PlayBox Design

Freebie Poll module updated

Neil — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:10:25 +0000

The free poll module for Dolphin 7.0.9, bit weird as I updated my demo site and the module still worked, haven’t looked any further just simply updated the files.

Enjoy! – Click here

Template updated to 7.0.9 and the Free poll module

Neil — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:04:19 +0000

The Dolphin update has been released and I’ve updated the Event. template so it is compatible with the latest.

The Free poll module has been a little success, I would like some feedback if possible, would you like another freebie?

Looking forward to 2012

Neil — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:42:39 +0000

After releasing out Event. Dolphin template(s) we are looking to next year and we are eager to bring more to our fans out there. Service is something I want to keep high for installing, modifying and designing Dolphin templates, even though we have just one Dolphin template to date we are also focusing on making it the best Dolphin template out there.

Baby steps, another addition to PlayBox Design is actually supplying video tutorials. We believe if you are keen to get stuck into your Dolphin template modification then we will show you how it’s done.

Another item is free Photoshop files and modules, there’s no secret that freebies help boost popularity . Boonex has a high cost for both Dolphin templates and Modules, we want to change this and make it so everyone can get assets for free.

Membership, this is something that we want to introduce perhaps later on in the year, the first obstacles are of course getting a fan base, after which we want specialists to come and share the wealth, by doing this we will be giving a fantastic service as well as giving people jobs. What better than giving proper community support for a small fee.

Have a happy 2012!

Dolphin templates and the future possiblities

Neil — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:28:35 +0000

The more and more I look into the possibilities in what Dolphin Templates could be in the future I get excited. The excitement is in the module development for Dolphin Templates, I’ve seen some great modules that do some very sophisticated stuff. The problem however is that social networking templates need a homepage that in my opinion needs to be better. I find the problem with Dolphin templates is that the homepage layout can be restrictive, making custom items through the admin is focused on various columns but if you need something written in php to hard code the Dolphin templates homepage it’s very difficult as it’s controlled purely by the admin. Dolphin Templates could be so much better if you could take code snippets and inject them in a custom index page. This said I am sure there is a way. For me WordPress does this beautifully, you can add in a custom banner slider which transforms any homepage.

The future of the Dolphin Templates lays within the possibilities with the Dolphin template structure itself, you cannot add custom php classes as you need to abide by the Dolphin template codex. For real flexibility you need to have an easy to modify Dolphin templates framework, programming is challenging enough and by adding additional boundaries stops people diving in and getting an outcome. I believe the make and break of this CMS is the company who provides the CMS (Boonex), their expensive approach stops the popularity of the CMS, to really explode they need to re-order things and make it appealing for designers, agencies and sole users. As an agency I wouldn’t go for Dolphin purely because of the flexibilities in the Dolphin templates, WordPress gives that flexibility and easy to add on functionality, not only that it’s free and the plugins you get is crazy.

If Boonex can give agencies and designers a package and an easy to modify Dolphin templates along with the control over the positioning of the Dolphin templates header, footer, breadcrumb for each page and a marketplace that pushes free open source plugins I believe it will be a winner.

New theme released! Event.

Neil — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:36:36 +0000

I’m proud to present our new Dolphin template, it’s taken many hours to design and build and I hope you guys like it. Event. features some great extras such as re-designed modules to create a perfect looking finish, every pixel has been agonized over to give that crisp professional feel to it. This Dolphin template is built around media rich modules, each module has been given the attention it deserved.

Here are some shots of the Dolphin template, check out the product page here.

Event module

Spy module

Blog module

Video module

Gallery module

Take a look at all the details and demo on the Event. product page

Polls module freebie

Neil — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:46:13 +0000

We all love free stuff so here’s a first from me, as you most probably noticed is that the poll module looks rather drab so I’ve simplified and added custom subtle styling to it.

I’ve taken out the scroll arrows, chunkified the bar and made it clean and clear. Enjoy!

Installation:

Simply go to the admin area/modules/ and upload the zip file using the upload tool provided. You can also do it via ftp to modules/boonex/ and replace the poll directory (backup old files in case).

Flush you cache in the dashboard and then refresh your site.

If you like the polls module you might like the complete package template, check it out here.

Download

Freebie for Boonex Dolphin

Login styling

Neil — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:45:09 +0000

I’ve created the login area quite differently to the standard (white) login you normally get, the styling features a textured dark background. The intention is to create focus on a some what dull area. Hope you like.

Poll styling done

Neil — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:25:16 +0000

On a roll today finishing 2 Dolphin modules, the styling for this was quite tricky as there are tables and excess markup which needed to be taken out, the styling has changed from the original design slightly, mainly the bar, it is now thicker and contains the percentage text. Check it out!

Gallery thumbnail styling

Neil — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:02:10 +0000

After trying to achieve the gallery which I designed I finally came to the conclusion that because of the dimensions, I have to stick with a square version. Check it out!

Video styling completed

Neil — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:33:00 +0000

I did think it would be a very hard task modifying the Dolphin video module but it went well, take a look at the finished coded result and compare it with the previous this previous post, what do you think to the below screengrab?