Blog » jQuery Site Redesign - The Community Speaks
Posted August 29th, 2008 by ReyBangoAs many of you have seen by now, the jQuery Project’s site has been redesigned. It had been a long overdue task and it was important to put a fresh new spin on the main hub, and the face, of jQuery. One of the things about the jQuery Project is that we’ve never run with the crowd or accepted the norm. By pushing boundaries and sometimes being “in your face” we’ve not only grown tremendously in popularity but we’ve pushed most of the other JS library projects to rethink their own principles and make changes to improve their products. That’s a good thing for everyone as competition is always good.
So, it should come as no surprise by the drastic change in the jQuery website. So far, the single biggest complaint has been associated with the new banner (ie: rockstar caricature & slogan). Again, we wanted to push the boundaries and come up with something that would generate a lot of buzz. Overall, we’ve succeeded in that goal with plenty of positive feedback but unfortunately, with some very negative comments as well. We actually value both types of feedback and want more as it’s the only way to determine if we’re on the right track. As with any site redesign, you can’t please everyone and we understand that. But we also want everyone to realize that this is a first cut and it doesn’t mean that it can’t be tweaked.
We’re actively reviewing all of the feedback and will certainly be looking at how to best handle some of the concerns of the community. After all, the community is what makes the jQuery Project so special and so different from other projects. In addition, the jQuery team has always listened to the needs of the community and this time is no exception. Again, I think the team is unique in that we *DO LISTEN* to the community and we’re going to work on making the site an invaluable tool for everyone. So just give us some time to go through the messages and keep an eye on this blog for updates.
Thanks for your patience and we truly appreciate your feedback.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:10 am
It’s not the look, it’s the overused tagline “Be a X Rock Star!” that isn’t even a good metaphor. It’s almost as overused as the “Got X?” line for milk.
I don’t want rock stars working for me. I want team players - dependable, stable people that hit home runs. I think the metaphor doesn’t work.
My vote is keep the look and the edgy illustration feel. Lose this particular message.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:15 am
If jQuery is for rock stars I’m going back to Prototype…
August 29th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I’ll go ahead and leave my feedback since you asked for it.
I also have an issue with the banner. If your target audience is script kiddies who want to be cool by using fancy pants effects, then I think it’s fine, but if I came across jQuery when it had that banner, I would have probably passed it up because it didn’t seem like a serious, mature tool.
A ninja, on the other hand, would be cool
I will admit that it is an improvement over the old site, which didn’t have any personality at all.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:18 am
You’ve got to get rid of that banner. It makes the jQuery community look unprofessional. No ninjas, no rock stars.
I love the rest of the design, just slide up that “who uses jQuery strip”.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:19 am
I believe this is bold design for a javascript framework and I love it. Instead of the tradition “API look” that other frameworks have, this website design embodies what jQuery is about — “rock star” functionality and effects. I understand John’s point above, but at this point, jQuery’s reputation and userbase proceeds itself.
Impressive. jQuery’s pushing the limits of browser functionality — why not allow its website to push the trend of boring framework sites? Great move jQuery team.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Yeah I agree with John, I don’t like the “Be a X Rock Star” metaphor either. It sounds like a purposely used buzzword. However, I could have easily done the same - but from my outside perspective, it’s easy for me to say that.
I get the use of the word “rock star” though - it appeals to a lot of people who desire to be famous and sought after. I agree with the concept, it’s just overused like I’m sure a lot of folks have said. But still, I’m on your side!
August 29th, 2008 at 10:21 am
The redesign is great, styles are at once crisp and edgy and as I think that was your intent it’s a success. I do think the use of ‘rock star’ and the accompanying image are a bit incongruous with the rest of the site, however. Edgy is good but most everyone, especially in this community, is likely to cringe at the use of a buzzword phrase like ‘rock star’. For me, that’s a negative.
Still, your intent was to push boundaries and remain on the edge and you’ve succeeded. Whether or not you end up changing the image/buzzword use you’re at least listening to your audience. Fine work, guys.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:23 am
@John:
So you want baseball players, not rock stars, to be on your team only?
August 29th, 2008 at 10:26 am
@Muffintop: One final thought… “Be a JavaScript Rock Star” implies that you are not one already or that you are at least in some way deficient in JavaScript skills. I think that’s what really bugs me about the banner…it’s as if the framework is targeted at aspiring, unskilled developers.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:27 am
The overall design is pretty neat indeed, but the whole rockstar thing… Kind of gives the impression that jQuery is for all of them 14 year old coder kiddies.
The new logo on the other hand, is great!
August 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
We’re slipping into java-tux territory here.
Sorry, I’m not buying it. Definitely not professional, and a bit cliche and corny (I hate the term “rock star”, and personally don’t think i’d ever identify with the “rock star” tag).
Whatever though; you got me at a time where i’ve already selected jQuery many times because of its usefulness. The “rock star” thing makes it tougher for me to not be embarassed when I’m trying to recommend the tool to be used here in the enterprise.
j.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I am surprised by the complaints. One lad (John) said he did not want rock stars working for him. Good, they can work for me. I want people with fresh ideas and who push the boundaries of development.
Chris wants the web site to be professional. How is the site not professional?
Look at what jQuery provides for your IT organization not its packaging.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Here’s my 2 cents:
The juvenile-esque illustration coupled with the RockStar tagline instantly lower the (perceived) target audience to a demographic that would otherwise have nothing to do with jquery. In all honesty, at first glance the homepage looks like it’s selling a videogame for XBox, not a javascript library.
What’s more, the homepage banner is totally juxtaposed to the very impressive client/user list just below. Dell, NBC, CBS? These are huge brands who would/should entice similar brands to adopt jQuery. Seeing the site as it is now is essentially jeopardizing all the hard work you guys have done to get that client list in the first place.
Still love your product, and the rest of the site design is great. I’d just suggest making a business-decision on the banner as it’s potentially losing you future, corporate users.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
The new jQuery logo rocks. The page layout, color scheme and organization rocks. All rock harder than the “Rockstar” graphic, please remove it from the site. Any web application developer can tell you seeing a job description or resume or trade article mention the term Rockstar is instant turn off. Using the term “[insert language/system] Rockstar” is a joke in the software world and I think it strays from the core concept of jQuery: “No bullshit, find things, do stuff, that’s it.”
Anyway, it’s certainly not the end of the world, anyone who says “Waahh, I’m leaving ’cause I don’t like this,” can “go”, using a given JavaScript library shouldn’t be dependent on something as trivial as the design hosting site.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:38 am
The new design has a lot more personality than the old one, and I’m absolutely in love with the “Who’s using jQuery” bar. Nice job!
