Need some Graphic Design help (web page related)

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

I’m pretty good with coding-related issues by my graphic design abilities are sometimes lacking.

Here is the site:

http://www.blankadventure.com/layout2/test2.html

A few disclaimers: You must be in 1024x768 to see it correctly and you must also be using IE. This is all just experimental right now so I haven’t bothered standardizing it all (yet).

Anyway, I really like what I have so far. The problem is I don’t know how to extend it into a “full” page. Right now it looks like a Splash (ie, intro) page. I tried extending the brown colour downards to form the usual centered-column look but that just ruined the integrity of the graphic (one of those artsy things…can’t really explain it).

Basically I’m having trouble extending the graphic context to include a content context (got it? :D).

I’m not looking for coding help, I’m looking for some graphic arts suggestions - I need a blog area, a shoutbox area and a links-to-content area. For the content links, I particularly like the idea of using small pictures along with descriptions. The following sites show layouts I like:
http://www.csszengarden.com/?cssfile=/078/078.css&page=4

www.x-entertainment.com

I’ve been playing around with coloured rectangles for hours…I need some direction here!

#2

I think the main thing that you’re seeing that makes it look like a splash page is that you’ve constrained the design vertically. Notice on the two pages that you linked to as examples of what you like, there’s nothing that keeps the page from growing downward. In yours, you’ve got the brown box at the bottom, and that stops the downward “flow” of the design, so it ends up looking like that’s all there will ever be.
Maybe try moving the brown box at the bottom to the side, so you have an angled shape that encompasses the top and left side, but leaves the bottom open. Or brown boxes on the two sides, the TV only at the top, and whatever below that.
Overall, I like the design, though. The texture and squares in the brown reminds me of Frank Lloyd Wright motifs, nicely organic while still modular. The blue/lavender in the “not-a-blog” is a little jarring in contrast with the brown and grey, but not grievously so (and that could also be my screen calibration).

#3

Yeah, I realize the blue isn’t the greatest colour; I don’t intend on keeping the not-a-blog where it is.

“Constrained the page vertically” - I lke that way of putting it. Indeed that seems to be the issue. I’ll see what I can do with the bottom portion to break out of the constraint.

Hopefully some other people will chime in with ideas… :slight_smile:

#4

B.U.M.P

(Begging for Updates from More Posters)