ZoomConcept Reviews
Serious Problem on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 This feels awkward and unbalanced. The image feels cluttering and unnecessary. 2 Not working at the moment. Positive Feature on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 This is much too busy. Try cleaning this up a bit by separating the info from your title more -
Lee Regan commented:Would you suggest stacking them vertically into a column?
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Ryan Bentin commented:Well actually, I would take out the bottom line from your Title for starters (start-up attorneys, intellectual law, etc.) I don't feel that this is completely necessary, at least not for the website. A business card, maybe. I say this because this information should be upfront and center and does not work here being so small and crowded under your title. I believe doing this would make your Title stand out more anyway, even without making it bigger. The locations I would place on top of each other and push to the far right and justified right. I suggest adding a phone number as well.
2 I like the use of images here but maybe too much for the clean look your going for. 3 This is very nice! -
Lee Regan commented:
Thanks. That is the only part of the original design I liked and the client liked.
4 I would suggest reducing the size of this and placing it at the very bottom. 5 This is wonderful but seems out of place. This should be up at the top in your header I think. -
Lee Regan commented:
Agreed. Unfortunately the client has requested that the blurb be on every page in the footer. I did originally have the about under the slideshow above.
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Ryan Bentin commented:
hmm... maybe you can try to combine it with the actual links. Make them one section instead of being separate because right now they look like two completely different parts.
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Ryan Bentin commented:
... i think doing that would make it seem not-so-out-of-place.
6 This simplified version or the logo works better for me then the one at the top. 7 good footer! 8 unbalanced 9 This feels like a joystick or a gear shifter. Try just using the simplified version like the one you have below Summary:
Hello Lee,
I think the fonts are fine but it is not clear enough to me what I should be focusing on. the copy here seems well written and informative but without a sense of whats most important. Here are some general notes:
I believe reorganizing and placing more emphasis on your CTA would help significantly. Use strong hierarchy.
If you want to emphasize their services for start-ups, try talking about it in your header.
There are a lot of isolated sections here. Try to make it flow a bit more harmoniously.
I'm not sure if your color scheme is working for you or not. Try experimenting with some others. A cool color like blue/teal/what-have-you or a warm color like tan may help soften it and sit more comfortably with the eyes.
Overall, I believe it is much too busy without a strong enough hierarchy to pinpoint a specific service. The page itself is a bit lengthy and unbalanced. But with just a few crucial adjustments, you'll be well on your way to achieving your target. Good work!
-Ryan-
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Lee Regan commented:
Thanks for the feedback Ryan, much appreciated!
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Minor Problem on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 If the addresses are important enough to have in the header, than the phone number should be as well, otherwise, maybe the full addresses themselves aren't as important, but instead text like: "Offices in Irvine & Palo Alto" 2 Consider pulling the icon inside the black box. -
Lee Regan commented:
I agree with this. Unfortunately we have to work with the current setup the client is using for the slideshow. I would really love to redesign this slideshow.
3 Search box feel strange without any padding above and below the navigation. Consider enlarging the navigation bar height, or decreasing the height of the search box. 4 This seems like an inordinately large number of slides to have here. -
Lee Regan commented:
Yes, they are looking to have a slide for every Industry Sector they serve. That is the way the current slide show is setup. I always try to limit a large slideshow like this to know more then 5-6 items and the user does not have the attention span to sit there and watch it. And rightly so.
5 Orange italics text here is getting lost against the black header background. 6 Why isn't this closer to the top of the home page? It clearly defines who / what the company is. -
Lee Regan commented:
Our original design did have it higher up on the page but the client requested in be in the footer and on every page.
7 Positioning of "Learn More" elements is inconsistent right of header vs below right of paragraph. -
Lee Regan commented:
Agreed. I'll try and make them work like the rest. Consistency is key and that is lacking in this layout.
8 I really like the red hover on an element here, but something about the color / font treatment of the titles on the grey background just doesn't feel as polished as the rest of the site. 9 You've already separated the columns here with the colour block on the right. This line down the center might not be necessary, try removing it, see how it looks. Serious Problem on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 The first time you use the red italics in the header it draws attention to it exactly like you wanted. However, I found that once I looked around and saw it all over the place in every header, it completely lost it's power and I actually started ignoring it and only scanning the black, non-italics text. 2 Reconsider hiding text from the user and forcing them to scroll over to see it. It looks nice, but it makes it very difficult to scan the page to get a better understanding of the link options. Positive Feature on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 I like the dashed line in between these elements, maybe just keep an eye on the spacing above / below the line to keep it consistent. Summary:
I really do like the design direction that you're going. I think that the colours and the layout work well. I just think you have a little work to do to really polish it up.
