ZoomConcept Reviews
Minor Problem on v2.1 homepage / portfolio 1 the "li" join here looks awful and awkward. Minor Problem on variation - about - hire me button is in the top 1 Too much info, I don't want your life story. 2 There's too much here altogether, things like Web/ UI / Interface / Interactive Design, pretty much go hand in hand as does Branding -
Rebecca Perry commented:agreed
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Penn Folio commented:One reason i filled that because I'm targeting keywords for seo purposes. But if it ruins the design I'll just remove it. Thanks!
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Chris Wieckowski commented:Penn just adding words to your text won't give you seo results, it has to be more holistic.
3 Will these be solid images? Or will you be coding in HTML5/CSS3? -
Penn Folio commented:
I plan to use PNG sprite + css.
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Michael Gunner commented:why? there's no reason to use a png and it adds weight to your site, looking at your nav it could easily be coded in CSS.
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Chris Wieckowski commented:
Ok but I suppose that there are some custom fonts (or am I wrong?) so he'd have add @font-face, so PNG is better there.
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Penn Folio commented:
@Michael yes, true it will add some weight to my site.. but i'm not yet sure of switch to css. what do you advice?
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Penn Folio commented:
@Chris Yes it's a custom font (neosans). My approach I had in mind is using PNG sprites for the nav because it has some gradients and Cufon for my headings. I'm currently now thinking of switching to html5/css3. Any suggestions? I'm bit worried of the older browsers.
Critical Problem on variation - about - hire me button is in the top 1 Don't like this here -
Penn Folio commented:
same feel :) thanks!
Positive Feature on v2.1 homepage / portfolio 1 I like this here, however I would look at making the text white and the flag maybe orange -
Penn Folio commented:
hmmm... I really not sure about adding some colors But I think you have a good point :) Thanks!
Summary:
Penn
I think this is pretty nicely designed it's simple and clean and the colors are nice.
Things I'm not so sure about: * Logo - it's nice and simple, but do you really want to be known as PennFolio? (Or is that your name?) * Intro - It's simple and to the point, but as a customer, I am only interested in what you can do...
Overall Penn I think you have a usable design, for me there is a bit too much text on it, I read the last reviews on your 2nd attempt, and agreed not enough info, however now you have too much.
Also I note that there is no footer or social section, this is very important in this day and age, so that people can contact you where you are.
Good Luck
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Penn Folio commented:
Thank you for the review Aaran and really good points! (lolz) it's just 'Penn' I just want it to be catchy... I filled the area because, i don't have yet an idea of the copy yet. but yeah, i also find it to crowded. I'll try increasing the font size instead and add more white space. I'm also planning to add my photo there. will try to experiment on that area. and would also add the footer.
Thank You!
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Minor Problem on v2.1 homepage / portfolio 1 the way the i doesn't naturally link into the 'o' - I think Aaran has already mentioned this issue though. -
Penn Folio commented:
Yes... 3 votes to revise my logo. Yes, I'd be refining it. Thanks!
2 maybe look at putting all the bold words into a colour or take the colour off the folio. Not sure it's necessary to have three levels of hierarchy of words within a single intro paragraph. I think just two is enough. light and bold or light and bold colour text but not light, bold and bold colour. -
Penn Folio commented:
lolz, It really looks awful when just focused... Thanks for the tip on type and colors. :)
Summary:
Hi Penn,
I think your previous concept was much stronger than this one for a number of reasons but primarily because it gave everything up front without having to navigate about to find the information.
It gave your work nice and big to hold the page, a brief main headline paragraph to introduce yourself, a smaller about you paragraph, your skills, a testimonial and a place to click to contact you or hire you. What more could a site visitor need?
The navigation also on the left is slightly over large so when the attention should be focussed on the work, the blurb about who you are and the content, the attention is taken away to generic words of navigation elements which tell us nothing specific to you.
On the previous concept, I'd refine the leather texture - it looks a bit large in scale. Also look at refining the buttons and making them a bit more beautiful. Finally add in a footer with social links and maybe a twitter feed.
Hope this helps a bit. Sorry if it's not what you want to hear after all that work. It's always important though to try and see if there are other better solutions rather than settling for the first thing you come up with.
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Penn Folio commented:
Noooo... It's definitely the review I'm looking for. I really want to thank you Emma for the very detailed and honest review. Yes,I feel the same with the first one. I also did a comparison on DA and I got a close fight for the votes of design. I'd like to do a version 3 of my folio but I'm a bit short with time... I need to implement it very soon.
Thank you for your awesome points!
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Minor Problem on v2.1 homepage / portfolio 1 Try more versions of logo... 2 align with bottom of the slider -
Penn Folio commented:
I think it's already aligned with the bottom of the sidebar with some shadows in it. though not sure how it looks there.
Thanks!
