Splash Host is badly in need of a new design, so im offering our Bronze reseller plan to who ever makes the best design. This is worth $350/year. I will consider giving a bigger plan if im really impressed with what you come up with.

Im looking for something that looks professional, is fast loading and preferably a light blue or green colour with a white background. If you can make something as good as Mc Hosts then ill be really impressed, but please dont copy them.

Please post your designs here so other members can let me know what they think.

I like your idea.

You might also want to post this at The Trading Post forum
at sitepoint?
www.sitepointforums.com

Well.

Here's my attempt. Needs a cooler logo, i'll keep touching the site up. But you get the idea.

http://hometeam.radioactive.net.au/splashhost/

Nice work so far Net XL, and thanks for the idea Martie ive created a thread on there at http://sitepointforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41976

Heya,

just wondering, how long do designers have to make a layout and submit it? cos if you want a nice one, i won't be able to do it in a few hours like the other guy did (it was a nice layout though)

A few hours?

Heh!
I spent maybe 12 hrs? It's really hard to try think up something unique. I like it though, hope he chooses it.. :p

Ill probably run the competition for a couple of weeks.

ah alright, good good :)

I'll probably be done with my submission today/tomorrow though...

Nice work NetXL

Well,

here's my entry, I might go work on this a little bit more or if you got any suggestions to improve it, i'll improve it to suit your needs :P

NetXL, is there any chance you could create a page showing how the content would go in your design? Yours is the best so far.

http://hometeam.radioactive.net.au/splashhost/content.html

The general idea is to stick something in the right hand side, like plans, or something else you can think of. It doesn't need to be there, but it seems to add something interesting, not just plain white.

Nice, IMO that looks like competition for MCHost's design :D

Notice the IMO

Hi,
I just finished on working for this layout, took me exactly 3 and a half hours to do it! I had some problems, but here we are. After so much work, i would really like some feedback, thanx a lot guyz!
here's the address:

http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash.gif

I repeat, any feedback, and suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Anywayz, I'm planning to do another one if the judge is not happy with this one ;) ,

Cheers mates,
Brian

Wow parano15 nice work. NetXL I think you have some competition.

and this is only 10% from what will come tomorrow night, yes, at night i'm inspired. No, I think Alan stills prefers the one from NetXL.

I now understand what Alan wants,
I will make a layout to fit his dreams,

Coming back as soon as possible,
Bye friends,
Brian

:angry:

:D
I can always try to sell it I guess. Nice design...

Merry Christmas,

Just wanted to ask parano15 what was that on the upper right of the design, looks like a hamburger :)

Cheers

Hehe,
No it's the planet earth. Anywayz, i had nothing to put out there, and if it was in jpg, you would much more understand. However, this is not my entry, because i think The judge prefer NetXL design for the moment,

I'll try another one in a few hours,
Cheers mate,
By the way NetXL, make another one also, who knows, you may win this contest ;) ,

Brian

I like my entry heh
:eek:

Where are all the bright vibrant colors at in these templates!? Splash Host isnt a boring name, the site should be exciting and cool. Anyway my template will be posted in a few days.

'Im looking for something that looks professional'

Also something similar to MCHost.


I tried to make it look professional, I find it hard to incorporate bright colors while still maintaining a professional look. MCHosts site is also not excessively vibrant.

hi again,
i made another layout. This one's cool (my opinion ). It loads quite fast, and remain professional, simple, attractive, original, and clean. If you want to see it's real shape, go about 3 meters further back from your screen, you will understand it's shape afterwards. It's quite coooool. I would really loved to have some feedback, telling me"it's bad!" or "it's very good" and so on...
Thanx for your time,
HEre are the addresses of the layout. I made 2, one with a background, another one plain, you choose.

plain background;
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splashhost.htm

with background;
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splashhost2.htm


Cheers friends,
Brian Dove

parano's are really nicely designed, but man they need color! Its just white, blue grey, and another blue? PLEASE ADD ANOTHER COLOR. Its driving me crazy!

Hehe,
That's what called a THEME. I made a blue theme. Adding too much colors won't make the design professional at all. Check all (there are exceptions, as in any facts ;) ) the "good, serious, and professional" site, and you will see they have a "Theme color".
If you want, i can add much more colors, i don't bother, and it's still your decision ;),

Cheers people,
Brian

It doesnt have to be crazy colors, just some color. The templates so far have been that grayish blue color. Just because it has color doesn't mean its not professional.

I, still like Andy's. :)
No offense to the others.
It's just my vote.
If we were voting.
But we're not.
So I should just leave.
Huh?
Okay.
I will.
Bye!
:D

Originally posted by NetXL
:angry:

:D
I can always try to sell it I guess. Nice design...


Yes...you can...let the bidding begin! :)

Seriously, it's a great design.

The one from Andy is probably going to win unless someone else comes up with something better

if you could wait a bit..I'll throw something in tommorrow or Monday..

Later,
Douglas

:cool:

Sure, if someone can beat $250 for it.

:confused:

Originally posted by NetXL
I spent maybe 12 hrs? It's really hard to try think up something unique.

Yeah, that's the hard part - thinking of a design and figuring the layout.

Sometimes it's best to find a really good designer, and get a programmer to do the other stuff. Been in too many debates between designers and programmers. Each camp views the web differently ("It's beautiful you can't compress it anymore!"; "It's a bandwidth hog and it has to go!").

Worst debates are with programmers who were around before the graphical browsers. If a page is larger than 20kb it's automatically a hog, cable or not.

