ZoomConcept Reviews
Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 Took me a few seconds to realize it was Twitter 2 The "distressed" feeling is almost too strong on the site (like I mentioned with the font). As this is partly a CTA, I'd go for something clearer. I think distress/destruction can be used well, but in moderation. 3 Stats have shown better readibility (-> conversions) when the field label and field are on the same line (as opposed to stacked underneath). 4 Above the fold just got a little shorter due to this. 5 This really needs to shine in a different ay (like said, maybe replace the latest news block with a huge CTA). 6 I wouldn't use a custom font or header for these matters (copyright, design by, etc.). Just and done... Positive Feature on R2R - Home 1 Very powerful.. nicely done. New Idea on R2R - Home 1 Maybe switch these two around. This way calendar is next to latest posts and Supporters could be under the new CTA. This would bring credibility and hopefully increase conversions. New Idea on R2R - Donate 1 Maybe let the text wrap around? Summary:
Afternoon Gentlemen,
Nice work overall, very patriotic theme. Had a friend go through the Falklands and it's very sad to hear him recount the memories.
My main design issue with the site is probably the font being used for titles, find it a little hard to read. I think using a thicker version of Corbel would work fine.
In terms of goals, I'm missing a clear CTA (which could take the place of the latest news block as you already have latest posts).
Good luck with the site though, very promising..
Cheers
Noel
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John Bevan commented:The CTA point is one we raised during the build and got a little waylaid versus having the latest news etc. up there which actually we need to use better.
How would you use the Latest News space for a CTA? A simple block of text?
John
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New Idea Feature specific soldiers
How about featuring a couple of these soldiers. Introduce me to them - let me know who they are, what happened to them. Let me hear from them, in their own voices. It would make it more personal, more real.Summary:
Show pictures of injured soldiers - let me see their hard work, help me feel the injustice, inspire me to want to help them. Do this on the home page and the donation page as well. I think you are relying too much on the video, and often times people don't bother watching a video. It takes time. Also, after viewing the video, I have to say it doesn't really motivate support. There is no call to action, no direct appeal.
Also on the donation page, again I would show pictures of soldiers in rehab, or pictures of them rowing. For copy, I would speak to their courage and fortitude. I think as humans, we like to give to causes where we know we will truly make a difference. We like to help 'the underdog' and people who are helping themselves. We don't want our donation to go 'down the drain' so to speak.
You need to add more emotional appeal. On the donations page, for example, you are very good writing about 'how' to make a donation, but not very good about 'why' to make a donation.
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Mel Hogan commented:
agreed!
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Tom Sobczyk commented:Great Comment! I think you touched on the most important part of the site.
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Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 Make images bigger Serious Problem on R2R - Home 1 Personally I don't like the font used in the main nav - I know you are looking for brand consistency, but to me it's hard to read. 2 As with the headings - is it done with @font-face or cufon? if not then it will kill SEO 3 This curve cuts off the video 4 don't really think these are the "right" fit for this site 5 Not sure what is going on here, seems to be a glitch, looks kind of odd... 6 wasted space - I would suggest that the above "our supporters" be made into a static image block, of thumbnails and this will help fill unnecessary white space 7 why is this here? 8 Is last name a necessity? Critical Problem on R2R - Home 1 Not prominent enough! Positive Feature on R2R - Home 1 Like this Summary:
Oh man, that video is very moving... made me feel a little over-whelmed, and also a little triumphant...
However there are a few things that bug me...
- In the video part of it gets cut off by the lower curve, of the content box it sits within...
- I would probably also make the video auto play, based on the fact that you WANT people to watch it first.
I'll add some notes...
So overall I like the site, it has some really nice curves and feel to it, there are a few things that I think could do with some tweaks.
One thing that I noticed was that it was quite hard for me to see where I would donate, as I was looking on the live site.
Good Luck!
Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 the play button is a little lost behind the text 2 possible use different icons that are softer 3 this font is hard to read 4 as someone already mentioned, copyright verbiage should be a different font Serious Problem on R2R - Home 1 if the main goal of the site is to raise money, this should be a button on the page, not just a link in the navigation (and certainly not the last link) Critical Problem on R2R - Home 1 this is barely legible Summary:
Hello - my first impression of the site is that it does not convey a message for help & recovery. There is no introduction on the home page as to what this site is about. The Donate Now link really isn't a call to action by being the last link on the main nav bar. Even by going to the get involved page, there is no CTA button either. I agree with other comments on the font choice and colors that they don't mesh well.
I found a couple issues when I viewed source code.
- all the styling is inline & embedded! no external CSS, why??