August 29th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Are you familiar with Kathy Sierra’s Creating Passionate Users blog (http://headrush.typepad.com/)?
The new web site says JQuery’s a rock star and you can join the fan club. The old web site says “You’re a rock star! Can I be your roadie? I’ll take care of the tedious boiler-plate code and implementation differences while you focus on being awesome.”
August 29th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I just talked to one of my colleagues today to convince him to take a look at JQuery. So I open a web browser and start explaining what JQuery is about, and then surprise, this new design pops up. By the look on his face I could tell that suddenly he wasn’t talking me seriously anymore.
This new site make JQuery look like a funky toy, while it should look like a professional tool.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:44 am
We should all be thanking our lucky stars that Resig and the jQuery team have worked so hard to give us a tool that kicks such ass. If they want a rockstar, so be it. It’s funny as hell and everyone should lighten up…
As for being professional… To who? The demographic is geeks. Us. Not our clients. Rarely our bosses. It is for us. So who cares? Make it fun for Pete’s sake and get over yourselves.
Thanks Resig and crew for all the awesome work that you have done and for making my life easier.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Nice and clean, but the “rockstar” baseline is a bit non professional.
We try to explain to our clients that JQuery is a profesionnal lib, here it looks like a game…
August 29th, 2008 at 10:47 am
I assumed 14 year old Goths had hacked the site. Get rid of that terrible, terrible banner. Utterly unprofessional (as well as being a pretty cruddy piece of illustration anyway). Sends the wrong message entirely.
As for the Rock Star schtick - lose that ASAP. What a load of bogus nonsense. Jquery is a fine tool. That’s all though. Nothing to do with rock stars or any other crap. If I were coming across it for the first time I would definitely be put off and I would have a hard time selling it to management too.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Definitively love the redesign, from colors which are my favorites, the layout itself, loving it almost entirely! As everybody else has said, the “Rockstar” thing is not so sticky. You can absolutely make another illustration, something way more related to “Write less, do more” IMO! but not rockstars please!
Besides that last part, congratulations jQuery Team. Great move!
August 29th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Thanks everyone. Please continue with the feedback. We’re listening.
Rey - jQuery Team
August 29th, 2008 at 10:55 am
The site looks fantastic, and the logo is great but the rockstar graphic and tagline smacks of a desperation to be “cool”. I doubt that’s what you were aiming for but unfortunately this is how it comes across, and I think it’s a big mistake.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:58 am
The slogan and illustration needs to go. Most of us are using jQuery on behalf of other parties, whether it be a client or just the company were working for. Not to mention the fact that it comes off as more then a bit patronizing. Resig is the “JavaScript Rockstar”, we’re just using a tool.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:58 am
The naysayers can go nay themselves. The redesign looks great! And the rock-star feel to it gives you personality.
If you want to change anything, you can have an alternative homepage for the boring people.
Please keep this design. Resist the “this look unprofessional comments”. They can go design their own sites they way they like, using what they like.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:17 am
@David
“Look at what jQuery provides for your IT organization not its packaging. ”
If you have to try to overlook the packaging, doesn’t that mean that the packaging is somehow deficient?
Personally, I think the effort that went into this should obviously be appreciated, but I have to say that the graphic, and the dark dark dark of everything, would make this a hard sell to my medium sized customers who don’t know one library from another.
For corporate interests, the corporate prospects need only look at the list of clients on the front page. I won’t argue that the incongruity between the presented image and the client list may lead some to investigate deeper before committing to jQuery, but the library is just getting better, and the reputation is as well.
In the end, for me, I don’t mind it so much, other than it is dark, and to me that makes it a bit gloomy, mostly because it is already integrated into Drupal (which is pretty much all I do now) and I don’t have to mention it to anyone.
But really people, it is a site FOR js developers, and aren’t most of us 80’s rockers anyhow? Oh crap, just dated myself again…
August 29th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I hope I wasn’t one of the too-negative comments. I actually LOVE the rest of the site design (except it’s a little hard to see the change in the mouseover menu of the lighter blue bar).
I still don’t like the big rockstar banner, and I think it would be better to just not have any banner at all except for the bar of big names below it.
One other small thing: It’s a little confusing that the popup menus appear over the “CSS3 Compliant, Cross-browser”. The pop-up itself looks fine, but it’s too big and they cover up parts of the other ‘bullet points’. I hope that made sense.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Hey cool a third of the main page (sorry, no 21′ screen with full screen browser here) is taken by a ridiculous picture of a guy who needs finger surgery ! Is this the web site of Rockband ? Guitar Hero ? No seriously, this is misleading. jQuery is about writing less to create great websites, not oversized jaws.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:19 am
The banner has to go. You can’t present jQuery at work without having to apologise for the site’s immature look.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:22 am
The new site look is quite nice, and works well with the image jQuery is trying to convey. Just lose the kitschy slogan and the twit with crushed fingers.
I actually like the background they’re on, though.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:24 am
i love jquery and the site redesign itself is fine, but i agree with the majority of the comments here. the graphic is gawdy and unprofessional–but not the end of the world. the real problem is that, in my opinion, it has nothing to do with jquery. i see this and i think comic books, flash movies, video games, etc. i don’t think, incredibly simple and powerful javascript library. take the “write less, do more” concept and create something that frames it in a visual context. you guys may not lose many developers who are already in love with jquery, but i’d be surprised if the front page didn’t cut down on future first-time users. also, if you were intent on going in this direction, i can’t understand why you didn’t use resig’s slightly less hackneyed term “javascript ninja” as the theme. “blub” rockstar is a joke at this point, a phrase whose presence is a red flag in job listings.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Not that I really mind the rockstar thing, but “write less, do more” is a better tagline, *and* it’s actually relevant.
Site looks good, btw.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Please, get rid of the rockstar. It’s embarrasing.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Hell, I love it *because* it is unprofessional. Get over yourselves, folks.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I like the overall site design, and I like the illustration. At first I too was a little turned off by the hyperbole of the whole “rockstar” thing, but I think it might get the attention of people on the “design” end of the spectrum, as most programmer/techie types already know about jQuery.
I will say, however, that I miss the Devo hat. I realize that its still in the logo (in a somewhat subdued form), but it would be nice if you could’ve worked that in there somehow.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Unprofessional? Gah! I would hate to see what some of you would call professional.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Being a ‘rock star’ never stopped me from being a team player, too. If it had, I’d have been fired long ago.