And they're right too, which makes this job so frustrating at times. :mad: :crying: :smash:

Chris:

Originally posted by greengunboat
Where are all the bright vibrant colors at in these templates!? Splash Host isnt a boring name, the site should be exciting and cool. Anyway my template will be posted in a few days.

I do have to agree!

How about some chroma and style folks?

Chris
Who knows that saying such might drag her into this competition, kicking and screaming. <gulp>

But, but, I'm an artist, not a programmer!

Haha,
doesn't matter, anywayz, i already had 2 clients interested for the same layout, the one i made here, so, it does have some value at least! I will try a last layout for Splash host.com ,

But this will be the last one, and if Alan doesn't like it as well, my style doesn't fit Alan's wants and needs.

Cheers,
Brian

Aha! This is a good one. The competition is up for two (2) weeks I believe and you only want a template.

The price is appealing. Is there an option of converting it to cash?We would not want to go on reselling some hosting as we would be losing our focus.

We will try to see if we can come up with something out of our schedules.

Good luck to all those who submitted their designs.

:)

I will not give cash instead, but im willing to try and sell the account on your behalf, with the first payment going to the winner, if you wanted to sell it quickly you would probably have to drop the price to around $250 instead of the usual $350

Hi again,
I did another template. I didn't finish it, because it is useless to finish it, if you don't like the whole idea of the site. tell me if you like it Alan, or if i'm netXL is still better,...

http://www.brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash6/


I started a header for the site,
http://www.brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash5.gif/

I don't know if you prefer this one, if yes, i'll continue the layout,

May i have some feedback :D ,

Brian

parano15, the design isnt really what im after, the second one would be good for a headed note paper though :)

Nice template.

Remove the slash at the end of your second URL:)

Originally posted by parano15
Hi again,
I did another template. I didn't finish it, because it is useless to finish it, if you don't like the whole idea of the site. tell me if you like it Alan, or if i'm netXL is still better,...

http://www.brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash6/


I started a header for the site,
http://www.brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash5.gif/

I don't know if you prefer this one, if yes, i'll continue the layout,

May i have some feedback :D ,

Brian

Okay,
I think all the layout i'll make won';t fit your wants,
i'm sorry for that alan ;) ,

May Net XL be the winner...

Brian

See what you think:
http://www.douglaslivingstone.com/templates/splash3.gif

The text is from you main page..just ctrl-C-ed it..

Feel free to give comments/changes etc

Later,
Douglas
Douglas@redmelon.net

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
parano15, the design isnt really what im after, the second one would be good for a headed note paper though :)

Alan,

When you say you want your template to be like MCHost, is it the colors and layout you were referring too?

Do you want a flat 2D look? Or would you allow some embellishes if the file size is small? Real, comic or techie style?

Some pointers can let us zero in on what you're seeking. :)

Chris
Would just love some parking space and bandwith, thank you. ;)

IMHO these 'competitions' are nothing but exploitation.

If you want a professional job pay a professional - you're gonna be using this layout as a front for your business and if done well could be worth a good deal of money.

The only payment you offer is something that costs you effectively zero - if the 'competitors' are happy with this then more fool them.

Each to their own I guess . . .

Originally posted by flatron
IMHO these 'competitions' are nothing but exploitation.

If you want a professional job pay a professional - you're gonna be using this layout as a front for your business and if done well could be worth a good deal of money.

The only payment you offer is something that costs you effectively zero - if the 'competitors' are happy with this then more fool them.


I strongly disagree. It's not the cost of an item but the value that matters.

The designers create their product and they're done. In exchange they get a free reseller account for one year, if I understand the terms of the contest correctly. From that they can earn money. The host, in turn, must support his new customer plus his customer's customers. If anything, the host bears a greater burden on this deal.

From where I sit, this is not exploitation, but good old fashioned quid pro quo.

Well theres all ways someone whos not happy :rolleyes:

If the designer doesnt want to enter they dont need to. Im not forcing anyone to design me a layout here.

I dont see why i should have to pay a professional lots of money for something in the end i might not like.

Originally posted by parano15
Hi again,
I did another template. I didn't finish it, because it is useless to finish it, if you don't like the whole idea of the site. tell me if you like it Alan, or if i'm netXL is still better,...

http://www.brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash6/


I started a header for the site,
http://www.brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash5.gif/

I don't know if you prefer this one, if yes, i'll continue the layout,

May i have some feedback :D ,

Brian

A bit off topic, but is it your site down?

Originally posted by Jedito


A bit off topic, but is it your site down?

You have to remove the slash from the end of the url and it will work :)

Originally posted by flatron
If you want a professional job pay a professional - you're gonna be using this layout as a front for your business and if done well could be worth a good deal of money.

I see it as an exchange for services like in the old days. A farmer has food to offer, a blacksmith shoes for the farmer's horses. They agree on a fair trade, each obtains what the other doesn't have.

Everyone in this type of open competition can see what the forum artists can do, and what a host is willing to offer. The host have some assurance that a template is available (hopefully eliminating deadbeats), and the artist can build a rep here (hopefully to gain more business).

Alan made an offer, and by the looks of it, there's healthy competition going on. Hope more host's follow with other unique offers. :)

Chris
I'm all for fair trade. ;)

hehee, no, his site was down :)
now its working.

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
I dont see why i should have to pay a professional lots of money for something in the end i might not like.

I'm not looking to start (or continue) a flame war here, I think that if you can find people willing to enter that's great. IMHO however, no professional is going to make you pay for something you don't like.

There are designers here all the time who are looking to sell a template because a client backed out or didn't like it (I've got one up for sale now.. and it wasn't because he didn't like it :) ). I only ask for a small deposit to cover the time that goes into the layout, and we will completely start over (mulitple times if necessary) until the client is happy. I personally think that's fair.

Anyway... like I said, if you can find people to do it that's great. I think a free reseller account is a lot better than what I've seen some other people offer, I just don't think the above quoted logic is very strong.

I'd say you'd have a better chance of getting exactly what you wanted if you were paying, but that's just from my experience.

My 2 cents....

BravoComm Welcomes Opposing Viewpoints ... :) :D

Originally posted by BravoComm
IMHO however, no professional is going to make you pay for something you don't like.

Until you meet a gib and hard sell professional.

If a host doesn't know what s/he's looking for, s/he can be hoodwinked into buying something s/he doesn't need or knows the true value of.

If a veteran web designer charges $25/hr, and a newbie is asking the same for clearly inferior work there is a problem, it drives the price up unfairly (and many of these deals for templates are done in private beyond our view). The work-for-free web designers then can come in and clean house, which isn't fair either.

IMO, if a host is unsure/burned/strapped for *cash,* doing what Alan is doing is a good solution. No one loses, and everyone learns what to look for, and who to get it from later.

For the web designers, consider it promotion based on skill. If you have the knack, show it. Someone may like it and you''l have some unexpected business.

Chris

I've got about 3 more clients now thanks to this competition :D

check out the template I made. It still needs some finishing touches, but just to give you an idea on what im doing. www.greengunboat.com/splashhost/

One thing I'm sure of is that Splashhost is going to look a lot nicer soon!

I couldn't help the gasps of awe some of these templates inspired!

Cheers
Balaji

www.greengunboat.com/splashhost/


NetXL's got some competiom now, you should put that it in a table with a fixed size so it cant be stretched.

Excuse me Alan, but neither http://www.greengunboat.com/splashhost/ nor NetXL's entry looks like Mchost. Please, tell us (me also), what kind of site you want, it's too vague now, i still don't know if u want many colors, many graphics, ... ??????


Thanx,
Brian

heh, i dont know what im after either now. Just anything that looks cool.

That is not the impression i get,
with all the templates i made, i don't think u appreciated at least my effort. I also did n't get a feedback..

Brian

Hi!

Our web design team is interested. We want to know when is the exact deadline so that we can manage our schedules.

Please advise. We understand that you want the contest to run in two weeks, but we need the complete details.

Thanks.


:)

Please advise. We understand that you want the contest to run in two weeks, but we need the complete details.

You'r not the only one who needs full details about making this template, this would be much easier to provide Alan what he really wants for Splash Host,
it DOES save time,

Brian

Im sorry if im not being of much help.

The competition will end on the 18th of this month.

NetXl has basically hit the nail on the head for what im after. The one from greengunboat wasnt what i was orignally after but i think it looks cool anyway. Im basically after something that looks very business like. I would like to see some image in there, of servers or other cool things like the fibre optics on Andys design.

Thats probably not much more usefull to you but thats all i can think of just now.

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
Im sorry if im not being of much help.

The competition will end on the 18th of this month.

NetXl has basically hit the nail on the head for what im after. The one from greengunboat wasnt what i was orignally after but i think it looks cool anyway.

I also think Andy's design is the best one of the lot for a hosting site. Greengunboat's design is within an inch, though.

Good job all around guys.

And...a little bartering never hurt anyone :)

I will be posting a entry into this as soon as possible. :). I think Andy's design is very nice very professional. But I will see what I can do.

I look forward to seeing your entry.

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
I look forward to seeing your entry.

Do you have any comments about the design I made? (if not, I will adapt it and put it in the templates section of my site)

URL again if you missed it..:

http://www.douglaslivingstone.com/templates/splash3.gif

Thanks,
Douglas

Greetings!

Here is our proposed template. Our site is currently having a technical difficulty (at least from our end), so we uploaded it at our old site at geocities.com.

Here is the link to the Splashhost template (http://www.geocities.com/castlemelody/templates/) . It is not a direct link to the file because we might be violating the TOS of geocities. Please click on the link splashhost.com. Thanks.

:)

Eeek! The competition is heating up! :)

Consul,

i think your design looks really cool, but you know what would make it really cool? if you were to make that bit in the middle about excellent tech support etc into a little flash animation telling the visitor more about splashhost's features and hardware.

Yeah consul, its great. I'm not a big fan of the shape though to the left of splash host. Also white on grey is a bit hard to read ;)

Ok, I made a few changes to the template, you can check it out here www.greengunboat.com/splashhost/ . All comments and suggestions are welcome.

Well, I was playing around in photoshop and decided to give it a shot. I don't have any pretty pictures on it. IMO, I don't think its better than the others, but its not doing any else on my hard drive.

Anyone else can contact me about template design, I'm very cheap and can do a good job!

Hello

We have designed a template for splashhost.com It does not contain any content and we will not put content in it until it has won the contest. It is just a template not a page.

http://www.overskilled.com/splashhost/splashhost.gif

Clean and simple.

Very nice work:)

Originally posted by OverSkilled
Hello

We have designed a template for splashhost.com It does not contain any content and we will not put content in it until it has won the contest. It is just a template not a page.

http://www.overskilled.com/splashhost/splashhost.gif

well... i decided to join the fun also...

here is what i came up with:

http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/splashhost.gif

i like it. i dunno if it can compete with the other designs, but i think its cool.

