[me and the sky]

Hi everyone ,

The Fan Forum Graphics Team is in the process of (re)customising message boards and now it's your turn!

If you have any picture or colour suggestions please post them in this thread. Don't post (hotlink) the pictures, links to them are fine. Make sure that the pictures are of as high quality as possible and that the top of the head of the person in the picture isn't cropped off. We also like to use photoshoot images when possible, preferably individual pictures of each cast member. When suggesting colours please keep in mind that some colours will work better than others. The Team usually tries to avoid really vibrant and dark colours because we have found in the past that they are hard to look at for long periods of time. If you would like some help coming up with colour combinations we recommend checking out the Color Palettes or Coolors websites. As we want every board to have their own unique look it is preferable that you do not link to the customisations of other boards as suggested colour schemes.

Everyone is encouraged to voice their opinions for this as you are the ones who will be posting on the board and we hope to make as many people happy with the finished result as possible. It does not matter if you are a board moderator, regular poster, or casual poster here. If you have a suggestion, please share it here with us .

Your suggestions for possible pictures and colours will be taken into serious consideration, but in the interest of seeing every board receive the best customised look possible the final decision concerning how this board will be customised will be made by the members of the Graphics Team. This is because we want to make sure that the selected graphic and colours fit into the overall design scheme that we've established for Fan Forum.

For a full explanation of the message board customisation process, see this thread. If you have any questions, please feel free to send Mel, Chelle, or Kate a PM or ask the Team on the message board customisation thread.

Please leave this topped until a week or so after the board has been (re)customised.

Note: It usually takes approximately two weeks for us to finish making the new banner and the sooner we know what you want, the more we can work on it (though it can take a few months or so to set it up with the new colours on the board), so please let us know your suggestions as soon as possible.

When the Team have finished making the graphic I will close this thread until the graphic and colours get put up. It will then be re-opened so that you can share your thoughts about it.

Mel, Chelle, and Kate

[Chris]

First off, this thread is for community input. I hope everybody feels free to contribute and say which characters they'd like to include. Also what colours they'd like to see. Just because I'm responding first does not mean my opinion is any more important than anybody else's.

How many characters does the Graphics Team suggest? Is it possible to request that some are smaller or do all characters have to be the same size?

I'm thinking:
Original Series - Kirk & Spock
Next Generation - Picard & Data
Voyager - Janeway
Discovery - Burnham & Saru
Strange New Worlds - Pike, Spock & Kirk?

And there's so many more I'd like to have. I'm inclined to skip Enterprise. Do we want somebody to represent DS9 and the animated shows?

As to colours, I'd like as dark as possible. I find the really light coloured boards hard to read. Maybe greys? & blues

[B ē ｔｔ ⓨ]

Originally Posted by Chris (View Post) How many characters does the Graphics Team suggest? Is it possible to request that some are smaller or do all characters have to be the same size?

Larger casts can be done, and the most I've seen here on is the NCIS Franchise with 11.

Example

If there is a more prominent character they can be a little larger than others that might be considered more secondary. Chelle can explain further on that too.

[shinebrighterxx]

^ thanks for that Betty . NCIS has 12. Twilight currently has the most with 15 but we have had a 16 character board before. Off the top of my head I am not sure on boards with more than 12 characters other than Twilight. But it also 4am here, I just can't sleep (ETA: Degrassi & Avatar: The Last Airbender are both also examples of larger casts)



The Graphics Team can't tell you how many characters as everyone has different opinions on how many is too many or what the ideal amount is. Some people feel anything over 10 makes them too small for example. The max allowed is 16 though. If you take a look around you can get a feel for what larger casts look like & how small faces can be in them. From our FAQ:

Originally Posted by shinebrighterxx (View Post) • How many characters can we have in the graphic? It is preferable that you have at least three characters, however we have worked with less. The max is fifteen/sixteen characters as anything beyond that will leave the faces too small and unrecognisable. How many characters you feel should be your max is up to you as what you may feel is 'crowded' or 'too much' may be different to our opinion. The consensus we have found is that a good average amount of characters to keep them visible and the graphic from feeling crowded is 6-10 characters. If you are still unsure what is a good amount for your board we recommend taking a look around at other boards to see how many they have and what they look like to see what you like the best. You may also wish to look through the archived forums as some of those boards still have their customisations and have examples of larger casts - for example; Downton Abbey and Grey's Anatomy. The graphic with the most characters is currently Twilight Saga with fifteen.

