IDN]

Lets say the only graphics I like is the IP and report button. Only graphic I kept was the IP button. Report button is nice, but it doesn't stand out for the non-tech users at my forum.

[Chaotic Reality]

They're alright...some of them I'm using some are being recreated, etc...

I don't like the smilies much.

J.

[Scott MacVicar]

I've been making some thin buttons by removing the icons on the button and centreing the text though they still look a bit fat.

I might try making the button itself thinner.

[Andy Z]

I really didn't like the buttons at first, but they're okay. They look much nicer at their original size (as seen in the GDK), but the sized down versions seem jagged. I think there was a little too much detail in the images, which kind of crowds them when they are sized down.

[daemon]

I love them, when I first saw them I wasn't too sure, but I now think that they're oh-so-cool.

My favourite ones are the forum indicator ones, they just look amazing :)

[nwingate]

Very Random IMO

Make vB look very unprofessional!

[Zachery]

Actually, i was trying to tell everyone in the vBorg or EvB chat about the overall buttons,

and the few people i was talking to were all saying taht no no no everyone hates the new buttons.

In all honesty if they dont fit your forum, its not like there hard coded. you are free to change them. as many vB users will never do more than change the header image, these buttons offer a less ridig and more inviting feeling than of the previous ones, which gave off a coprate hard cut feeling i think.

Overall the new images are more inviting and XPish than the older ones :)

[WildWayz]

Hmmm they look "professional" BUT if you put them on a forum with dark colours, they have a white outline around them which looks aweful :(

James

[briangumble]

From 1 to 10 I would probably give the new graphics a 7. But I like the old ones better. The smilies I would give a 3.5, the old ones were a lot better IMO.

[Breaker]

not of all them appear to be in the same set, most of the showthread buttons are completely different styles than the rest of them, just need a slight rework,

[trenzbaby]

Most of them look nice, but one that I really dislike is the folder icon.

[UltraBrain]

Whatever the case, the offline/online icon in posts is absolutly horrendous :-|I just made these simple ones instead:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/user_online.gif and http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/user_offline.gif

Bit simple, but at least ppl understand why those buttons are there now :D

[nemesis01]

don't like them at all, trying to get my own done asap.:D

[Dean C]

Yep - they're hideous :) I've already made my own...

[Floris]

I like the majority of the graphics, I think it is clear that it is just a default style and people can replace them with their own work whenever they want. The same goes for the templates, etc.

Good job devs! I am sure it will be evolving over time :)

[Charlie Argueta]

I'm disappointed specially with the 'smooth' smilies, may be a 3D ones looks better. The Quote an the Quick Reply Bottom are to big for me.

Any way, I'll buy a style with custom smilies :D

See Ya

[Floris]

neeto has a great smilies set that I use on my own site. It is free and looks amazing :) Details are in his signature :)

[colicab-d]

Nah sorry I just dont liek them i feel they cheapen vB3 a lot, the smilies are awful, i mean are all those colours needed? the online/offline icons are didgy with a very unlclean feel, most of the colours used dont fit in well with vB3`s default style, the actual buttons are way to chunky and have a horrid 3d feel to them and are made worse by jaggy images in them, as with the majority of the icons etc, soz dont like them im sorry i think they could have been a lot better, mind you i didnt even see the need to change them after the excellent way many of the temp images in the rcs were made.

[UltraBrain]

Plain, boring buttons!

http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/Post_Thread.gif
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/Post_Reply.gif
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/Edit2.gif
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/Quote.gif

:cool:

[Palatino]

Very Random IMO

Make vB look very unprofessional!
I agree with you.

[Nemon]

I dont get it, professional site, professional documentation, professional forum, professional templates, then a graphics kit from a nursery school wall???

They're unbeleivably bad.

The smiles are super mind numbingly bad.

I dont even want to use them, i just cant imagine these graphics sticking.


Why why why why why why ??????

:cool: :( :confused: :mad: :rolleyes: :eek: :p :o ;) :D

EH????

[Ksilebo]

I dont think they're bad per se, they just look out of place.

[Nemon]

I dont think they're bad per se, they just look out of place.

Well yes, looks like something off a nintendo site, nay even nintendo wouldnt jumble the colours so.

[Andrew-ningc]

I have held back from saying how bad they are untill now, but when i logged on saturday morning and was stunned, such a professional product with icons which just look crappy.

And i'm happy the majority in this poll is voting the same way.

My only fear is that we wont see any updated graphics untill vb3.1, i just hope some third party member can come along and save this product.

Also i know we can design our own buttons, but quite frankly, majority of the people use vbulletin standard buttons, and you have shot yourself in the foot, you should of done user testing before pushing them out with the final.

[Ksilebo]

I'm just sad for Kier. He worked hard on them. :(

I agree with Andrew. I, personally, do not feel like remaking each and every button/icon again. I like to keep things as 'out of the box' as possible. I just used the RC graphics.

[The Prohacker]

Also i know we can design our own buttons, but quite frankly, majority of the people use vbulletin standard buttons, and you have shot yourself in the foot, you should of done user testing before pushing them out with the final.

I always see people talk about how things might not be the best, but people can always change them.. Not just with the vB images but other products also...

Why would someone buy a product and then have to change them, when they could buy/download another product that they don't have to change?

I don't want to say I hate the new images.. But I certainly don't like them..

With the old vB2 images, they could be used on professional forums or personal forums.. They looked just right for both.. But the new images and smilies seem to unprofessional... All of our sites have custom image sets anyway.. But what about people who don't have design talent? It wasn't hard to change the colors on the old GDK that fit just about every situation... But how do you make most of the icons from vB3's GTK more professional without redoing them completely?

