Topic: WIP - Ann Beckett Studios

Ok, I've had to back up and punt on a lot of it... That's what you get for going into it without a comprehensive plan... But I think I'm on the right track now. You mighty gurus have at it!

Ann Beckett Studios

And if you like the artwork, send Ann an email!

Bodhi - Cell 617

good start, but for your text portions, align left, rather than align=center - for all pages.
your site map, though, would look better, imo, in a column down the center of the page.

i like the idea of having the larger images displayed over the hand with the mouse-over on the smaller images on the home page.. explore more color options on the pages.

[edit: also on the Meet page, use blockquotes to center the text since the words are those of the artist.

[This message has been edited by velvetrose (edited 02-20-2003).]

I had thought about a central column on the site map...
The colors were a matter of much discussion when we were initially designing the site, since the artwork is the focus of the site, Ann preferred a more monochrome, sedate palette in which to house the images... Perhaps in a future incarnation, I'll do more with that.
block quotes, gotcha...

And can I get some idea of the load time from someone with dial up? I recently migrated to cable (yes! high bandwidth!) and now I can't tell the speed as well...

Anyone else? Come on now, don't be shy!


Bodhi - Cell 617

I'll not comment on code right now, because I don't have time to go through it. I imagine Emperor will give you a proper critique of that later.

From a design standpoint, however, I must confess, there's not much to talk about. It's purple and beige, yes, but there's something...lacking.

When I view an artist's site, I like to be impressed with the fact that the art is integrated into the design, as it so often is. In band sites, even, the artistry of the covers is often integrated into the design of the site. It seems to me that an effective display of design for an artist takes into account her art.

That being said, though you have integrated some of the artowkr into that rollover bit on the front page, I have to question whether or not you can do more. I'm certain that you can. If you were to give just a little more, you'd be in happy places. The design elements, right now, are the block of images on the main page, the option bar at the top of all pages (about which I have issues) and the occasional logo greatly out-sizing the rest of the site.

I'd say that the site doesn't convey the peace that her artwork possesses. When I look at the caps of the work, I see lots of curves. I look at the site, I see none. I see glows, and rigid boxes of design elements, and the only mention of curve in the logo. So, I'd try playing with some curves...and get rid of the bandwidth hog of the rollovers of her work. A nice idea, but a bad practice for modem users.

Now, to the menubar...I hate glows. I hate hate hate hate them. I want to see them sent off to the moon, and never spoken of again. If she's keen on them, try to sway her to something more subtle and soft. I'd use curves here, as I just mentioned, and move the menubar into a design element itself. As it is, it stands at the top of the page like an accident.

Good works though.


oh, and huge pages of italicized words makes me very, very sad. Italics offset text from blocks of other text, as in emphasis. Since there is no other text on that page, lets lose them somewhere.

Please please please don't make too many comments on the code. I'm a visual person, and the site is designed in Dreamweaver, PhotoShop and ImageReady... I have yet to fully learn the intricacies of coding a page. We're working on that.

Curves... I see your point... I'm almost certain I can do more with that, and in the next incarnation of the site, hope to develop the design more than it is currently.

It's my first site, and hers, and to start with, we didn't have a very clear idea of where we were going. But I will take those thoughts to heart and work on improvements in v2.0... I think I like that... curves... I'm gonna play with that. I had wanted her to do some drawings to incorporate into the design of the site itself, but we haven't gotten very far there...

It's my personal opinion that the site is lacking somewhat in it's overall appeal, but it's been my mission to this point to get the pictures of her art up so that people could look at it. It's far from finished.

Please keep the comments coming. The ideas expressed by the members of this forum are valuable to me...


Bodhi - Cell 617

[This message has been edited by bodhi23 (edited 02-21-2003).]