Should diaspora* jump into the "flat trend" bandwagon?

It's everywhere. Twitter, Facebook, Google+, even your good ol' Hotmail and iOS have gone flat.
Advantages :
* Minimalist : looks straightforward and "content first"
* Readability : There's less clutter and more contrast between the background and the text
* Speed : Not depending on any image, it loads faster.
Disadvantages :
* Originality : it feels bare-bones for some
* Familiarity : it feels cold and unwelcoming for some
This is basically a philosophical question about Diaspora's direction : should it become a minimalist emotion-less communication tool or a cozy social hub?

Michael Engelhardt Thu 23 Jan 2014
I would really appreciate a fresh design for diaspora* . Being a bit more clean and eye-candy might attract new users as well. Probably it should go along with some usability changes as recent discussions seem to prove there is lot of space for clarification and improvement.

Steffen van Bergerem Thu 23 Jan 2014
IMO bootstrap is a good start for a "fresh design". Let's port even more stuff in diaspora* to bootstrap and improve the usability when doing that.

Steffen van Bergerem Thu 23 Jan 2014
(The single post view, the sign in / sign up page and the conversations have already been ported to bootstrap)

Flaburgan Thu 23 Jan 2014
The actual design is pretty good and we have many work to do, so this is clearly not a priority, but as Steffen said, porting the view to bootstrap will update them.

Seth Martin Thu 23 Jan 2014
I really like the current design of diaspora*. It's very clean and easy to understand. Bootstrap is badly needed since the mobile view is unpleasant and doesn't work with the size of most peoples fingers.

goob Thu 23 Jan 2014
Diapsora has a lovely clean design. I wouldn't object to other designs/views being created as options that a user could enable if they wanted, but I wouldn't want the default design to be changed, especially for the sake of changing it or for the sake of doing what other websites are doing.
As Flaburgan says, there are far more important things to focus on at the moment.

Sean Tilley Thu 23 Jan 2014
I really wouldn't have a problem with a cleaner look. Really, all you'd have to do is port Diaspora over to Bootstrap 3, which has a great clean, minimalistic design.

goob Thu 23 Jan 2014
There's definitely scope for cleaning up the right-hand column, although I'm not sure that's what this proposal is about. And I'm planning to work on a new design for the default landing and sign-up pages.

Steffen van Bergerem Thu 23 Jan 2014
@seantilleycommunit I also thought about porting to Bootstrap 3 but it looks like we would have to update rails_admin to 0.6.0 first which needs Rails 4. In the meantime porting to Bootstrap 2 seems to be a good idea. ;-)

maliktunga Thu 23 Jan 2014
@seantilleycommunit If Loomio is based on Bootstrap 3, then I love it.
@goob Good idea, I think it is best to tweak one thing at a time, but do it well. I personally think the Sign In page is Diaspora's best design feat so far (even though it's not really 'flat') The header should be the next thing. Especially on the pages in which the "Sign in" link has kept a HTML link look.

Steffen van Bergerem Thu 23 Jan 2014
@gillesphilippemori Loomio is based on Bootstrap 2, Bootstrap 3 is even better :-P

Alberto Aru Thu 23 Jan 2014
You can allways create a skin: http://userstyles.org/styles/browse?search_terms=diaspora
I like diaspora design and I don’t like flat, is boring.

Jason Robinson Sat 25 Jan 2014
Flat sucks.

Xophael Mon 27 Jan 2014
Since I hate fashion, I'm all for custom styles. That doesn't mean we can't have a trendy, attractive default one. Flat sucks, yes, but if it's what's needed to catch potential newcomers, why not? Hope it won't linger for too long...

Ryuno-Ki Fri 7 Feb 2014
Custom Styles can be achieved with Stylish (like @albertoaru proposed). Maybe it's even useful to show some ideas.
For me, flat design isn't that attracting. We have to think about, wether it fits diaspora*. Is it in line with the message we want to send?
Otherwise we would have to follow everyyear's trend. Not very useful. Especially with our constrained designer staff in mind.
But I'm for "Content First". And I guess, this is doable without applying a flat design.
Especially on wide screens (you know, desktop PCs or working stations with a second screen) there's lot of blank space :-S
Robin Stent - Outreach Sun 9 Feb 2014
I don't understand what you mean by "flat" perhaps you could explain further or provide some links?

