So I just finished the meat of a redesing for my design portfoilio site, Dandelion Graphics. Tell me what you guys think, constructive critisim is expected. I really appreciate any advise that would make the site look better.
The main reason for the redesign is that the current site only looks good at 1024x768. So make sure to look at that one in that resolution, but for the redesign, take a look at it in as many resolutions as you want.
It looks fine in Safari 1.2.3, Internet Explorer 5.2, and FireFox 0.9.3 all on OS X. At least it looks as I assume you intended it to.
I think the redesign is a vast improvement over your previous design. I don't care for your color scheme or choice in font for your buttons but I guess thats just a personal taste. I hate your header graphic. It seems a little odd that you dropped your services section and moved your portfolio to the main page but thats your choice.
Thanks for the input. I can see how the color scheme is a bit weird, but I do like it. It is supposed to be the color of dandelions. What do you guys think would make a better color scheme? Is there any particular color that you think I should drop or change?
Here is an alternative that I made up with some more contrasting greys and a shadow around the content boxes. Any better?
From: the dark one with no windows Insane since: Sep 2001
posted 09-05-2004 00:29
i like the darker greys .. yes. better.
actually, it's the green that bugs me. what if u tried replacing the green with a more tan/brown/orange-y thing, to mimic the colour of the dandelion stem (stalk?)...
just a thought. mind u, i am known to spend (waste) half-days mucking around with colour schemes on my sites ...
i like the darker greys .. yes. better.actually, it's the green that bugs me. what if u tried replacing the green with a more tan/brown/orange-y thing, to mimic the colour of the dandelion stem (stalk?)... just a thought. mind u, i am known to spend (waste) half-days mucking around with colour schemes on my sites ... sun//dumdedum//
Thanks....I'll definitely consider changeing the green. But you are saying that you like the newer variation with the lighter grey content boxes. What do you think of the shadow, I'm not too fond of it, but the lighter grey sits better with me.
The alternative is an improvement but what I find makes your color scheme ugly in browsers is the darkness of the yellow and green. CNet makes great use of a yellow, grey, and red color scheme that I find to be absolutely fabulous. I think the brightness of the yellow and red is why the site is so pleasing to the eye.
The header image completely ruins your college scheme IMO. Its done poorly and the colors are awful.
I don't have time for a full blown review, but I wanted to make a quick note that the green is one of the good things about it - I would definately not change the green.
The biggest problem with the colors is the closeness of the two main shades of grey. The latest version with the higher contrast greys is definately better.
quote:So I just finished the meat of a redesing for my design portfoilio site, Dandelion Graphics. Tell me what you guys think, constructive critisim is expected. I really appreciate any advise that would make the site look better.
constructive... maybe, if I'm in a happy happy joy joy kind of mood...
make the site look better?... Pressing the power button on your monitor could do wonders... :P
Heh, just kidding. But if you ever expect to hack it in a design related industry, you should know that everything you do will be slammed by some, if not many people, peers and clients at some point in time. It's simply part of the game and there's no two ways about it.
Now, onto the site...
If you can find the review I gave you last time you posted your website, go re-read it, cause I'm honstly not seeing much improvement here. It certainly looks different, for better of for worse it's much for muchness from where I'm standing.
You still have arrows pointing to, um, nothing. Seriously, think about it - an arrow is, by design, a shape that leads the eye to a particular point. An arrow is a clever combination of point, line and or space. They're a classic example of design theory used globally with good effect, except here. Yours lead me off the edge of your website, and anyone with formal graphic design training will most likely spot that questionable use of the symbol a mile away. In less polite terms...
...it's amateurish, nix the arrows or make em usefull, the symbol it too powerfull to be used liberially.
The general inconsistency of whitespace isn't doing you any favors either (margins, paddings etc.). Although what's troubling me more are the dashed lines, 1px thick borders, doted text, scan lines and criss-cross background all mixing in to create some rather textually confusing messages. Simply put, there's *too* much detail and it's creating a flood of conflicting visual stimuli. Put into laymen terms...