As for sizes of characters that is completely up to you. There is some information on placement & sizes in our FAQ. You may feel that you want certain characters to be the biggest while others slightly smaller. I know for NCIS for example I had designated leads for each show as the biggest & they were all the same size. Then for each show the other characters all reduces in size from their leads (if that makes sense). It all depends on what you feel is the best composition to represent your board

As for colours the Graphics Team no longer does dark boards due to them being harsh for many people (& many finding it to be harsh to go between dark & light boards). We can certainly give you a darker feel though

Originally Posted by shinebrighterxx (View Post) • Will you do dark boards? No. The Graphics Team stopped doing dark boards a number of years ago and have worked through all boards which were dark to convert them to the lighter style which you will find all boards now have. For boards which need a darker feel to match their theme we will work with you to ensure that we can provide this still while keeping all boards with this consistent style. • Why don't you do dark/black boards anymore? We found that many users found them to be harsh on the eyes. There were also issues for some when going between dark and light boards. In order to eliminate this issue we have been maintaining a consistent style across all boards which have light bases with dark writing. • Are there any colours we should avoid? Any colour schemes which are bright, neon, predominately red or black, harsh, or dark. Colour schemes can have these in them and still be usable, it is only when there is a large amount of these shades that the end result will become harsh on the eyes. If you are unsure on a colour scheme please don't hesitate to check with us. This guide may also help you determine what are good and bad colours.

[crazy_diamond]

Thanks for starting Graphics Team

All suggestions welcome

Originally Posted by Chris (View Post) And there's so many more I'd like to have. I'm inclined to skip Enterprise. Do we want somebody to represent DS9 and the animated shows? As to colours, I'd like as dark as possible. I find the really light coloured boards hard to read. Maybe greys? & blues

TBH think give animated shows a miss..

I'd go dark as possible as well, give it sort of a space feel, if we can..

Regarding to shows, I was thinking just the Captains from TOS to SNW

[shinebrighterxx]

For colours how about something like a reverse of these colours you've had in the past? Not sure if that was the intention the last time around though? But I was thinking maybe if we get a bit more darker in those highlight areas (bars, buttons, links) like some of the dark shades in that one it might help bring a bit more of a space/darker feel here? Maybe change the base/background colour to a light grey like Chris mentioned about using grey? Or more of a blue/grey so it isn't straight grey or default colour grey

[Chris]

Tracey - yes, we've traditionally had the captains, and I always thought it was a good way to represent the various series. Was just trying to think a bit outside the box this time around.

Chelle - yikes, what we had before looks so dark now! I wasn't suggesting that we go quite that far, but definitely no lighter than what we currently have. As Tracey said, I like the idea of going for a space vibe.

[B ē ｔｔ ⓨ]

Boards in the past that had all dark themes could be harsh but one accent colour that is darker could work well with some lighter shades.

For example, I feel like BLUE is a predominant colour for space and could be the 'dark' colour.

• #172754

Shades of other blue/gray and a yellow to tan might be a nice added colour to reflect 'stars' in space.

• #8D8E8E
• #BCAC6C

Then three shades that are the lighter versions of those colours to offset the 'dark' feel.

• #8398D2
• #CACDCD
• #C8C5B8

These are all simply suggestions BTW, so don't feel like this is a colour scheme you have to choose.

[shinebrighterxx]

Chelle - yikes, what we had before looks so dark now! I wasn't suggesting that we go quite that far, but definitely no lighter than what we currently have.

It is interesting looking back though (I also looked at a further back one which had purple in it too & felt even darker). I wasn't suggesting going that far. As mentioned, we don't do the dark boards anymore. I was saying using those shades in set areas. So instead of these sky blue, light-medium blues you get some darker blues for the bars, buttons, & links. Bring back some of the darkness without going into harsh territory. That's at least how I was picturing what you were saying when I first read your post. But it was also some awful hour & I'm running on about 4 hours sleep so who knows if my brain works

[Chris]

Chelle - yes, I was used to it being really dark here, so this customisation was a huge adjustment. What you're describing sounds good.

Betty - Some of those are good. Sorry, not a fan of this one: • #BCAC6C

Maybe more these?
https://colorpalettes.net/color-palette-4438/
https://colorpalettes.net/color-palette-4397/
https://colorpalettes.net/color-palette-1125/

[B ē ｔｔ ⓨ]

No worries, it can be which ever shades you choose.

So based on those picks, are you thinking more of a 'blue/silver' over the yellowish gold I'd suggested?

• CDCFEE

[shinebrighterxx]

Originally Posted by Chris (View Post) Maybe more these? https://colorpalettes.net/color-palette-4438/ https://colorpalettes.net/color-palette-4397/ https://colorpalettes.net/color-palette-1125/

I think the first & last would give you more of a darker feel, but it'd be cold dark, while the middle I feel may be warmer dark. A bit like what you've got now but with darker shades? So in those cases it could depend on what sort of atmosphere you're thinking too

[Make Them Laugh]

Chris...great pick here

I'm thinking: Original Series - Kirk & Spock Next Generation - Picard & Data Voyager - Janeway Discovery - Burnham & Saru Strange New Worlds - Pike, Spock & Kirk?

[sum1]

Can't leave out Sisko, Trek's first black captain. If you have Janeway you need to have Sisko.

Also, you can't stick to just captains and leave out Nimoy's Spock. Nimoy's Spock is arguably the most iconic Trek character of all time.

Maybe you could have a selection of the most standout captains (no need for Archer, I think, as his show distinctly failed) and add in Nimoy's Spock as the one non-captain character.

[Johnnie]

I mean, why not include Philippa Georgiou somewhere in the banner as well? There's an upcoming Section 31 show that she is supposed to be a main character on, would be nice to potentially get a jump on it.

As for DS9 I'd def go with Sisko.