[Announcement] Introducing: The New BHW

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Zwielicht

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It's Bold

It's Brilliant

It's...
The New BlackHat World

Don't worry, this isn't another April Fools' thread.

We've been listening, and after reviewing years of feedback for an updated theme, or even a "more sexy" theme as one of you described; we're finally ready to release a completely re-designed and re-imagined BlackHat World.

Are you ready?


----------The Dark Theme: Re-Designed----------
Dark Theme.jpg

Stylish and efficient.

It's been known for years now that BHW's colour scheme was meant to be "black and gold", but the black and yellow bumblebee look of yesteryear took precedence.

Not anymore! With a dark, but not too dark background colour that's easy on the eyes, coupled with the soft golden yellow of the text; you can now browse BlackHat World with the confidence that your friends and family won't think you're on a site that's a little more sultry, if you catch my drift.

But it's more than just a simple colour change. The new dark theme's layout takes advantage of that formerly unutilised empty space from before. We'll give you a quick example: do you see the old user boxes that accompany every post?
Old User Box.jpg

That entire image was the user box, including the space between. All of that wasted screen real-estate.

But now, we have a more compact layout for user information. As you can see, member information is easy to view in one central location on each post. There's even a new "pill" feature to highlight a member's user colour status.
New User Box.jpg
With this new compact layout, we're now able to dedicate more of the page to the content you post rather than the void it was before.
Layout Comparison.jpg

This means you'll be able to see more content per page in a way that still gives some attention to the individual poster. After all, the user who posts the content is just as important as the content itself.

----------The Light Theme: Re-Imagined----------
Light Theme.jpg
The light theme, formerly known as the white theme, has been a source of contention between users for well over a decade. But no longer; this is a gap we needed to bridge.

In order to properly develop a light theme for BlackHat World, we had to find a way to encapsulate that expected darkness of the community in a way that doesn't make it feel like "White Hat World".

This is where you can see the talent of the developers combined with the feedback of the community really shines through. The rich, white chocolatey colouration has a creamy feel to it that's delicious enough to eat; yet is still easy on the eyes.

Naturally, we took the opportunity to re-review design elements that you, the community, have been pointing out for years.

----------A New Logo----------
By now, you've surely noticed that the logo has changed.

Look, there's no denying that the old logo was iconic. In fact, it was the only BHW logo I had ever known having been a member here for over a decade. But we are pleased to unveil this new logo for BlackHat World as this redesign features a modern look with bold colours and clean lines; a look that we feel represents a significant update to our brand identity. Essentially, this new logo communicates who we are today and marks a new chapter for BlackHat World.

bhwlogo-dark-transparent.png

FAQ
1. Why was the colour palette changed?
This gives us a better Accessibility score than the old style; therefore, we're happy with this format.

As per the announcement here, I've moved your post into the relevant section. Can you keep all comments about the change in the official thread so we can manage them more efficiently?

Please post any further comments - ideally with screenshots - in the official thread .
2. Is there an option to revert back to the old theme?
No option to revert back is available due to a complete rewrite of the back end.
3. Why isn't the reaction score displayed now?
The reaction score relates to the users profile, not that post. It was seen as misleading therefore removed. If I'm missing the point there - screenshots with more detail would be appreciated.
4. Is this a Xenforo theme?
We don't use the Xenfotro themes. This is a custom theme we've had designed to keep us on brand.
5. Is the website URL display coming back?
Not something we're bringing back.
6. Can we vote on the changes?
Design by committee never works. But appreciate your thoughts in this thread.
7. Why was the favicon changed?
The old Favicon needed to be refreshed in line with the updated and cleaner brand identity.
8. Why is there no poll?
Currently, collecting feedback here is more constructive than a "Yes"or "No" poll. :)
Changelog
 
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As Soon as I saw the light theme screenshot.

reaction-my-eyes.gif
 
YAY
my nagging has worked !!!

Although @Zwielicht
1714740745205.png
The top nav bar (Home Forums etc)
doesn't look consistent and imo blends in way too much with the white background
On the same black theme, you see an extra shade :)
1714740730244.png
Either way, I do like the new White Theme design and Dark Theme so far doesn't hurt my eyes that much either (who knows, maybe I'll finally convert)!
 
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