http://www.curtisscott.com/portfolio.html
http://www.curtisscott.com/
http://www.curtisscott.com/about.html
7 Reviews1 Vote0 Favorites380 Views
Concept Images
Concept Reviews
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Hi Curtis! I really like what you have done, I'm glad you took in my feedback and made use of it!
- Portfolio Buttons +1
- I love what you did with the Social networking buttons
I'm glad you used the info from the reviews to spice those up.
here is what i think needs some (simple) work
- "Visit the website" buttons. They to me dont fit your site, I would do some kind of cool glossy button, instead of the plasticy one you have now, All it would take is replacing the file, Quick Fix.
- The arrows on the Folio: They look better than what i remember, But i think you should do something a little more interesting with them, maybe make them blue, and glossy.
- CONTACT FORMS: These could use some work. The borders now are ugly, I would make a 1px border of a light grey, then add a nice Grey-white gradient as the background of the form.
Overall a very nice, original and creative website! best of luck!
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In decreasing order of importance:
De-emphasize visiting the website. Provide a link to visit the website if they choose, but don't be too assertive at sending users offsite. The big blue button looks like a call to action.
I would remove the geographic reference. If geography matters to a customer, let them find your address, but don't disqualify yourself over geography.
Your layout and color selection is good. It is attractive but avoids overshadowing the site featured in the window.
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Hi Curtis
All is good, great design and colors, love the main navigation links with the shadows. The only thing I find a little off is the big image on the home page, I mean I understand the concept but I will try to brake the images into different project instead of a big photo, as a right now it looks to me I'm about to view something about marine life, besides this all is perfect
take care
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Hey Curtis,
Really nice site design. Love the contrast and the color balance. The subtle textures really make the design. I see that others are recommending not advertising your location as hard, but I would disagree. I think you are right in advertising your location. However, I wouldn't just say "Northern Virginia". You should use a keyword research tool and see what terms people are using to find designers in your area, whether they just search "Virginia web designer" or "Richmond web designer" and target that phrase specifically.
That said, I think you could really do without the "Hello..." statement in the header. You already introduce yourself with your name and description in the top left, and i think it's redundant to put it in the header again.
Again, a beautiful site and some good quality work. Congrats!
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Hi Curtis,
Overall I think your design is pretty good. You have a solid concept. But I think it's lacking that extra 10% that would make it a really outstanding design.
The biggest criticism is that your typography is poor. All your text is in white, with the same drop shadow. And the font you've chosen is very "average". Even picking an over used (yet beautiful) font like Museo would be worlds better. And try using some alternative colors, like a light shade of blue.
Your portfolio is certainly a strength, and I really admire the jQuery slider you have implemented. It's very sharp, and presents your work well. Although I think you "visit the website" button could stand to have a hover effect.
The left side nav items, although "out of style" work just fine for your purposes, and I do really like the divider effects you have, along with the background. However, that background pattern feels a little like it clashes with the water background on the page body. Just doesn't feel coherent.
Another big plus is that your site is very nicely written, so kudos on writting good markup.
Also, on the point about that nav, the area above the nav feels empty, like your name or site title belongs there.
Final thought - consider a page layout that takes advantage of user scrolling. Not just because it's trendy, but I think it would allow you to readdress some of the site's key goals with more space in mind.
Great work, and hope you keep tweaking this one!!
Notes Added to Images View
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1needs more "POP!" to it
As your site header AND your name (and since you are selling yourself here) you need to give this more "flavor". You could even try doing something similar to your bg of the nav around your name. (see attachment)
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2awkward empty space
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3awkward empty space
spread these icons out so they take up equal space horizontally
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4give me a hover effect please!
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5very nice slider animation and controls
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6The image window could be larger
another benefit to thinking "vertically" (as in a user scrollable design) is that your portfolio preview images can be significanlty larger than what you have now
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7nice intro, but please help the trypography
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8bg is very nice, but clashes with what is your stronger nav bg
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9make the footer more interesting
(ie add more content) Give your users a "reward" for getting there
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Notes Added to Images View
Notes Added to Images View
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1style more
why not give your input elements a nice border radius to match your content background? Same with the button. You can even give it a custom image bg with hove effects if you use a sprite.
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Curtis Scott commented:This is great feedback Joel!
Thank you so much for taking the time to give such a through review. I feel like my designs are never really finished, so I'll move forward with many of these recommended updates and repost my revised design comp ASAP.
Best to you, Curtis
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Hi there! I must say I really like the colors you used. The only thing that's bothering me is the fishtank image, it makes the website look like it's about fishing or something. But I love all the rest.
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Curtis,
Is being in Northern Virginia an important part of your marketing strategy? Because you mention it twice in the top 100 pixels of your design. Your physical location seems irrelevant to web design or ExpressionEngine development.
What is it that you do that separates you from the multitude of other designer/developers out there? Can you meld design and development in a unique way that will be profitable to your prospective clients? Do you build online apps or CMSes with a designer's touch? What is it about your skillset that will be valuable to people interested in your services?
Focus on what it is that makes you different; the thing you do better than everyone else. That's all anyone cares about.
Remove the word "experienced" from the phrase "experienced web designer." It's redundant at best, contradictory at worst. Remember, don't tell; show.
Also, the background gradient you have going on looks like your website is underwater. Like, DEEP underwater. Why?
Your portfolio is solid and modern-looking. Your markup looks above average. Your website should reflect that.
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Luke Marohn commented:I feel you are being too harsh. I like your ideas in Paragraph Two, but there is nothing wrong with saying "Experienced web designer" and I dont see anything wrong with his site being "underwater" There are a ton of sites That incorperate clouds, Space, and little outdoors backgrounds, I personally Think Its an original idea.
However, this is MY opinion. and I dont mean to take away from yours... I just feel you Rated a bit too harsh. Definately not a two star design.
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Curtis Scott commented:
Carter, I appreciate your feedback and will take a few things you've mentioned into consideration. However, as I've noted, I love a website with a good design and clean code. Since you've rated my site so poorly,... I'm just wondering, where you think http://www.outtolunchproductions.com/ would rate? I know we are not on this page to review it so I digress.
Thanks for the comments Luke! I know for me it takes guts to post up here, and when I see someone bash my skills with such a low rating the first thing I do is check out their website from their profile. This helps breaks down for me how serious to take their rating and if they even know what Design, Purpose, Originality and Engagement are really about.
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Carter Fort commented:Curtis,
Three things:
Don't ask for people's opinion and then engage in "well what do you know?" attacks when they give you one they don't like. It doesn't exactly encourage communication.
Framing criticisms in a way that someone might feel is "not harsh" is not what you asked me to do. You asked for thoughts; that's what they are.
My website is not what I came here to talk about, otherwise I would have posted it as a concept and asked for feedback.
I offered a compliment to your work in a way I thought wasn't patronizing. It certainly wasn't necessary or helpful, but I wanted you to know that I didn't think everything was bad.
I also figured you had enough people in your life telling you your stuff was great that a few pieces of honest criticism might have actually helped answer your question.
However, based on the reactions I've gotten here, I'll certainly reconsider that in the future.
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Joel Glovier commented:In defense of Curtis statement about Norther Virginia - I cannot see how that is NOT a vital piece of his marketing strategy. Certainly the average freelancer makes most of their business out of local or regional work. And to market yourself that way the best bet is to be found in searches for web design + your area. And a good bet to getting those search placements? You guessed it - put that info prominently in your site.
I know this because I too make most of my freelance business out of local clients. Just google "central pa web designer" or "central pa freelance designer" and ny business is consistently in the two results.
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