- the images should be properly named for SEO purpose
- links not utilizing title tags
- I would suggest taking out all the commented out lines of code
I've added a few notes.... Good luck,and happy coding!
Minor Problem Bullet holes
Bullet holes for the social media icons send the wrong message, and they look out of place from the rest of the designSupporter Image
The black and white image in a field of colored elements draws too much attentionGray and White
not sure the gray and white columns are needed. a small light line or just negative space might be enough to separate the columns.Serious Problem Action Shot
Really needs the first image to be people actually rowing, engage the visitor on the real world results of the program.New Idea News vs Calendar
Are the events frequent and/or important? If so, maybe reverse the location with the news? Seems like the news is Twitter feed driven; if moved it might be able to live in the same basic area as the social media buttons.-
Kim Phillips commented:I wondered about that myself.
Summary:
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John Bevan commented:
Alpesh firstly thanks very much for taking the time to comment - this is really useful.
The bullet hole social media icons are a recurring comment and very valid. I'd never seen them as such - were part of a grungy social icons pack. I need to change these immediately agreed based on your feedback.
I'm keen for the supporters image to attract as much attention as possible actually as their backing of the campaign is important in our pitch to sponsors.
Good point I have thought about the light line separator. I will mock this up and see how it looks.
Where would you feature the action shot? As the poster frame for the video? Or within the latest images?
Initially when we planned the calendar it was only a few events and these have more than doubled since building so it is true we should look at the calendar versus latest news placement.
Thanks again - let you know how we progress!
John
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Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 Less white space. The header feels discontinued from the rest of the page. Serious Problem Where am I? Who are you?
The intro video is great. However, usability studies shown that most visitors scan websites. Visitor will decide within the first 5s to 10s whether to stay or to leave. There is no clear pointer on the home page to tell visitor where they are if they come to this page. Is this Recovery for _________? Add text to support the great domain name and sub-header to introduce who you are and where the visitors are.Serious Problem on R2R - Home 1 Not clear what "updates" means? Update to website, news, projects, donation drive status, meetings,.......? Positive Feature Nice colors
I like your choice of colors. They particularly are good choices for the 2 countries you are serving hereSummary:
I think restating your objective is specifically to get donations by credit card from the site, correct? If so, you really need to get the "Donate Now" button in a bright color and in a place that makes it the most obvious thing on this site.
One thing that detracts from this site is the geographical picture above the fold. My attention is drawn to this immediately and I spend way too much time trying to udnerstand what it means. Honestly, I still do not know what it means. But if I were a typical visitor, I would already be gone before I figured it out. You need to simplify the message in this picture. Since it is a video that you prefer, make sure that it is a video for which the visitor will know what they will benefit from watching it.
I wish you the best of luck and please ask any questions that you may have.
Frank
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John Bevan commented:
Well its a tricky one because although we are looking for donations from public traffic actually the main objecctive is creating awareness for the campaign: I expect 60% of the fundraising for the cause will come through corporate sponsors and partners. So only if you like one of the calls to action through the site or objectives is capture a donation.
Would autoplay for the video be helpful???
John
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Frank Dobner commented:I would not recommend auto play because some people work in places where they do not want sounds coming out of their computer unannounced.
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Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 5px top padding or margin 2 Center the icon top to bottom. 3 padding-left 5px 4 Can't see the point of having ones above an below? Serious Problem on R2R - Home 1 Letter spacing needed! 2 That type of font it's really hard to read. New Idea on R2R - Home 1 Border around the images with a subtle background will give it more professional look. 2 Not capital letters Summary:
Hi there!, to me this doesn't looks like a charity or doesn't claim for help! looks more like a news site.
Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 too much whitespace 2 use subscribe instead of ok for button and why do you want name for subscription? That is really bad for conversions... 3 I am really surprised to see this right in the middle of page... this is sooo sider content... 4 why is twitter icon so far away from the headline? 5 why this font here? 6 the only donate mention for non-profit lost in navigation? 7 I love that background... but umm.. maybe try some other solution for this 8 why this gap? have you tried removing it? Minor Problem on R2R - Donate 1 give it horizontal align please 2 a little bit confusing two collumn layout 3 I am lazy... do you seriously want me to read this whole thing or just add some outstanding button "donate"? Serious Problem on R2R - Home 1 there is no CTA and some basic description... only latest feeds, posts, images and calendar... If i want to learn more I have to search ... you force me to think... please dont! 2 I dont like these icons at all.... Critical Problem on R2R - Home 1 What the hell? I have just opened your page and I am receiving this message? Positive Feature on R2R - Home 1 I like this separator! 2 good job making the "2" red... (online version) New Idea on R2R - Donate 1 try increasing opacity 2 have you tried removing this whitespace? Other on R2R - Home 1 i think the video is ok... Summary:
Hey there. It is interesting that some details of your page looks great up to me but also i do really dislike some of them. There is a lot of details to polish and after that it will be really great looking site.