Ryuno-Ki Mon 10 Feb 2014
Flat Design on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Design
See also Gizmodo: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/05/what-is-flat-design/ and http://fltdsgn.com/

Pablo Cúbico Fri 11 Apr 2014
Hi! I work as a visual and UX designer, please let me contribute with my point of view.
I think the way the question was formulated is pretty biased.
Flat design is a trend, as thin fonts right now, or just as any other trend (remember "Web 2.0 glossy buttons"), you can follow a trend and be unique, just don't copy others.
As a trend, it can be emotion-less or not. What makes a design cozy? That's a challenge for the designer to play with.
When you say "it feels cold/unwelcoming/barebones for some" I think you are expressing an opinion. A client recenly asked me to change their whole site to "flat" because the current one looked to "heavy". That's the way trends affect people.
Opinion is subjective and not so good for user experience. The real factual disadvantage of flat design is that it loses visual hierarchy: users sometimes don't know what is clickable and what not, because a button ends up being just a colored square.
But that's not even a problem of flat design, it was a problem of Windows Metro UI mostly (Windows 8), that went too far.
In art, all trends tend to go to far, and then step back a little, if they are real trends. Flat is a real trend, glossy buttons not so much. What makes flat a trend is that it has a backing philosophy: content first.
So, flat was good in introducing that concept. That's it's contribution to the design world.
In order to have an updated look, you have to follow trends a little.
I would go with something more modern, cleaner, but not-so-flat. I like to have some volume in my buttons.
Current design looks a little old, I have to say, that's just the way things are in this crazy web era, 2 years old is old. 4 years is ancient history.
I think the problem with the current design is not cleanliness, it's that it should be more solid, consistent, and that should be achieved with consistent margins, paddings, font sizes, borders. Bootstrap will provide a better foundation for that.
I think the next challenge will be to come up with a design that looks more modern, but unique, rock-solid and appealing to new users. Any designer can log in into the site and immediately notice that it needs a more solid visual language. I think that's the next challenge, flat or not.
williammouck@hushmail.com Sun 20 Apr 2014
I agree with @goob @hola @ryunoki
williammouck@hushmail.com Sun 20 Apr 2014
Do whatever you want as far as initial user style experience is concerned just possibly highlight that it's called style options and we have them. It's the core of free software make whatever push it out there to the first time and seasoned and it eventually takes.
williammouck@hushmail.com Sun 20 Apr 2014
Theme's of experience are the past to be kept and developed further more for the future. who knows when the next blockbuster computer movie is going to come out and everyone will want to have there computer imitate that style.
williammouck@hushmail.com started a proposal Sun 20 Apr 2014
Should Diaspora Just Bank Users Based on Decentralization and Utility functions and not a centrally manifest Style of presentation Closed Sun 15 Jun 2014
The proposal is too confusing and was blocked.
-Agree: Yes I would like to showcase Decentralization and code utility as separate from presentation. in belief that more people will be in honest effort of usable fun diaspora promotion as opposed to large scale evil forces making diaspora look like a unworking ugly mess and marketing it to the masses.
-Disagree: No I believe this will fracture a user style agreement system. placing some at a disadvantage for not having as efficient or mind alteringly perfect system to work with. I don't think the diaspora community is large enough for use to create a custom tailor trade of people doing clothes and diaspora style configurations.
Agree - 6 |
Abstain - 6 |
Disagree - 6 |
Block - 6 |
williammouck@hushmail.com
Sun 20 Apr 2014
I hope I wrote this proposal right?
Paul Hill
Mon 21 Apr 2014

Karthikeyan A K
Mon 21 Apr 2014
Common we already have a design, why stir a pond just because boostrap has changed?

Juan Santiago
Mon 21 Apr 2014

Michael Kuehl
Mon 21 Apr 2014

Frode Lindeijer
Mon 21 Apr 2014
Diaspora's design should be simple and mainly shaped by it's content.
I'm uncertain what is considered flat and what isn't. Diaspora's design seems flat enough as it is.

theradialactive
Mon 21 Apr 2014

Jonne Haß
Tue 22 Apr 2014
This proposal makes no sense and I will create a follow up proposal to ignore it.
avey
Wed 23 Apr 2014

Dee Baumdeesaster
Thu 24 Apr 2014

Pablo Cúbico
Thu 24 Apr 2014
I think this is more a poll than a proposal, or I don't get which action should be taken after agreement/disagreement.

Seth Martin
Thu 24 Apr 2014
Add me to the "I don't understand this proposal list".

Frode Lindeijer
Fri 25 Apr 2014

Jason Robinson
Fri 25 Apr 2014
Sorry don't understand, please rephrase :)
NicoAlto
Fri 25 Apr 2014

Ryuno-Ki
Fri 25 Apr 2014
I don't understand the question (language barrier).

