You do strange things when you’re on pain medication. I am currently dosed with the stuff after suffering one of the most bizarre and excruciating injuries in the history of humankind. In this addled state I experimented with banner tweaks. Lesson of the day: avoid doing design work while taking Vicodin.
Anyway, expect a comparatively less hideous banner (but with the same contest pictures – remember, guess them all on the forum and win a free game!) in the Near Future.
What warrents this change though Steerpike? Everyone loves the existing banner.
As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I would be very disapointed to see it changed.
Pain medication, Lewis. Pain medication.
I thought, “I need to make a new picture stack for the contest.” So I did.
Then I thought, “I need to reduce the vertical space the masthead takes up.” So I did, just not very carefully because my vision was kind of blurred.
Then I thought, “This really hurts.” So I took another pill.
Then I thought, “Purple is pretty.” So I put some in.
Then the newest pill kicked in and I thought, “I feel like now is the time to do more stuff to the banner. It will be awesome.”
Then I thought, “I feel kind of funny. You know what I love? the Bevel & Emboss tool.” So I did some beveling and some embossing.
Then I thought, “Bevel is a funny word. Bevel. Bevel. Bevel. Bevel. Bevel.”
Then I thought, “I bet if I changed that font it would look really cool.” So I did.
Then I thought, “Save for Web & Devices is the second best innovation Photoshop has ever had.”
Then I thought, “What’s the first best?”
Then I went to bed.
I hope you’ll forgive me for being blunt and I appreciate the amusing circumstances detailed above but, man is that thing fugly.
I liked the old one. I also like Gregg. Give Gregg his banner back, you swine!
I like the Cat picture. And after the shit day I’ve had (week actually) I’ll take any simple pleasure.
Oh, it’s hideous. It looked so much prettier under the influence of vicodin. As I said, as soon as I get a free moment it will be fixed.
FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST, PEOPLE, IT’S FIXED ALREADY
God, it’s like I murdered a kitten or something. I WAS HIGH AS A KITE. (WITH LEGITIMATELY OBTAINED AND ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY PAIN MEDICATION).
@Gregg: I do want to keep it in there but there’s no room with the smaller vertical dimension. C’est la vie.
Jeez, a guy has one bad reaction to pain meds and the whole place erupts! I was also laying out a children’s book for a friend of mine last night, you should see the fucked up shit I did to that. Violating your logo was nothing. Nothing!
Oh, and, uh, I’ll be fine, by the way. Not that anyone asked.
I have “written” a Tap Repeatedly jingle, by the way. Because, that’s what I do.
Maybe we should record it as a wave file or something and allow people to play it when they want to. Nothing is more obnoxious than a website that makes uninvited sounds.
Phew!
I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches to my Steerpike voodoo doll, but all is well again. Whatever you do, don’t go on eBay on that stuff!
The images look a lot better full height by the way. Is the repeatedly arrow missing intentionally? I remember you wanting to keep that in there.
Can I ask why you want the logo smaller Steerpike? I loved it big. Gave the site some “umph” and “yes, this is tap – welcome!” feeling…
@Steerpike: Hahahaha, I need to see that book. I hope kids like everything bevelled and glowing purple. 😉
I want to add a new widget for featured articles to the top of the main content section, and a slightly smaller banner area will help allow for that while still showing the newest posts below it. I really, really really really want to feature, on a rotating basis, some of the deeper, longer, and more thoughtful stuff we have here. That way people can catch things they may have missed if they were pushed down by new posts.
Yeah, I totally agree because a lot of good stuff gets pushed down waaay too quickly. Widgets are slippery devils though and those types of features are usually built into specific templates from what I’ve seen. Does mrlipid have any ideas? I’m no expert on that sort of functionality I’m afraid.
“I’ll be fine, by the way. Not that anyone asked”
I’ll bite. What did you do to yourself that required that level of crazy pain meds? (And we’re all glad you’ll recover… and stop mucking about with the banner. 😉 )And every child needs a book where the lay-out was done by a Vicodin-addled brain.
1. I’m not taking Vicodin for anything, so I may not be the best judge, but the banner looks fine to me.
2. “bizare and painful”: we so love the bizarre here, so DO TELL. And oh, I hope you feel better soon. ;-\ (How do you do spaced-out with the keyboard?)
Vicodin rocks. I often break my big toe just to get a new script.
Really, what did you do Steerpike? And did I miss something cause the banner looks the same to me. Just who is on drugs around here? And why aren’t you sharing?
Scout and Spike must be latecomers, the banner has been fixed. Last night I did some tweaking to the Tap logo while clearly not qualified to operate heavy machinery. It looked so beautiful to me (at the time) that I uploaded it right away and toddled off to bed. This morning I checked the site and was like, “What the hell is that? It looks like an eggplant mated with a Remington typewriter.”
Then I opened Outlook and discovered 11 emails (I shit you not) from Lewis, delivered to two separate accounts – so 22 in total – raging against the new logo, then apologizing for the tone of the previous message, then raging again, apologizing for previous, raging on behalf of Mat, apologizing, etc etc etc.
As for what happened, I suffered a snapped muscle in my larynx, which tore my vocal cords and rendered me unable to speak for several days. Now I can manage a sad wheeze when off pain pills and a reasonable facsimile of my actual voice when on them. Sadly another muscle detached last weekend. This one didn’t affect my voice but added to the already significant pain quotient. Now there’s haematoma in my vocal cords and light bleeding, so I get to cough up blood now and then. Coughing is painful when two of your throat muscles are currently out of service. So is swallowing. Actually existence is pretty painful, but responsibility waits for no man, not even one with a broken throat.
Okay that is the extremely gruesome “what”. Which begs the question…how does one break their larynx short of working as a stunt double in Kill Bill.
Okay, I think Lewis needs the drugs more than I do. I gracefully hop out of the queue.
I only sent two, the first by accident 🙁 gotta love message recall tho. Like the new rotating banner bud looks good! 🙂
Just thinking steerpike, to fit in the little tap button logo on the banner, could you maybe reduce the spacing of each word, and then put it below them??
Steerpike writes: “As for what happened, I suffered a snapped muscle in my larynx, which tore my vocal cords and rendered me unable to speak for several days. Now I can manage a sad wheeze when off pain pills and a reasonable facsimile of my actual voice when on them. Sadly another muscle detached last weekend.”
WTF?!? I know you are a man with a lot to say Matt, but this is ridiculous! 🙂
Well, at least you have me (handily) beat for worst injury of 2010. I hope to never experience torn larynx muscles in my lifetime, or my next 100 lifetimes. How long will the healing process be? Did the doctors tell you something silly like, “Matt, you can’t utter a sound for the next 6 months”?