Feedback?

[Uncle Cheese]

Hi, Everyone,

I'm new here, as you may have noticed. Most of my experience is in building web layouts with CSS, and I've always wanted to enhance my graphics skills to make me a more marketable designer, so that's why I'm here.

I'm hoping some of you talented folks can take a look at this rough mockup I've been toying with and give me some design tips. I'm especially looking for some advice about texture, balance, and just ways to give it more visual harmony that will hopefully make it more interesting. As I said, I'm terrible with graphics, so feel free to lay into me.

Here's the link:

http://linodesign.net/images/mockup.jpg

Thanks so much!

[cjoe]

well at least you're worried about visual harmony. I think, selecting a colour scheme would be beneficial. A lot of the colours you are using don't work well together. Check the resources thread for an online colour scheme generator. Also, the center photograph is not really showing anything useful, it looks like it is just taking up space. If you are going to use the 'wave' shape as a consistent visual element, then keep it consistent, i.e. use the same wave in each place that you are going to use it (scaled up or down of course)

[Uncle Cheese]

Thanks for your feedback!

Interesting about the colors. I used the Color Schemer to spit out the scheme. What specifically doesn't work? I'm curious.

I have since removed the center photo. That got consistent bad reviews, so it's gone. The quality was poor, anyway. I have since replaced all the photos with stock images of girls working out. One is meeting with a personal trainer, too!

If it was the colors of the photos you didn't like, I've removed those overlays and opted to use full color, raw photos instead. I think it looks a bit better.

Thanks for the tip on the wave. That's the stuff I really need help with!

-Aaron

[urstwile]

The pink type on the baby blue background makes my eyes hurt.

The green bar across the bottom of the header photos seems kind of random, unless something's supposed to go there?

It feels like there are too many colors going on. The colors aren't really bringing anything into focus. The blue bar in the middle of the nav also seems kinda random.

The header part with the logo: the logo looks all scrunched up into the top part of the header, with all of this space at the bottom. Maybe vertically center it?

Also, barbells? Are these women really going to be using those? Hmmm...not saying women don't use barbells, but it just seems like an odd icon, and maybe a different one would be a better choice.

If you're going to do duotones, I'd stick with maybe two colors to alternate with at the most, not three like you have in the example.

And I think the palette is too girly, actually (I'm speaking as a female here). You've got the woman with her fists raised up in fight position, sitting on top of this pastel-ish background. If the idea is that women are being empowered to improve themselves somehow, I dunno, I think toss out the palette that you have and go with something that's a little bit stronger.

[cjoe]

i this case i think using a set of analogous colours (colours that adjacent on the colour wheel) that aren't too saturated would be kinder to the eye. Then maybe use a complementary colour (opposite on the colour wheel) to give accents to important areas.