We graduated last year, and are in the queue to get a new site design to get away from the bland beta style we still carry. Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 did a bit of research on timelines which indicates we may be a couple of months away yet, but I feel it is good to get members of the community to think about what items or ideas are key aspects of the image Mechanics will present.
The designers SE have are rather good, but as we are all members of the community, can we come up with concepts, ideas, things to avoid etc., and post them as answers below.
Then when it becomes time for our design to be created, the designer can see where our heads are at, maybe get some inspiration, and know what we don't want our design to look like :-)
Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 add:
I've converted this thread into a wiki. If we could, I'd like to see separate wiki answers done as a list. The design elements which pop into my head are:
- Concepts, Ideas, and Themes
- Background Image Design
- Overall Color
- Up/Down Vote Selectors
- Badge Designations (shapes of gold/silver/bronze badges)
- Link Colors
- Tag Shapes
- 404 Page
If there are more, please add them to this list and we'll create a new answer to cover that portion of it. Please do not arbitrarily edit the wiki answers, but rather place "stuff" into the comments below the answers. This will help keep the design element's answers clean and on track. As comments become irrelevant, we'll clean up the comments to reduce clutter.
If you have any questions, please ask! I'm excited to see what people have in mind for the site :o)