Some Design help?

[~SnowAngel~]

Some members of my guild in a game I play said that our forum wasn't right with the colors. I tried for hours trying to get the stuff right, but I think I'm losing my sense X_X. Anyway, I'm wondering if there's some way I can make this work with the main image we have. If not, I'll have to find another one and add some text.
Anyway, The biggest problems I'm having is light/dark and RGB balance. The colors look ok, but I still think there's something fishy about them. :f Also, some parts that I change will also change lots of other places. I've looked at some other forums that use the same place as me, but still have not idea how to make this work.
I have some pics of how it was originally, but apparently it appears more blue on windows than mac.

Here's the forum: http://etherealhearts.forumotion.com/forum
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I almost feel like the way it is scars some players away :f

I think that it's nearly impossible to get the colors in balance with this picture. T_T

 

[orisa]

The biggest problem right now is that there's too much going on. That comes in forms of too many dominant colors, too many typefaces, and the background has serious lack of white space.

First of all, too many dominant colors. Your forum right now has about 5 dominant colors. That makes the forum lose focus and sense of theme. A typical working forum design usually has 1-2 dominant colors. ASF for example, is predominantly white/shades of blue. I suggest you look up a color wheel and find 2 combination of dominant colors that work and work with it. If you must have that main image about, you can also work around that (e.g. dark blue/pink).

Second, too many typefaces. Right now I see 4 different typefaces on the forum. It doesn't sound like a big problem but too many variants of typefaces distracts viewers from their first impression. Like the color scheme, dominant typefaces should be kept as less as possible. If you must separate their looks, use different type from the same family. Also, the colors patterns are also distracting. Your main page goes from red to blue to pink then back to red again. The main purpose of using colors for typefaces is to group them so it is easy for the eyes. Try using one color for titles and another color for subtitles and various other texts.

Lastly, your background is way too busy. It's fine if you want to use the sakura for the background but for it to work you need to clean it up first. Right now the background has edges that cut off at several places and nowhere to rest the eyes. The last part is important. Human eyes naturally look for places to rest on. There is none on your page. I suggest spending some time on Photoshop or Illustrator to clean up the background and refine it if you insist on using the sakura theme. As it is meant to be no more than background, it should naturally appeal less than the main image and the forum.

Oh, and one last thing, I can see a green border surrounding your forum page...I suggest getting rid of that before anything else.

PS: I may come off as too harsh but that is because I work as a Graphic Designer and I'm used to slamming ideas on people. Don't let me get to you.

 

[~SnowAngel~]

What would be a good order to develop a theme? I found a few pictures with some nice dominant colors. I'm also wondering how I should determine what the text color should be. What type of background should I use to get a continuous picture?
Do you know of any places that I can learn more about balancing colors? (or what I should search).
That's for your help, it makes a lot more sense now! :D

 

[orisa]

Deciding your dominant colors should be the first priority as your whole design is going to be based on them.
Everything else like type colors will then be nothing more than fill in the blank (meaning finding the light color to go with your dominant colors) once you have decided. Try to avoid boring combinations like black on white or white on black though.

As for your background, an easy, albeit typical solution is to use a fading background, meaning you have your background image at the top of webpage and as you scroll down, it fades into the background color. It's quite beginner proof and it usually works. If you have advanced web design skills, you could do something like what they have here (but you are going to have to ask someone else about that, I fail at programming). General rule of thumb to non-eyesore background is that the background needs to be a whole and have white space to rest eyes on.

For colors, try Googling color theories tints and shades. You should get hits on color wheel theory (which will give you idea of what colors typically work well together), as well as balancing theories on light and dark colors. You shouldn't need to go in too deep for this purpose. Just get the basics and the rest will be up to your creativity.

Good luck.

 

[~SnowAngel~]

I think I have a good start so far. I wish I could do a little more, but I'm not sure. :f I think there might be too much blue. What do you think? http://etherealhearts.forumotion.com/

I also think the background clouds are a bit pixilated, but it's good for how simple it is.

 

[orisa]

It's a LOT better, very good start indeed.
There's not at all problem with too much blue. The rainbow in the picture adds a nice accent that is not too strong nor too quiet. It serves as a resting place from blue. If you ever feel there is too much blue, don't hesitate to add little color accent here and there. They make designs stand out more, so long as you don't use them too much for them to become a dominant color over the existing ones.

Remember what I said about not having edges cut off on your background? Top right of your page has light that looks like it's cut off. Those are never good things in a design. I suggest you play around with the background a bit more to find the right placement. Another thing is that the main image to me stands out too much. I know it's main image, but if you can find way to incorporate it to your design instead of just placing it there, I think it will make your design somewhat more dynamic.

Little refining here and there is of course needed, but those kind of things can be done as you go. Keep it up ^^

 

[~SnowAngel~]

I think I did extra well now :o the background is a little too dark, but I think it helps the main page stand out more. I also added pictures for color.