Socially Branded is getting close to launch
We have been working hard on getting the site live. We have had it working in alpha mode for about a month and want to make sure that it has some specific features before we launch it publicly. However, we just can’t help ourselves and decided to share a screen shot of the alpha version of Sociallybranded.
Please tell us what you think and what you think it does by looking at the screen shot. We are curious what people’s first impression is.
Sociallybranded Alpha Screenshot
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:08 am
I like it. But I think the header is too heavy. Try using more white space such that content on the main page is emphasized more.
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:39 pm
I like the colors. But I think that left bar could look more pleasant, maybe with better colors for the items that were clicked before, would balance this out.
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:40 pm
It’s a good layout for the content, but it definitely needs some more zest. Not more images, per se, but just something to break of the repetitiveness of a white content area separated by a space from the next content area. At this point, it all looks very cluttered because no one thing stands apart.
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I agree that the header is a little large. I like to be able to see all or a majority of the information without scrolling down. Not sure if that is going to be possible with the list of links along the left hand side and the thick header. I do like the branding though.
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Layout is nice. I agree with the above comments — header is a bit larger and I don’t really dig the “grid” look…
Overall, really nice!
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Hard to tell what it does just from a screen shot, but of what I can see….
I’m guessing it’s an iphone product that feeds what people are saying about your on-line personality to a webpage?
iphone is promiently featured in upperleft, so it looks like the site owner. (I’m not connecting with the iphone link. Maybe because I do all of my on-line work the old fashion laptop way).
Clearly looks like a twitter product. But youtube is also there, so perhaps it will help me post videos to my iphone?
The name, on the other hand, makes me think about my personal brand and all the different places that I reside across the web.
And what’s that 52% approval rating?
Bottom line, I’m not sure what it does.
October 3rd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Overall I like the look, especially the logo. The idea of leading with the overall approval rating seems solid as well. It might be more appealing if the brand logo appeared opposing your branding instead of just the brand name. The left bar does look cluttered, I wonder if you could collapse the links into categories? Interesting concept, I’ll keep an eye out for the launch.
October 3rd, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Michael: Good point on the brand image next to the name for each brand (we had considered that).
We actually had a collapsed category bar on the left side initially but took it out because we thought it was confusing to navigate. It might make a reappearance tho.
Peggy: I am sure that it is hard to know what it does without clearer messaging and you being able to actually drive it.
The approval rating is reflecting peoples input on a specific product or brand.
No upload to youtube; but does actually post to twitter. Twitter is only one component of the site.
There is more that you can’t see below the fold.
Thanks to everyone for all of your feedback and input. We will be incorporating your feedback into the design for sure. The header will get smaller soon.
Keep the comments coming.
Rodney Rumford
Founder
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
OK - taking a guess… Products are shown on the site and people get to vote - like a thumbs up or thumbs down sort of thing? The approval rating on the left and the “claim this brand” on the right gave me that impression. Not sure if the twitter part is for posting or to see where the brand is being mentioned in twitter.
The design is not bad - I agree with the comments above, header is a bit heavy and the left is not… well it’s just not… maybe make the column narrower? Or instead of the heavy blue boxing something less intrusive, either a narrower line or a color that blends more.
October 3rd, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Rodney, I would weight the videos to the left here, the large content to the middle (shift it right) and the small content to the far right. Since English readers read left to right, I would move the “reading material” over to a more readable location, with the smallest text as far right as possible. I also agree with the comment that the header is a bit big. This is a content-rich site and you want to give people as much as you can, above the fold. I like how rich the media and content look and I’m excited to dive in and navigate. Thanks for the peek! Cheers, e.
October 14th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Looks intriguing! If this is geared to a brand, then perhaps some kind of summary “what people are saying” at the top, kind of like a “Social Brand Dashboard” or something. Of course, I am just guessing like everyone else here.
Can’t wait to see it.