Juan Santiago
Fri 25 Apr 2014
Now I understood the proposal and change my vote, drafting of the matter is somewhat confused, if I agree to separate content from appearance. Is that the specific proposal?
Paul Greindl
Mon 28 Apr 2014

Trolli Schmittlauch
Tue 29 Apr 2014
I understand neither the question nor the options, please rephrase it.
Vivian Darkbloom
Wed 30 Apr 2014
Vivian Darkbloom
Wed 30 Apr 2014
I think this question needs to be restated as the original poster does not present the issue in an unbiased manner. Moreover, the poll options are not clear and clouded with loaded language.

Juan Santiago
Wed 30 Apr 2014
I think you should write the proposal again, many community members do not understand.
Honestly. though I understand the proposal and agree I must block until everything is clear. sincerely

Rosie
Thu 1 May 2014

Kazhnuz
Sat 3 May 2014
lebarjack
Mon 5 May 2014
English is not my native language and I cannot state an opinion on this overly complicated and cluttered proposal that I don't understand. Keep it simple...

Jelle Langbroek
Thu 8 May 2014
jonsger
Fri 16 May 2014

Ivan Gabriel Morén
Sat 17 May 2014
I think I got what the proposal means and where I stand, but it's very cluttery.
Adrenalin
Sun 18 May 2014
as Jason Robinson already said Sorry don't understand, please rephrase :)) I have no clue on what to vote o0n here. So VETO!
Quetschwalze
Mon 19 May 2014

Alberto Aru
Mon 26 May 2014

Vostok
Tue 27 May 2014
This is not clear to me.

ventos
Mon 2 Jun 2014

J5lx
Mon 2 Jun 2014
I don’t understand this proposal too.

diasp_eu
Tue 3 Jun 2014
[deactivated account]
Thu 5 Jun 2014
?!

Ruxton
Thu 12 Jun 2014

D351
Fri 13 Jun 2014
I am not sure what is being suggested.
matl
Fri 13 Jun 2014
matl
Fri 13 Jun 2014

jakobdee
Sat 14 Jun 2014
vague

Balasankar C
Sat 14 Jun 2014
Happy to know that I'm not the only one who didn't understand this proposal...
Daniel Fuchsi
Sat 14 Jun 2014
dremodaris
Sat 14 Jun 2014
The proposal is illegible and lacks some conjugated verbs.
Lars Ulrich
Sat 14 Jun 2014

Juan Santiago Mon 21 Apr 2014
I think it's better to publish an API for skins developing and each pod, can make decisions about your using the default template, modify, create one or borrow.
I only ask of God that the default template is kept light.

goob Mon 21 Apr 2014
I'm afraid I don't understand this proposal at all.

Pablo Cúbico Mon 21 Apr 2014
IMHO this is just an open discussion and doesn't need a proposal.
lebarjack Tue 22 Apr 2014
As for @goob , I don't really understand what's the deal here. Can you be more clear?

Rasmus Fuhse Wed 23 Apr 2014
This is basically a philosophical question about Diaspora’s direction : should it become a minimalist emotion-less communication tool or a cozy social hub?
I guess we should choose both directions. Even today we got a lot of pods that customized their look and design. Once we changed to using bootstrap this should even be more easy by importing bootstrap themes.
If you want to change the default-design, that shouldn't go with a philosophical discussion but with mockups and probably with a test-server so that everyone can say what he/she doesn't like on the new design.

Pablo Cúbico Wed 23 Apr 2014
@rasmusfuhse I started my own pod for that purpose on Heroku, to test Bootstrap porting before merging, but I can't create an S3 account for the images, Amazon tries to do a phone call, which never happens and the validation fails... will do it on a VPS maybe next week.

Jason Robinson Fri 16 May 2014
Funniest vote and result in the history of d* on Loomio :D

goob Fri 16 May 2014
Is another month really needed for this vote? Although it's good for the comedy value I suppose.

Flaburgan Thu 5 Jun 2014
Let's close this proposal a reformulate everything.

goob Thu 12 Jun 2014
I'll miss this proposal when it's gone.

Juan Santiago Fri 13 Jun 2014
Do you like the discord? :)
@goob
Remember when you thought it was clean look?,
I understood it was to make it more complex, as g+, twitter, etc.
I think if the author does not clarify the proposal, only we have lost time.

Jason Robinson Fri 13 Jun 2014
1 day left!

jakobdee Sat 14 Jun 2014
it makes sense to have a barebones default presentation ... with an option to 'bolt-on' added functionalities?
theradialactive · Thu 23 Jan 2014
I would really like to see a new design. But if we do this, we should have a really big feature going along with it, like chat or groups. Why? Because redesigns are what the tech news and blogs want to see and talk about. If new features come with the new design it, diaspora could get more publicity.