[Debate] The Grey Skin Look

[myke]

Using Grey Skins On Your ProBoard

Grey skins are a very popular here on ProBoards. Incidentally, that just may be the problem with it. With them being so popular, they make new forums that used them look less unique, and stand out less from all of the other competition. What do you think?

Also, many feel that a Grey skin, as opposed to original looking skins using a nice mixture of matching, unique colors, fails to capture the initial interest of a guest, since Grey skins tent to be monotone, and lacking in a 'lively look'. What do you think?

Debate.

[Stinky666]

I for one like these types of skins.
I think mine is classed as a grey, its a dark grey color.. lol
It actually looks very good, it doesnt exactly look unique, but it does look really good and is well designed..
It is lacking in a lively look, a lively look would be more for a light skin, or so i think anyway..

To be totally honest though, i dont think templates need to be unique colors, its how well the colors are used, and how well the images are made, and whether or not all images match all the colors well.. (hope this all makes sense, as i am pretty tired lol..)

So basically, in my opinion, every forum could use a grey and green color scheme (example), and it would depend on how well everything matches for it to be unique and how well the images are made..

(yeah im rambling, sorry )

[myke]

Me personally, I do not like the Grey look at all. I feel it's okay for a website, but not for a forum (especially for a design forum). I feel on a forum it tends to look boring, especially if it's one shade of Grey all over the place, with no shade variety.

Another look that I feel is WAY overused is an all Grey forum, but only a small hint of another color (red, blue, green, etc) scattered out here and there, like an all Grey forum with color links. That look was overdone in 2004, and to this day is still overdone.

I feel anyone who has seen a lot of boards will not be impressed when they come across another board with this look. I feel a person may feel that this new forum is just copying a design he/she saw somewhere else, as this new forum looks like a ton of others. I feel this can be very off putting to guests.

I honestly believe that a forum should be as unique looking as possible, while maintaining a nice looking skin/color scheme. If a board stands out from all of the rest, and looks like no other, then it is likely to impress a person more, and is more likely to stay in that persons memory longer. If a board looks like 100 others, and used the same design techniques as 100 others, then it will tend to blend in with those other hundred forums, thus there will be nothing special about it.

[Stinky666]

Actually, to be honest, im confused in what color we are on about :-\
Cos i personally would say my forum colors are a darkish brown, and not a dark grey, however, others say different. My forum is a 242424 hex. Are we on about that sort of color, or maybe something more along the lines of 888888 ?

Well, either way, although each are overly used, if someone does make a unique looking skin/template with them, that too will stick in peoples minds. Because they will realise there are hundreds of others with that color scheme, but will sort of think 'WOW! they have really out done the look for this common color scheme'..

Now, my forum is one of those you mentioned, it is a darkish color with the odd other shade here and there, and then a 777777 and a green for text and links. But it all matches well, and i didnt actually copy anyone. I was away from PB for about 11months, and within that 11 months of being away, i started to think of colors that would maybe match, and voila i came up with those. So, although it may seem like everyone copies other peoples color scheme, a few times it isnt the case.

And also, it is pretty hard to come up with color schemes that are unique and havent been used before, cos how many PB forums are there? How long has PB been around?
Now, i realise that there are millions of colors, shades etc but still, if you pick wo, that look unique, you may later find that some other forum (or forums) are using that already, just in a differet shade. So, in this sort fo case, that would mean the images would matter rather than the actual colors.

Also, to be quite honest, the 242424'ish color is one of the easiest to work with, i think thats why alot of people use it to start with. And plus, people make their first forum without actually thinking of how it is going to look (color wise and image wise)...

(Anyway, enough rambling from me lol..)

I hope you catch what im trying to say :-\

[Slacker]

The first time I saw an all grey skin I thought it was neat. Then I saw it again and again. It become so dull and bland I couldn't stand it. Sure it gives a forum a nice clean look, which I am a huge fan of, but it is too clean so to speak. There is nothing eye-catching about it. Studies havw shown that a visitor to a website determines if they will stay at that site within the first few seconds of seeing it. If I see an all grey skin, I leave. It doesn't look interesting at all.

A nice thing about an all grey skin is the slightest bit of color can really make a difference. If you can work in a light blue or green it can add so much more to the grey skin. It makes the forum look visually appealing while still keeping it clean and simple.

