I'm not going to rip on this design just because of the "awesome website" thing...but it does deserve to be critiqued seriously. Definition between sections is weak, this leads to confusing about what is content, what are links, and what is important. Content is thin, I don't even want to bother trying to read it because my eye is constantly bolting to the next line. Colors are muted, which can be good, but not with a white background like this. Again, this makes things hard to read and focus on. Although you may be really pleased with your coding (I didn't check it, but I'm sure it's solid) and the little css effects you made, the visual impact of the site is less than pleasing; sending my eye wandering around the page for something pleasing to rest on and finding nothing.
Well put adam, any ideas on how to make the proper adjustments?
02-06-2007, 07:49 PM
unit_number_43
To be honest, it would probably be easier to start from scratch.
There are a few things that cluttered/unfocused designs suffer from. You need to find out which ones you're afflicted with and avoid the same mistakes.
- Too much information. Web sites that have a lot to say and little structure to how it's said. You see this mostly with automotive websites.
- Too little information. This is far more common and can generally be found on personal websites. This, again suffers from poor structure, but the designer usually tries taking what could be two sentences and stretching it out into one really long paragraph that doesn't need to exist.
- Color mess. A common beginner mistake. If you're using more than three colors it's way too much. Background, Foreground, Accent color. That's all you should ever need (as far as text is concerned)
- WTF Images. Large images, tiny tiny images, pictures that just don't make sense. This is usually a symptom of not having enough content to fill out a page. If you don't have enough content, then just find a way to thicken the look of the content without adding more to it.
- Redundant Navigation. There is no reason to have 3 different navigation areas when you only need one, or two at the most. Don't worry about people finding a certain section, if you structure your navigation well they will find it themselves.
- Hidden Navigation. Links that blend into the main text or sidebar text is _bad_. The user can't figure out where to start, and once they do find the navigation they can't figure out what is and what isn't a link. Make sure your navigation is clearly displayed and visually seperate from the rest of the content.
- Poor layout. A strong, well structured layout starts on paper. Sketching out 10 designs on paper and then going back to pick your favorite can save you tons of time later on. Use these sketches to define a flow to your site. By turning your head, waiting, and then looking back at the page you should be able to figure out the first object your eye focuses on. Using that as your starting point map out how your eye will want to travel. Generally the eye will follow any lines real or inferred in a left to right or top to bottom direction. Also, using similar colors can help the eye quickly leap from one point to another. If your logo uses orange for instance, then making your headers orange will help readers quickly find the important parts.
That should be enough to get started. Hope it helps.
02-06-2007, 08:15 PM
superdezign.com
big help! thank you, i will post a redesign once I finish it, i hope you return to comment on it again, you actually give helpful advice!!!