All I have to say is may the best webdesigner win!

Here is my new template!

http://www.overskilled.com/splashhost/splashhost1.gif

Originally posted by greengunboat
Ok, I made a few changes to the template, you can check it out here www.greengunboat.com/splashhost/ . All comments and suggestions are welcome.

GGB I know you can do better than that. :erm:

What would be nice with a competition of this worth is to allow the web designers 30 days to compete. Think many here are throwing things out to meet the very quick deadline (GGB you have talent there and I can't see this example coming from you, otherwise).

Alan, the offer is pretty good, I just hope the web designers have time to produce something that's worthwhile.

Just like fine Italian sauces, one just can't rush perfection. ;)

Chris

Originally posted by alchiba
Eeek! The competition is heating up! :)

Simply :love: it!

Looks like there's plenty of competition going on now, and those participating seem to be happy for the challenge. Hope this trend continues too. It's fun to watch, and even better to see the raw talent around here.

Here's a :beer: for all those participating.

Chris
One is never too experienced to learn something new.

Originally posted by NetXL
I've got about 3 more clients now thanks to this competition :D

Woo hoo! Way to go!

Happy for your success and hope you'll gain some more biz too. :)

Chris
Who's wondering who'll be getting too many work offers now. :eek2:

Splashhost:

I will *try* to enter the competition shortly, or have you chosen a design already?


Regards;


Sessionmedia

If there are still entries coming in at the end of this then i will be happy to extend the dead line.

Since this is a contest on design submissions and not a promo where you have a fix number of prizes that you want to give, it will be always nice to stick to the deadline. But, a one(1) day extension may be ok to make up for the timezone difference.

We will try to make some changes to our submission later.

Thanks.


:)

Hi people,
I just made a layout,
quite colorful, and very professional,
Tell me your thoughts please :D ,

Thanx a lot,
here's the address;
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash4.htm

Alain, is that what you are looking ?


Brian

Originally posted by parano15
Hi people,
I just made a layout,
quite colorful, and very professional,
Tell me your thoughts please :D ,

Thanx a lot,
here's the address;
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash4.htm

Alain, is that what you are looking ?


Brian

Overall I like it, but, the left side looks a bit empty.
Of course, I'm nothing to say that here :)
Alan is the one who decide
but, just a thought.

Gee this is starting to get harder to judge. Interesting colours Brian, could do with maybe some images in there.

I decided to make another template!

Well, here it is:
http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/splashhost2.gif

let me know what you think.

That font you are using for the navigation is impossible to read.

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
That font you are using for the navigation is impossible to read. Yes it is. ;)

yeah. you are right! refresh it again...

http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/splashhost2.gif

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
If there are still entries coming in at the end of this then i will be happy to extend the dead line.

If you're not in such a hurry, it maybe nice to extend this competition to the end of this week, since how many people are still trying to revise and wanting to offer new templates for preview.

It's your decision to close it soon, or keep it open until immediate interest dies. Basically depends if you think you got your money's worth by now.

Chris
Who's hoping more entries will come, so all the lurking web designers out there can introduce themselves, and show their talent.

Free advertisement. Come and show off! :)

There are still 7 days left.

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
There are still 7 days left.

:) :) :)

Kewl!

Chris

I really don't understand your taste Alan,
Although all my entries (about 5 i think), you still prefer NetXL'S !!!!!

please tell us who's winning, in order, like
1)NetXL
I really like his because xxzzxxzz

2)Nobody!

....


This will definitly help us to understand what is your taste, waht u like, and what u don't like...

Brian

well, here is another one:

http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/splashhost3.html

how is that?

Your desings are good, but there is nothing that stands out about them.

Hi people,
I made another layout ( i think the 7th layout i made! , nobody can't say i tried hey! :) ):eek: lost all my creativity i think now, i,
here's the addres of the layout,
I hope ur taste like it Alan!

http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash5.htm

Brian

Hey Brian, i like this one.

Needs come pictures, servers and other cool things.

Hey Splash Host,
Please, tell me what is your best entry until now, the second entry you prefer, and the third one as well please, please, please :D ,

I will add some servers pictures to it, but i cannot add too much, it won't be good afterwards,

Brian

Brian,

You certainly tried.

I think many people will book mark your site considering...
Making 7 layouts for the contest.
I am sure you'll put much more effort for Cash.

You'll come out ahead even if you don't win this contest.

So, thumbs up for your efforts :)


Originally posted by parano15
Hi people,
I made another layout ( i think the 7th layout i made! , nobody can't say i tried hey! :) ):eek: lost all my creativity i think now, i,
here's the addres of the layout,
I hope ur taste like it Alan!

http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash5.htm

Brian

Originally posted by iwannabe
Brian,

You certainly tried.

I think many people will book mark your site considering...
Making 7 layouts for the contest.
I am sure you'll put much more effort for Cash.

You'll come out ahead even if you don't win this contest.

So, thumbs up for your efforts :)

I second this commendation.

You're doing a good job, Brian. If you don't win this contest, you might pick up another job. You've produced a lot of templates for people to see what you can do.

You have spunk, and keep trying to please the customer. Those are good qualities in any artist (as some artists want to do things their way, and hells bells about what the customer feels).

Keep up the good work. We're previewing what you're offering and you're showing you can produce within a deadline quickly!!

Looking forward to your other examples. And this :beer: is for your effort.

