ZoomConcept Reviews
Minor Problem on Contact Page 1 I agree with Geert that your body content showing after first fold, however, I that's required so that your background image can stand out. 2 I think you can try a version without fading the backdrop image. Also I have kind of mixed feeling about the background motif and I think it is not strong enough to educate user about your medieval gaming background? I like the image you are using on current version of your home page and other and I think they are pretty nice. -
Serina Patterson commented:good idea - I'll give that a try. I've been thinking of a way to implement my minstrel (which was painstakingly cropped out of a manuscript ;))
3 I think this folding is that that strong 4 Font colors is pretty much highlighted, however, comparing it with the icons and overall color theme I think its too loud... may be try dimming it up a bit -
Serina Patterson commented:
hmm okay - perhaps a softer tone here would work.
Positive Feature on Logo 1 I love the font choice, colors. It's really very well done and standing strongly to support the meaning of sprightly. -
Serina Patterson commented:
Thank you - this took a very, very long time to come up with (though it doesn't look like it ;)) I'm glad it looks good!
New Idea on Contact Page 1 What about making these icons form the Middle age to support your medieval look, however, I think in case of the current theme the looks good to me. Summary:
Hi Sweenie,
I like your experiment with design and I pretty like the way you have laid out everything, however, I think it's needs a bit more refinement to make look more balanced.
Just posted notes... review and let me know what you say.
One of medieval theme based design: http://www.newquaymeadery.co.uk/ What I like is the color and typo in it apart from the images.
Apart from the idea of this design what I want to share with you that couple days back I saw a movie title "Your highness", it based on ancient time, fighting with warlock, witches. In the starting of film they did some amazing illustration work and I think you can try something on that line that will be solely your personality and will help you to establish your own brand that will help one to understand about you even without reading a lot of stuff. Check out the below link so that you can understand what I am trying to say: http://www.morganschweitzer.com/2011/04/4811-your-highness.html
Hope this helps!
PS: I am not really a good lunch option and hope you won't eat me for this review :)
Thanks, Haider
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Haider Ali commented:Make sure you don't miss to look at the below link:
http://www.morganschweitzer.com/2000/01/hollywood-kill.html
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Serina Patterson commented:
Hi Haider,
Thank you for your review - some great points here. I think you are Rebecca are right about teh balance issue. Thanks for the links, too. One issue I have is giving a nod at the medieval without going medieval - I'd rather stay away from Lucida Blackletter becuase it is hard to read and doesn't often flow well with modern designs. I like the idea of switching to more medieval icons - I'll swap the pen for a quill.
I like the "Your Highness" illustrations, but I don't think I'm that good an artist. I usually use illustrator for simple vector drawings and would be intimidated to attempt anything like that. As for real-like painting, I do mixed media and abstract stuff - so no complex illustrations of people ;)
Thanks again!
Cheers, Serina
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Serina Patterson commented:
Also - you are too awesome to be eaten! hee hee ;D
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Rebecca Perry commented:great review Haider, you're also one of my fav CFian's!!
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Jamal Jackson commented:Good review Haider!
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Serious Problem on Frontpage 1 Create a rounded 3d effect here maybe? Critical Problem on Frontpage 1 I dont think this fits the design 2 This is a lot of wasted space, wich pushes a lot of the site below the fold. 3 What does dev mean? We all know this, but do your customers? 4 This is very low on the page. You should consider giving it a more prominent place 5 A quote you made yourself isn't as convincing as a quote/reference from a customer. New Idea on Contact Page 1 Somewhere in this part you could make a get a quick quote form. Wich solves the contact issues. This is a nice way to get call to action. And i think when you dont cut of the corner you have some more room to do this. If not, place a nice large button here to let customers get a quote! Summary:
Hello Serina,
I have looked at your pages. And for me the thing that strikes me the most is the different design styles and colors you use. I think that is also what makes this design look "off".. Dont get me wrong, i think you have a great view for lay-out and position of elements, but i would consider some things if i where you.
- You combine a gothic background with hard angled 3d style design. I dont think this looks that good.