I like the banner.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Overall I don’t mind the new site design.
However, although there’s nothing particularly wrong with the illustration when taken out of context, I don’t think it’s the best marketing message for the jQuery project.
The jQuery site has a diverse range of people to target, not just the ‘Rockstar’ developer / designer.
Promoting jQuery as a serious, stable and mature development framework to the people who aren’t the ones who are already sold on using it, is not well represented with this element in the design solution.
If jQuery was a personal toolset for individuals, then this banner image would present the message appropriately. However, it doesn’t translate jQuery well to other project decision makers - Producers, Operations Management, Back-end developers etc. who do have input in evaluating frameworks or assessing switching frameworks for larger projects.
At the end of the day, that banner section can be swapped out for alternatives so there isn’t really any major issue here - but it does make for an interesting discussion
August 29th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Have to agree with the consensus…
I use the site from work, and try to get my colleagues hooked on jQuery.
I winced when I saw the rockstar banner today.
You are going to get semi-technical team leaders namechecking the site out of curiosity, and it would be a step back to let them think they’re looking at some sort of Wii videogame.
Great work on the logo - it looks much better.
And I’d emphasize the “who’s using…” list too.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:49 am
“So, it should come as no surprise by the drastic change in the jQuery website. So far, the single biggest complaint has been associated with the new banner (ie: rockstar caricature & slogan).”
That’s because it’s hideous.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Kudos on the design and the site, overall it’s fantastic.
While JQuery was undoubtedly one of the projects the pioneered terms like “rockstar” to describe web developers the tools, the theme has become tired and overused to the point where middle management might well use it along side of “Web 2.0″. In using the “rockstar” theme I don’t think you are pushing any boundaries, in fact it makes you look more like a follower to the tens of “Rails Rock Star” or “CSS Ninja” job postings on the 37 signals job board (the place I see that theme the most, but maybe just because I’ve been looking for a new job lately).
That’s my $0.02 anyway. The banner certainly isn’t going to kill anyone or diminish the value of JQuery.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:56 am
The 3 links to the left of the download button (that fade in an overlay when you move over them) _need_ hover intent plugin
Oh, and ditch the rock star - it makes the site look tacky.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:57 am
I’m gonna tow the majority line here. I love the design, but the graphic and slogan *screams* unprofessional. jQuery is an excellent tool, and it’s quickly becoming the first choice for new projects in our shop. You have a client list that includes some of the top brands on the internet, but the page looks like an ad for Guitar Hero. Yes, someone else made this exact point already, but it bears repeating. That graphic doesn’t fit. “Write less, do more” works not just for javascript libraries, but for design as well.
And to the artist who created it, I actually think that it’s a very good piece of art, and I take nothing away from the work that went into it. Kudos! I just don’t think it belongs at the top of the jQuery site.
- Stealth Dave
August 29th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I am overall okay with the new design. However, the rock star illustration bothers me a lot. It’d be slightly hard now to convince my boss or my clients that they should use jQuery.
It’s just the rock star dude. Please get rid of it.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I’m amazed by the negative feedback on the Rock star theme. Why are you all people so rigid?
“You have a client list that includes some of the top brands on the internet, but the page looks like an ad for Guitar Hero..”
Hey! Isn’t this exactly the point? That jQuery’s client list includes some of the top brands on the internet and still can have some funny and relaxing design on its homepage?
I love it, keep it as it is. jQuery makes writing javascript a fun, I think it deserves the homepage which stresses this fact.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
I love to be a rockstar!… good design folks… i’m tired of the f*** corporate Micsosoft-like branding design of the programming tools, languages and libraries just to look “professional”
August 29th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
On the other hand, why we have to convince our bosses or clients to “use” jquery??? we use it, period. Nobody has to do or say about how we develop solutions. They just have to enjoy the solution.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I have to +1 on the banner-has-to-go.
The site design is great but the graffiti-banner/rockstar-tagline looks out of place on this site and cheapens the look of the jQuery site and project.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
@Ryan Bigg
If those are the only two options, then yeah.
FWIW, I like soccer better though. Those dudes run forever.
@David
IMHO, there’s only about 2-3 rock stars that push boundaries (besides human tolerances for stimulants) or offer a fresh approach every decade.
All that said, congrats on the new site - loving it all in all.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
What I think is funny is that all these people are saying “Im going back to [other javascript library]”
What the hell does the imagery on the website have to do with how good the product is?
Do you all use superglue because it smells good? No, you dont.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
(Disclaimer: technically and artistically, I think the design is great)
That said, design is a means to an end, and should reflect the subject. In this regard, the new look is an utter failure.
I don’t need a rockstar, I need a professional JS library. The message is all wrong. Both the illustration and the message have nothing to do with the subject.
And most important of all, as others have already said: I sometimes need to refer clients or employees of my clients or subcontractors in a professional environment to jquery.com. I just recently had a client that required me ot have their grumpy IT department to approve of the tools used for a project.
Sorry, this is ridiculous.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
@Marcos
quote: “On the other hand, why we have to convince our bosses or clients to “use” jquery??? we use it, period. Nobody has to do or say about how we develop solutions. They just have to enjoy the solution.”
Have you ever worked for a corporate client?
August 29th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
The new design is fantastic but I have to agree that the cartoon rockstar banner is way off the mark.
I’d especially like to comment on the new logo though. The typography is fantastic and does more than anything else to make jQuery look like a serious professional tool. I am thoroughly confused about the icon though. What is the thinking behind that and how is it supposed to add to the logo?
The icon really looks like some stock company logo icon that was smacked on there as an afterthought. Surely there is a better way to encapsulate the great functionality of jQuery in an icon that can enhance the logo and not detract from it in the way that the current one does.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
What’s with all the negative reaction to the banner.
The colors bother me a bit, preferring dark on light with less saturation.
The illustration is somewhat dated, 1995 Comic Book Semi Hentai Convention old school.
But all the links work. Response is good. Effects seem to do what was intended. The site is a good demo of the power of JQuery.
