My response to Steve Ivy’s post Open Source, Product Design, and DiSo.
You touch on the branding concepts being a part of the DiSo-verse, and at that same time, I’d argue that if you create (or worse) require any element of the process to have a certain design (the profile pages) then you are going to create resistance.
On my blog, http://boldlygoing.com, I’ve painstakingly over written the default style capabilities of the MyBlogLog, BlogCatalog and BumpZEE! widgets. Why? Because it was more important to me that their functionality fit into the overall site design.
Profile pages may be somewhat different, however I’d submit that badges, logos, etc ARE the way to brand and create a cohesive experience. Everyone that knows about RSS pretty much knows what that little orange, square icon means/represents.
Don’t you think that keeping “requirements” as minimal as possible is better than instituting design/styling demands???