Right now you have to focus on landing page optimization... (there is no info for visitors) (there is no users controlled movement)(etc)
I have added some notes, to point what do I mean
Good luck!
Minor Problem not really feelin the font used for titles (the red font) it takes a bit before i know what this site does, perhaps a tag line of some sort would be helpful the support us links look out of place Positive Feature design feels powerful, kind of like an army website i do like your use of colors well placed video Summary:
site looks pretty good, effective for what you are wanting to do for it, but some minor tweaks here and there would make a pretty big difference
Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 Need a better call to action after the video 2 Not well placed on the page... Create one news module. Serious Problem on R2R - Home 1 Visual Clutter - this needs to be redesigned. Some of these items belong in a footer area 2 Visual noise - in testing, I predict most people don't see (not placed properly to be though of as relevant content modules) Critical Problem on R2R - Home 1 Key Call to action - too far down in the pages visual hierarchy 2 Call to action - lost too far down the page Positive Feature on R2R - Home 1 Authority figure - this needs to be exploited as one of the key persuasive elements 2 Good footer Summary:
First of all, I'm honored to be able to review this website - and share my perspective. I've read some of the other reviews - and I'll strive not to repeat any of the thoughful expert comments and feedback.
Simply put:
Impressions of the video on the homepage: Professionally produced, visually compelling, with memorable, evocative imagery that triggers visceral emotions. What is not memorable however is the call to action. Do I donate, do I call, do I register... There is a seducable moment that is created, but no memorable action triggered. I suggest redesigning the module next to the video (exploiting some Gestalt psychology) to create a call to action module (see the quick uploaded mockup).
How to make the story more engaging: try to use one of the following persuasive norms to trigger fund raising activities;
Use Authority figures to tell meta stories that connect the video to your call to action activities Whether it is a veteran or someone in a more leadership role, their point of view adds credibility (and people typically follow the advice or directives). Make certain that you use the "power of the word because" throughout the story - it is an important and powerful way to persuade people (and people typically respond to the reason for the request of their time, money etc, if you use the word because).
What could we do better on the site:
Work on establishing a better content hierarchy (both visually and cognitively). It appears that there "are" the correct elements - but everything is not organized to tell a holistic story.
The colors and background treatment as spot on - but the content modules in the current implementation seem to be competing for the visitors attention. This can be mitigated by establishing that strong call to action (and getting everything else to be visually sub-ordinate).
Make more persuasive. this video illustrates a few key point - and Robert Cialdini's work is a great starting point
This is a wonderful website and compelling project. Thank you for the opportunity to participate.
Attached Files:
Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 Space needed between Our supporters and frame 2 should be on the same line(grid system) Serious Problem on R2R - Home 1 I think footer here is not okay. 2 Footer is not okay for me. I encourage you to use thin footer instead and leave background image go deeper Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 Too much space. Looks like a bug. Positive Feature on R2R - Home 1 Video placed well but should not autostart. Preview image explains what is video about. If user interested he/she will click play. It will save much bandwidth:) Positive Feature on R2R - Donate 1 Images look good with that red-white curve/stripe. Summary:
Background image with transparency looks good. Colors are strong and clear.
Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 My eye immediately goes to this guy and the angry look on his face. Not inviting, doesn't make me want to contribute -
Kim Phillips commented:
This brings home the point about people on the page... visitors are drawn to eyeballs. In the print/journalism world, we used to say, "Eyeballs above the fold!"
2 I like white space, but it seems like this additional space between the navigation and the logo is unnecessary 3 Your form gets lost here. 4 The bullet holes are not something you'd want to mentally associate with injured soldiers, unless you are going for shock value 5 I don't know what these images are, but they are confusing enough to be distracting Summary:
I forgot to write this part earlier. Overall, it's a relatively solid start, however, I'm not sure it plays up the sympathy aspect well enough. It's heavy on patriotism, but you need to tug some heartstrings with it. Feels a bit too macho, doesn't appeal to women enough imho
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John Bevan commented:
Thanks Mel. This is really powerful.
- The photo of Rob Fry? In other words it isn't a good photo?
- Actually we will putting the News International and ITN Logos in this space in the next week or so but I take your point here;
- That's interesting I had not considered the positioning - originally I wanted it at the header of the page in a header bar;
- Very good point. It is off message.