Maybe the theme says: “Look, we are not the graphics pros, but whatever tricks you throw up there will probably not crash and burn”
And that’s an honest statement about an honest product.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
[…] Personally, I say it looks good. Not great, but good. Some jQuery users however don’t like the redesign. Get the scoop on jQuery’s blog. […]
August 29th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
i am actually not concerned with if the site looks professional or not, i think jquery is a wonderful framework and we can convince anyone to use it after 1 example. The problem for me is that the illustration is tacky and the “be a rockstar” thingy is a huuuuuuge cliche. Also I have to scroll down to get to some important information, i feel like I have a dead area where the illustration is. The rest of the redesign looks very nice, congrats. But the banner has to go.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
And just to drive a point home. Nethier John Resig or the jQuery team have said this is a ‘professional js framework’. The only people even calling it a professional js framework are the people complaining.
and lol @ whoever said they were going back to prototype.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Everything looks great! Except (…of course) the cheesy-ass tag line and the goofy-ass illustration. “Be a Rockstar” sounds like a hook for some karaoke machine targeted at pre-teens. The Type used for Rockstar isn’t too hot either.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I don’t think anyone has mentioned this aspect of the redesign yet, but I think you should ditch the rockstar graphic.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I love jQuery. Really, I do. I think that it is the bee’s knees. But if the site had looked like this when I loaded it up for the first time, I would never have started using it. Everything else is nice (except the code-block text is a little unreadable)… just please, please, *please* kill that banner.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Personally I don’t really care for the rock star thing either - everything else is great design wise - but I do have a small practical request - the “current version” in dark red on black is really small and hard to read - My request would be to make that a bit easier to find and see bigger/brighter/different place - any of the above - I generally check the page to see if there is a new version so that little gem of info is pretty important.
PS: LOVE jQuery and all the work going into it.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Turf the banner and the ‘rock star’ tag line. You know it’s gotta go. Everything else about the redesign is great.
And adding an MVC plugin would be nice, by the by.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I like it. Clean, easy to navigate, with a nice touch of humor and style.
For the folks whining about the professionalism of the banner: a professional is someone who gets paid for their work. A “professional library” or website then (if such a thing could be said to exist), would be one that helps you get your work done so you can get paid for it. This does not preclude having a bit of fun.
I’ve spent all too much time on “professional” sites that think generic clip art and empty boilerplate is appropriate, even necessary, to be taken seriously - they have a nasty tendency to hide any and all useful information deep within a sub-site because it doesn’t fit with their self-imposed necktie style.
jQuery got to where it is by being a tool that promotes productivity, and by appealing honestly to developers who are tired of being told that verbose, convoluted frameworks are the only means to this end. A rockstar, like jQuery, cuts to the chase and plays the damn music - the web site can, should, and *does* reflect that.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
> “Again, we wanted to push the boundaries and come up with something that would generate a lot of buzz.”
See, but this ISN’T pushing boundaries. It’s a complete cliche, and (with apologies to the illustrator) not even a well-executed one, at that. I can understand wanting to inject a little personality into your site, but at the expense of all your professionalism?
A huge part of your target audience are not only developers, but designers as well, and this is exactly the kind of misguided marketing fluff that we can see right through. This looks and feels like the equivalent of a 40-year-old dad who has blue hair and loves “extreme sports.”
Yes, taste is largely subjective, but even if half the people like this design and think it’s “totally rad” or whatever, the other 50% is just going to find it immature, corny, and tasteless, and they’re going to pass your product by. You’re not trying to sell a lifestyle brand like, say, Sony or Apple. You’re trying to attract people who are going to be working on projects of all stripes.
I don’t mean to sound overly harsh — it’s just that I love your product and want to provide some forcefully constructive criticism of what is a huge blunder in direction.
A few other quick notes:
- The bottom of “ROCK STAR” is getting cropped off. (I hope you consider removing this completely, though.)
- The top of the diagonal stripes in the “Learn jQuery now!” box are getting cropped off.
- The right side of the Dell logo is getting cropped off.
- Slightly-off background colors are visible behind all the company logos.
- All the blue needs to either be tweaked to be shades of a consistent hue, or reconsidered entirely.
- There are so many things wrong with the “Download jQuery” button (the gloss, the outlines, the vertical off-centeredness) that I don’t even know where to start.
- Trebuchet MS. Kill it. I know web font options are limited, but that font is the bane of many a designer’s existence.
- The new logo’s wordmark is a little Star Trek-ish (and not in a good way), but it’s passable. Those concentric circle signal line things are terrible though. No connection to the product, and again, not even well-executed.
There are so many talented design firms using your product that would jump at the chance to help you out with your website design. Please use them.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I’m with everyone else. It’s just too cool. Anyone saying “don’t judge the packaging” obviously misses the point of this post, where we are asked to judge the packaging.
Calm it down. Keep it slick, keep it professional, don’t try to look like your selling a movie or action figure.
Also, the main example on the homepage I’ve always had issue with. It only works once, without a refresh (necessary to keep the code simple maybe) and the .show() effect is the least impressive, giving other framework supporters an immediate thing to sneer at. Why not just fade it in, or slide, or something other than that jumpy glitchy effect?
Better, though
August 29th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
So essentially your argument is that this design is non-conformist, pushing boundaries, and potentially trend setting? Well, if those are the kind of rationalizations your designers need to make to sleep at night, so be it…
But seriously, there is one, and ONLY one, problem with your design: the freaking ridiculous rock star picture. It severely detracts from the rest of the site. jQuery is an awesome bit of software, so this redesign isn’t going to cause anyone to stop using it, but it is just so out of place in what would have been an otherwise fantastic design. He just has no place being there–or really anywhere for that matter. I move that he be forcibly removed and stricken from the record.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I like the design, but the home page looks like it was made by a wannbe youth program at a local arts center.
It’s ugly, not a good example of the style, unprofessional, and frankly completely pointless.
The partners needs to more obvious too.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Yes, puleaase remove the rockstar. I just *totally* don’t, like, connect with that, you know?
Please remove the rockstar. Not even my teenage nephew thinks that’s cool anymore.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
In fact, I dislike the logo too. In the 80s that may have worked.
But remove the rockstar, easy fix, sure the designer will have hurt feelings, but so be it.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I agree the majority here. I love the new jQuery logo, but can’t stand the banner.
Like others have said here, I’m not inclined to direct “professional” “work place” people to the site with that banner.
Like Antony said, calm it down. I like all of the new look, just not the banner.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I agree with an earlier assessment in that if I were unfamiliar with the library and were to run across this site I would dismiss it out of hand.
jQuery is all about quick, simplicity, ease-of-use, and minimalist code. This design does not convey that message.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Are you kidding me? Please bring back the old site. It was much nicer.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I don’t really give a shit what the site looks like. I think overall it’s clean and usable, though I don’t really care for the rock star picture. But what is really important is improving the API docs. Whenever I come to the site, I’m 99.9% looking through the API and for about the past 3 weeks, there have been times where it’s painfully slow to times where it doesn’t even load.
