I want to show something but I have a question first

[jndesigner2]

Hi everyone

My partner and I just started a new site that offers services to graphic designers for hosting and building their portfolios that automatically import into flash with PDF/CD burning options, and I really would like feedback from designers on the style of the site and the features it has - but I really don't want to come across as spamming and get banned or offend anyone...so I just want to ask if it is okay before I post the URL.

At this point I really could use the feedback though, I can give a few people free accounts if they are willing to take the time to critique the member tools, and the account would be yours to keep for the full year of the subscription to use however you want just for helping out.


Is it okay if I post the URL? I just want to make sure its okay and that I don't break any forum rules. :)

[xplod_ldg]

It's ok. It actually seems like a very good ideea. I'm curious about your site :D

[Kool]

Hold on JN we'll get a ruling from the boss. ;)

[Riya]

If/when you get the OK, I'm interested in helping out.

[captain spanky]

me also, put my name down for the helping out/critique... it sounds very interesting :)
and its very nice to see someone with good manners too! ;) :D

[reuber1]

Yeah, me too. Sounds interesting.

[mac.FINN]

Sign me up - sounds worthwhile.

[Virgo Nightingale]

Sounds great! Especially since I've been trying to build my portfolio website in flash for a year and a half now... :rolleyes:

[frankster]

well there's always the option of sending a personal message to those people that join this thread saying they are interested.

[jndesigner2]

I am glad so many people are interested in helping :)

http://www.minipublish.com

Anyone that wants to critique the member tools, the easiest way is to post here first, and then use the site's "purchase" form but go back to the home page once it sends you to paypal instead of paying. The form on the purchase page creates a free member account before you have to pay anything, just without any books created.

So once it sends you to paypal just go back to the site's homepage and PM me here the email you signed up with, and I'll use the Admin side to create a free book for your account.

Since this is a very new service and we are a small startup, I can only give out about 5 free accounts for the testing, and I'll add them based on the order people request it in this thread. I would post login information for a generic "testing" account that everyone could use but the system wouldn't handle multiple users on the same account at the same time very well.

And thanks to everyone for your interest in helping out - I really appreciate it!

Edit: Just a note, I would like to give xplod_ldg, Riya, captain spanky, reuber1, mac.FINN, Virgo Nightingale first dibs on free accounts if they want to critique the member tools, since they posted first about wanting to help.

If any of them pass then it'll I'll setup free accounts for whomever requests it here until we hit our limit of five. :)

[KingVance]

hello...apple.com?

yeah...i think i found your tab buttons

[jndesigner2]

hello...apple.com?

yeah...i think i found your tab buttons

Yeah...I gave Scott a very hard time about that when I saw apple.com - his story about them ripping him off just doesn't cut it. ;)

We are definately going to redo the navigation, he's working on it right now.


PS: We do have one sign up so we have 4 free left we can give out. :)

[budafist]

I thought I had already seen your site floating around in this site. Since it was your first post (or there abouts) I regarded it as spam....Am I mistaken?

[reuber1]

Well, everything seems good now.

[jndesigner2]

I thought I had already seen your site floating around in this site. Since it was your first post (or there abouts) I regarded it as spam....Am I mistaken?

I did post it in the Resources but I personally really hate spam, which is why I asked before posting the URL anywhere else. (When asking that question here I didn't even mention I had added to resources).

I am really interested in feedback from designers right now, which is why I am giving the free accounts. I really hope no one feels I am spamming - I don't know of any other way than by asking in forums to get the feedback we need.

[peder]

All this seems like a great idea! I don't have anything to put in a portfolio, though, and therefore not much of an interest in trying it, but I can imagine this is something that could be useful for a lot of people.

[Jackimalyn]

I have to admit though, if I didnt get it for free, I wouldnt pay $60 for it. Hosting your own site is cheaper than that

[jndesigner2]

I have to admit though, if I didnt get it for free, I wouldnt pay $60 for it. Hosting your own site is cheaper than that

I can understand that, $60 for a year ($5 a month) is the cheapest we can really run everything on, with disk space, traffic and the application server factored in.

In addition to the hosting though, the price covers all the system tools such as the PDF version, the flash portfolio manager, and burning as many CD-ROM versions of your portfolio as you like.

Are there other features you'd like to see that increase its value? We came to $5/month and thought it was pretty cheap for all the features, but we are definately interested in everyone's input on the topic.


PS: We have two free slots left at this point.