[Soul-Divider]

Mines more of a lighter gray colour, aiming for a silver/chrome look (which is impossible to do in hex, so light gray works)
But as a backup, I use Green, Blue, Red ect. as alternate skins.
However I try to avoid using the other popular aspects of gray boards. And style the board differently, trying to remove some of the "plain" aspect to it.
Anyway, I personally don't look at a skin when I see a forum as a guest, I'm not that shallow unless it's a design forum, then I suppose I should. But I'm more of a content man, and that's what I'd promote on my board even with a light gray skin.


And actually, I'm noticing that BLACK is more overused than gray.

[GEO]

I will never join a forum with a gray skin. In fact, I lose respect for any forum that chooses to use a gray skin.

I went for the unique color scheme, and used red. Version 2 of my site will use an ever more unique color.

The only time gray works is as a secondary color.

[pamlico 140]

Mine is for flat-water canoeing/paddling, and I used 99999 and the CCCCCC colors, but I used a image of a lake with lots of green plants to make it seem more unique. And a new forum title image made by paint to look different. This way, my forum looks more outdoorsy, like I want it, I mean, It's for an outdoor sport. the paint image shows two lakes, and a boat demo, a gathering of manufacturers to let people try their models. and lastly, I put the ACA (american canoe associasion) logo on my board to look unique.

[webmaren]

I don't particularly like grey skins at all. I would rather have light text on a dark bg because its easier to read. But having a skin that is monochrome is boring to me in any color, so I usually stay away from those. Skins are better from my perspective if they are made from a desaturated color (grey, black, white) and then a more vibrant color such as red or yellow.

And actually, I'm noticing that BLACK is more overused than gray.

Yeah, I do notice that too. Usually black and blue is the most common I think.

[Serafina]

I don't mind grey skins. The colour is only part of the overall design of a forum, and what matters more to me are the images and the layout. That's what makes a forum unique to me, if you understand.

I think there are more overused colours than grey anyway. I think I've seen more blue forums than anything else, but then there's more variety in blue than grey I suppose.

[Alnarra]

I find that grey skins seem to be this new theme of graphics or templated websites, and I think the reason for that lies in the fact that it is a color that appeals to all audiances, most of these sites are either not well established enough to know their audiance, or are so establisehd that the only way that you are going to make a skin without somone instantly having a problem with it would be to use a skin that is inherintly neutral. This is where the grey comes in

I personally find that very dull, and I like the live color pallet that can be offered by a white primary color theme, White allows other very vibrant colors to appear subtle at first glance, where as dark grey and medium greys and even black as primary colors can do the same but multiple secondary dark colors don't fly to well, infact they will often detract from the overall look, I feel the white base offers a much more vibrant color base to play with, and has a much more proffesional appeal

Whenever I visit one of these so called grey sites I am instantly overwhelmed with the feeling that it is a personal site, or a selective site (this may be the color relation of only truely being able to do 1 shade safely in most cases) that one color means only one group can get in, when you do multiple colors it feels more open and avaliable,

But these graphics sites are only appealing to one crowd and that is the graphics crowd, who like that perosnal feel etc.

So I personally find a grey skin is to narrow and actually to easy to do, it doesn't show true color balance, where as other color choices do.

[Anselm]

Grey looks are monotone, and boring. They just aren't exciting in any way, and you won't get members.

I find that using grey with a certain colour in places works well. Say, grey and red. You'd use red on the banner, red on some of the background, red on text and red on head/base. Oh, and buttons. That works, and it isn't too grayscale. I've done that with forums for a while, but it's better with designs forums.

[Drewz]

Grey skins have no apeal, a relativly brightly coloured place seems best. Or the defualt forum colours (like this forums if I'm not mistaken) are better than grey or dark grey colours. Their boring, dull and make the place hard to read.

[Raven]

Well there is a reason it's so popular.
We know the colors black and white are popular on the net, but grey is right in the middle, making it even more popular imo. As we all know, colors have effects, grey tends to be a calm color, like blue or green.
Personally, it doens't matter to me. The colors just have to mix well, but the graphics will determine overall how good it actually is. But mixing grey with another primary color is better than having an all grey forum. It doesn't matter what colors you use, as long as they balance out.

[mrsyukisohma]

I've actually mentioned this before. Grey isn't the only popular color. Grey, black, with mostly white text is very popular. It feels as though I have reviewed the same forums over and over. Then again, I've been to a lot of forums that have only been white or some kind of creame colored, yet they remain very popular. I just think here at ProBoards, some might be a little too critical about it... I don't mind it so much if they have some good gradients or whatever they're called at least. If they use the same colors, yet still make it unique in their own way, then it doesn't become that much of a problem. It won't help if you have the same theme of a forum many others have with the same colors I should add...