New Menu Testing

[Aaron Robinson]

Air Tahiti Nui Virtual is currently testing a possible new menu design for SimAirline.net. Please post your thoughts on the concept here. The more you can say about what features make you like or dislike the concept rather than the fact that you do, the more useful your opinion will be.

[Northwestdc9]

I'm afraid I don't like it at all, it looks very 1999 and much more unprofessional than our current version which I like a lot.

[FJ flyer]

I think it looks great Aaron, more modern than the other one. It might better with a tinge of grey when you place the mouse over it , that will make it more obvious that you have put the mouse over it.

Overall I think it's great.

[ninerninerniner]

I think the new menu bar is great except for that it doesn't match the top title banner. Here's my thoughts to fix it:
1) Blend the thick bottom line with the grey menu bar.
2) Change the white background of the left title block to a cloud background, like one we have on SimAirline.net's home page title banner.
3) Blend the right airplane picture with the left title block, deleting the thick slashed line.
4) Perhaps blending the borders too?

I think these changes would be great and would be worth a shot trying it out.

[NWADC9]

Not Firefox compatible in terms of placement.

[seahawks7757]

Aaron looks a ton better then the current. Looks much more modern.

[Anuj]

I like it !

[capewellavc]

Not Firefox compatible in terms of placement.

Is with mine... you using the latest version of firefox. I installed it on my new PC last week and works great.

I think it is fantastic! Much much better than the old retro text-in-a-box stuff! Well done!

[Dennis]

It's new, and I like it better than the one we currently have.

[NWADC9]

Not Firefox compatible in terms of placement.

Is with mine... you using the latest version of firefox. I installed it on my new PC last week and works great.

I think it is fantastic! Much much better than the old retro text-in-a-box stuff! Well done!

Position of the menu, not the functionality.

[Aaron Robinson]

I'm afraid I don't like it at all, it looks very 1999 and much more unprofessional than our current version which I like a lot.

Could you provide some constructive criticism?

I think it looks great Aaron, more modern than the other one. It might better with a tinge of grey when you place the mouse over it , that will make it more obvious that you have put the mouse over it.

Thanks, I'll look into this concept.

Not Firefox compatible in terms of placement.

Fixed after you posted.

I think the new menu bar is great except for that it doesn't match the top title banner. Here's my thoughts to fix it:
1) Blend the thick bottom line with the grey menu bar.
2) Change the white background of the left title block to a cloud background, like one we have on SimAirline.net's home page title banner.
3) Blend the right airplane picture with the left title block, deleting the thick slashed line.
4) Perhaps blending the borders too?

These are some major changes, more complicated than what I currently have in mind. Thoughts on this?

At the moment, the menu is designed to match that of Viewpoint. The dark blue is selected to match the SimAirline.net logo, while the teal is intended to be a color specific to that VA. In short, the menu would be a unifying element consistent across all vAs, while the second color would give some individuality to that VA.

[Northwestdc9]

Still a few pixels off on the main page, everything else works fine.

Constructive... A darker grey with a slight gradient and some kind of separation between the links would make it a LOT better. Not crazy about the font either. The entire thing just looks very '99 and plain. Dress it up a little and we're getting somewhere.

http://www.apple.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.airliners.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.ebay.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.tigerdirect.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All examples of how it can be done to look very fresh and new.

[Aaron Robinson]

Thanks for the feedback.

The entire thing just looks very '99 and plain.

Funny that 1999 as a whole is bad in your eyes--have you looked at the aircraft on your banner?

[COA413]

I like it! Maybe just stretching it out a little so it spans the width of the page could make it better.

[Martin the Warrior]

I like the idea, but I'd like to see two things changed:
-The color change for the selected menu is very subtle. It could change a bit more, for example the background color could get darker.
-It only takes up the first half of the line on my computer (1280x800, Firefox)

[capewellavc]

Could we have it so the banner bar loads first? It really bugs me that I have to wait for all those little airline logos down the bottom to load first!

I do agree that the font needs to be a little larger. That plain look seems to be the growing fashion again.

[sanins192]

Firstly, may I second what Andy said ^^. Is it possible for that to load before every picture loads?

I really like it compared with the one we have at the moment. I think that the one we have at the moment is a big letdown to the rest of the page.

I am going to expand on what Fraser said. Instead of it just highlighting the text when your mouse goes over it, perhaps there could be a mask overlay that also highlights a slightly darker grey.

I really like the one from the Apple site. Aaron, is it possible to create an image based button instead of text, so that we can have gradients and shadows on the text instead of 2D writing, as well as a background similar to that of the Vista and XP Media Centre taskbar?

I think the banners may need modifiying as well. Large job, I know, but that would complete the transformation.

Finally, is it possible somehow to get the button to press inwards when it is selected?

[Northwestdc9]

Alex, you're talking weeks of around the clock work there.
Also remember that Aaron usually doesn't go for flashy, believe me I tried!
I love the Apple bar, tweaked slightly for our purposes it'd be pretty sweet.

[Aaron Robinson]

http://www.simairline.net/airtahitinui/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Per your suggestions, I've made a few changes:
-darker background when an option is hovered over
-larger font
-revisited an old concept I had liked before, per Takahiro

Could we have it so the banner bar loads first? It really bugs me that I have to wait for all those little airline logos down the bottom to load first!

Sorry, this is not possible with my programming knowledge. If someone knows CSS and would like to look at the code to try, please PM me.

As I mentioned before, the intent of the new menu is to have a more consistent feel across the entire website, while upgrading the look. This is the exact same menu code as before, just with the variables changed around. Please let me know what you think of this new test version. If you wish to compare the updated menu with the old banner, please look at any page (except the main one).

[Martin the Warrior]

It's better with your modifications, but I'd still like to see the options go across the screen (i.e. be spaced out more) like with the old menu.