Chris
Waiting on a chroma king to present a one-of-a-kind site on this thread. One of those eye popping sites that will attract customers that would say, "oooooooh."

Alan I think this competition may gear up by that deadline. ;)

You're going to make some nice bucks with the rest of the templates if ya win, and even more if you dont :)

Urgh. A whole nother 7 days to wait.


Those stock photos are costing me somewhere around $100. Ouch.

Originally posted by NetXL
Those stock photos are costing me somewhere around $100. Ouch.

Use a digital camera and take some pics of your case inside and out. Another of your monitor. Carefully remove the background (mask or whatever) correct the gamma/contrast, etc. Then you'd have your own stock photos.

VERY time consuming, but it's yours to do as you please.

One can get by with this for web work - it won't work for print though (that needs high res photos).

Chris

lol

Yeah but I can't take pictures of a guy holding money, a woman with a headset or fiber optic.

:(

;)

Hey people,

The comppetition is runing along well. Lotes of good designs have been pumped out from this contest. It's good to see! Anyway, Bump Designs have joined the fun! Here is our entry for the competition...

http://www.webdefinity.com/splash/

One thing to mention is that the top menu has a mouseover effect, as you can see with the "home" button. Please feel free to leave your questions and comments about the design. We love feedback!

Splash Host (Alan), get in touch with me by clicking here (bumpdesigns@hotmail.com) if you are interested in the design. Or just reply.

If anyone else is interested in any web design work, please feel free to email Bump at bumpdesigns@hotmail.com .

May the best design win!

Heya all,

I gave it another shot a short while ago and got my header done, please comment on it (especially alan :P). will work on the rest now :)

Nice Work Bump Designs.

Coolbrian

You are excellent. I am one of Alan's customers.

Alan I think you must pay a little more attention to Coolbrian's designs. Though if you do not like them can I ask coolbrian to offer them to me?


Mac

Please dont start offering to buy these templates until the competition has finished please.

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
Please dont start offering to buy these templates until the competition has finished please.

I bet there are plenty more offers thru PM:D

I hope Brian get 7 offers for his 7 efforts!
Heh, after the competition has ended that is:D

I am sorry Alan,

I edited my message. I will post it after you have choosen yours.

Sorry again and best wishes for splashhost.

Mac

Hi Splash Host,
I added some pictures as u said, just click on the address below;

http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash5.htm


From now, I won't be able to come back to this forum. The 7 templates i input, please consider them for your voting. I'm changing house for the christmas, going to the beach ( :D , with the sun! ). Anybody who wants to contact me from now, please contact me at socale@intnet.mu , Please don't spam, it's not my email ;) . Just address the email to subject= BRIAN DOVE .
This is whoever wants to contact me, for anything, even to announce me that i won the contest ! if this ever happens!,

Thanx people for the excellent feedback i got, this definitly encourage me to continue on this way, believe me, I will never let graphic design behind me, this is just my passion.

Someone who is kind maybe can post all my layouts i made in one thread, i can't now. tomorrow i have important test, and it's 11 PM here :cartman: .Don't have time to write another thread.
Thanx people again,

Cheers friends,
Brian

Oh no.... !
I'm at my dad's office now, going to my other house on the coast in a few minutes, and it's now that i saw that i didn't upload the updated version, a problem occured :bawling: And I wont be back to my house in 1 week or so... :( i added some pictures, and it was so nice... with Each server image for each hosting plans, ...
But what can i do now ?
I don't know, i will try to go back to my house and re-upload the friken layout to another address.

Brian :angry:

Hey All

I got flustered looking at all the entries so far, so I thought I would organize them here, hope nobody minds :)

NextXL's Entries
http://hometeam.radioactive.net.au/splashhost/
http://hometeam.radioactive.net.au/splashhost/content.html


NicoV's Entries
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=202255
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=206705

parano15's Entries
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash.gif
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splashhost.htm
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splashhost2.htm
http://www.brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash6/
http://www.brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash5.gif
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash4.htm
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash5.htm


DougBTX's Entries
http://www.douglaslivingstone.com/templates/splash3.gif


greengunboat's Entries
http://www.greengunboat.com/splashhost/


consul's Entries
http://www.geocities.com/castlemelody/templates/


Rewdog's Entries
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=205643


OverSkilled's Entries
http://www.overskilled.com/splashhost/splashhost.gif


Hexed[man]'s Entries
http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/splashhost.gif
http://www.overskilled.com/splashhost/splashhost1.gif
http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/splashhost2.gif
http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/splashhost3.html


Bump Designs's Entries
http://www.webdefinity.com/splash/


Here is something I came up with last night.
http://www.nuphasix.com/web_templates/Template0001/

I didn't want to post it at the beginning of this message because I wanted to make sure to highlight all the talented designers that have already taken the time and effort to post :)

I don't really need the reseller account offered for a prize, so if my entry is selected, the runner up can have the account. Merry Christmast :) I only entered because I was inspired by everybody else here. If my entry doesn't win, I'm sure netsolutions can give it a good home (if he wants it.... from what I've gathered, he needs a new, uncopyrighted design).

I'm sooooo hungry! :)

Nice design phobeas, and thanks for putting all the entries in one post.

Im probably going to start a poll to see which one wins.

Thanks Alan, and no problem, I'm sure somebody would've done it sooner or later. 8 Pages is a lot to drift through :)

Well,

I finally decided to give this contest a serious go. I hope you like this style of layout, so go check it out and tell me what ya think :)

Check it out here:http://development.nvwebmedia.com/finalsplashhost.jpg

Originally posted by NicoV
I finally decided to give this contest a serious go. I hope you like this style of layout, so go check it out and tell me what ya think :)


Nice design Nico..

