Less is More is Less is More

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First published: Monday June 29th, 2020
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Feasgar math, good evening, JetPunks,

I have been wanting to take greater advantage of the SVG features as of late and today I designed a box resembling the original Crayola No. 64 box of crayons for a quiz (because Crayola is based in New Jersey, this quiz is in American English). There was an early comment commending the SVG, which I found both humbling and encouraging. This first design featured white outlines so as to distinguish each of the 64 coloured crayons.

Not long after publishing the quiz, I realised that I wanted to clean it up by making those outlines invisible. While I was at it, I added some gradients to provide a wee bit of a 3D image – totally early 2000s skeuomorphic graphic design (see this excellent video from Cheddar on how skeuomorphic design has fallen out of favour).

I'm throwing this out there to see if any of you lovely readers have strong feelings regarding 3D or 2D SVGs, or, in particular, if a 3D image detracts from the experience of taking this quiz (perhaps it makes distinguishing the colours that much more difficult?). So here are two different SVG images, one with the 3D gradients and one with a more 2D design. What are your thoughts?

crayola-grad-01

crayola-sans-grad-01

Level 66

Jun 29, 2020

They look similar but if it were up to me, I would say that the first one looks better. But they both look awesome!

Level 95

Jun 29, 2020

Thanks for your comment! Noted.

Level 75

Jun 29, 2020

Agreed

Level 68

Jun 29, 2020

The first one definitely looks nicer, however I don't think 3D should be used for quizzes unless it benefits the quiz. In this case the 3D helps to separate the crayons and distinguish them better, and because it's a recreation of an original 3D product. However, for most things JetPunk related, I'd say 2D is probably best as it might detract from what needs to be done to complete the quiz! (You can't add too much fluff, as otherwise the SVG becomes too confusing for some users)

As I say, your quiz suited 3D and was rather fantastic!

Level 95

Jun 29, 2020

Stewart, I am in full agreement with you with regard to aesthetics. I would not wish to add any design features to any quiz unless they contibuted positively the experience of taking a particular quiz. As Mies said, less is more. Thanks for the comment and the kind words!

Level 61

Nov 20, 2020

3D looks awesome