Sneaky Preview of New Look MSE masthead

GeorgeUK

Other than Martin's pic looking to be struggling for space, the search box seems to abut the 'main site' dropdown box. I think a space would be needed between the 2.

Half way down the page you have the "What's it all about" information section. Should this not be at the top?

I think the 2 tone approach works well. Yes, it is a little cluttered but i don't think that can be helped with the volume of information you want to display. I don't think it looks confusing so i wouldn't worry about that.

I agree that the Forum tab is quite unobtrusive and could easily be overlooked. I feel that the forum is am important part of the site and a something is required to make it more blatant or noticeable. I think having it sit in the corner the same as the other tab text means that you would only really see it if you were looking specifically for it.

(Using Win7 and IE8)

JDPower

Only real change I would make would be to lose the grey down the sides of the page, it accentuates the squashed in look of the main content, should be white to match the main content background IMO (but then I don't really get why there are big strips of empty space down the sides anyway)

The removal of the two tone header background and tweaking of the colour is a big improvement