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Concept Reviews
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Exciting and nice grid design for a webshop.
I would've done some small changes though:
- Not a fan of your header and footer. I just think they are taking to much attention. Remove them, or use rounder edges to incorporate them better into your design. Maybe even do them in black to make the design even more exciting.
- Ebay, amazon, etc logos. As commented on before
- Font used in "categories, popular, etc".
- I miss name and brand on the clothes. It would be nice to have something to remember them by if I am to re-visit your webshop.
Just suggestions though. Nice design overall.
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Thomas commented:I'm not sure, but it demands a lot of attention at least. I hate webshop were search is hard to find. :)
Would like to see some of the changes you've made so far.
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Sorry I'm not sure which is A and B, so I'll use the file names:
concept1gridview_feedback3.jpg:
The background gradient isn't great, the dark makes the orange 'dirty', I think it's good to tune the it down but to keep some of the yellow tones through it... not sure...
are the pictures of products or of categories ? I guess I'd need more guidance to understand what the site is selling
- because the search criterias are on the right I'd be more tempted to first click on a product to explore than use them. The likelyhood of one product out of 8 on the homepage to be exactly what I like isn't high though, hence the question about whether the photos are of an individual product or representative of categories...(?)
concept1gridview_nologos.jpg:
even though I like the background of that one better, I think it would quickly get tiresome, which isn't great if you want to keep your user shopping...
the description of the product divided into 2 cols under the photo is nicer
I like the search tools being at the top, they feel more accessible.
- still the issue of not understanding what the shop is about, 'great stuff' doesn't give me any clue so I don't feel tempted, though maybe it's personal, into browsing through the products for the sake of it...
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Michelle Waldorf commented:
Carole, thank you for your excellent comments! Especially that the site purpose is missing.
- Site purpose - Popwatchers is a comparison shopping site that shows the most popular items from the top 6-7 online sites.
How about these taglines? “Shop eBay, Amazon, Bonanzle, Zappos and Oodle with one click” or "Shop popular products from top stores"
Background color - I'll ask the designer to shift the bright orange background to a darker, burnt orange but avoid dirty brown. It will be easier on the eyes as you stated.
Search controls on the top vs right. – We’ll keep the search controls at the top for the release. We can test moving the controls to the right later. Thefind.com (#2 shopping comparison site) has their controls on the right so there must be something to it.
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fyi, just in case you have moved them or something, I am referring to "feedback3" as A.
First to answer your direct questions:
1) I see the products first on A, and a lot of text I don't feel like reading on B. Concept A does a good job of keeping the things you want people to see in the most important real estate. Popular things, Categories, etc is important for filtering purposes and overall usability but it takes too much focus in concept B.
2) I'd be more likely to click on one of the products if it has what I'm looking for in A. In B I'm likely to click the back button or X.
3) I don't particularly find either one all that engaging or inviting. A is very rough and dirty looking. It has stronger images which makes it slightly more engaging than B. The colors and complicated layout do not scream "inviting" however. The colors and design elements are better in option B, but the functional layout doesn't work as well for me.
I would suggest trying a cooler color for the overall scheme to make the site more "inviting" and use orange/yellow/red as accents to get the "popular" and "hot" ideas across a bit. I'll use the notes for the rest.
Notes Added to Images View
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1background
looks dirty and drab. Either use something cooler and inviting or liven it up to a more orange/yellow color.
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2logo
The logo is pushed so far from the left side of the site it's creating a huge left-side padding that makes the site look awkward. Also, this may or may not be your control, but the logo is very boring and static. The font choice is not good. It should be stronger and a little more dynamic. Sans Serif is probably the way to go though.
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3main header
This is much too close to the header, drop it down to even it out with the "popular" header. Not a fan of the font you are using, it doesn't fit well with the script.
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4right side alignment
The right side of the site doesn't particularly align at all. The sidebar appears to be sticking out past the edge of the site. Either drop to 3 columns for products extend the header area more to the right.
