[wp-design] A New Direction

[Joen Asmussen]

Hello Esteemed Developers,

It's been a long while since there's been activity on this list. It's 
also been a long while since I mailed something here. I've been very 
busy with work, as I'm sure you all have too.

I've been pondering for a while, this whole Shuttle project. With the 
recent mockups, it's clear to me that this is an absolutely thrillingly 
exciting new thing for Wordpress. This is evident, even in it's current 
state which is not quite there yet.

However, I think it might be time we got our hands dirty, or rather, 
someone else did.

Obviously this is a huge project. It's pretty much grown from being an 
interface overhaul, to a complete interface redesign & added visual 
identity. This is quite a mouthful. Not only for us, but for the end 
users as well.

So I propose (and this is not me being original), that we start actually 
implementing some of our ideas.

Let's transform this project from being a complete rewrite, to being a 
gradual rewrite. We'll do the redesign in phases.

Phase 1 would be trivial ground-work. Restructure the menu as we want 
it, for instance renaming "Presentation" to "Themes". Maybe move the 
Wordpress logo and remove the Firefox.
Phase 2 could be changing the body font of the entire interface & 
switching the tabs to be topmost. Phase 3 could be to add JS/cookied 
collapsible palettes to the interface. Etc. Etc.

*Benefits of doing it this way:*

* End users can gradually get used to the new features. This is 
especially important for the conservative bunch that "fear changes".
* We get some wind under our wings, by seeing things get done.
* Developers gets to go to work
* We can see, in practice, what works and what doesn't, instead of just 
discuss it here.
* We can get out of the cramped space of Photoshop
* We might even get a few things into 1.5.1 or .2?

So are we ready for this? I'd love to hear all of your thoughts, but I 
certainly think so. The latest mockups are looking fantastic. (On that 
note: Khaled, I like the colours of your latest menu redesign, but I 
think we should go for tabs).

So what do you think about this?

And if you like this idea, what should we do in phase 1? And who should 
do it?

Joen

-- 

Joen Asmussen

CPH, DENMARK
ICQ: 2462161, AIM: workjoen

work: www.titoonic.dk <http://www.titoonic.dk> | private: 
www.noscope.com <http://www.noscope.com> & www.turtleshell.com 
<http://www.turtleshell.com>