Author Topic: Arrivee redesign  (Read 9289 times)

mattc

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Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #50 on: 07 December, 2019, 05:43:52 pm »
P14 fine (although the ad on 15 is pretty poor!)
P45 is passable (the author name in Orange is not)
Has never ridden RAAM
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No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #51 on: 07 December, 2019, 06:43:48 pm »
(although the ad on 15 is pretty poor!)
I don't think the magazine design team have any say over ads! But in fact the positioning of the white text over the yellow road line is a bit unclear for me too, though it's fine on the grey road surface.
Quote
P45 is passable (the author name in Orange is not)
Hadn't even thought about the orange text! Now you've pointed it out, I can see that if your eyes don't respond well to orange, it's dark on dark. (And how does that make ACB jerseys look?!!!)
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Kim

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Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #52 on: 07 December, 2019, 07:19:27 pm »
but pdfs do not work in text readers.

Not strictly true.  It's possible to craft a PDF that's accessible given sufficient fucking about in Acrobat (especially where forms are involved), but they still tend to be a pain for the user to navigate compared to plain text or simple HTML.  Irritatingly, the pragmatic gold standard for screenreader accessibility appears to be MS Word (assuming proper use of styles for headings), and it's also reasonably friendly for non-expert users with specific font/colour requirements.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
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Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #53 on: 07 December, 2019, 08:03:59 pm »
(although the ad on 15 is pretty poor!)
I don't think the magazine design team have any say over ads! But in fact the positioning of the white text over the yellow road line is a bit unclear for me too, though it's fine on the grey road surface.
You see?!? This is exactly the issue!!! :)

Quote
Quote
P45 is passable (the author name in Orange is not)
Hadn't even thought about the orange text! Now you've pointed it out, I can see that if your eyes don't respond well to orange, it's dark on dark. (And how does that make ACB jerseys look?!!!)
Well, I can see orange* - it's just a lot less distinct in that example than the monochrome text under it.

*Other flavours of colour-blind peeps may have issues, I don't know.
I'm not an expert on rods-and-cones and all that. But generally I'd say coulour-blindness doesn't affect the amount of response  or "brightness" or whatever. It's just that I cannot easily tell a very dark green from black, say - whereas you "Norms" might quite easily. Same with orange-y reds.

I have the coloured-dot pattern books at home if you want to come round and play with them :)  Bear in mind that I will see certain patterns that you CANT, so prepare to feel inferior  :smug:
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #54 on: 07 December, 2019, 08:26:47 pm »
Bear in mind that I will see certain patterns that you CANT, so prepare to feel inferior  :smug:
We're all accustomed to that by now.  :P
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Kim

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Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #55 on: 07 December, 2019, 09:55:28 pm »
But generally I'd say coulour-blindness doesn't affect the amount of response  or "brightness" or whatever.

Generally true for the most common green receptor anomalies.  Some of the rarer ones do: eg. my defective red receptor means I perceive red as less intense than an equivalent green or blue.  When that's not mucking up my ability to differentiate green from yellow, and blue from purple, it's causing darker reds to appear black (and giving me immunity to 'blinding' brake lights).

Fortunately dark red on black (or vice-versa) is a relatively uncommon typesetting mistake, at least for body text.  It's more of a GUI thing (where designers like to 'light up' black elements by turning them red).

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #56 on: 08 December, 2019, 12:07:22 am »
I think the Arrivée editorial team are doing a great job. I don't want to decry/disparage their efforts.

I think the lot of visually challenged readers could be improved if a .txt file for the articles were downloadable. File size of .txt is TINY.

Readers can then manipulate fonts, sizes and colours on their own screens and/or printers.
Neat idea! Or at least it seems so to me.

For those who also have Cycle magazine (my copy always arrives a day after or before Arrivee: spooky!), how legible do you find the black-on-clouds text in the top right corner of p45? And the blue on blue eg p14?

Arrivée is 4 copies per year, Cycle is 6. They will only coincide about twice per year.

I was fine with black on clouds BUT the orange text almost disappeared.
Blue on blue was fine FOR ME but I speak only for ME with MY individual issues.

I have just returned from the British Astronomical Association's Christmas Lecture.

I was well-impressed by the font one speaker used (of mostly white text) on a variety of coloured backgrounds; it had a very subtle black shadowing to the right and base, enhancing contrast.

frankly frankie

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Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #57 on: 08 December, 2019, 10:41:16 am »
(although the ad on 15 is pretty poor!)
I don't think the magazine design team have any say over ads! But in fact the positioning of the white text over the yellow road line is a bit unclear for me too, though it's fine on the grey road surface.
You see?!? This is exactly the issue!!! :)

Do you care, if you can't read an ad ??
when you're dead you're done, so let the good times roll

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
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Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #58 on: 08 December, 2019, 02:51:22 pm »
No.
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #59 on: 08 December, 2019, 03:46:35 pm »
Any advertiser whose announcement is illegible or repellent won't get my custom.

Kim

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Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #60 on: 08 December, 2019, 04:52:44 pm »
Any advertiser whose announcement is illegible or repellent won't get my custom.

This was why, until regulation forced the issue, television adverts had a much higher rate and better quality of subtitling than the programmes.

dogtrousers

  • Pantaloon
Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #61 on: 09 December, 2019, 01:50:28 pm »
Note from a not-super-keen audaxer.  I've been a member for maybe 4 or 5 years.  My initial impression when I first joined was that Arivee was dull as ditchwater to me, but probably of interest to more serious Audaxers, who would recognise themselves or their friends/acquaintances  (This is entirely fair enough and not a complaint at all. I don't expect AUK to pander to my whims).   Of late it's been much more engaging, and I actually spent a bit of time reading the most recent issues.

My colour vision is pretty bad/weird.  I don't remember running into any problems with the latest one, but I may well have stopped reading and just looked at the pictures, which I tend to do.

Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #62 on: 10 December, 2019, 09:39:05 am »
There are tools for checking whether contrast is good enough without reducing things to grayscale.

https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/

Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #63 on: 15 December, 2019, 03:41:08 pm »
The Times contains many examples of this technique every day. I find that I can read all. FWIW it is printed on a "matt" background.
I have no knowledge of the printing techniques involved and believe the editorial team should investigate and trial future techniques. Perhaps we should have a production team.
One of my family had/has red green difficulty, but could identify football team colours on our black and white set. Perhaps he had a good memory.

Kim

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Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #64 on: 16 December, 2019, 12:41:11 pm »
One of my family had/has red green difficulty, but could identify football team colours on our black and white set. Perhaps he had a good memory.

Or could spot the dot crawl...

Redlight

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Re: Arrivee redesign
« Reply #65 on: 17 December, 2019, 09:15:33 pm »
I believe the editorial team should investigate and trial future techniques. Perhaps we should have a production team.

Fair points, but bear in mind that the editorial and production team comprises one volunteer editor and one volunteer designer/production manager/ advertising co-ordinator. Both are paid for their work but at well, well below normal market rate.  Like event organisers, they do it for the love, in between their day jobs.
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?