[Debate] The Grey Skin Look

[Candice]

Aug 6, 2010 18:33:55 GMT -8 @skyyyyee said:

My current site has a gray skin, black background, and black lettering. I know a lot of people do similar skins, but I have found that it works a lot because it is easy to read. I would make sure that if you use the gray skin, add some color where you can, such as pictures, etc.

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[Wishing]

I have two skins that deal with the color gray, and I think they both look rather nice. One is black and gray with white fonts, which turned out surprisingly well. The other is a lighter gray with light blues that really make it pop.

But on the down side I have also seen some sites with a gray skin that really wasn't suited well for the forum, or the other the colors being used. So all in all it really does depend on how there being used and what shade/scheme you use them with.

[Bumble]

I think they're too common. I'd more likely join a forum with a brighter layout with colours like red, blue, purple, etc than a forum with a gray skin. If the admin adds more colour to the gray, than it'd be better and stand out more.

[[ saga ]]

Ha. I just recently made a new gray skin for my forum that I'm co - owner of. I thought it looked very nice ; I think gray sort of looks. . smart, somehow. But I do agree that it could be a little monotone, although I did use a few different shades. I've actually seen quite a few white forums around, too !

[Pideaux]

Aye - All I see are grey ad blue on canine RPs anymore. I went with orange, yellow and browns which not only looks amazing but really draws interest. Previously I went with dark greens/browns which looked a little less original but still gave it that little bit of pop that most people tend to stick around those few more seconds and look at. I'll never go grey or blue. I like to see skins that mix various colours and pull it all in nicely together.

[COUNTRY STRONG !]

Gray (not "grey" o.O) skins are great if you use them with other colors - if it's the only color, it makes the board look boring. I think gray is a good color forum and is never really over-used if you use other colors with it and bring it to life. :3

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[hellyearockstar]

Jun 23, 2006 7:32:30 GMT -8 GEO said:

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.

I think this could be a little harsh. Honestly, I believe you can make very unique gray layouts. Granted, they almost always have other colors mixed in, but I did a really nice gray and purple layout once. I liked it because it was unique... and I am not a boring layout type of person, believe me.

[Chime Mac]

Sounds not bad !

[hazeyy! (:]

personally, i find it hard to resist a gray skin when it's done properly. gray + navy blues = my favee. i don't like it; however, when people go way too bland and just use an extremely monochromatic color scales: like black, white, and gray all in one skin for example. if you format the different member groups / templates on your forums, the colors would be there. so it wouldn't be considered bland or overused at all. (: all forum owners and designers have their own views of what's appealing and i won't a site down based on a gray skin tone. neon green and yellow on the other handd.

[embersxx]

I didn't read but the last page for this so sorry if my points have already been discussed.

Personally, while I won't judge a site for it's skin entirely, I find gray colors to be rather bland even with bright colors mixed in. Sometimes they just don't look right too. I just find them over-used just like maroon was. I don't mind it used, I just don't like it the main color of any forum. I'd rather see bright reds, blues, etc. just to give a little change to the site. I do admit, I saw an NCIS forum with gray and navy as the skin and I sort of actually liked it.

[thepaintedgrin]

I prefer the grayskin... fair enough it has to look good. I've checked most the arguments out and though I do agree some think that there's not much effort put in. It makes a forum look dead and yes everybody is doing it I still feel that you can make a forum look great with the right color combination with grey.

I once went on a graphic site that had a grey/white skin with pink/purple. Sound atrocious? It looked pretty damn good. You just have to know what your doing, hell with the right shading, the right banner and set up pink/orange sites can look great.

[shistavanenjedi]

One thing I found is that when I was looking for templates for my forum is that nearly everything I found was grey. Someone pointed out that it's the images and layout which contribute as much to the look of the forum if not more and it some ways I do agree because a lot of the templates I found had horrible images as well. I do think that it depends upon the taste of the person making them as much as what they think people want. It sometimes even makes you wonder if designers do get their ideas from each other rather than coming up with something unique.

Another point to make out as well is whether or not the design suits the type of website it is. I got the impression that most of the templates I looked at were made for a console/computer/video game fan forum because that is what a lot of the designs reminded me of, or something which would be used for a fantasy game forum.

There isn't much variety out there and when it is contrasted with the diversity of templates I've seen used on blogger or livejournal I find it quite lacking. When I do find a template I like, I then worry if other people will be using it because it's the only decent one I've found!

Aside from grey colour schemes another scheme I don't like are ones which use really light colours, particularly text on really light coloured backgrounds (and tiny fonts) as I find these difficult to read. Fortunately, I've not seen this used on much on proboards, but I have elsewhere and again, I wonder if it's as much to do with the taste of the designer as it is with what they think people like.

I find I like dark colours though, in contrasting shades of that colour, so if I designed proboard templates, that is how I would design them (and no doubt people will think that's overused as other designers do something similar.)

[rissyroo]

_{I really like the way gray skins look. So long as they're not too light... Gray is such a wonderful color too, it comes in so many tones that are easy on the eyes! I personally have horrible vision, and a gray schemed skin works best for - White text on a dark background seems most appealing to me. It is becoming a bit of a fad though. Great minds think alike I suppose?}

[Arcane]

Gray can be really boring on a forum if not used correctly. I generally use dark oranges and browns on mine, but I've made two gray skins. Both look really great. If you mix in different fonts and such, gray can make it all blend really well. Also, right custom on/off images make the forum pop enough for the gray to look interesting. Plus, using gray makes it easier for custom member group colors to look nice and pop out. All in all, if executed correctly, gray can look great.

[Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti]

Grey (or gray) skin don't bother me really. I just find that grey is just another color to choose from for your forum. Some will like it while others don't.

For a grey theme, I think one thing that does bother me is the color you use for text. If it's something on the lighter side, then I don't like it at all. It makes things harder to read on the forum then. If the colors are darker, then I find it is easier to read.

I will actually be using greys and blacks, in my forum, I am working on right now. I always liked the darker skins over the bright colored ones. I find they are easier to read. I admit though, that I have seen a few bright colored forums, that were easy to read.