Social networking site - one step forward, one step back

I've spent quite a few hours trying to implement various pieces of code to try and achieve the register page, or upload image page. Unfortunately, all to no luck. It's highly frustrating and wedges even more distance between me liking PHP. 4 hours of one massive circle doesn't bode well, each time.

To combat the feeling of incomptency, I noticed that the top header section of my site appeared a little bare. It currently stands as a black box. 

  

The Playstaton site uses scrolling banners that feature gamers, or gaming characters behind a semi opaque colouring. I admired this in my earlier analysis.

I decided to try and make a Flash banner that incorporated the colour highlight of my current design and then mix it in with legendary gaming characters.

The neon light blue was naturally the most in keeping but also a distinct enough colour to draw attention. The grey was too drab, and the blue a little too much of a different hue to appear to aid continuity with the design.

Notably, framing it within a curved corner border made it more fitting with the sort of on screen game menu graphics we are used to. I liked the motion tween movement of the characters that I inserted, it varied between moving across the screen, fading in, spinning out, growing and having tremors. It certainly wouldn't be amiss on all the other typical gaming sites.

Feeling that development wasn't over, I tried to add a little more visual interest, as the blue with a character did look a little uninspiring. 

Firstly, I added a graph paper grid behind. This added that sort of visual detail that I was seeking but wasn't stylish enough in my opinion. I exchanged it for raised dots from my sugar lump design. I love recycling designs.

Thinking that I'd made a worthy banner, after having tweaked with the colouring of the light blue - lighter, darker, more blue, more grey, I added it to the site.

It looked OK, but it didn't fit in with the sophisticated visual elsewhere. I've noticed more and more since completing the design that the grey gradients and black make for a real sophisticated feel. The addition of the neon light blue make for a contemporary twist. I am proud and pleased with this design, I think it embodies stylishness. However, the banner looked tacky. It was difficult to get the colourisation of the blue to match when using a reduced alpha channel, and so, regrettably, I decided not to even use it.

Talk about one step forward, one step back. This PHP is tainted!

So, moving forwards, I hope to fix some code together to get the site to function. As I said, I am pleased with the design, and if I document what I intended the site to do, I think the premise is good. Just a shame that the code and I are not currently friends.

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