Mac

Thanks :)

Give me till the end of the weekend I shall place my entree into the mix, I am going to put my all into, don't care about the hosting, run my own server, I just like to design

I had nothing to do so I made this intro for the contest.


http://www.hj83.com/splashhost.htm

Originally posted by phobeas
I got flustered looking at all the entries so far, so I thought I would organize them here, hope nobody minds :)

I thought mine looked lonley :stickout

http://www.douglaslivingstone.com/templates/splash4.gif

The horizontals will be scalable, so will fill the width of the browser..

Comments etc welcome ;)

Later,
Douglas

my entry....

splash host layout (http://designs.mindrash.com/splashhost/splashhost.jpg)

thanks.... :)

How about a last minute entry...

Here is mine .. simple yet professional and stands out..

The menu at top has mouseover .. the color layout can be changed to any color you choose.

Thank you everyone.

do I still have time to submit one? I'm still debating lol.

Very nice :)

Where is your own site?
You need to design your own site:D

Originally posted by midrash
my entry....

splash host layout (http://designs.mindrash.com/splashhost/splashhost.jpg)

thanks.... :)

thank you...

we just got the domain and host 2 days ago... MindRash Designs (http://www.mindrash.com) is 2 days old.. :)

Whoa!

Very quick start :)

You'll do great!

Originally posted by midrash
thank you...

we just got the domain and host 2 days ago... MindRash Designs (http://www.mindrash.com) is 2 days old.. :)

Nice job midrash :)

Nice Job Mantra :)

We had so many big designers here? Very happy to meet all of you ! :)


Mac

I would love so much to give it another go, but i can't. I'm not at house now, at my dad's office :(.

Please, contact me at brian@brianstudio.com from now. If i ever win or something important.
Sorry for that,
I'm also feeling alone without my pc,

Brian

I think one quality that makes a web site stand out is the logo design. And so far (maybe with a little touch up work) Brians logo design is the best. His two little waves to the left look very cool. His templates would look a lot better if he added some photos.

Brian here is some feedback...

use the logo and colors from this design:
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash5.htm

and apply them to these 2 templates:

http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash.gif
http://brianstudio.com/customers/splash/splash4.htm

splash4 is my favorite template, make it blue, add the nice logo and some photos of servers and in my opinion that would be the best template

Good Luck.

i started working on alittle flash header... but then i got hungry and went to lunch. hehe.. well take a look here

http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/test.html

:D

How about something like this as a logo?

http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/shlogo.gif

I made a template that is what i think splash host is looking for.

http://www.greengunboat.com/splashhost/splashhost2.jpg

its just a screen shot with no text right now, but ill put it up in HTML later.

I wasn't sure if you were still checking the thread at Sitepoint, so thought I'd post my design here too just in case. It can be found at http://www.infinityweb.co.uk/splashhost/index.html

It's fascinating to see a trend going away from blue. We're seeing more greens and oranges. Very interesting. :cool:

Its fascinating to see such a huge thread about a design. :D

About heaps of designs, there must be like 20 now!

I was surprised too.. I thought i might hve been in this with 2? or 3 others?

:confused:

I'm really enjoying this competition. The designers are working their butts off and the layouts are getting better each day. I really like the attitude of the contestants. Never say die!

I don't think it's prize alone any more.

I think it's more like I have better talent than who ever:D

So many talents...

Originally posted by alchiba
I'm really enjoying this competition. The designers are working their butts off and the layouts are getting better each day. I really like the attitude of the contestants. Never say die!

There are so many designs now i dont know which one is the best anymore

I have to admit I kinda got carried away with the design and forgot to stick to blue. That said, it would be very easy to switch it to blue if that's what you'd like.

Also, any feedback on my design is welcomed :)

Oh my...I missed this thread. How long is this competition open for now? I hope there's more time, another week maybe?

Originally posted by I3 Optic
Oh my...I missed this thread. How long is this competition open for now? I hope there's more time, another week maybe?
It finishes on the 18th I think?

I have the design in HTML format. Check it out:
http://www.greengunboat.com/splashhost2/
I think its a little more like what Splashhost.com wanted. As always, all comments are welcome.

Originally posted by greengunboat
I have the design in HTML format. Check it out:
http://www.greengunboat.com/splashhost2/
I think its a little more like what Splashhost.com wanted. As always, all comments are welcome.

I like it :)

One comment: I would make the mouseOver underline things in the menu wider?

Originally posted by Barak

It finishes on the 18th I think?

Thanks, and damn. :)

http://www.greengunboat.com/splashhost2/

This is my fav so I made a small flash for it tell me what you think

http://www.hj83.com/splashhost2.htm

So far my favorite is this: http://www.webdefinity.com/splash/ It's so damn good!

after this contest there are gonna be A TON of web hosting templates for sale :)

Originally posted by Rewdog
after this contest there are gonna be A TON of web hosting templates for sale :)

Well i like alot of them, I will be putting up a design competition very soon (not sure when) for a new domain that i just aquired (actually 2 separate domains) and would like to see some of these designs posted.

:D

So what people think of my flash? I'm a newbie to flash so how am I. Isnt it a good one to be like the 4 flash I have ever made?

For sure.