[filburt1]

In Kier's defense, he was following the photorealism trend in every modern OS; namely, Windows XP and OS X. My only real objections are that images are used far too often when simply text would suffice, and that the board in general is monochromatic and the icons use every color of the spectrum.

[Tungsten]

In Kier's defense, he was following the photorealism trend in every modern OS; namely, Windows XP and OS X. My only real objections are that images are used far too often when simply text would suffice, and that the board in general is monochromatic and the icons use every color of the spectrum.
I agree; it is apparent that Kier was indeed shooting for a photorealistic feel for the new icons and buttons... and I whole heartedly agree that the contrast between bright, vibrant colors in the graphical elements and the monochromatic theme carried through everything else is what makes it an eyesore.

I am going to spend some time looking at other forum icon and button sets and maybe something will inspire me. If that happens, I'll try to whip something up in Photoshop and make the PSDs available to everyone else.

[Ogmuk]

I just made these simple ones instead:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/user_online.gif and http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/user_offline.gif

Bit simple, but at least ppl understand why those buttons are there now :D
Are those free to for us to use? :)

If so, you wouldn't have an invis button like that too, would you? ;)

[Kwak]

Edit: Found it.

[djnoz]

I like the new vBulletin graphics quite a lot... but it makes no difference to me because I pretty much redesigned the entire graphical side of the interface for my site.

[Gio Takahashi]

Okay, I realize what Kier was doing, he was following the trend. Also, IMO compared to a lot of the new products trends, I h ave to disagree with a LOT of people here who thinks they're unprofessional. They are quite professional, you gotta think about the current trends. Still they look way too fat, and my biggest issue with the buttons is the white outline, I couldn't even STAND using these on my forums for a second! Especially when I have a darker style going. The fact that it has the white outlines around is that it was kinda done in a rush job. They should've took care of that.

The smileys, I have to disagree with a lot of them, I actually do like em ::shrugs:: I liked the older ones better but I'm using both of the sets anyway. I'll still have to fix the smileys to take care of the outlining.

Yes I am disappointed, and wether I DO liked it or not, I still would have done my own anyway.

I think Kier should've just done his own way instead of following the trend. I know vB Never follows the trends from other forums, they just Set it! :D

[UltraBrain]

Are those free to for us to use? :)

If so, you wouldn't have an invis button like that too, would you? ;)
Sure you can use them. If i wanted too keep them for myself i wouldnt have posted them here. Oh.. is there a invisible one? :p

*poof* http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/invisible.gif

As you can see they are real simple, but on some forums they will be a improvement i think.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/user_online.gif http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/user_offline.gif http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/invisible.gif

[Nemon]

Why would Kier do the graphics if he were a coder?

[Lacrosse Boy]

I think Kier should've just done his own way instead of following the trend.
What trend was followed. I just took a look over at Ikonboard, Invision Board, phpBB and now here, and these buttons look different from the rest. Ikonboard's images all look serious, Invision's have a certain look to them (I can't really desribe it) and phpBB's look silvery.

The closed that comes to the "cartoon" look are IPB's post icons.

So, I am slightly perplexed. Making larger buttons may be the trend, but the cartoon-ish type look is not.

I don't think that they followed a trend at all. My belief was that it was to bring color to an otherwise plain-jane look. And it succeeds. I personally like it. :)

[noppid]

We wound up using a mix of RC4, Gold, and custom images.

[Driv3r]

I was pleased with it.

[XiXora]

Why would Kier do the graphics if he were a coder?
I thought Kier was a 3D artist too?

Btw may we have access to your lightwave files?

[tgillespie]

With the default (vBulletin 3 White) style, the buttons look awesome. Taking the default buttons and placing them on your custom style isn't what Kier intended for. People need to be patient and understand that we are sitting on a community of graphic artists and nerds. There is bound to be various button packs released by community members for everyone with black, red, pink, blue and etc backgrounds. I think Kier did an excellent job.

[Andrew-ningc]

tgillespie, this is the problem, one thing i have always liked about vb is the buttons, they are always been suit for any design basically.

I look at these buttons and they are big and shunky, i don't want to rely on 3rd party people, i want a product released that i can use with little modifing if any at all (except a few color changes).

But still, how come these graphics were shown to us before hand? i beileve user testing is important, it has helped vb3 with its year long beta, how come the graphics wern't tested? this is what i find annoying as this issue could of been resolved before the final was release.

Nothing will change now untill 3.1, which i have heard will be less than 6 months away, but still i would like to see the gaphics resolved, even if a second set which were vb2 style were released i would be a lot more happy than the current ones.

[Freddie Bingham]

If, and when, we release new or revised images, it will not be reliant on a new release of vBulletin.

[Lacrosse Boy]

If I remember correctly, the Gamma/RC buttons were attached to a thread and are avaliable to download.

[Floris]

Sure you can use them. If i wanted too keep them for myself i wouldnt have posted them here. Oh.. is there a invisible one? :p

*poof* http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/invisible.gif

As you can see they are real simple, but on some forums they will be a improvement i think.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/user_online.gif http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/user_offline.gif http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/invisible.gif
They are great :) When can I see the full poof.zip with .psd's ? :) I'd love that! This looks promising. Instead of invisible, could you make a 'anonymous' or give the .psd so I could translate it to multiple languages? Would be cool.

[UltraBrain]

There is no full *poof* zip :)
I made these because someone said the included ones looked horrible. I also don't have the PSD's because the *poof* proggie i make them with only exports the finished product as GIF or JPG, but if you have a request just ask, it's a few seconds work for me :D

Here is the anonymous version: http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/anonymous.gif
And i see you are Dutch like me, so here's the Dutch one: http://www.xs4all.nl/~fransie/anoniem.gif