- Which images - do you mean the Flickr stream?
John
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Mel Hogan commented:
John, 1. Yes, it's just an somewhat "mean" looking photo. He looks angry 2. Cool. 3. That would be better. 4. Glad to help 5. Yes, the flickr stream, they draw my eye, but why should I care about them?
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Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 Make the "2" in the logo red, or not, but be consistent. 2 Tag line is long. "Achieving the Extraordinary" is enough. Or, "from wounded to extraordinary" would encompass both ends of the issue. Serious Problem on R2R - Home 1 Logo area at top, then again below, wastes valuable scroll space and is redundant. New Idea on R2R - Home 1 Would like to see a soldier in action, rowing, achieving, being extraordinary. Needs a human connection right up front. Summary:
Excellent cause. Streamline the top area, add some imagery of the cause in action, human connection, emotion...to motivate people to give.
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John Bevan commented:
Tagline idea great. I agree with the consistent 2 in red.
The personal connection is key and we've been poor on so far - actually we don't have enough content but I will make it a priority to work on.
Cheers John
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Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 Valuable space between the logo and menu is wasted and pushes more content below the fold Serious Problem on R2R - Home 1 I don't think the bullet holes work for me. Critical Problem on R2R - Home 1 I think this needs a lot more work. At a minimum I would pick a different font and change the color of "2" for contrast. Preferably I would have a silhouette of a soldier or a prosthetic or something that visually communicated military and recovery. Positive Feature on R2R - Home 1 I like the curves which soften the site Summary:
Unfortunately I feel like the site visually misses the mark. It focuses too much on the patriotic rather than "recovery" aspect . The distressed fonts, bullet holes, dark background, and vibrant color scheme visually do not work. There is no softness or emotion to the site. When I think of the word "recovery" things like new hope or new day, lightness, come to mind.
Minor Problem on R2R - Home 1 Navigation font is a little difficult to read. I also don't feel that it corresponds with the concept of website. It's very rough looking Positive Feature on R2R - Home 1 This area is nice New Idea Overall nice and clean
I like the footer, and how the information is laid out.New Idea on R2R - Home 1 The blues in the background are competing too much with the blues on the header banner . Could you change the background color to more of a neutral grey so it is not so heavy? Summary:
The 2nd design works best i think, The social icons are very well placed. I dont know if you have a footer as i cant see it on this design concept but you defo need a footer on any design nowadays.
- Peter
Summary:
I donated to HfH when it first came on the scene and I use to row in London so this is a great combination for me.
Overall the website feels a bit dry and clinical. It’s like a BBC site or news site.
Main image
As suggested in prior comments the main image does not speak to me about the challenge or the cause. Consider using injured soldiers with the boat or kit involved plus key team members. Need to communicate more effectively the emotional courage of all parties involved .
You could have a rolling flash image set that gives you the ability to provide richer visual communication and use more key images. The map being used at the moment lacks an emotional connect.
You could even have some dairy content from a solider in rehabilitation or some clips letting people really know and understand just what it’s like to get back to England when you are really in need of help. How it feels. Pull the heart stings a little.
Supporters
I think you need to show a wider mix of supports not just the senior members you currently have. Make it more about the community. Have some real people in the supporter’s images. One of the things that also gets my attention is when celebs are involved directly and are shown being physically involved, ie pictures of them with the injured troops or in the boat or with something tactile.
Community
I would consider also involving the rowing community and showing this in one visual element, as they should be very keen to support your efforts and provide another promotional dynamic. Are you having a row down the Thames from Kew to London Bridge? Get all the clubs to put a flotilla together.
Messaging
I’m not sure the “if you lived through this” is the right wording for the footage and what you are trying to achieve.
I think its more about “courage” and doing what needs to be done.
Courage from the troops on the ground doing the hard yards, courage to overcome adversity and serious life altering injuries and courage to row the Atlantic.
And doing the right thing when you are called upon. The guys rowing are putting it on the line and doing the right thing so it’s about the public doing the right thing and supporting this venture and their soldiers who have been asked to be courageous when they were called upon.
Facebook
You also need to get a Facebook site up as a social marketing tool. This needs to be something that people can add to their “likes”. Currently not possible.
Good luck.
Summary:
The design of this website is striking and electric. The reds and blues suggest dynamism and action. However this site is not about dynamism and action. Its about support. I think the tone is all wrong. This design almost promotes recruitment to the army not support for victims. I think this designer is very skillful however I think he/she best use this skill to re-examine the objective of the website. After all this is the business of visual communication.
Noel, I would like to see the studies you mention on number 3, I've seen evidence to the opposite.