I think I am going to grab one of them.
I like one entry and hope he don't win so I can have it:D


Originally posted by Rewdog
after this contest there are gonna be A TON of web hosting templates for sale :)

Didnt you read the terms of the competition? I get the rights to all designs entered into the competition

just joking :D

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
just joking :D :eek: That's just mean man:eek2:

Make me go back and read every post.
Then come back here to see you add this. :(


:D ;) :D

Here is my last submission to this contest. its not completely done yet, but you can get the idea =]

http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/splashhost4.gif

good luck everybody!

Here is my last submission to this contest. its not completely done yet, but you can get the idea =]

Oops.. i forgot to log off my partner before posting my last message...

This is my latest effort for this contest. Go to http://katoskate.netfirms.com/contest/splashhost/layout.gif. It has a striped background, Hard to notice from the picture.

Tell me on anything I can improve on that you would like. Thanks kylel@mctcnet.net

Originally posted by K.Larson
This is my latest effort for this contest. Go to http://katoskate.netfirms.com/contest/splashhost/layout.gif. It has a striped background, Hard to notice from the picture.

Tell me on anything I can improve on that you would like. Thanks kylel@mctcnet.net

Very nice.

Clean, simple and professional.

Good job.

Originally posted by StevieP
Here is my last submission to this contest. its not completely done yet, but you can get the idea =]

http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/splashhost4.gif


I think you're on to something here. ;)

Originally posted by StevieP
Here is my last submission to this contest. its not completely done yet, but you can get the idea =]

http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splashhost/splashhost4.gif

good luck everybody!

Ummm, I don't think splash host wants a copied design. And I don;'t think http://www.thinkhost.com would apreciate it.

Very inspired? lol

That's not going to be good for a reputation heh...

Plus, that picture on the page is totally oposite of the image you want to give to potential customers, this picture on your design is frankly crazy as hell! :cartman:

Yeah.. she looks kinda angry :)

Wow, you guys rock! I'm impressed with all the submissions. :)
Btw, when will Allan announce the winner?

Franky
- just a spectator :D

Just as I thought this thread was falling to the bottom of the page.

:D

Hello,

Hit the wrong button and posted a new thread instead of a new reply for the SplashHost design contest.

Look here:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29205

Bronzino

very sharp layout bronzino, Crisp and Clean :cool:

quote:



Originally posted by StevieP
Here is my last submission to this contest. its not completely done yet, but you can get the idea =]

http://www.hexedsolutions.com/splas...splashhost4.gif

good luck everybody!



Ummm, I don't think splash host wants a copied design. And I don;'t think http://www.thinkhost.com would apreciate it.

----------------------------------------------
Sorry, I don't get the see that it's the same at all. Maybe similar in ways but definitely not somthing that could be considred a copy.

Looks the same to me.

Red was replaced by blue, a few missing titles. But the general concept was almost identicial.

Now that I look again, Hexed[man] has changed it, it used to have the same jutting out bit where the picture is.

It still looks very similar though..

Yeap, they both look similiar to me as well.
Well, let's not get into further (controversial) discussions before we get the official words from the designer (hexedsolutions). I think he deserves a chance for an explaination, don't you think? :cartman:

I think Alan should have a poll or something to determin the best design (as he suggested)... it would be a little less subjective that way.

I would of entered the contest if I had time... but I guess it's slightly too late now :(
Anyway, best of luck to all the contestants.

Yeap, they both look similiar to me as well.

It's okay if they are similar. Most designs fall into styles that are similar to each other and layouts are used over and over again by ad agencies.

Lots of designers use idea books or have at least studied them that contain sample layouts, color combinations, typography, etc.

I'm sure ThinkHost was not the first to use that layout and will probably not be the last.

The jutting out bit I have seen on quite a few sites. It's best if you can be as original as possible and set the trend like some of the top designers do, however, nobody holds a copyright on a concept, style, or idea really.

He was inspired, maybe a little too much though. Anyway about the poll, I dont think it would be right, because whos stopping me(or any other designer) voting for my/him/her/self alot of times in order to win?

its the 18th, when is splashhost going to announce the winner?

Sorry for waiting a while to get things explained, i went to Europe for the week and didnt have much time to do anything online.

After looking at thinkhost.com's site, i noticed the similarity that everyone here talked about also. But my design was no copy of that site at all! The first time i looked at their site was after i read the responses in this board.

Then i made some minor changes to the layout, since i didn't feel like having to explain things to thinkhost. I just thought it was amusing to have come up with a VERY similar layout. It almost freaked me out.

So do not worry. I don't copy designs. I have enough creativity left in me still =]

oh come on dude,

denying this would be a pathetic last attempt at saving your reputation :)

NET XL

Congratulations to Andy, he will be receiving the reseller account.

Andy you need to come up with a logo for the design though :)

I apologise to those people who entered and didnt win.

Congrats NetXL :)

Originally posted by Barak
Congrats NetXL :)

And the first to post too :D

Now we watch the flood of templates :cool:

Later,
Douglas

Originally posted by DougBTX


And the first to post too :D

Now we watch the flood of templates :cool:

Later,
Douglas
Heh, I'll restrain myself and not post an advert for my design ;)

wooooo
:stickout


Danke

Congratulations to NexL to join other Splashhost.com resellers :) I wish great success for both Splashhost.com and Its resellers family ;)

By the way I need a design for my new hosting website. Those who did not win could visit the thread at :

Design Request Thread (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29344)

Again thanks to splashhost to start this interesting thread.

Mac

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
NET XL

Congratulations to Andy, he will be receiving the reseller account.