I think that the only thing that really needs changing is the over-use of the orange italics. You use it so much in the layout that it loses all meaning. Try using it less and/or mixing it with another font treatment.
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Lee Regan commented:
Thanks Steve. The feedback was really helpful.
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New Idea New part
To create a more easy navigation for the client, I'd create a new part right under the slideshow, with 4-5 moderately big buttons in order to let the user get to the most important pages.Summary:
Fonts are not the problem imo. The grey part behind "Find out more about our Practice Areas" is a little bit off, the upper side of the gradient isn't sitting into the design it kind of looks like the design is "cut" and another comes. I think a little bit lighter color would do it.
The slider picture is not HQ enough imo, and I don't really get the misalignment of the slider buttons and the rectangle above.
The best part is the news and blog posts part imo, maybe a "read more" link would be great.
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Lee Regan commented:
Thanks Szurdoki. I agree with the Slideshow comment. Unfortunately we have to work with the current imagery and slideshow as that is not a part of the redesign.
And yes, the news and blog is my favorite as well. I'll post up my original design as well since I really liked that one.
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Minor Problem on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 A bit much to be "clean" as mentioned in your objectives. What's the point of this area? To show the clients that you can specialize in their area? You already do that lower in the page. Not very clean. 2 I like this, but recommend making it more prominent. Each area should be clear link to a page for that practice area. The current page banner for each are could be at the top of each page to make it unique. Focusing on this area gives a prospective client the information they need and lets them go to the area that applies to them the most. The longer they read information that doesn't apply to them, the greater the chance of losing them. 3 I like this, I only recommend keeping the dates if you post fairly regularly ie.e at least one a week or two so it seems relevant rather than dated. 4 I like this, but think the practice areas are more important and should be on top...to me this is just icing on the cake, it's general stuff, not specific. 5 Could be bigger. Positive Feature on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 This is a nice touch as well. New Idea About Us page
I don't see an About Us page. Consider including one if you don't already have it.New Idea on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 Recommend a deep blue instead of black to convey calm, trust and professionalism...but may just be personal preference. New Idea on startups_01_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 Only LinkedIn is showing, recommend getting profiles for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc if you don't already. Other Compression/caching
Took a look at the live version of the website and didn't see any sort of caching--recommend using caching, compression, etc. if not already. I.e. CSS/JS could be combined/compressed for faster loading, CSS should load first with JS at end, etc.Optimize images
A lot of your theme images could be compressed by between 35% and 50%, use a program like smushit.com or punypng.com to do this for free.Summary:
Overall nice design, looks innovative. I really like the concept and think it could be great with some tweaks. If you're OK with it no being "clean" it could stay as is. But if you're truly going for clean, then you need a smaller footprint on the main page and cut out some content. All in all, nice work.
Minor Problem on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 Artwork looks like a scientific research firm Minor Problem on startups_01_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 just doesn't fit for a Law Group 2 Easy to ignore. Not bold enough Serious Problem on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 Lost - because it is visually subordinate to the banner imagery 2 Attractive - but no call to action. Very easy to ignore Serious Problem on startups_01_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 reduce copy by 50% or more. Web content is always much more brief (use bullets and short sentences) Make it easy to scan and access randomly (example: read from any location in the content module -- not requiring reading a paragraph to get the concept) Critical Problem on homepage_02_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 Requires too much scrolling to access this information. Needs to be on a level 2 page Positive Feature on startups_01_icaplaw_v2.jpg 1 Nice Fat footer Summary:
Hi Lee ~
Research indicates that on average, a website has 3-5 seconds to grab a users attention. Although I do agree with my CF colleagues that this design is attractive and professionals - where I differ is the concept may not be engaging. From a practical standpoint -- most users enter a website in a 'low involvement' or superficial mindset. They are typically not reasoning their way through the experience -- it takes a different approach to engage them (shifting from "Can Do" -- to "Will Do" & "Still Do")
I've run a very quick usability test - in which a visitor self-reports what they can remember in their short term memory, after seeing the page for 5 seconds. As the following report builds - notice that no call to action or value proposition information is communicated in this design. If you want to send this test to your contacts - just send this link (http://www.clueapp.com/54520) This link expires (12/29 2pm)
Establish a new goal:
- What's the Call to Action for the visitor
- Avoid deep scrolling on landing pages (follow the relevant guidance in this brief)
- Focus the choices for professional banner photos to imagery that connects visitors (at a glance) to the fact that this is a Legal website. Right now, they are simply attractive photos - that overwhelm the content (that is what is being identified/validated in the 5 second memory testing).
I hope this helps,
MichaelR
Completely agree. Client has requested that we keep certain parts of the current website. Thanks for affirming my feeling on it however.