Another Change

[Studio 7]

i have thought about the ideas and comments you ppl gave me, and this is what i came up with.

it still has all the tings i want but is a bit more user friendly :) (Not totally fin)

http://www.marcorchard.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Site%20Pages/index.html

what is ur thoughts on the banner on the main pages top left.. personaly i think the image quality is naff... U?

please comment to help me in my design.

thx.

[Studio 7]

im hert.... no replys....

[Ulysses]

I didn't want to be the one that said "I really don't like it". I'd feel so guilty ...

[Studio 7]

no no cheers :)

now i can go change it, and see if i get ne better feed back.

thank you for the honest comment ;)

[Ulysses]

I think you're just trying too hard, Marc. And that shows in the design.

I'd suggest taking a step back, and think about starting off with a more bahaus approach, so as to break the site down into it's individual elements; header, menu, content, banner image, etc.

As it is, the site is too consistent in tone ... you need to break all the elements up, and treat them all individually, rather than as one element. Yes, you need to consider all the elements as a whole - to balance the design - but you don't want to keep everything in that pale-grey/blue tone. Try adding a bit of black or orange for the menu or something ... just to make things clearer and more contrasted.

[benjo]

I don't know if what is up is your orginal but I like the top navigation alot. I would just ad some of that life to the body as it seems very plain. Add some LoremIsump to mimick content also just so we can get a visual of what is going on.

[Studio 7]

Add some LoremIsump to mimick content also just so we can get a visual of what is going on.

what is that ?, never come across it b4.

[benjo]

http://www.lipsum.com/

Read about it here.

[s_spice1131]

I agree with the other comments. It needs a little more life. All the grey is making it seem very flat and unexciting. Try adding more color. Maybe use the light blue tint from your image on the words of the buttons. I think that it would make the words stand out more. As for the content, it is hard to comment on it just yet because you don't have enough there yet. But keep at it and see what you get.

[Studio 7]

grre i am finding it hard to meet a mod ground bewteen boring and to graphical :S

[JPnyc]

Am I the only one who gets the look and feel of a cosmetics ad/display from this? Just wondering if it's my imagination or not.

[Studio 7]

whats ur thoughts. should i have a animated or static splash page.. or none at all?

is there a prefered type for general views as oposed to to people who use my site for a purpose ?

[uncle carbunkle]

i vote no spash page, and i don't understand your second question.

[Roo-1]

End user, end user end user!

What am I talking about?

1) Splashpage - Gray color links on light blue...Hard to see for old bi-focaled eyes. Plus, why make me make an extra click just to get to the content. Splash pages just force the end user to work to get to what they want....• Information •.

2) Navbar - Light blue color on hover...IMPOSSIBLE to see!

3) Horizontal scroll at 800 X 600, plus no navigation at the bottom making me need to scroll back up. Yes, enough people still use 800X600 to warrant you using that as the minimum res to design at.

Yes YOU need to be happy with your site, but sit back at try to use it, with the end user in mind. Make it usable for THEM, because they are the ones that will actually be using it.

[reuber1]

Unc, I think (keyword there) what Studio meant by his second question deals with designing his site for a broad audience or a specific group (in this case it would be hiring managers or art directors...at least that is the impression I get). I would definitely design with those people in mind...I strongly believe in the need to draw a line between designing for the mass-general audience of the web and the true primary audience. It's not wise to decide that everyone is your target audience (unless it's porn). Aim for a more artistic approach...I wouldn't be so conservative.

A couple of years ago, the site you have now would have been OKAY for a portfolio page, but nowadays it won't cut it. It seems that the whole glacial, monochromatic site style is dated...it doesn't look like that the design for this site really took that long. I mean, you have the graphical content on the top half of the page that screams tutorial to me, whereas on the bottom half is quick, light copy.

If I were you, I would grab a small sketchbook or pocket-sized notepad and a pen/pencil and just start sketching down anything you can think of. Close Photoshop, get away from the computer, go out with friends or whatever and have that handy. You really need something fresh, and I'm sorry to say but I think you need to scrap what you got now. The Information Architecture, although simple for a site like this, seems adequate. I would maintain your link structure and simply focus on a different design. Refering back to the target audience blurb I gave before, I personally wouldn't get too hung up on the usability issues as some have stated, you're designing an art/design portfolio page, not WebMD.

[Studio 7]

thx for the comments, i have started to but a new design together, (running into layout probs) but i am upset on the screams tutorial commenti havent looked at a tut for a site layout ever... putting them together yeh but never to design.

any how how dose dark blue and tech platic whit and silver go for a colour scheme ?

[reuber1]

I said the graphics scream tutorial, not the layout: I've seen tutorials around the web that teach you how to do exactly that. I'm sorry if you're upset about the comment, but honestly it seems to lack creativity; it looks like tutorial quality graphics. That doesn't mean you looked up a tutorial page and copied it...that doesn't mean you altered the steps from some tutorial book and applied the techniques that way...it means that the graphics you made look like they are tutorial quality, and that's it (it "screams" tutorial). In the design field, artistic direction will get you further than a strong technical knowledgebase; knowing the software is expected, but applying it in a creative matter is entirely different.

[Studio 7]

oh u ment the graphics.. would the banner be the main thing.. the pod thing i did use a tut for soz m8 :(

i am crap with C4D but i love the effects it gives i am still getting started with it.

[reuber1]

Just double checked your site. Things are starting to shape up, and it looks A LOT better (personally not the biggest fan of the style of design, but that's just my personal preference, nothing against the design). Though I think Verdana might be a better font to go with?

It can get kind of difficult to design a site with something your not totally familiar with though (in this case Cinema 4D), but I like the graphic you have on the header now better than what was there before. I never used the program myself, but from what I see it's capable of some interesting effects.

Get more of your portfolio work up there, I dig the "D3FR4G" image alot...pretty sweet.

[Studio 7]

i am messing with my site, for about 2 days i have been now, nerly finished the new and i hope final design... its i think alot more pro... but i have a adobe stock image i really really like it do you know of the restrictins on it.. could i use it as my banner.. or just temp to i can got snap up a river near me :confused: