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JetBrains redesigned their website and logos
- sethd 11y agoI can't help but mentioning that their logo does not load without allowing JavaScript (NoScript user here). Have we really reached the point where JavaScript is required to display a logo on a website?
- LesZedCB 11y agoYes.[1] The rest of the internet has been there for a while now. Many high quality web applications utilize javascript frameworks to render the majority of the page. If you use NoScript today, you should be able to reasonably expect most of the web to be broken and not lament it. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_JavaScript_libraries#Web-application_related_.28MVC.2C_MVVM.29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_JavaScript_libraries#W...
- mikeash 11y agoWhy not lament it?
- LesZedCB 11y agoOh, I certainly think there's justification for lamenting the state of javascript web apps. In the post, I really meant to say "complain about it."
- sethd 11y agoActually most of the page does load with JS disabled with exception of their logo. > "The rest of the internet has been there for a while now." This is not my experience at all. Most of the sites I use, especially text/image content-driven websites, load fine without JS and it saves me from having to deal with a lot of annoying UX issues. In fact, in this case I was able to avoid having to suffer through the intro JetBrains decided to show visitors on this website, until just out of curiosity I decided to enable JS to see if their logo would render. I am well aware that some web applications use JavaScript frameworks but even then it's possible to render content for SEO and other purposes where JS might not be enabled. Certainly the logo can and should be rendered without JS even in these cases. I would imagine that web applications implemented in a JavaScript framework are a minority as should be the case. The vast majority of websites simply display text and images and there is no sane reason to require JS just to view text and image content.
- Alupis 11y ago> there is no sane reason to require JS just to view text and image content Especially for a logo. Coupled with the intro video, it feels like we're back in the early 2000's where flash intros to every site ruled the web.
- HelloNurse 11y agoEvery day, competent programmers retire and clueless n00bs replace them.
- gruez 11y agoI don't like it. The icons are way to abstract compared to the old ones.
- lindig 11y agoIt took long enough for the home page to load that I wondered whether it is broken. That's not a good message for a company that makes software tools. From a perspective of graphic design and branding it is pretty busy. As an immediate fix I'd use all logos from clients only in black and white and reserve the use of color for my own message. The generous use of gradients in logos creates an already dated look.
- keehun 11y agoI like the new website, but the logo screams the old Zune logo[0], especially when it's animated in the intro feature. [0]: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Zune_logo_and_wordmark.svg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Zune_log...
- dec0dedab0de 11y agoI have no opinion on the logos, but what's up with that intro? is this 2001?
- sanderjd 11y agoWhile I think it's a strange choice, it only does that on your first page load, and I suspect that it is a temporary "new branding roll-out" type thing.
- e12e 11y agoFirst load per browser/session. At least there's no intro in w3m (actually a bit sad about that, seems like a missed opportunity).
- aridiculous 11y agoI'm going to put in the lonely voice of support for the new design.
- ostyn 11y agoHmmm... I would like it if Adobe hadn't already taken that "periodic element" icon style. But even then, the older icons were far more clear.
- thecrumb 11y agoMy first initial thought was this looks a lot like Adobe.
- Kiro 11y agoI like it and I like the intro.
- Kiro 11y agoGetting downvoted for this? Sometimes the negativity on here is just too much.
- Grue3 11y agoThe loading time is too damn high. For the longest time it just showed me black screen. I didn't remember what their old logo looked like, so I looked it up and it was pretty bad, like a shareware software logo from the 90s. The new one is much better. Also, I'm disappointed that their CLion software (abbreviated as CL) has nothing to do with Common Lisp.
- talles 11y agoThe website looks great, but what's with that stupid intro? Neither informs nor amuses the user. It's just (beautiful) clutter.
- anilyeni 11y agoi liked the cookie warning. i am just visiting jetbrains to download ide. i don't know whom for they had created those web agency style web site, but i don't care while their download button is working.
- anilyeni 11y agoi liked the cookie warning. i am just visiting jetbrains to download ide. i don't know whom for they had created those web agency style web site, but i don't care while their download button is working.
- partisan 11y agoI like JetBrains and their products. I am glad they exist. My take: The site is not really appropriate given that their supposed target demographic is developers who are quick to cut through marketing BS and skip to the details. All the flash and distraction leads me to... My guess: They will be selling the company in the next year or so and are adding (perceived) value for the prospective buyers. Just from my past experience.
- Analemma_ 11y agoThe writing was on the wall for JetBrains as soon as Microsoft announced Roslyn, pretty much ensuring that somebody (maybe volunteers, maybe Microsoft itself) would write an open-source version of ReSharper with better VS integration than the real thing. Management knows this and they're trying to get some money for it while they can.
- gk1 11y ago> ...their supposed target demographic is developers who are quick to cut through marketing BS and skip to the details. Although developers are their end users, they don't make up the entirety of the site's target audience. From my other comment in this thread: As ridiculous as it sounds, the design of a software company's marketing site affects the impression a buyer will have of that company. A site that looks like it hasn't been updated in years can make someone think the software itself is outdated, or the company is slow-moving, or the company isn't growing anymore. If you're the CEO, CMO, or head of sales at JetBrains (or any other software co), that is NOT what you want people to think of you.
- yborg 11y agoThe InteliJ 15 loading splash is hideous, and looks like it was designed by a 12 year old or someone who couldn't be bothered to spend more than 5 minutes on it. JetBrains obviously doesn't have a designer on staff.
- jcadam 11y agoOn the contrary, it looks like a designer created this with absolutely no input from anyone else.
- Nullabillity 11y agoAt least it doesn't hurt my eyes like the IJ 13 splash screen: http://blog.jetbrains.com/idea/files/2013/12/splash13-1.png http://blog.jetbrains.com/idea/files/2013/12/splash13-1.png
- Alupis 11y agoIt's not a responsive design, and they don't redirect to a mobile friendly version. Granted, most visitors are likely to be on a desktop or laptop, but why go through all this trouble to redesign your entire site (and company?), but stick to old design methods not catered towards the "modern" web?
- gorohoroh 11y agoIf you look at the underlying markup, you can see that the web site was designed to be responsive. The sad part however is that it's going to take a bit more time for mobile resolutions to be supported properly.
- Alupis 11y agoI tried it using Chrome Dev Tools and emulated several mobile devices (some apple, some android, etc...) and even after a refresh and dumping cache, it did not go into responsive mode. It only gets smaller so the entire page fits on-screen for the mobile. This has nothing to do with supporting mobile resolutions. The site just doesn't do responsive... at all.
- jcadam 11y agoHate it. Besides being kind of gaudy, it's simply less readable than the old site. Instead of having all of the product information neatly laid out in easily readable columns, I now have to scroll constantly. I mean, I know it's the current design fad, but I wish it would stop.
- kuanbutts 11y agoLooks like a bunch of the bloomberg.com designers broke out of their NY offices and took over Jet Brains'... Could this mean 90's gradients are making a comeback? I hope not, for the sake of my eyes.
- beachwood23 11y agoNot a fan of the weird "intro". Just show me the content I came for. I don't have an opinion on the new logo, but I definitely think they should have put more work in making this redesign easier to navigate and more readable. It looks like it was a redesign for the sake of a redesign. What problem was this trying to solve?
- Someone1234 11y ago> What problem was this trying to solve? The usability on the old site was too high, developers loved it but management were confused by the directness and lack of bullshit. So they redesigned it for sales, and away from their core demographic. PS - Google should really penalise sites that operate intros.
- sgdread 11y agoI liked old site: it was warm and fuzzy.
- Alupis 11y ago> Type `man cookies' to learn more or `exit' to close. > > ~ root$ Really gives the site an "over-engineered just for funsies" look and feel. Why not just a link and be done with it? While cool the first time, it's just clutter that adds nothing of value to the site. For a company that focuses on products that "just work, and work well" this website is giving off the wrong impression.
- mikeash 11y agoFun has value.
- abledon 11y agoim laughing that this is a downvoted sentiment on hackernews
- mikeash 11y agoMe too! One interesting thing I've noticed is that my comments like this often get downvoted to -1 or -2, then go back up. It happened for this one. I wonder why that is. Are grumpy people more likely to get in early?
- mcorrand 11y agoI was expecting a "man careers" easter egg. Bitter disappointment :(
- TeMPOraL 11y agoIn today's climate that joke would be considered sexist and inappropriate.
- mcintyre1994 11y agoI'm surprised and impressed that this is usable on mobile though! That said, "Exit" didn't work which is a bit silly.
