warwickhoward.com

As mentioned above this is really very basic and doesn't inspire me to part with my hard earned cash.

I think you should spend some time browsing examples of minimal websites. There are loads of collections of them online and they all do simple black and white much better.

I think you need to spend a bit more time looking at structure and coming up with something more fitting for the purpose, rather than using a generic design that has been done many times before.

• Specific problems with the design include:

• The header is dull and uninspiring. I would remove it entirely.

• The navigation is fine, but not very interesting, and there's no difference between the navigation text and the body text

• The font used isn't a standard web font so won't be available to most users.

• The body text is hard to read for two reasons. 1) black text on a mid grey background reduces contrast and makes the text lose strength. 2) The font is tightly packed

Some ideas/ solutions for you

• remove the header and footer image.

• remove the grey background on the body text.

• increase the line-height on the body text

• do something different with the navigation text. Maybe a different colour/ font weight. Try using borders to create interest.

One idea you could try would be to make the page background a really light grey (like #f5f5f5;), then make the transparent strip behind the logo/ tagline and the footer pure white. This would create some interest without going over the top with detail. It would also allow the colourful logo to shine.

Nothing on this page lines up. The navigation is higher than the body text. The logo and the slogan don't line up with anything. Also, the header is hard to read because the transparency of the background is way too low. And I just noticed there's a footer. The navigation is pretty unoriginal, also. Sorry to be harsh.

The blog sounds like quite a large part of this site, so why not have a stream of article titles / excerpts displayed on the home page? This should encourage people to click through. This also will benefit SEO.

The typography on the slogan is weak, and as mentioned, Century Gothic is not 100% web safe.

Are you planning to center this design?

Right now it feels like a template. Build the website around their brand and values. Also with the background effect and use of the logo so much the branding feels diluted.

The first thing that turned me off was the background image. It seems busy and doesn't match the simplicity of the rest of the content on the site. I think it would be more beneficial to choose a background image that is smooth and sleek, like the logo portrays.

The overlay header is okay, I'm just not sure about the business slogan half. I would like to see the slogan become smaller and some sort of design coming across the length of the header to give more emphasis to what the site is actually about.

If you are going for sleek and simple, the navigation panel and body content seem fine to me. The only thing I would look at would be the size of the font you are using on the body content. It is almost overwhelming to see the body copy being as large as the navigation panel text.

Good Luck, I think with a little bit of tweeting to make sure that the concept of simple but powerful is achieved, it will be great!

You have a nice logo full of colours where it can help you add some of the colour in your design but you haven't. I know the client wanted grey but you have nothing to lose to add some colour to lighten it up.

Its not bad designed but it looks dated.

What will happen with the background image, will it tile? If yes it will not look well.

Try and make the slogan in white color. The links on the footer cannot be read!

It is best to make a screenshot a wider in order to see the website out of its limits.

I would do some research into small/single page websites.

There are some good examples around to draw on

This design is pretty minimal and pretty retro. It reminds me of a decent site circa 1998, not a dynamic web presence for 2010 and beyond.

The logo is nice, but shouldn't be distracted with the gradient behind it. I'm not sure what the brick street has to do with asset management, and really don't like the image appearing at the top and bottom of the page.

This is really early, very rough. I would work more on the design end and then re-post for comments.

If Warwick Howard is a person, and not a firm, I would suggest putting his/her picture on the home page.

Very basic, plain and boring. It really needs some color to liven it up. Also, check the type size and line spacing, really not in the correct proportion. Still a lot of work to do here.

Pity about the rest...

Sorry, but this site design has so many flaws, I am not really sure where I should start...

Things I like:

• Logo - or actually logo icon - typography is bad!

Things I don't like:

• Background image - dull
• Typography - not engaging and there's no difference between body / paragraph and headings
• Main Navigation - this is old school - and not in a good way
• footer - again not great
• colors - although the client has specified the use of greys black and white, YOU are the designer and YOU tell the client what's going to make THEIR website stand out from the REST!
• Bullet points - don't use the logo icon - that looks cheap

Ok that's pretty much it, you get a 2 for design for trying, but to be honest you really need to research current market trends, their clients, their opposition in the market place....

Basically go back to the drawing board