The docs are the most important thing on the site (to me), and should be where the most energy and design is focused. I don’t care for prototype, but I find their docs to be much easier to read and use. I think it’s a waste of time and energy to worry about the illustration on the home page when those resources could be used to improve the API docs.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Professional. What is the obsession with this, looking professional. jQuery doesn’t need to ‘look’ professional. It is professional, it is a serious tool being used by many of the most prominent developers, by well-known companies, in their central projects.
Although I agree with the criticism of the Rock Star message, Unfortunately it is an overused cliche, I don’t mind the in-your-face concept. I actually think it is a great way of conveying this idea of jQuery being different, pushing the boundaries.
The people who get turned away for the ‘unprofessional’ look are going to find another reason to turn away anyway. They do not understand the difference between the frameworks, what makes jQuery unique. I’m going to go on a limb here and say that they are probably crappy coders anyway. Go ahead and use extjs, or prototype. It will make absolutely no difference, they won’t have any loyalty to those projects either, and will not understand their advantages or disadvantages. They are looking for the latest buzz.
The redesign looks great. It is slick, clear and new. jQuery’s presentation card is not its website anyway. It is the conferences that John attends, and his presentations. It is the great work done by the developers, and the core community that understands jQuery’s philosophy and therefore loves it.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
@Alejandro Giacometti: “They do not understand the difference between the frameworks, what makes jQuery unique. I’m going to go on a limb here and say that they are probably crappy coders anyway.”
They aren’t coders at aal, they are IT department bosses and compilance department people. Unfortunately, those matter, as much as I may hate them.
And for the record, I will of course keep using jquery
August 29th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Hard to see the current version. Red on black ouch.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I like the redesign except the header. But really, who cares about the header? Its a bit silly, but if jQuery loses users due to it, they were here for the wrong reasons anyway.
Pick a library for technical reasons, not their choice of graphic design styles.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
I was out of bed early this morning to seek out some plugins for an upcoming project. Seeing the de-design (not sic) I thought I was still between the sheets having a bad dream.
Fortunately, being a mature adult, I had the sense to wait rather than submit a knee-jerk “Yuck!” diatribe.
Now I’ve had time to digest the new look I’m ready to give it a considered appraisal:
Double Yuck!!
The design (especially the grotesquely adolescent home page illustration) embodies the antithesis of my perception of what jQuery is about, which is a well thought out, innovative, standards friendly, ungimmicky, solid javascript library. Why on earth do you feel the need to wrap it up in cheesy generic pseudo-cool mid-noughties imagery? Is it part of a considered promotional drive targeting jQuery as a product to a certain demographic, or does whoever call the shots just like this kind of stuff?
The previous design was great. Clear, open, fresh, functional and discreetly tasteful.
Slabs of #FAFAFA on #000000 are really hard on the eye - on mine at least (and my sight is pretty good). The sensation I get is of the dark areas pressing in, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere.
Wondering if I was perhaps overreacting, I asked a friend to check out the site. Without any prompting. Her response was to ask if a certain clueless wannabee Frontpage user we know had something to do with it.
The only constructive comment I have to offer is: either return to the previous design or provide us with an switching option.
Otherwise, I can see myself wasting precious time on a user stylesheet. Perhaps you could make the old CSS available for download?
Ho hum…
August 29th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
You’ve turned a nice site into a site that’s absolutely mortifying.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Why the focus on being professional? If you’re trying to convince your boss or manager that you should use jQuery, they’ll want to see some sort of professionalism. Philip Morton said it the best: “You can’t present jQuery at work without having to apologise for the site’s immature look.” Works fine if you’re doing your own project or if you’re a one-person shop, but would you really want to present the home page to someone at Bank of America or NBC during a discussion of how professional-quality jQuery really is?
Overall, though, great stuff. The new logo proves you can be edgy while still being professional, and the site seems a lot more solid overall. One nitpick - the white content areas seem a bit harsh against the dark backgrounds; maybe there’d be some room for a small drop shadow or something else to set them apart?
August 29th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Nice job on the site man.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I agree with John on this one… The site design is great. It has good layout, good colours and its edgy. I would really lose the illustration and the tagline.
i could sit here and think up of points of why not to use it but the reality of it is that it does not look very good.. infact its quite badly drawn. the the “rockstar” tagline is just bad.
all this is design issue. the rest of the site, functionality and of course Jquery are quite well done.
keep up the good work.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I don’t care about the message “be a javacscript rockstar” is a fine motto. There’s no need to be professional. Jquery can/should appear younger, more fun, less complicated. Whatever.
It’s just a complete shit illustration though, looks torn from the book of a first year art student. The type treatment is clichéd on the motto … it’s just … really poorly designed.
The rest of the site is fine … nothing innovative. No great use of Jquery. Fairly standard and unoffensive.
One illustration on the home page does not a creative concept make.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
the rockstar looks like he is missing a finger on his left hand.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
In fact, here. I fixed it.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Comments seriously need an edit feature …
again
August 29th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I love it! I think it’s hilarious. I really wan to put, “Being a Javascrpt Rock Star with jQuery!” in the footer of all the sites I use jQuery with.
Along with the banner I really like the whole site’s redesign. Only thing that’s really hit me so far is on the front page, the “Learn jQuery Now” box and the sections below that with the blue-backed headers don’t really feel like they fit that well into the design. But it doesn’t look bad, just not quite right. But I’m a perfectionist… so yeah.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Seriously? For chrissakes, I have to scroll down nearly half the screen before I see any useful info on what JQuery is/does. The Rockstar banner is a stupid waste of space, and a terrible cliche. The old front page was more usable AND informative.
If you say you are a rockstar, you aren’t.
Lay off the PCP.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I also LOVE the look of the site… but the ‘punk’ developer tone doesn’t work IMO. What an amazing way to neutralize the first impression of the new site in a way that will leave a bad taste in the mouths of so many. Of course if this is about making personal statements and not promoting jQuery then the technology might be a great platform to promote someone’s social thinking! lol
August 29th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
In the end it does not matter if something looks professional or not. Most open source stuff does not look professional and is still great. Most corporate stuff looks professional but is crap.
However terms “Rock Star” and “Ninja” are so 2007 already. They stopped being cool when you saw same term being used by corporate recruiters.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Wow, I saw the new site and thought “Cool they made a web site just for me…”. It’s playfull, it’s fun and totally works on the “Guitar Hero” concept.