- You combine the soft gothic color pallette with hard green and blue colors. Although both these points make it look one of a kind and creative, i think you can combine this in a way that it will look good by choosing different colors and maybe a softer 3d style. (ribons comming around in a rounded way instead of in an angle)
From a marketing/usability perspective i have a few other comments:
- There is a large empy space on top of the site. Although this makes the gothic background stand out, it pushes a lot of the site below the fold. This also creates a big gap between the menu and the rest of the site, wich draws attention away from the menu (where important things like contact are placed)
- The creativity is very clear from your design, but when they want to contact you, you force them almost to scroll to the bottom to find you. Make your contact information and call to action more prominent.
- I see the bottom part of the design keeps changing. But twitter is always there. How often do you tweet and how business related is this. Maybe you could reserve this space for logo's of your biggest customers.
These are few things you can consider. I also put some in the notes. Dont hestitate to ask if something is not clear.
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Haider Ali commented:
I agree with you Geert... very through observation and solution as well.
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Serina Patterson commented:
Hi Geeert,
This is an awesome review! I guess I wanted to put "me on a page" and I am a always drawn to square-like designs and crisp corners. I do want to try your softer, rounded suggestion, though. The image is from the irish Book of Kells and will be laid is in a jparallax: so black background > image > content, which should help the 3D effect too.
I wanted to lwave some negative space between the header and content (and to showcase the neautiful background without intrusion), but I see what you mean - perhaps pushing it up so at least the tagline is above the fold. The height of the site is 1000px, so it will be fine on larger screens.
I like the idea of placing a contact button in the header or sidebar - will implement this, too.
My tweets are mostly business-related - I originally wanted a blog, but realized I'm not much of a blogger and figured Twitter would be a better choice for announcing upcoming events and so on. Many of my projects are internal, so my clients are few. I do think putting their logos somewhere is a good idea, though.
Thanks again for your judicious suggestions!
Cheers, Serina
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Rebecca Perry commented:
nice review Geert :-)
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Lisa Tweedie commented:Wow three cool reviews ... makes me scared to post anything until I have digested them! Will review tommorow!
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Jamal Jackson commented:
Good review Geert, nice observations.
Minor Problem on Contact Page 1 check the kerning. the word "developer" should be on one line. -
Serina Patterson commented:
yeah - Photoshop has this knack for splitting words >.<
2 this is left aligned, whereas the other page copy is right aligned Minor Problem on Portfolio Page 1 this area seems really busy. too many icons maybe? I would play with this area to simplify. -
Serina Patterson commented:
I was really debating on putting the zoom as a hover effect on the image mouse over. Perhaps that would simplify the area, too.
2 too dark, I could barely see it -
Serina Patterson commented:
good point!
Minor Problem on Frontpage 1 this should stand out a lot more -
Serina Patterson commented:
yeah - I'll play around with this area. I can add a banner behind it or make it bigger
2 love this background image, but I think an additional image component on the page that was also medieval might tie it together more. Just a thought. 3 wasted space 4 why is this angled? 5 left aligned, not consistent with the rest of the copy on the page 6 center aligned and right aligned. I would stick with just one -
Serina Patterson commented:
good point :)
Critical Problem on Frontpage 1 nice ribbon treatment, but I think adding another one would help the overall cohesiveness of the page. Positive Feature on Contact Page 1 NICE!!! Positive Feature on Frontpage 1 great font -
Serina Patterson commented:
Thanks!
Summary:
Hi Serina - I understand when you say that something seems "off" and you can't pin-point what that is. I have been examining the pages and for me, the best way to describe what I'm seeing is the balance of elements on the pages is throwing me off a little. For example, the green angled box seems out of place. Then you have the blue banner beneath it with the ribbon effect. Perhaps if you added another sub-category under "Skills" where you could add another ribbon banner might tie that area together more. Also, you're right aligning all the copy on the page, except your name and tagline are center aligned, then your paragraph for the contact info in the footer is left-aligned. For consistency, I would stick with one alignment.
Also, I like the background image, but if I hadn't viewed your current website, I wouldn't have tied in the medieval theme. I really like the image you have on your current homepage, maybe you could implement it somehow onto this new version to tie in the background image? Just a thought.
Couple more things..., I don't see a CTA anywhere and the Sprightly logo seems to be just floating alone up in the header.
I do like the color combinations, however, the magenta text for the tweets seems out of place.
Please see my notes....
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Haider Ali commented:
Rebecca Perry.. one of my fav CFian. I really appreciate and admire your point of view and great review.