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5the backgrounds
Are these just part of a rough concept? The backgrounds behind all this text look awful. No reason not to just use the white text on the dark background. If this is just a rough copy/paste result then ignore...
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6store list
Make these two columns and tighten it up, there is tons of empty space
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7right column alignment
the "popular" stuff is aligned with all the other headings, but the other sub-sections are indented a few pixels. Keep it consistent. The overall alignment is a little goofy as well. The zoom images and list view/grid view don't look like they have much thought behind them.
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8shadows
You have a lot of shadows in the design that should not be there. The ones in the header are distracting, as are the ones below each product. Also the line next to the search area.
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9typography and alignment
The text descriptions don't really engage much. The font is boring and stale (Arial perhaps?). Everything is center justified and looks a little bit amateur as well.
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10search
Make the search a button (match it to your drop down button in "sort by" and the "list view/grid view"
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11input fields
This one's white with a yellow/orange glow around it, and the ones in the right sidebar are yellow. I like the orange glow and would keep the sidebars consistent with the search one. This is ok though, as the search input does stand out better. I just think the other input fields would look better if done in this style.
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Michelle Waldorf commented:
Hi Patrick, Excellent comments! Thanks for taking the time to create the notes on the concept. I will address each of these in the revision.
As for the layout of the controls on the top or right, I agree with putting them on the right. But a lot of people like it on the top.
I'll have to measure the product click through rate of both positions once the site is released.
Perhaps I could make it a user option. Example, show an arrow that says, "Move this out of my way" which shifts the controls to the right. Or have a minimize option that hides the entire search control div.
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Patrick Niebrzydowski commented:a "show search options" on top could be a good solution. You don't want to take away from your main focus (the images) but this still puts search options in a convenient and accessible location. I'd guess a site like this will require a lot of searching due to a large number of products. People don't really go to Amazon or eBay and browse very often, and I think this site would be similar.
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Michelle Waldorf commented:
You hit the nail on the head on user behavior. There are 2 types of users on comparison shopping sites:
Avid collectors who use the controls to view their niche like rare marbles. - repeat users
General shoppers searching for a particular item like a coach purse. They come from search engines with 3-5 word keyword phrases. - one time users
A Hide / Show option on the controls section would accommodate both.
Thanks again for your astute observations!
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I assume that A is the more orange picture.
- i see the products on A and B first because the contrast from orange to white and color images makes my eye look there ... but on A, because the filters and categories are on the top I see that as well as for the B that has that content on the right is very secondary to me. So i think for the layout A is better.
- I would click on the products or search for something specific if I need to on version A; I would click in the products in version B but I would not work with the filters on the right from the start
- well A works better then B but the colors are to bold, becomes tedious after a while.
You should not use that orange on the background, that is what I think, you could try to work with a soft blue and have the orange just for the header and the footer. Blue and orange are complementary colors.
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For concept1gridview_feedback3.jpg, the other one is just too dark n hurts the eye.
Sorry but this did not work for me. The color is too dark an orange, the color just below the header is a neither orange nor brown, the header itself has at least 5 different shades of orange. The side panel again is too orange. The side panel font is completely different from the rest of the page and the text below is too close to its heading. The backgrounds behind the text in the side panel changes with the amount of text? The drop downs and text boxes in the side panel are not aligned with the panel. The search on the header looks unrelated to and detached from the search text box. Sorry but I did not like it :(
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I like the size and whitespace between a way better than b. A is inviting, where as b is too much. In my opinion. I think maybe if the pictures weren't quite as big, it may be acceptable.
Plus the ads and links to ebay, google, amazon arn't nearly intruding.
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Michelle Waldorf commented:
I changed the ebay, amazon, ... logos to text. I have to use either text or the official logos on either design. The softened logos in Version A are not an approved usage.
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Thanks for the review!
Do you like the user's search controls at the top vs on the right?
Thanks again!