As for those calling the banner and tag line unprofessional and that are worried that your clients will not appreciate it. Think about it, JQuery is free, rocks like a hurricane and turns normal coders into Javascript Rock God. I’d rather be a rock star than a professional anything…any day…
August 29th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Hi, I’m not in love with the, “Be a rockstar” tagline or graphic. Artisticly speaking, it’s very good and I wish I could do that type of illustration. I would say it’d be good to rotate that out periodically with other concepts. I saw a ninja proposed, that would be good, guru might be nice as well. Keep it changing because it will quickly wear out. It may be nice to weave in a few more boring “business” type slogans and graphics too.
I personally use jQuery because it helps me get my work done faster. I’m never going to make it to the front page of the newspaper because of that (i.e be a rockstar) and few people associate “being more productive” with “being a rockstar.” Therefore that could be one to switch in occasionally that is a bit more “business.” You could have an image of a sprinter hitting the finish tape.
Other practical features a JS library provides are reliability and the ability to use plugins written by others.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I miss the clean effectiveness of the old site.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
It’s for Rock Stars? BUMMER… I was looking for Bluegrass!!!
August 29th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I’ll quote Jack on the illustration:
“It’s just a complete shit illustration though, looks torn from the book of a first year art student. The type treatment is clichéd on the motto … it’s just … really poorly designed.”
As i see it, the problem isn’t that the home page doesn’t look professional. The problem is it looks awfully amateurish, from an aesthetic point of view.
The illustration is completely out of place, this is definitely not a comics website. And this not to say that comics are bad, just to say that comics style is fit for comics websites. I’d never design a hospital website with the style of a portfolio website. In design, graphics and illustration are not good or bad by themselves; they are good or bad in a context, and relating to a function; this is a principle of design.
This design has absolutely nothing to do with the function of the website. It’s just build around the overstretched (and overrated) metaphor of the rockstar.
Compare this useless rockstar metaphor with, say, the css Zen Garden concept. They have chosen a deep metaphor, and built a portal around it. The problem is you already had “content”, jQuery itself; a designer cannot be free as someone shaping a concept AND content.
What would you think of an hospital with you illustration and the motto “Our doctor rock”?
Apart from the homepage, the website is fine, athough the blue gamma is a bit too dark fpr my linking, but that’s personal taste.
Davide
August 29th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Don’t listen to these haters, the new design is awesome.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
The rockstar thing doesn’t turn me off, but it doesn’t do anything for me either. If anything, I’d say the image is a little distracting.
jQuery is a fantastic tool that sells itself in the developer community. You don’t need to turn up the cool.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I’m sorry, but its just bad
really, really bad.
The rest of the site looks fine, but that banner. Oh man, it would be like if John McCain using Red Bull as his sponsor in order to look edgy and energetic.
jQuery is a great tool. Let it speak for itself, put a funky animated banner smiler to the one that WooThemes.com use on their site.
Anything but that image, its turning my stomach.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
This design is bad ass. I suppose if you only use jquery to do mundane tasks you feel cast out, but being a javascript rockstar myself this is totally representing how I feel when I’m kicking code ass. Keep up the good work!
August 29th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Why are you not showcasing any of the effects, features of jquery itself?
August 29th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Quick fix to get rid of the rock star:
javascript:$(”div#jq-header”).css({backgroundImage:”none”})
August 29th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Interesting bunch of comments. I personally dig the new design. I think it’s fun and I like a little rebellious attitude. This whole stiff necked industry could use a kick in the pants once in a while.
As for it not looking “professional”, JQuery is a library for goodness sakes! Anyone refusing to use a great tool because they don’t like it’s mascot better reconsider their line of work. If we all thought like that, Linux would have never gotten off the ground.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
The rock star header made me laugh out loud (in spite) and then do a 180 and wish I’d never used jQuery. It makes me ashamed to be associated with something so bland and cliché. It’s not edgy, it’s everything that’s wrong with advertising and hyped up nonsense. jQuery is bold enough not to ever have to claim to be something it isn’t.
Ditch it! The rest of the design is ok.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I you “wanted to push the boundaries”, the “rock star” cliche was not the way to do it. There’s nothing wrong with a non-corporate vibe, but some artfulness would be nice.
Other than the banner graphic, however, the site looks fine.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I have no problem with the design. Very nice. But I am long promoted jquery and OSS in the large organization in which I work and I am afraid that, in the minds of the less informed, it will tickle out some unfavorable stereotypes (punk, hacker, script-kiddie) rather than portraying the true smarts and innovativeness of the jquery team. Maybe making the list of corp. users (Google, Dell, etc.) more prominent may help. But I like it! (And suffice it to say, I’m not a kid.) Complements to the artist!
August 29th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Hello Everybody
Just wanted to share my new experience.
If your Windows XP fails to start due to an error related to lost HAL.DLL, invalid Boot.ini or any other critical system boot files you can fix this by using the XP installation CD. Simply boot from your XP Setup CD and enter the Recovery Console. Then launch “attrib -H -R -S” on the C:\Boot.ini file and delete it. Run “Bootcfg /Rebuild” and then Fixboot
Regards,
Carl
August 29th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
[…] jQuery relaunched their website. See site here. […]
August 29th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
First thought.. hmmm, must be the wrong site… did I type it wrong?
Second thought… ok, maybe they were hacked.
Third… sigh.. what were they thinking??
August 29th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
The graphic is god awful.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
@felixc: I agree. I like the background the “rock star” is on, but not the rock star concept. That said, the banner does take up a bit much real estate.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Usually i don’t comment, but this is an unusual case(and feedback is encouraged, yay!).
When i got hooked to jQuery - there was a simple calm website, with docs showing code, nice mild colors - i really liked it and was using ever since.
New banner and logo - i can’t help but think that this is some sort or irony. Like, duh! “rockstar”? They can’t be serious!
If this is for real, then there are two unfortunate consequences:
1) For the newcomers it’s a turnoff, since “flashy” usually means “unprofessional”. think mtv or myspace.
2) For friends recommendations/enterprise it’s a turnoff, ’cause management won’t buy “flashy” stuff, for the same reasons.
3) Front page usability went down. it’s just a graphical noise. it’s non-functional. i have to scroll down to see actual important information. like, the one i need when i’m visiting your site.
now i have no idea how would i reply to a friends, when they ask “what, that jquery ROCKING DUDE is a really nice library? no way!”
i mean - you’re effectively reducing you target audience.
i’d prefer other banner and slogan, presenting you more like serious guys. ofc, no “generic smiling people at generic computers nonsense”. maybe some humor, maybe some irony. but definitely not “mtv” style.
otherwise - way to go! thanks for a great library!