Andy you need to come up with a logo for the design though :)

I apologise to those people who entered and didnt win.

Way to go Andy! :D

I didn't enter as there wasn't enough time for me to complete an original design. I did do some elements to put into the design, though. ;)

Perhaps the next competition people can see a full layout. Enclosed is some elements in progress (not completed).

Chris
Tired, tired, tired...............

NetXL (Andy), Congratulations! You deserve it.

Well, the contest was a success. A point of evaluation. Contest such as this may need to require more time. Maybe 3 to 4 weeks.

Another thing, it would be fair (in our opinion only) if the contestants are only given one opportunity for a submission. We feel that it would be a little bit unfair for those who don't have the luxury of time. These submissions should be submitted to the person conducting the contest privately. At this stage no comment should be issued by the person in charge of the contest. Then on the deadline set, the person conducting the contest shall list down the links to the design and everybody can comment on each of the designs presented. Then, it is up for the person conducting the contest to make his/her decision. He/she may make his/her comments about his/her choice. Or he/she may conduct a poll if necessary. Suggestions may then be given to the winning entry to improve it some more.

What do you think?

NOTE: We are not implying though that Splashhost conducted it wrongly. It is just our suggestion. :) In fact, Alan did great by starting this trend. Our congratulations to you Alan!

Again, the design community is proud of you Andy!

Happy Holiday everyone!

:)

I personally think that in order for these contests to provide the maximum benefit to both the person conducting the contest and the contestant, muliple entries in a public setting are necessary.

Multiple entries give the person conducting the contest more templates to choose from (which is why they are running the contest in the first place), and doing it publicly allows the designers the possiblilty of getting additional work from other members, and/or selling "losing" templates quickly.

I personally enjoyed watching th whole thing.

My two cents...

I have to agree with Consul, that might be a better format for running this sort of thing in the future. On the other hand, it would not be as exciting as the competition we have just seen above would it? Because you could not see the other entrants etc.

Originally posted by Stuart
I have to agree with Consul, that might be a better format for running this sort of thing in the future. On the other hand, it would not be as exciting as the competition we have just seen above would it? Because you could not see the other entrants etc.

I think that most of the posts after the first few were just to "be better than the designer before", so if the designing was closed to public, the same atmosphere may not develop..

Another point is that I (as a designer) would hesitate to e-mail designs to someone withought talking first, knowing that I probably won't get picked. Atleast with this setup, the "host" can't turn round and sell your designs on another forum etc..everyone saw you post it first. (I don't think it would make mutch difference legally though..)

Later,
Douglas

Understood Doug.

Any competition like this requires a measure of trust, but showing it to the WHT readership first does mean that anyone copying and/or selling the design that was not selected would lose a lot of credibility and respect.

Not that it matters to some people. :angry:

there is many other competitions look around you will see :). There is 2 one for me and one for WWW Hosting so go join up :).

Originally posted by BravoComm
Multiple entries give the person conducting the contest more templates to choose from (which is why they are running the contest in the first place), and doing it publicly allows the designers the possiblilty of getting additional work from other members, and/or selling "losing" templates quickly.

I agree with this view. The thrill of this competition was the challenge. Someone submits a design, and another tries to "up the ante" with a bigger and better design. If there wasn't much interest to compete, I doubt there would be as many entries.

This competition worked well because there wasn't any "losers." Everyone had a chance for free advertising, and by the looks of it even the "losers" will gain some biz from their entries. It's a win-win for both Alan and web designers.

Hope more competitions are created of this type (the price was right for original design work). If there's enough time, and the price is right to compete with *original* art work (not stock templates/photos), the quality of the entries may rise too.

Furthermore.......

What may also generate more interest from web designers here and abroad, is if a host would ask, "What do I have available that I can offer a winner for compensation - file storage; bandwidth; referrals for more work, etc.?" This way web designers can chime in with what they need at the moment, and what they feel their work is worth. I'm sure hosts can work something out that's within their means, meanwhile web designers can finally compete for something worth their time and effort.

Either way, kudos for Alan for his competition, and kudos for every participant for their zest to compete! :)

Chris

Hello again.

Well that was just our opinion (and we stick to it). In other words, we like it that each designer submits his BEST entry and no more changes after that. That way it will be fair. If you want the entry to be viewed publicly, well, they will soon be presented publicly after the deadline, right? So everyone still gets to see the entries and gets to view and compare them all at once. I agree this may not be so exciting and so participative as you may have hinted it. But, what if the person in charge will try to announce that a new entry has been submitted by a certain person everytime he gets a submission. There is now that element of suspense...

Let me compare it to a quiz bee or something. The contestants raise their answers all at once. No one answers and raise his/her answer board first. Otherwise, the others may take a hint and simply "copy" his/her answer and they both got the score. Furthermore the quizmaster does not give a hint as to what the answer will be.

There you have it. I hope you understand our position. Afterall, it is just our opinion and you are entitled to yours.

:)

Originally posted by consul
Furthermore the quizmaster does not give a hint as to what the answer will be.

I'm not 100% on where the line should be drawn:

Either the purchaser gives some ideas, and that's it, or s/he gets a better design through the evouloution of diffenernt designs (this only seems to be theory though: the first design won..)..(this is also affected by the length of time the competioion is run)..the main problem would be: who won? The person(s) who put in aspects of the final design in their own templates, or the person who put them all together, or even all of them (?!)..

It would probably be in the intrests of the purchaser to see as many entries as possible, with as many improvements as possible..

Later,
Douglas