Version 3

[paddy.]

Introducing version 3 of my portfolio.

Ok, so it's really version 9 or something, but I'm really pleased with this one and I'm definitely going to finish it and make it live. Plus I haven't made a Flash site in ages.

I went for simplicity and functionality over razzle and dazzle. I was on holiday in Sweden recently and I was very impressed by this Scandinavian design philosphy.

So anyway here's the link: www.paddyduke.co.uk/v3.htm

There's no real content yet; just the navigation system, which hopefully is easy enough to use. I just want to know if people like the concept

I've learned a fair bit of actionscript that seemed far beyond me before now. I'm now animating simple movement mainly with AS which is much more simple.

Props to Giovanni Antico and Senocular for the colour code. It's a beautiful piece of work that I could never have created on my own.

All comments, good and bad, are appreciated and considered.

Thanks!

[nrirureta]

simple and nice ... and very original too... loved the color transitions ...

my only gripe would be once the links expand they seem to mess into each other and real hard to navigate... or maybe it's just me ...

:pleased:

[paddy.]

Thanks nirureta. I'll look into the problem with the links. It works fine for me.

I also made a little change to the site. I added an image on the bottom to give it a little more interest. Opinions?

[nrirureta]

yup... it's better with the image...

no, menu works fine... the thing i was saying is that when it expands and there are only two colors for all the text it is really hard to differentiate between original three links, new links, title and then a smaller title...
but it's no big deal... maybe it's just me being picky so late at night...

good job

:kommie:

[thesparky007]

liking it paddy! but the menu is a lil annoying like nrirureta said, its messing up

[B L U E]

same as previous comments. tone down the use of easing.Elastic :)

[Anogar]

It's a great start! Sometimes the sub menus get stuck on top of each other. It's a little jumpy, I think it'd be nice if it was smoother. :thumb:

[paddy.]

Right-o!

But I just love that spring! ;)

[paddy.]

It should be a little smoother now Anogar. Check it out.

[nrirureta]

yup... now better... wish i could do such stuff... :)

[paddy.]

It should also now be impossible to get the sub-menus to stick in the rollover state.

Any suggestions on how to better differentiate the sub-menu from the main nav?

[nrirureta]

a background maybe... like your main big rectangle with rounded corners...

[paddy.]

How 'bout now?

www.paddyduke.co.uk/v3.htm

[Anogar]

It isn't that it's choppy, it's that everything is very sudden. Almost everything is a harsh instant rollover or rollout. It would help if some things happened more gradually.

[waseem]

yes like anogar said it would be nicer if the transitions are a bit slower and smoother, but there is really no content to critique, looking forward to finished version

[Theros]

I'd like it to be less confusing, like sorta have a breadcrumbs thing. And the second left menu bar loads up too slow, it takes like a couple of seconds after clicking the main thing for it to load up. And the elastic animation is still a bit too much, I like the original transition for the whole site, where it grows and stops, no elastic... Maybe try something like that?

[112am]

Just to add a couple of different observations...

1. I'd center the content vertically as well. While it looks ok in 800/600 and 1024/768, anything higher begins to look funny, realestate wise, being so close to the top of the screen with this large empty white space below.

2. I'm waiting to see how you'll load content in, but at this point it looks like you haven't left much room for images and text. I'd be interested in seeing what this looked like with your bouncing links lined up OUTSIDE of the main content area with a right allignment ... or at the very least, moving the "Patty Duke" title outside and on top of the content area.

3. "What Can I make you?" - didn't like that at all, I thought it took away from you design and seems to be placed on there just to balance the right side of the page ... it's not so bad when it shrinks, but I'd play around with that initial loading page, or just get rid of it.

Nice job, look forward to seeing where you go with it :thumb2:

[paddy.]

I'll center the content vertically pretty soon. I was hoping someone would test it on a high res screen. Thanks.

I have an interesting idea for the project content that I'm working on at the moment. It fits snugly with the style of the rest of the site so far, so it should look great if it works okay.

I'm gonna stick with the slogan as it is unless I get a lot of complaints. I like it where it is now.

[ApixDesigns]

hmm im not a big fan of it. yes the usuabliity is great but its not all that pleasing to look at. i dont really like how springy everything is but thats just me. it works well though, and i can congratulate you on that!

[paddy.]