August 29th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
jQuery rules!
But the banner is very kitch. Please consider removing it.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Please fire whoever stuck the stoopid (sic) graphic on the main page.
Even if it’s yourself.
Please.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
As so many others have said, the new look of the site is fine, the new logo is embarrassing. I thought this was a prank or that I was linked to a fake site. Please get rid of the logo.
I use jQuery, I really like jQuery, but this is ridiculous.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I use jquery under protest, preferring YUI. Thanks for an extra bit, albeit a small and trollish amount, of fodder for my argument in favor of YUI.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I might even come to like the rocker image, if it wasn’t for the slogan. It’s just too cheesy and patronizing.
Apart from that, great work!
August 29th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Yeah, I’m sorry, John.
This new branding is horrible. You should stick to the Ruby-trendy-red and drop the illustrations. This is jQuery, not j*Q*u*e*r*y.
Since the code to jQuery is open, why not let the community submit ideas and designs? I would love to see jQuery styled in a classier, more refined pallet.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
One of my major (albeit few) complaints about jQuery was always its site design.
As of today, one of my major complaints is still the site design.
I liked the light color scheme and the blue-green gradients, because even if they weren’t pretty, they still felt friendly. Dark colors are cold, the Rock Star banner is dissuading, and the rollover effects (and blatant checkbox/radio button confusion on the download) are flaky at best.
While a site design was long in coming, I think it needs a lot more polish before it’s considered official.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Nice work on the revised site. Overall a very pleasing layout. Just a couple of comments:
- While I like the “in your face” message with the rockstar bit, it does seem more suited to script kiddies than serious (aka professional) developers. Nice artwork, and fits with the site redesign. But perhaps focusing on the wrong demographics?
- front page - download section. This area is not easily identifiable as being “important”. It blends in to the background noise of the rest of the page. Perhaps something simple like lightening the background color of this area?
- download section again. Production version is indicated as being 14 kb, compressed code. Selecting that option and hitting download, you end up at the google download page for the minified version at 54 kb. Is this just a mis-link? Should this be pointing to the packed version instead? Do we even need the file size on the front page? Personally, I have never used the minified version - only the packed, or developer versions.
Minor issues, and the type typically seen with a large scale revision such as this. So, overall great work! Keep it coming..
August 29th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Sorry, but that banner is fairly awful. I don’t mind the theme so much as the cliche tagline and poor illustration.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
This type of design is not appealing at all to your target market, which is web developers. We don’t want to be rock stars and you don’t need to do something so flashy to let us know your product kicks ass. Maybe if this was something you were trying to market towards the average digg user, maybe it would work well. But this is not your target market.
You might as well throw up a pair of titties on the homepage.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
The site looks so terrible now with that graphic on top there is no way I can tell a client I use this toolkit and have them trust it as a serious piece of software. There’s a reason some little kid doesn’t draw the packaging boxes of software.
A commented above me seems to have the right idea with his mockup without the terrible rockstar thing you guys put on here.
Also I hate, absolutely hate, the idea that you are bringing all of us UX/Front-End/Web developers down to this script kiddie level by trying to bring us into this rock star meme. No one wants a drunk, egotistical, selfish, childish, unreliable, arrogant, rockstar type person on their team as a developer.
Rockstar != Really talented, dedicated, and motivated professionally skilled developer
August 29th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I like it and think its great — everyone who says it’s nonprofessional is being ridiculous. I’ve worked in various organizations and would not have a problem using this tool because of the website.
keep on r0ckin!
August 29th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Sometimes you hit and sometimes you miss.
It’s clear we’ve missed on our message for a majority of users, so we’ll adapt things shortly.
Hang tight
August 29th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I’ll keep my comment short. I don’t like it. It was a good logo before, which quickly and easily identified jQuery. Why the change?
August 29th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Usability first. The download form has two usability problems. First, the “labels” next to the graphic checkboxes don’t work. The labels next to checkboxes should always affect their associated textbox.
More importantly, the download box is purposefully doing something wrong in order to look cool. There should be no text boxes, and the two kinds of download should “labels” should be direct links. Who expects, or wants, to interact with a form to do the most fundamental web operation, access a link?
I didn’t even realize what it was for a while.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
The whole “rock star” thing is so played and tired.
If you hear it (”rock star”) from a prospective client or employer you need to bolt out of your chair and flee the building like it was on fire.
If you see it on a resume or some idiot poseur (look it up) uses it when referring to themselves I suggest you punt them out to the parking lot (pointing and laughing at them is optional).
Can we have a “grownups.jquery.com” url that we can use in our build documentation? Please?
August 29th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Oh. It’s even worse. When you do realize it’s a form, and use it properly, you STILL don’t get your download, you have to look at a wholly new site (code.google) and click another link. Now, I could understand it if the layer of indirection was to an explanatory page (like “Download” at the top of the jquery home page). But here, it’s just a pointless, jarring indirection. Get me right into the jquery philosophy, please - get me to work immediately.
(PS, sorry for the typos - I said “textbox” a couple times in my previous comment, should have been “checkbox”)
August 29th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Oh dear. I love jQuery dearly and love being part of the community, but this isn’t the image I was expecting or hoped for at all.
jQuery is a superb JavaScript library that enables professional developers achieve great bits of code quickly, not hack spaghetti-code scripts as the imagery suggests.
Please jQuery; keep your position at the top of the pile because if I navigated to that comic style homepage on my first visit to this site I’d have gone elsewhere in seconds as I would have dismissed it as a wannabe webmaster’s gimmick. You’ve got a great opportunity here; please grab it.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
It’s amazing what a strong reaction the new design has received…at least you know that you have passionate group of users!
My reaction wasn’t quite as strong, and while I can appreciate the design and effort…I agree that it does not send the right “message”.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
jQuery is why I program Javascript. A bit like why I eat dinner - for desert.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Why everyone trying to be so serious? Come on guys, it’s just a framework, and life is not so serious. Whether you are a rock star, or a regular Javascript coder, don’t take everything that serious.
The design, the banner, the whole concept, everything is great. Programmers are not that serious, and I love jQuery..
August 29th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I really like it. One point thought, on the homepage the check boxes for downloading should really be radio buttons, right, right?
August 29th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
It’s not just the cartoon. It’s the colour scheme as well. It’s extremely difficult to come up with a decent design for a non-entertainment website that is based around black. Usually it ends up looking like a side project from an inexperience teenager who has done one too many websites for his gamer clan.