Minor Problem on variation - home/portfolo - hire me button is in the top 1 middle -
Penn Folio commented:
yep centering this if the "hire me" button is not on the top right
Minor Problem on variation - about - hire me button is in the top 1 watch out for empty space Positive Feature on v2.1 homepage / portfolio 1 Like font structure 2 like slider navigation! Summary:
I think the second editions is much more sufisticated, but this one is much more clear and meaningful. I don't know...it's your choice:)
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Penn Folio commented:
Thank You, I deeply appreciate the feedback! :)
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Minor Problem on v2.1 homepage / portfolio 1 too dark, I could barely see 2 all this black looks like wasted space Minor Problem on All pages with Scrolling navigation in action 1 I don't understand what this is for? why the black & white?? -
Penn Folio commented:
lolz, sorry for the confusion it's meant to illustrate a hidden fold for the browser. I just wanted to show that the horizontal navigation will follow as the user scrolls. Thanks!
2 way too much copy. as Aaran said, combine some of the skill sets. when you list too many, it looks amateurish. A professional knows his strengths and doesn't have to list every single app he's touched. Don't list Firebug, it's a tool not an app. -
Penn Folio commented:
agree... thanks! i'll reduce it. :)
3 lighten the input fields, they are too dark. 4 I can barely see the submit button Minor Problem on variation - about - hire me button is in the top 1 the active state of the button on this nav doesn't stand out enough. 2 alignment issues New Idea on v2.1 homepage / portfolio 1 increase the glow effect you have going on in the background. -
Penn Folio commented:
Thanks... noted!
Summary:
Hi Penn - Both Aaran & Emma have points that I agree on. Personally I do not care for the previous version concept. I do like this one, as I am a fan of darker sites. Please see my notes.... have fun and happy coding!
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Penn Folio commented:
Thank you Rebecca for the review, I really appreciate it. I agree with most of the points and will do the revisions. Thank You!
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Summary:
Hey, I will be very direct on this hope that is ok .... "I build attractive & functional websites " . Well I have a problem with this sentence 1: - not very creative 2 - bragging about the sites you make "attractive" usually dosn't go very well with the clients (let them decide by making your best work stand out ) 3 - functional websites ? -- sorry but it would be lame to make unfunctional websites (so no point to this)
Don't take this the wrong way just trying to help, if you want my imput on design and usability let me know.
Thank you.
MEster.
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Penn Folio commented:
Thank you for your review. Yes, you have a point. I'll try to do some improvement in my intro. Thanks!
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Summary:
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Haitham Said commented:my only advice is you should concentrate on the objective of your portfolio, if it is show you showcase work then you should highlight the section which you should display your work and small description and tools for each project .
thanks and good luck
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Penn Folio commented:
Thanks for the Review! I'm planning to show the description in the hover state of my design... covering the preview with black and some opacity.
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Minor Problem Colors
Remind me of ZX spectrum, but it might be just me.Minor Problem on v2.1 homepage / portfolio 1 testimonial above contact i think. You can join together "contact" with "hire me" to achieve better visibility. You have to try it to find out if it actually works, just a suggestion though. 2 align to left, not centered or justified 3 I'd remove the description. It should only appear on hover. Then the main elements like "folio" or testimonials" would be more visible, and description would be there if necessary. Minor Problem on variation - home/portfolo - hire me button is in the top 1 I agree, you need to have greater contrast here 2 That's better, but the copy isn't very convincing? Take a look at it when you have more time. Minor Problem on variation - about - hire me button is in the top 1 Maybe dropping some elements and/or replacing them with icons would improve the readability of this block? Serious Problem Contact
If you're a small company or freelancer I think adding a phone number would be really helpful for potential clients.Serious Problem on variation - about - hire me button is in the top 1 kill it! ;) Critical Problem SEO
If you're after seo/serp results there's still much to be done, but always design for users first, and crawlers later.New Idea Segmentation
I mentioned it to another user. If you want it to be easy to use for clients you shouldn't make it about you. You should make it about what clients want and say how you fit right in.-
Penn Folio commented:
I agree!
New Idea on variation - home/portfolo - hire me button is in the top 1 If you're not planning on adding work cases, then perhaps a little description would be beneficial? -
Penn Folio commented:
yeah, there would be description on top of the preview once hovered. It would be covered with black with 80% opacity and the description of the project.
New Idea on variation - about - hire me button is in the top 1 Photo perhaps? -
Penn Folio commented:
yep.. planning to add one :)
2 Try listing products at first (like webdesign, logos or whatever the clients actually search for), and technologies somewhere below. -
Penn Folio commented:
yeah, sounds like a good idea.. thanks!
Summary:
First of all I think you've made a lot of progress since your last draft. There isn't really that much to improve. I'm sorry about the markers, but CF messes them up (example: I select new idea, it adds minor problem etc.) so don't worry about that.
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Penn Folio commented:
Hi Chris, I'm really glad you could review my new concept. Thanks! I think I haven't come up with this new concept If you haven't reviewed my previous concept. Thanks!
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Chris Wieckowski commented:
Glad I could help
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Minor Problem spell out portfolio
I don't think shortening portfolio to folio give you any benefit.Positive Feature love the logo
nice logonice vertical nav
normally I don't like vertical navs, but this is pretty nice.
Since it has 2 votes for improvement. I guess I really need a new logo. :)
Thanks!