[TYPO3-typo3org] FW: TYPO3.org nice but 800px?

[Juergen Egeling]

Hi Ben,
I lost this discussion in Feb, but now we are doing the t3con.typo3.org
website and somehow strike the 800x600 layout.

* Ben O'Hear <ben at revelate.com.es> [060215 18:52]:
> - If the fonts are resizable then the word count of each line will diminish
> as the fonts get larger.
> 
> [For those of you who are wondering, the generally accepted optimal line
> width is 10-15 words. Any more and you struggle to find the beginning of the
> next sentence (and in really extreme cases it apparently strains your neck
> and eye muscles). Any less and you have too many 'carriage returns']

This comes very much from the paper design, where you as the designer can
fully control the font, font size, paper size and paper color. With the
Browser and WEB you only can "guide" people.
Here is what Jakob Nielsen says about fixed page width
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/designmistakes.html   (number 9.) which I
basically would agree to what he said, plus I would add:
1.) forcing the user to do things he does not want. (E.g. having to use
  a specific font size, because on another way you cannot read the text
  without scrolling.)

> > Would you be interested in help?
> 
> With that in mind I would be *really* interested in seeing a CSS that
> resizes the whole layout with the font size for IE and Mozilla, keeping it
> in proportion. Basically the same effect as zooming in Opera. Do that, and I
> promise to send you an autographed photo of my six month old son.

IMHO those are only things that are worth doing on paper, I would go do 
totally different designs in different medias like the WWW.
I personally think the design at
http://www.greenpeace.de/
gives the user the freedom he really wants and likes to have. And if one
person can read 14 words in 20pt size on a 21'' monitor he has the chance
to do so, and the next person can read 13 word in 10pt on his 12.1'' monitor.

The oint I want to make: I think the non fixed layout would give people
what they wand, *and* there is a chance to keep this within the whole
CI of TYPO3.

> So far I am staring at an uncertain usability gain and a definite aesthetic

Why not give the users the chance to have their own judge?

One idea might be:
Have both layouts at typo3.org (fixed and non fixed) so people can choose this
with a link, and later on we see we can throw one design or have to keep
both, ...

> - A flexible layout that does not end up with a line width the length of my
> arm on my 20'', that does not have white space scattered all over the
> content, that shows good gains in scrolling and of course, that looks great.

I have a 20'' monitor to have many windows open, not to have one website
in 20'' in front of my face. So with fixed size I am forced to look at
ugly white spare at the right side of the layout, or I have to move the
browser. With non fixed, I have the chance to make the browser as wide
as I think its good for me.

cheers
Juergen
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