The cartoon, really, is just the final nail in the coffin. A large, rusty, six inch long nail, but still just the final nail. Trying to excise the cartoon and leave the rest of the design won’t fix this. It takes talent, inspiration and a lot of effort to make a colour scheme like this work for a factual website. Apparently these things aren’t available right now, so you cannot salvage this design.
I love jQuery, and honestly, I hate to sound so harsh, but I can’t help but say: I am kinda embarrassed for you. It’s a kid’s design. I just don’t see how you can salvage it. Please don’t put the designer’s feelings above actual utility; this isn’t one of those situations where people hate it just because it’s new. People aren’t going to come around given time. An immediate rollback is the best course of action I can think of, and it would certainly show the jQuery community that you listen.
I’m not subscribed to the mailing list, but I keep tabs on the weblog, and wasn’t even aware this redesign was coming. Perhaps the lesson to be learnt here is to do the redesign out in the open instead of springing it on people as a fait accompli.
August 29th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Geeks are typically not good marketers and especially suck at branding. The site redesign and slogan is a shining example of what I mean.
The rock star thang is all wrong. You can’t chase cool. It doesn’t work that way. In fact, chasing “uncool” will get you to cool a lot faster.
A note for the artist: you did good. I come from a family of comic book artists and I think your stuff shows lots of promise. Keep it up!
Anyway, any coders who need a hand with branding? Shoot me an email. I specialize in branding (and I suck at coding).
Peace out
August 29th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Helicopters.
Jquery has helicopters.
August 29th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
The new style looks great, but the banner turns me off. I agree with some of the other comments — if I wasn’t already a jQuery fan I wouldn’t go beyond the front page. Not that I want it to be boring, but it doesn’t seem to target the right audience.
August 29th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I love the new design EXCEPT for the slogan and banner. I don’t think it matches what the site stands for at all. It looks like some script kiddie’s fourm banner. Please lose the slogan and banner and keep the color scheme.
August 29th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Love the new site, kind of sad that people are so insecure about their tech choices that a ‘rock star’ has such an effect.
August 29th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I’m not a huge fan of the graphic, but I love the rest of the site, and I applaud the effort to try something different.
An easy way never to fail is to never try. Perhaps a style switcher so that people can choose the persona that they feel is most appropriate for their audience.
I’d be nice if people chilled out a little and took a deep breath before letting one negative outweigh all the positives of the new design.
Good work.
August 29th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
-I’m- -starting- to see a trend here in the comments. Unfortunately, indeed my own gut reaction was ‘Ewwwe’. But let’s be constructive here, as we wouldn’t care if we didn’t care about jQuery.
Here’s my one observation for whatever it is worth:
It’s *not* about edgy vs professional (sleepy).
Let’s use an example. I find that the following site (arguably edgy) _works_ because its over-the-top concept and execution is clearly ironic:
http://www.derekallard.com
(no personal/professional relation)
The irony balances the audaciousness - a recipe that, I suspect, many web dev / jQmmunity members would find satisfying.
jQrew: I trust you’re listening (if there’s high levels of truthiness in twitter tweets, then you are) - thank you for an excellent project/tool with or without any particular branding.
August 29th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I’ve adblocked the rockstar and kept the city skyline and it looks fabulous.
I’d highly recommend.
August 29th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I do not like it!
To Rockstar thing is awful and the link highlighting isn’t great either. The howering on the homepage is bad aswell. It’s not even working right on Opera 9.52 and it looks stupid (at least in my opinion).
I like your UI design, but please go back to the old design for the normal page!
August 29th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I love everything except the tagline, bleh!
August 29th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
updated.
August 29th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Wow. The rockstar thing got removed in a jiffy. The devs really do listen, unlike in so many other projects out there. Just for that, this project really does define itself as a community and one worth supporting.
As a developer, I thought the rockstar was a step back as the entire rockstar phrase has been overused. But, the “Who’s using jQuery” is absolutely brilliant and will definitely attract more users, developers and the management that needs convincing.
August 29th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
*sigh* Boring they wanted and boring they got.
August 29th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I think it’s noticeably more appealing now.
August 29th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Awesome work! I have to agree I’m very happy to see the rockstar image (a very excellent and well made image, but just not appropriate for this site) gone. The rest … fantastic! Thanks!
August 29th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Thanks guys. Looks great. I don’t have to worry about my clients thinking I’m trying to be a rockstar now.
August 29th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Have to agree, image was cool but the site is easier to deal with now that it’s gone. jQuery rocks!
August 29th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Thanks for your feedback, everyone!
More details here:
http://jquery.com/blog/2008/08/29/death-to-javascript-rock-stars/
August 29th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
[…] The new jQuery site design with the rock star slogan caused uproar and now its gone. If you missed the fuss, Ajaxian has a screengrab. I don’t get the fuss! I don’t get why the rock star banner was removed! My only comment is that I am not a Rock Star Javascript programmer, yeah really, I am a Popstar programmer. …and Popstars when controversial don’t compromise their art. The designer should just have quoted Pink: […]
August 30th, 2008 at 8:16 am
[…] Sorry, I couldn’t resist the title. Perhaps short of true pandemonium, the new jQuery.com redesign has caused quite a stir. It sounds like they are going to make some changes, so I’m adding a screenshot for historical reference: […]
August 30th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
[…] Another example is jQuery’s redesign post & user feedback. […]
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:45 am
[…] jQuery got a new website. At first there was a cartoony guitar-hero like illustration and a slogan “Be a JavaScript Rockstar”, but the community freaked out and the illustration and slogan are gone. I think the new design is pretty slick, but I do echo some of the lingering complaints (like lack of current navigation highlighting). […]
September 5th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
[…] jQuery got a new website. At first there was a cartoony guitar-hero like illustration and a slogan “Be a JavaScript Rockstar”, but the community freaked out and the illustration and slogan are gone. I think the new design is pretty slick, but I do echo some of the lingering complaints (like lack of current navigation highlighting). […]
September 7th, 2008 at 11:01 am
[…] O novo site da biblioteca jQuery mal foi lançado e já deu o que falar! Isto porque os mantedores do site resolveram descontrair o lançamento do site fazendo uma referência ao estilo musical “rock”, dizendo “Javascript é uma estrela do rock”. Veja como era e como ficou o site após diversas reclamações da comunidade de desenvolvedores: […]
September 30th, 2008 at 2:15 am
[…] Endlich mal gute Neuigkeiten für jQuery nachdem “Desaster” mit dem Relaunch und den vielen Dojo Unterstützern nimmt jQuery jetzt wieder Fahrt auf. […]