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6 Reviews4 Votes0 Favorites290 Views
Concept Description
- Website:
- www.thesacredstudio.com
- Objective:
- Usability, connection, display or work
- Target Market:
- Spiritually-centered, aware/conscious individuals
My website has been up at www.thesacredstudio.com for since I was living in Thailand, but we never completed it. It isn't complete and doesn't contain the work I actually want in there.
targeted towards creative professionals, small/medium sized business, and spiritually aware or conscious individuals, NPO's and GLBTQ community.
The feel: Creativity grounded in professionalism
The homepage features slideshow of illustrations with different headlines to call out to the audience - content will be linked
the rainbow band is also just for position only, but will be re-created laer
site BG will be 1600x1200 with a surprise/prize for people with monitors that large, content fixed to the left with a static background - content scrolls.
I need help organizing the portfolio and services, suggestions are very welcomed. I initially wanted services to offer brief descriptions with links to case studies, but that do
Previous Versions
Version 1
Concept has received the needed feedback and has been closed by the user.
Concept Reviews
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Hey Shane,
I like the site, colorful with a large background yet the content shines through and blends at the same time. Great typography with ample white-space and I'm digging the watercolor background.
The only suggestions I have is the portfolio content that I can see (design and photography) seems to be more broken up into sections on the page in relation to the rest of the site.
While the site is very colorful it seems a little too blue for my taste, breaking it up with some other colors might change my opinion, but then again it's just my opinion.
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Jason Pant commented:I guess I would start by putting the examples on one page and breaking it up into sections using white-space and headings. Have an accordion type system showing more content of that section and hiding the rest with tabs or a link?
My reasoning behind this is to encourage interactivity and get potential clients to browse your portfolio instead of skimming it.
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Shane Ernest commented:
i like the idea of using javascript/accordion to add some interactivity to the examples - thats a great idea!
ill cook up a portfolio page soon and post it!
thanks for your thoughts Jason!
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I like the water color style and the content is much better than the last version. The font on the navigation is cool, but do you gat the feeling of too many font variatons on the page? That's the only thing that hits my eye, otherwise its cool!
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Shane Ernest commented:
thanks for your help Miika! I've modified the design drastically! Thanks for your input and support!
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Overall like the design, the header images could have more of a unified look site-wide while still specifying each page. The type treatment on them could use some work or downplay - there is too many typefaces between them all.
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Shane Ernest commented:
thanks for your review danelle! I've reworked the type a bit and also modified the header images drastically ;-)
thanks for your help!
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Watercolor and grunge is really popular in web design. I guess we want our site to appear tangible. Anyway, I love watercolors so I don't care if everyone is using it!
I'm also a big fan of blue but if you are interested in adding more colors, I suggest using a green color OR to make it more interesting, add a warm color for elements that you want to stick out. For me, however, I like your use of blue and I'm fine monochrome color palettes!
Overall, I wouldn't change a thing but I'll make a suggestion for your portfolio & services page:
I like the way you've organized your different services but for specific services (ie "Travel Photography" and "Advertising Design") you could use one large sample and overlay your description like this: http://css-tricks.com/text-blocks-over-image/
That's just something to get you thinking of possibilities. Also, I like Jason's suggestion!
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Shane Ernest commented:
thanks for your input corinne! ill check out that link and see what you're talking about. . . my main stumbling block right now is the portfolio organization. . . ill hatch it out - but I only have 4 days left of this course! yikes!
i also wanted to add the warmer colors into the pallette to add some depth to the color palette. . . we'll see where that goes! ;-)
do you think having a separated portfolio page from the services page(s) is an issue for users? that is my main concern, but at the same time I want them to understand the benefits of each service, its purpose, etc. clearly.
thanks again! and any other critique is appreciated!
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Corinne Ducusin commented:Have you seen the "Portfolio Design Study" Smashing Magazine posted awhile back? http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/09/17/portfolio-design-study-design-patterns-and-current-practices/
Regarding the "Services" page, of the websites that were analyzed, "67.2% have a standalone services page of some kind." I've seen this in a lot of portfolio sites and believe me, I've looked tons of them portfolio sites - I'm sure anyone seeking inspiration would have! Anyway, I think this is what users expect!
The article also adds, "Linking your portfolio page to your services page is definitely a good idea because it bridges theory and practice and shows exactly what your agency is capable of."
Actually, the whole article has some really helpful information!
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Shane Ernest commented:
fantastic! I liked that bit of CSS you sent - very interesting and could come in handy!
thanks for the smashing link too, ill have to read thrugh that! i havent done as much research as I probably should have - i like to be aware of design trends, but dont want to fall victim to them! ;-)
thanks for your help! I appreciate it!
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hi,
i think you should add more elements into the content page, inside the layout, the content is looking too much commom.
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Shane Ernest commented:
i commented but it seems to have not gone through!
thanks for the help carlos, i appreciate your input! any suggestions as to white type of graphics or imagery you'd like to see that could help break up the main content areas? anything in particular or something a bit more visual and less textual? ;-)
thanks!
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I know I have said this before but I really think the header images are pulling down the quality of this site. I think you have a good design going here but I think the header images really need some work. I also think that you need to take down the amount of text you have.
i like the way you have the photography portfolio. The broken pages really separate the design and works really well. Keep at it here, I don't think your quite there but this is good progress.
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Shane Ernest commented:
thanks nate! I just needed to get something together for my teacher - we are meeting today as this is the final week of our block ;-)
any suggestions for the header images? why do you feel they are taking them down - besides that you feel like they are banner ads (i think that is what you had mentioned earlier)
thanks!
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Nate Hamilton commented:The site has quite a bit going on right now. I think the thing that bothers me the most about the banners is the scream for attention too much. I would make something that is quite understated and blends in better. Maybe even just a plain background with reverse text on top.
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i agree about the Blues, im hoping that once I actually have some content up there that those colors will make a difference and break things up a bit color wise. . .
those are actually service pages - whereas I was going to have a page dedicated purely to the portfolio. My reasoning behind it is to provide potential/existing clients with an overview of the services we offer and the benefits they can receive from them. then those images would link to a main portfolio. . .
im having difficulty seeing whether or not that is user friendly or not. I don't really like thumbnails - and would much rather have nearly full-sized images on the portfolio. . .
thanks for your comments - im open to more ;-) and I really do love critique ;-) any other thoughts on the portfolio?