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Serina Patterson commented:
Hi Rebecca,
Thank you for your thorough review. I see what you mean about the alignment issues - that is definitely one of the problems, I think. The background is from manuscript Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. (58) (the Book of Kells). Most people looking at my site will recognize it right away. I wanted to provide something medieval without going, well, medieval - vellum and parchment don't really look good on the web and medieval inks also appear dull. I didn't want to start sporting Lucida Blackletter or Goudy medieval typefaces, either. The background is going to be a jparallax - so black, image, then content. Perhaps that will make it pop.
I think you are right about the various elements. Adding another sidebar area with a ribbon could even it out (some good 'ol repetition).
The colours were a play on RGB - maybe a softer magenta could work :)
Thanks again!
Cheers, Serina
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Rebecca Perry commented:
thank you Haider!!
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Haider Ali commented:
thanks you Rebecca :)
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Jamal Jackson commented:
Nice one Rebecca, you always give well thought out reviews.
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Summary:
Hi Serina,
I guess I should start off saying that I do feel you have all the intentions to go into the right direction with this design, but you just got sidetracked and kinda got lost in the maze that is the creative process. Happens to us all, maybe me more than anyone cause I love to day dream but that is not important now. I'll start off with the positives.
Postives -Awesome Background. I really like the background here you have used. It does a good job of giving off a window into your personality, and natural design style. And its a really cool texture.
-Your organization. I like how you have organized your portfolio in a way where as all your different types of information go into different pages/sections of your website.
Okay, here are the negatives.
Negatives
-Bad font choice. Your fonts here do not go along with the overall design, and then they are not the best choices for this design style. Also, the drop shadow to add emphasis is a little bit of an overdone thing for me. It also adds some conflict between your type and the background(referring to last image).
-The whole left section above your footer. No offense, but this is something I would expect to see from someone with not so much practical experience, really shocked that you would do this here. The sharp corner thing at the top, where your name and bio is, is not so well done to me. And the colors only add emphasis in my opinion. Don't get me wrong that style can work, but to me it just has to be in the right setting. Which is not here.
-Lack of space. Why is everything so bunched in together? White space gives our sites visitors room to breathe and not be swarmed by information all at once. It also adds to having a better flow.
-Lack of consistent footer. I guess I'm a big fan of stable and solid footers, as I do believe they are the foundation of a good web design. Yours lacks consistency throughout your site. That's not a good look, especially since your footer is meant to hold vital information.
Here are a few suggestions to how I think you can make it better. -Rethink your layout. You should reconfigure it to incorporate more white space. That will open up your site to whole new levels of skill level. In my opinion.
-Consider a one page site. Your background, and header, seem right for a one page layout. I think this would end up being what is best for your design style to properly showcase it.
-Get a solid color scheme. Your current one doesn't do it for me. I suggest you explore a bit more with what vibe and energy you want to give off here. I do feel your more of a naturally warm color designer, and going with this dark cool style is going against what you naturally know. Embrace yourself :)
-Learn paragraph structure UX Yes there is such a thing, and you could benefit from it here. Yours are too bunched together, and they lack spacing. Also again back to the fonts, that has a lot to do with it.
I'll come back later to finish my review when I have more creativity, I'm actually in class right now :(
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Serina Patterson commented:
Thanks, Jamal. This is a really helpful review! I started reworking the design this weekend: completely scrapped the left sidebar, changed the colours, dropped Bebas (the "loud" font), and added a footer. I think I'm back on track. It's funny I left out the footer because, oddly, it is something I always have in my designs (and I agree a fundamental part of the page). I suppose that's the price for going a little more-out-of-the-box, it's harder to get it "just right." The one-page style is a neat idea that would work well, too. Thanks again!
Cheers, Serina
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Rebecca Perry commented:
as always, great review Jamal!
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Jamal Jackson commented:
:) :) :)! Thanks, I try to stay consistent. Hehehe
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Summary:
Our present web mainly going on with social networking. i will suggest to add social networking linking with your portfolio.. it is very easy to contact you as compared to the contact form...
as compared to previous reviews my review was looking very small but not spam!!! he he cheers!!!
Summary:
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Serina Patterson commented:
Ugh - seriously? Did you even read the description? I asked for no spammers. None. I left a note on one of your reviews and a bad review on your profile. I told you I eat spammers and it is currently breakfast. Nom nom nom.
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yeah - I think it will still be okay if I push it up a bit. If i go too far up, the design looks cramped because there isn't any negative space.