What attracts you in a server banner?

[Poki]

Not clustered yet not too plain, colourful but not rainbow, text is positioned correctly and not scattered or blocking the beautiful image, if it's animated... it should be at a decent speed and try to make it unique but doesn't have to be over the extreme animation.

Try using images that aren't seen very often, that usually catches one's eye easily.

Have the text to be small, not big or medium but small... but it's my personal favour only because I tend to be grabbed by the picture rather than the words. The text should also not be ugleh looking (meaning, it should blend well with the banner in font-style but not colour)

Stick with your "hot and hot, cold and cold" thing unless you can make things stand out more than the others properly and professionally.

No idea, this is just a rough view of what a good banner is to me. There's more to it, but I'm in a hurry to leave. Hope the information helps. (By the way, I can't see any images D: )

[Shaelyn]

So pretty image, easy to read text with minimal information (name + rates), maybe animated but at the right speed. Did I get this right? ^_^

I'll get started on a new banner soon.

also, if you want to get nit-picky, consider where your banner will be posted.  we're posted on one voting site (gamesites100.net) that has the exact same color scheme as our banners (see the one in my sig), so it kind of got lost in the background back when we were on the Top 10.  it was awful ^^;;;  you want something that'll pop against the site's colors.

but yeah, you pretty much got it.  you want something pleasing to the eyes that grabs people's attention...isn't strenuous - or they won't try to strain their eyes to read it, and doesn't scream at the person.

[PrincessAruya]

I like #6.Because it's cute and it moves!How can you do that?By photoshop or imageready?

[Pandora]

Imageready works, but there's tonz of other animated gif maker.

[BluSnow]

I like number 2
even though i don't like the server but
it catches my eye

[OneTastyBurger]

Too much text kills banners.

[Shaelyn]

sorry for rezing a dead thread.

Pandora, I saw this banner and thought of this thread.  this one IMO seems to have everything going for it:



it's got slight animation to attract your gaze, but isn't overwhelming or harsh.  the images are pleasing, and aren't in the way of the text - NOTHING is in the way of the text, and the way the text is laid out, it's clear as day.  everything is well balanced and flows together nicely.

really well done

[Pandora]

Thanks ^_^ yeah that is a nice example, I should really get back to banner making soon to try and come up with a decent one.

[Head Monocle of DOOM]

I noticed after about 5 minutes of testing the ones with lots of change in controled locations it attracts my eyes otherwise i just skim over the screen in an idle manner.

[Tira]

sorry for rezing a dead thread.

Pandora, I saw this banner and thought of this thread.  this one IMO seems to have everything going for it:



it's got slight animation to attract your gaze, but isn't overwhelming or harsh.  the images are pleasing, and aren't in the way of the text - NOTHING is in the way of the text, and the way the text is laid out, it's clear as day.  everything is well balanced and flows together nicely.

really well done

You serious? The one in your signature is INFINITELY better. To be honest, that example is absolutely god-awful. The harsh bevel plus excessively cursive serif font make the server name virtually impossible to read without actually trying - if you can't immediately see what the server name is while you're scrolling past a banner, there's something fundamentally wrong.

Remember that people will generally not stop to read a banner thoroughly. They'll glance at it while scrolling - which means everything important needs to be immediately in your face and unmissable.

[Poki]

Agreed.  The one on your signature is better.  Also, it bugs me that the "snowflakes" end as a perfect square.  Basically, the snowflakes get cut off perfectly at the end.  Could have been better if the layer of the snowflakes were more randomized at the top but it's not a big deal. (Needs to have top randomized and moved to the right a bit since the top and bottom left corner is affected by the layer)

Still, Tira is right about the banner.  I personally dislike increasing the blevel for fonts and many things.  It makes it look strange in many cases.  Too much shadowing as well makes me feel like I just got blinded by a familiar in RO, especially when it's used as a border.  (Probably because I don't like it when it fades on top of an image that I'd like to stare or glance at, haha)

Well, it's just my opinion but it's usually more attractive or noticeable if the banner had something that stood out (colour-wise) so that the person who scrolls down the list of server will notice a certain object with a colour that sticks out causing the person to stop and take a glance.

I don't know.  I'm just a noob judging, haha.  By the way, I meant to say that the word ''VisionRO'' is blurry by the chosen blending effects used.

[baseballGuy]

01.

LegacyRO.. Its your story. beautiful 

[Tsolless]

Animated banners are an eye sore. Seriously.

[phranxis]

[sarcasm]pretty banner, s*** server[/sarcasm]

[Shaelyn]

Agreed.  The one on your signature is better.  Also, it bugs me that the "snowflakes" end as a perfect square.  Basically, the snowflakes get cut off perfectly at the end.  Could have been better if the layer of the snowflakes were more randomized at the top but it's not a big deal. (Needs to have top randomized and moved to the right a bit since the top and bottom left corner is affected by the layer)

Still, Tira is right about the banner.  I personally dislike increasing the blevel for fonts and many things.  It makes it look strange in many cases.  Too much shadowing as well makes me feel like I just got blinded by a familiar in RO, especially when it's used as a border.  (Probably because I don't like it when it fades on top of an image that I'd like to stare or glance at, haha)

Well, it's just my opinion but it's usually more attractive or noticeable if the banner had something that stood out (colour-wise) so that the person who scrolls down the list of server will notice a certain object with a colour that sticks out causing the person to stop and take a glance.

I don't know.  I'm just a noob judging, haha.  By the way, I meant to say that the word ''VisionRO'' is blurry by the chosen blending effects used.

I agree with what you said about the snowflakes - but the snowflakes being "all wrong" as they were was part of what caught my eye.  yeah, it would've been more pleasing if it didn't do that...but if it didn't, I might not of glanced at it a second time.  was one of those "wait, what - did it just...?" sort of things.

I also agree with what you guys saying about the font being hard to read.  ...it was, and I didn't completely realize it til you guys mentioned it.  I think part of the reason was that the font was eye-catching enough that I wanted to read it in spite of its difficulty to read.  if they keep its eye-catchy-ness while making it easier to read, they've got it made.

my banner may be infinitely better in the context of your post...but it doesn't grab my attention quite as much.  this may be because it doesn't have as much to grab my attention as the VisionRO banner, or because my sig banner is one of two that look really similar; I can't tell.
...while I love the LegacyRO banner when pointed out such as in this thread, it's much too boring.  I would scroll right past it in its intended setting.