[D-Frag]

thats totally going to end up on http://www.pirated-sites.com/

[Riya]

Two minor issues so far:

1. Asterisks or some other indicator of required fields in the create account form would be helpful.

2. Typo in the FAQ:
When I purchase MiniPublish how long will my portfolio be online?
MiniPublish has set up our system to allow your portfolio to be online for 1 year from the date of purchase. You will recieve email notification to remind you that your portfolio is about to receive and can then renew for another year.

[budafist]

No that's fine, I guess you're direct marketing since we are your target consumer rather than spamming such as penis enlargement devices...

[jndesigner2]

Two minor issues so far:

1. Asterisks or some other indicator of required fields in the create account form would be helpful.

2. Typo in the FAQ:
When I purchase MiniPublish how long will my portfolio be online?
MiniPublish has set up our system to allow your portfolio to be online for 1 year from the date of purchase. You will recieve email notification to remind you that your portfolio is about to receive and can then renew for another year.

Good catch on the typo, and a good point about the required fields. I'll fix both of those.


Also, someone mentioned they are happy for me to post what they're doing who's been testing it out for the last few minutes, here's a link to what they are playing with:

http://www.minipublish.com/pinkdarlin826/

Keep in mind when photos are dropped into the pages, if they are not the correct poportions for a page they stretch to fit, which is why some of the photos there look compressed along an axis.

[jndesigner2]

We are all filled up on the free slots we have to give out, but we are still interested in people's feedback. Scott will have our (by our I mean Apple's) menu changed out soon.


Edit:

BTW, if anyone with GraphixBooks could let us know what you think of the tutorial, its one of the features we'd really like feedback on.

Thanks!

[jndesigner2]

Okay, updates:


- The menu is completely new - no more Apple tabs


- We decided to drop the one year subscription and go with a quarterly price - so instead of $59.95 its $15.00 to get a book. It is the same price per year all in all, but we think the lump sum up front may be intimidating if people don't have absolute confidence that a nice portfolio system is really going to land them better work.


Has anyone had a chance to play with the GraphixBook features so far?

[urstwile]

Might I suggest that you incorporate some type of working demo into it? Something along the lines of what Adobe does, with 30-day free trials, etc. You could maybe restrict the number of views per trial to a small but reasonable amount, and then restrict perhaps other functions as well, or limit it to ten days or something, but with something like this, I'd prefer to see how easy it actually was to use before I even spent the $15 for the quarterly. Sorry, I'm cheap. :)

[Virgo Nightingale]

Hello all...

I've checked out the site and the tools and everything, and overall I think everything works quite well. I was able to navigate my way around and create and edit my book fairly easily.

The contructive criticism I've come to as of yet:

Is there a way to add a preview button to the bottom of the editing tabs? I think it's a little cumbersome to have to click twice to see the changes I've just made. Or maybe I'm just too damn lazy for my own good...

In the advanced tab - I've tried several times to change my loader type to progress bar, but it always goes back to round.

Is it possible to add a volume control to the page turn sound? I'd like to have the sound there, but only as subtle background noise; it's a little too loud IMO.

As I play around with my book some more and add more pages, I'll let you know of anything else I come up with. Otherwise, pretty good job so far!

I've set up my book with a few pieces. Here's the link to it: CLICKETY CLICK!
(http://www.minipublish.com/VirgoNightingale/)
Please check it out and me and the MiniPublish guys know what your thoughts are.

[jndesigner2]

Very nice work Virgo! Very crisp and clean, and very good work.


Good suggestion about the preview button too, I am trying to think of the best method to implement it. I think the best way may be a popup window with a button bellow the book that flips back to the editor. I try to avoid popup windows but it may be the best way.

That, or having a preview button that toggles on/off which would display the book in the same window but below the editing tools. I'll hash out some ideas with Scott at the office tomorrow.


I saw the problem with the progress bar and fixed it - I set your book to use it instead of the round loader.

I also really like the idea of the volume control. I always keep the sound so low at the office that I didn't realize how loud it was.


A strange thing I noticed myself is the PDF isn't loading for me here at home, but they work perfectly at the office (haven't tested yours yet).

Is anyone else having trouble viewing the PDF?

EDIT: The PDF file is working, my browser just loaded an acrobat update prompt under my browser window and it looked like it was frozen, but as soon as I clicked it your work popped right up properly.

[jndesigner2]

Is there a way to add a preview button to the bottom of the editing tabs? I think it's a little cumbersome to have to click twice to see the changes I've just made. Or maybe I'm just too damn lazy for my own good...


I finished adding the Preview system, let me know if you like the new feature's implementation. I avoided the popup and added a way to turn on/off a preview of the book below the editor forms.