Design Contest Update: Which One Do YOU Like So Far?

The Tokyomango.com design contest's still rolling (keep the entries coming! I'm loving your ideas), but I wanted to show you guys some of the entries I've gotten so far. Which one do YOU like, and why? Please leave a comment or email me your thoughts—feel free to ramble, I want to hear what you think—on these entries.

Entry 1                                                                     Entry 2

Two more after the jump.

Entry 3                                                                                         Entry 4

Comments

[teeny]

I am loving the second entry, but the red in the "O" just doesn't fit in with the rest of the color scheme, but I do get that it is emulating the Japanese flag.

[amvalenz]

entry 1 or 4

[Dragonfang18]

I like the second one

[stuz]

definetely 2nd one comes closest... if i had the time to propose a design

I'm with teeny bout the red O.
A wee too pinkish for my taste though.. plus actually using a smooth font type (with smooth sakura flowers) instead of a pixeled one(s) would probably be a BIG plus. Also might want to make the designer to consider less emphasis on the flower borders.. they're quite heavy and weighs down the righthand side of the page. That's just my 2 cents..

[Sky]

number 1!!!!

[Shingen]

They are all nice, so it's a tough decision. Personally, I prefer 1 and 4, although I feel 4 does not really hit the tone of the blog as a whole. The bold, bright colours and soft edges of the first design win me over.

[Smoke]

entry 4

[Joey_v]

My favorite is 1, but I think the flag pierced in the mango should be the rising sun, not that green thing... and I don't like the green overall. I think the colors should be reddish/orangish... no green.
And then finally, the leaves in the top right don't really fit in. Other than that, I like it.

[Namtillaku]

I'm going with one - it's got a mango, some Tokyo-esque script, and a nice balance of colors.

[Mike]

I like 1 and 3 personally. Although I have to say that all 4 of them did a great job, as I know I couldn't even design a stick figure page.

[thirtyframes]

I like #1 the best, followed closely by #4.
Joey-v makes a good point about the flag in the mango - rising sun would be neat.
But all 4 are wonderful.

[Haroon]

I like 1 and 2. Hate 4.

[drraoulduke]

I’m with number 2.
What is that flag of in no 1? I agree it should be the Japanese flag or something more recognizable. And the mango looks a bit plastic-ey. Number 2 looks great. I think the style really suits this site, although I agree that some smoother fonts + less pixilated graphics would be nicer. Number 3 looks like a company newsletter, and the pic in number 4 is awesome but I don’t think it matches the feel of this site very well.

[gianne]

design no. 2 definitely. compared to the rest it looks the least like a blog template

[rubyshoe]

I vote for number two.

[fruitbikini]

I think number 2 is very nice, love the pink color and flowers,they're delicate and feminine but number 4 is really awesome,it has great depth and energy

[Greg]

wow these all look really great!

if I had to pick:

1 is great, I like the colors and the navigation. personally I would choose a different font for the name of the blog but that is just a minor deet.

4 is cool because I like the graphic at the top although it is hard to tell how big it is. I am having some problems with a banner at top that's proving to be a bit too big (making it harder for ads to show up "above the fold" to borrow a term from print)

all the entries show great design skillz though, kudos to all!!!!!!!

[stuz]

Just my 2c on some the comments.. first of all Japanese flags (or imitations of the 梅干し - say the red heart in no 3, the red circle in no 2) or using a font type looking like brush calligraphy just gives me the chills! It's waaaaay to tacky and reminds me of a teen-like Japan-obsession.. C'mon...

[drewson99]

#1

1-3 are all good choices in my opinion, the only one I think doesn't "fit" is #4 (though it is a perfectly nice design - just not for TM)

[masami]

I like #2 but agree with others about the red 0. Also like #1.

[QueenKatOfTypos]

1 is great.

[paradoxperfect]

I prefer #1 the most. It's very laid back and seems to be very well structured (reading wise). *But*, as Joey_v said, I think the flag in the mango should be the rising sun!! Can't wait!

PS - I would have sent an entry in, but I'm so overloaded with designs for other sites, I just can't add any more onto my plate!

[Jenanime]

I like the colors and overall design of the first entry. I think the little flag on the mango should be changed to the Japanese flag instead of the little clover-thing. I like the fourth one second-best since it has a pretty nice image of Tokyo and that's where most of the stuff you write about is from. But number one is my favorite of the two.

[mq1986]

Number one is a little too...sedate. It looks like something you can whip up with Frontpage without too much trouble.

Number two has a cool color scheme, but the lettering is kind of annoying--it looks distorted, like a JPG image that's been resized with Paint. And what's with the filled in "O"?

Number three is just...I'll just say it's not my favorite by far.

Number four has a cool graphic, but it looks GIANT. Plus, the actual blog portion of the site looks exactly the same.

In the end, I'd say go with Number Two, although Number Four would work really well if you revise it somewhat.

[La Estrella Brillante]

I'd go for #1
as it's the easiest one to read.. like someone up there already mentioned, it's kinda laid-back :)

But the only problem is about the flag.. so, if it can ben changed, then it'll be wonderful :)

however, without a great content from you, the nice design will be nothing!

keep it up, Lisa!