Design Inspiration

[Courtenay]

When designing a Ning Network, sometimes the best inspiration can come from fellow Network Creators. Let us know your favorite Ning Networks and design tips here!

[The PL Team (d&e)]

Less is more.

/thread
e

[wadenick]

Hear hear. It's too easy to clutter up a Ning homepage with widgets, boxes, flash, rotating photo/video slideshows, multi-colored banners and so on. Less is indeed, often more. But reveal the homepage to the world, else many just won't bother to sign up.

[Laura]

Hi!

I'm interested to know Creators' favorite networks in terms of design. Check http://blog.ning.com or the discovery tool for ideas!

Laura

[The PL Team (d&e)]

Identify what content on your network is at the very CORE of your message, place that content front and center. For us its photography, and thus we've successfully molded the site to funnel traffic to /photo

[JillyWilly]

I like Hoop City...this is how I found Ning....

[Shali Nguyen]

Yeah, I definitely would agree with "less is more". You can do so much with a network if you have a specific focus for it vs. trying to add every feature possible. As a designer, it's always helpful to see beautiful sites out there to draw inspiration from. I spend a lot of time reading blogs and browsing design galleries to get ideas. I also make sure to take a look at what the competition is doing for whatever site I'm designing. It really only takes certain specific elements to give a Ning Network a unique a powerful feel. Sometimes it can be the background (sides), or the header, or maybe a hero area within the network.

Here's a few really beautiful Ning networks that I've seen:

Cherry Tree Records
This one is just really visually interesting and doesn't look like your standard Ning network.

Nappy Boy Online
This one has a really sleek design. It's really the little touches that make this site pop.

Plain White T's
I love the header on Plain White T's. It's so clean and draws you right in with a minimal color palette.

My Best Birth
Another design where the header does just enough to give it the personality it needs.

The Ellen DeGenerous Show
You have to be a member to see this one but the header here is also really beautiful and visually interesting. They also do a good job keeping her brand consistent with her official site.

The Veloist
This site is simple, clean, and elegant. The design isn't tough to achieve but the way it is composed, it's very visually interesting similar to the Brooklyn Art Project style.

-Shali

[Courtenay]

Love these design! Thanks for posting these networks Shali.

-Courtenay

[Laura]

Another good one - http://www.portfolios.net/

[Ace]

Thanks Laura :-)

[Almir]

wow, that search idea on the left is sick. thanks :)