k10k redesign?

September 12, 2000 1:32 PM

k10k redesign? Am I missing something here? Zeldman had a short notice that the k10k web site was back and redesigned for functionality. It looks the same to me.
posted by Brilliantcrank (8 comments total)

There a post somewhere on the site that I read this morning, detailing some of the changes.

They redid a lot (all?) of the graphics, making them "crisper" and they made massive accessibility changes.

Oh, and apparently they added that rant and rave dog, and Per to the k10k staff. :-)
posted by cCranium at 1:35 PM on September 12, 2000

They took it offline to do a lot of behind the scenes tweaking and updating the usability. Read the newsline on the right - it's all there in gray and white.

I no longer get javascript errors when I mouseover the cute little icons at the top of the page, so I say good show.
posted by the webmistress at 1:37 PM on September 12, 2000

It loads faster that's for sure. Although as someone posted in the news there, I was also expecting rivets and stuff when they said it would be metallic.
posted by riffola at 4:31 PM on September 12, 2000

I guess the metallic thing must have been a joke?

They had even posted a link to a metal-y looking site they claimed to be inspired by...
posted by wiremommy at 4:47 PM on September 12, 2000

Odd to think that a site for designers is designed for a 800x600 screen. Aren't most people working on 1280x1024 minimum these days?
posted by James Bachman at 8:14 PM on September 12, 2000

I like the pooping dog . . .
posted by aladfar at 8:52 PM on September 12, 2000

ok, in response to a few posts...

i was lucky enough to be one of the beta testers for the new k, so i saw it all coming together

the scripts have been redone from scratch, with visible results and just about every graphic has been retouched

the metal look refers to the changed graphics on all the boxes, they have a shiny/3d edge around them now, i like it a lot
and yes, they have a subtle sense of humor :)

i think not changing the functional aspects of a design that works well is a real plus for usability - when k10k went back up, there was zero learning to be done for the regular users

1280x1024 is a pretty generous minimum screen size - even for professional designers - i think 1024x768 might be closer to the mark, and i'm sure theres some k10k visitors running 800x600

people with 21" monitors will usually run their browser windows at 800x600 or 1024x768 anyway - for easier multitasking, making sure their web work will fit into standard screen sizes, and because the vast majority of sites dont fill a bigger window very well

theres also plenty of designers that use a laptop to surf the web (including the k10k guys)
so it makes a lot of sense for the site to be fully functional in 800x600 and fit best in 1024x768

and yes, the pooping dog is great, disturbingly hypnotic

posted by sawks at 5:36 AM on September 13, 2000

the redesign is about function. they document it on the site. there's a channel for PDAs (or the disabled). a lot of thought and work went into it. i also beta tested.

per has not been added to the staff, he's just come in the limelight. he was always their programmer, and he was always on the credits page. just not in front, 'cause he's a shy guy. but very charming and very bright.

a lot of thought went into increased (that word) usability, even bumping up font sizes. a lot of thought went into adding much more content to the front page without overcrowding it or confusing the existing layout. if you look, there's a ton of stuff up front, but it all feels navigable and intuitive ... and it doesn't feel any more crowded than when there was a lot less there.

so yeah, if you're looking for "the new graphic style," you got gypped ... or taken for a ride. but that's not what it's about.

posted by Zeldman at 10:01 PM on September 14, 2000