It's just blue shapes, Alex. :/ Here's an example of a layout that stands out:
http://www.ffinsider.net/
Note that the new forum layout sucks, so ignore that. The main site placing is also messy, because the guy that owns FFI is a complete noob. I used to work for him, I should know. XD But yeah, you should see how that header image (if it was saved in better quality) makes the site look really pro, even though it's run by a bunch of noobs. If you can add quality content and a great community to that sort of layout, you've got a top notch FF site.
And then there's pagerank on Google. Without it, all your efforts go to waste. I've done extensive research on upping pagerank for my own site (nothing to do with FF, hell it's not even released yet >_>) but that's a whole different topic.