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- kevindeasis 11y agoThe first 3 seconds made me tell myself this UI/UX is annoying. After the remaining seconds, I was like "Dayummmm, that is sick" They do need to work on the responsiveness of that site.
- frik 11y agoSorry, your browser is not fully supported There may be some issues with pages layout in your current browser. Please use an alternate browser until we resolve the issues. Thank you. and no way to skip - it's fullscreen, I see no website.
- conorgil145 11y agoWhich browser are you using?
- jinushaun 11y agoWow. An intro animation. What is this? 1999?
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- jjwdowik 11y agoThe intro doesn't even work on mobile and is just a black screen...have to hit the x to get out, and it's not even mobile optimized...
- jazzyk 11y agoI use IDEA and still think it is one of the best pieces of software I have ever used. That said, the new branding is...troubling. Aesthetics is a matter of taste, over-engineering and fuss are not. KISS never goes out of style. It is troubling, because it may hint at suits taking over. I hope I am wrong.
- vankap 11y agoNot a big fan of all the marketing language on the home page. But it does get better on the individual IDE pages. You see the download link right away and you can scroll down if you need more info.
- modernerd 11y agoI love JetBrains, and this new branding is sharp. There's still a perception in some communities that IDEs are clunky things for old-timers. The new branding helps to lift that image. I think it will appeal to those who've never considered an IDE. It's also a welcome refresh for any PhpStorm users like me who've always felt a little short-changed with the old logo – it used to feel awkward in the dock, particularly compared with the other JetBrains IDEs.
- gk1 11y agoGeez, tough crowd. I'll play devil's advocate: _You_, the engineer, may think design is useless and the old one worked just fine. But _you_ are not the only one JetBrains sells to: They're also selling to the managers and executives who make buying decisions at "big" companies -- ie, the kind of companies where a six-figure software deal must go through countless evaluations. As ridiculous as it sounds, the design of a software company's marketing site affects the impression a buyer will have of that company. A site that looks like it hasn't been updated in years can make someone think the software itself is outdated, or the company is slow-moving, or the company isn't growing anymore. If you're the CEO, CMO, or head of sales at JetBrains (or any other software co), that is NOT what you want people to think of you. See also http://splunk.com http://splunk.com, http://newrelic.com http://newrelic.com, http://appdynamics.com http://appdynamics.com, etc. They're not so stupid to be spending money on redesigns if it didn't help with sales and growth.
- corv 11y agoThe new site does communicate more clearly: we're the Adobe of the IDE world. Pay annually? No thanks.
- humanfromearth 11y agoI agree that we're Adobe of the IDE world is crap. But is it really 100$ so expensive for an average developer? Consider how much money you're making because you have these tools.
- playing_colours 11y agoFirst they changed their price options, now this redesign... I wonder if it's a business equivalent of "jumping the shark" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark ?
- sanderjd 11y agoI quite like the new branding. It's bright and creative, stands out from the minimalism currently in vogue, and gives them lots of leeway for designing distinctive logos for different products that still reference the overall brand. I think the splash page is a strange choice though, and I don't see why they wouldn't have a static svg fallback of the logo.
- LoneWolf 11y agoAm I the only one to think that the new icons look like a bit of a console, the line below is the cursor and the letters the product initials.
- gorohoroh 11y agoYou're not.
- LifeQuestioner 11y agoJesus fuck this completely overloads my brain. Especially when opening the menu's to look at the IDE's...all those mash of colours my brain can't order the information... Did Jetbrains not consider Gestalt rules when designing this? Their design completely messes with this in my head and I hypothesise that's why I can't order information.
- subsection1h 11y agoI have video disabled in my browser because I'm a reader, and all I saw was "LOADING..." and a close button.
- drinchev 11y agoJetBrains did something really cool. I'm second year paying user of WebStorm & PHPStorm. Totally rocks. But ... Last company I worked for I also used IntelliJ IDEA. And it's pretty obvious that IDEA is their main-focused project, which is superior than the others. For example WebStorm still doesn't have nice TypeScript support ( 1.7 is not supported and overall typescript seems to be buggy ). Also they should've probably spend more time and "rebrand" their UI ... I'm sick of dracula and default themes. Atom is a masterpiece on design nowadays.