First of all, thank you for all of your reviews. I really appreciate all of the pointers and critisims that these site reviews provide. I totaly expect to get slammed by at least a few lunitics
Well, I have done my best to listen to all criticism and adjust this design to look the best that it can look. I've made the site live after tweaking it to my satisfaction. Lemme know what you guys think.
Some variations I played with, but ended up scraping for possible future work. Let me know if you guys think any of these are better color schemes. I personally like the green, but I'm trying to get a poll of other opinions:
From: Out on the Sea of Madness... Insane since: Dec 2003
posted 09-15-2004 19:45
You know, that font you've chosen (the dotted one) still does nothing for the site and really offers nothing. It just does not fit, and you'd be better off with a nice sans-serif one. If you are looking for slightly different, then try one like Neuropol perhaps, which IMO would look better and be far more readable. The highlight version for your rollovers is barely readable on my laptop with whatever font you're using now.
However, since I know the font issues been raised before, apparently it's not something you see as an issue, so what I just typed will probably be ignored, just as the prior suggestions were.
_____________________ le coeur du feu
Qui sème le vent récolte la tempête!
You know, that font you've chosen (the dotted one) still does nothing for the site and really offers nothing. It just does not fit, and you'd be better off with a nice sans-serif one. If you are looking for slightly different, then try one like Neuropol perhaps, which IMO would look better and be far more readable. The highlight version for your rollovers is barely readable on my laptop with whatever font you're using now.However, since I know the font issues been raised before, apparently it's not something you see as an issue, so what I just typed will probably be ignored, just as the prior suggestions were.
I have taken the font suggestion into consideration before, and so far I have tested it on sereral monitors, flat-panel, CRT, laptop, and have had no problem reading it. I am using that particular font for a reason, I like that it look's like very small holes cut in the background material, and when you mouse over, they illuminate. I will definitely play around with other fonts, but I have a feeling my creative brain is fixed on this one. Still, thank you for the advice.
The font aside, is there anything anyone LIKES? So far all criticism here has been constructive, yet when I've shown it to others, they can at least find a few things that they like. I'd be interested to know if any of you hard-core heads out there actually have some positive criticism. If not to point out that I'm at least somewhat on the right track, it would be nice to hear some praise.
to be slightly negative yet constructive, i totally agree on the typeface for the buttons. with the tiny dots its just way too low contrast, its not immediately obvious to me where your navigation is. the backlit effect, while i understand what you're going for, comes off as sort of amateurish, sorry.
the color palette overall isn't bad, its unique and that's not a bad thing, i'd like to see it with a bit more contrast tho. what i don't really quite get is your navigation, there's really only one other page and an external link. it doesn't seem like you'd necessarily need an entire page for your contact info, you could simply have an e-mail link and your address/phone info listed on the first page.
so do you do print? or just web? back-end development? or just static sites? flash? an about/services/etc. section would be a good idea imo. and if the site is just you, which is what i'm guessing, don't try to be more than just you (i.e. lead designer), just be an individual designer and let this be your site.
you might sit down and ask yourself some questions in designing this. "what do i want a visitor to do when they see this site? what do they need to know about me? what else do i want to communicate about me, my work?" hope that helps, keep going
A quick glance shows you lightened the color only slightly, changed the direction of the arrows on the header graphic, and added a black border & slight variation in the gray used for your content. It's not exactly drastic changes.
Still, the lighter coloring is an improvement. I'd suggest drawing up a less ugly header graphic and using a better font.
Thanks again guys....I'm going to act on these suggestions as soon as I can. You guys have been extremely helpful, and didn't thrash my design too much. I love this site as a resource to get informed site analysis. Keep it up crazies!
Well I've been playing with a new font for my buttons and content headers. I was finding it VERY hard to find the right font, but this one seems to fit. I also played around with a few different mouseover colors, so lemme know which one you like the best, or make a suggestion for a different color. Also, if anyone has ideas for how to liven up the mouseovers, suggest away.
Note to Jestah: I'm aware that the header could use work and I plan on taking that on next, no need to critique further.
posted 09-04-2004 21:59
