The banner

Rainbow Dash literally crashed the party courtesy of @@~Lawful Jordo~'s banner on Saturday, April 13. With a rainbow trailing behind, the young, fast flyer crashed into the fourth wall. The MLP Forums logo hangs at two mirroring angles, and in the very background is a black-to-blue gradient (something Rainbow Dash apparently feels once she cracked the barrier).

Composition

The most important components are located along the left side — Rainbow Dash crashing into the fourth wall — and center — the MLP Forums logo — indicating care for the overall composition. Despite that, when reviewing the banner without the navigation present, there is a completely different viewpoint.

Like what I wrote in my last review here, when you're developing and designing a banner for the message board, ask yourself this question: Does the banner work with and without the navigation?

Like in my last review for Akoura's banner, the composition is extremely heavy on two sides. The logo, background rainbow, and Rainbow Dash are placed strategically in areas that wouldn't be blocked by the navigation, but that leaves so much negative space on the right side wanting to be involved somehow in the background.

Furthermore, because of the dark background, the "Advanced Search" icon/gear (located to the right of the search bar) blends in. Upon first glance, you wouldn't notice it ever being there. It would've been better if the blue was just a little bit lighter so the gear icon stands out.

Furthermore, aside from the navigation, I cannot tell what I should look first. The logo is dead in the center, but Rainbow Dash's size is equal. Part of my mind is telling me Rainbow Dash is the main subject, with the MLP Forums logo second and the navigation third. But because of their sizes, the logo and Rainbow Dash are fighting for visual dominance.

Navigation treatment

The navigation uses two colors: a soft blue for the inactive buttons and a navy blue for the border, button when the cursor floats above, and active buttons. Because of the very dark background, the navigation pops more, whereas the light colors wouldn't stand out if the background was very bright.

The hierarchy when viewing the navigation is strong, indicating to the audience how much Jordo wanted less attention to it. Instead of viewing it first, I see the logo or Rainbow Dash first. Although the blue navigation is very bold, there are other elements above it where it isn't immediately noticeable. The "View New Content" icon also stands out from the blue. The one issue with the navigation, however, is the blending of the "Advanced Search" icon with the dark blue background.

Logo treatment

The issues with the logo are as follows:

• The logo is perfectly in the center. When working on a composition, it's always best to put something on one side or the other. Slapping the logo in the middle divides the banner in half, makes the banner look inorganic, and really bothers the eye. You can really ruin a composition by inserting something in the middle.
  
• There are unneeded special effects to make the MLP Forums logo stand out. The MLP Forums logo is flat with a consistent scale, which can be found here. Instead, with the help of several gradient shadows, the logo is embossed. The logo requires proper usage of its shapes, and the embossing effect contradicts this. Logos are an art form designed to be treated conservatively. Embossing it attempts to make it three-dimensional, but it tries way too hard to attract the viewer instead.
  
• The black stroke around the logo is unnecessary and proves further that Jordo is trying way too hard to make it pop out from the background. The special effects demonstrate a severe lack of trust he has for the logo.
  
• The logo has mirrored angles. The MLP Forums is a brand in itself, and although not so extreme, the way the logo is played risks killing the communication between the logo and audience. The MLP Forums logo is not like Google, where its design is already set and can get away with toying the logo occasionally. The MLP Forums is still very young and growing, and the logo needs to be consistently designed to be communicated properly. The wordmarks have a set angle and size, so it's not recommended to skew or rotate the logo. The logo requests respect, and like the unnecessary embossing, toying with the logo's angle shows a lack of respect for it.
  
• Regardless of the positioning (here being horizontal), the proportions of the wordmark are inaccurate. The "Forums" in "MLP Forums" is too small. Refer to my logo review linked above for the proper proportions.
  

Other

No other comments needed.

Ideas (for improvement)

• Instead of shifting all of the content to the left and center, spread it out. The right side has plenty of room to fill in.
  
• Shift the brighter rainbow streaks in the background to the right so the black gear icon is noticeable. Furthermore, as an idea, don't have the rainbow be contained. Crop a color or two beyond the trim line (the border of the banner).
  
• Some suggestions with the logo:
  • Rotate it upright, meanwhile keeping the proportion accurate, and don't slant the logo whatsoever. Either stack the logotype or keep it perfectly horizontal. This will make the logo consistent and quicker to read.
    
  • Remove the special effects and the stroke. Keep the logo flat. No embossing. Rely on the shape and flat design of the logo to attract the viewer instead. Trust the logo.
    
  • Shift the logo either a little bit to the left or a little bit to the right. That way, the logo will appear like it belongs in the composition.
    
  • A possible idea is to make the logo a slight gray instead of white (or off-white). That way, Rainbow Dash pops out even more and relegates the logo a tad more in the background without actually being in the background.
    
  • Like what I wrote in my reviews for Cider Barrel's and Gone Airbourne's banners, use the correct proportions and scaling. They're designed the way they are for a reason and should be used as such.
     
    And for anyone who wishes, a vector format of the logo can be found under my Google Site: EPS, SVG, and PDF.
    
  • Treat the logo as if it's being transferred across multiple media, such as paper, embroidery, television, cards, transparencies, plastic, and so on. The Internet isn't the only media platform, and the best logos these days are when the they cross other platforms.
    

  [*]When working on the banner, ask yourself if it functions with and without the navigation. If it does, you're good. If only for one template, play with it more to where it effectively functions under both.

  [*]Don't shove any item in the middle, for it becomes distracting to the viewer and makes the banner appear inorganic. Utilize a technique called the Rule of Thirds to composite your banner.

  [*]As a possible idea to to bonnect connect the navigation with the banner, borrow some of the colors from Rainbow Dash and insert them in the navigation. You can take the dark blue from Rainbow Dash's mane and have it as the color for the border, active button, and button when the cursor hovers over it. The stroke color from Dash's body or Dash's body color itself can be the fill color for the inactive buttons.

Conclusion

"Rainbow Crash," by ~Lawful Jordo~ is simple and chaotic. He intended to create a powerful message for the MLP Forums by having Rainbow Dash fly out of control and crash in the fourth wall. He succeeded in sending that message. There are some technical aspects that need fine-tuning to make the banner more thoroughly composed on a technical scale, and he must show that he can trust the MLP Forums logo itself. Yet, Jordo knows what he is doing in composing his graphic design, and he is on his way in becoming a successful banner designer in this forum.