Thanks for the honesty Apix. I'm sorry you don't like how it looks. I love it personally. :beam:

I've got some content in the SEE/VISUAL WORK section now so you can all see how it works. Every project just loads the same thing at the moment but I'll have the rest up in no time if it's a winner, so gimme your thoughts.

www.paddyduke.co.uk/v3.htm

Thanks.

[andrewfitz]

I feel as if somebody just discovered elastic easing. :P

I think that's a little over kill. Like using the default settings for dropshadow and bevel on everything. Except about 100x not as bad.

I would just say tone down on elastic and you're golden.

:thumb:

[paddy.]

I removed the elasticity altogether and it feels a bit sluggish. Maybe I just need to speed up the tweens a bit more.

Check it out. What do you think?

www.paddyduke.co.uk/v3.htm

[paddy.]

Ok, this is much better. I've used the "Back" easing class rather than "Elastic" and the effect is much more minimal.

I think you'll all like this much better.

[theflash]

It's over all simple and good. But I think preloaders are missing. I was confused at some points while using it, as some links I clicked multiple times but it seemed that they did not work..

[evildrummer]

Really nice work, I like the chang of color for the different sections but I had a problem with the sub-nav, it went rather wrong, Ive attatched an image of it (screen print).

[Anogar]

Excellent, I very much like the changes, but you seem to have broken the navigation. Mine flings off the edge of the screen, to the left. I can still see the edge of it. Nothing as interesting as ED's though. :P

[thesparky007]

i really like the changes, just makes it way better, and i am assuming the visual work sectino is not complete yet, because for every work i click, it shows the downfall site

[paddy.]

Evildrummer, I'm not sure quite what's happened at your end but I can't get the menu to do that when I'm viewing the site. I've tried everything. I can only conclude that it was a one-off glitch.

Anogar, again I've no idea what's happening there. It works perfectly for me. But I guess that's why we test on multiple platforms. What OS/browser setup are you using?

Sparky, in answer to your query:

Every project just loads the same thing at the moment but I'll have the rest up in no time
;)

Cheers guys.

[paddy.]

Okily dokily folks. Major update time. I've got all the content (or at least the first wave) in the visual work section. So you can all peruse away to your hearts' content.

www.paddyduke.co.uk/v3.htm

Cheers!

[thesparky007]

^ the moov2 button in teh visual section doesnt expand

[paddy.]

Haha, well spotted. Thanks Sparky.

What do you think of the whole thing otherwise?

[Krilnon]

I see some odd artifacts:

[paddy.]

Yeah I noticed that too. I can't get rid of them though. I have no idea what's causing them.

[paddy.]

Music section up and running.

[thesparky007]

Haha, well spotted. Thanks Sparky.

What do you think of the whole thing otherwise?ofcourse i love it man!
like it better than ur previous

[paddy.]

Ok there are plenty of bugs in the music section but I should be able to fix reasonably easily.

[leisuresuitlissy]

I think its waycool :thumb:

Never saw your previous version, but I love how slick and expressive this one is.

[paddy.]

Right, I think that's the bugs out of the music player.

Thanks Lissy!

[NadePalm]

it would be nice if the music kept playing, it really mellowed me out, i was ready to sit down in a big comfortable armchair and eat hot chips and drink a nice cold scooner. um just an observation, did u make it so u cant click on a link until that footer image has loaded?

peace

[paddy.]

Yeah.

I think I'm gonna make a little pop-up player for the music, do you can put it on in the background while you browse.

[nobody]

Very cool man. I agree that the easing may be a bit much but overall it's great.

[paddy.]

Thanks Joshua!

But the current version is with the easing turned way down. I don't want to get rid of it altogether.

[paddy.]

Pop-up music player finished. Now you can browse and listen at the same time.

I also added a new track to the player.

[hyperbrand]

From a usability standpoint I am lost in Trafalgar square.

[paddy.]

Spotted a bug in the pop-up player. For some reason it stops when you change sections in the main window.

Hyperbrand, it really couldn't be an awful lot simpler.

[NadePalm]

you should make the music play load in a separate movieclip, and have it move off into empty space when another page is loaded, that would stop the music...stopping.

edit: does the popup music player open a new window, cause i think my popup blocker may be stopping it, i tried disabling it, but it didnt seem to work.

peace

[paddy.]

Yeah it does load in a pop-up.

It's still stopping though when you click on a button in the main window. I'm not sure how to stop it doing that.