Illustration Site Re-Design

[LDiehl]

I'm getting the itch again to redesign my website, as I've had basically the same design for a couple of years. After much fiddling these are what I came up with for concepts, in the order of: splash page, main layout, footer and one alternate layout (that I think is a little too "clean" and graphic design-y for my liking).

For those who've followed my logo thread (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24668&goto=newpost): I did try using the "full color" version of that logo for these designs, but for some reason kept coming back to monochrome. The orange just seemed to put too much of the focus on the logo, not the artwork (which would be the point of an illustration site). I also toyed with using the more intricate "name plate" for the splash image... but came to the realization that it would be better to have a actual painting be the first thing seen by visitors, as this site is about getting illustration work, not design work.

I'd really like to take a step closer to professionalism in web design, not away... so please give me the full critique treatment! Comparisons to my present site are welcome.

Also, I really like the faded star tile in the background, but I realize this might be a mess when it comes to making things on different layers line up, and transparent gifs are a pain. Any ideas what the best way to do this might be?

For web design I use primarily Adobe Photoshop, Image Ready and GoLive ...but I also inevitably end up hand coding or altering the code in Notetab too. I know a passable amount of java and CSS, but only enough to get by really.

http://www.ldiehl.com/wip/website_splash1s.jpg

http://www.ldiehl.com/wip/website_layout1s.jpg

http://www.ldiehl.com/wip/website_footer1s.jpg

http://www.ldiehl.com/wip/website_layout2s.jpg

[DesignerScott]

First, a comment on your illustrations: WOW! I love them a lot. that opening image is great and seems as though it would really set the mood for the whole site quite well.
For the layout of the site, I think the use of a "splash page" in this context will work well, but I would refrain from putting the navigation on the bottom of the page. Otherwise, the only other thing I might think about changing would be playing with colors, to give it a more dynamic feel. (At the cost of bandwidth though) but I'm a flash designer too, so take that with a grain of paprika.

[LDiehl]

DesignerScott: Glad you like the art. Navigation on the splash page is something I'm still debating. I can see why it should be removed (as it kind of distracts from the main purpose of the splash...the single teaser image). I have been playing with colors, though I didn't save any of those, perhaps if I do any more color variations I will share them. It just seems like as soon as I introduce a second color, the images don't "pop" as much. Know what I mean?