Uni Project...

[Starpromo]

Hey i have been given a brief at uni to make a site that will house all my project work for the rest of my course. I have gone for the cliched slick look, i can't put my finger on what style it is but im sure someone can tell me or even point me to a thousand sites that have to same sort of style. Anyway just wanted to find out what people think so far, or should i go for something else?

http://www.fourleaves.co.uk/about.jpg

:hockey:

[hybrid101]

lose the scanlines. it looks fine, except for those rounded things on the upper right. lose them too. otherwise, it's cool:D

[Starpromo]

Right, Got rid of the scan lines on all of the boxes apart from the navigation, i know its over used but im kind of liking it. I will grow out of it i think. Is this an improvement?

http://www.fourleaves.co.uk/about2.jpg

[SlowRoasted]

Nice, I like the pattern bg you added. I would lose the rest of the scans also.

Your logo at the top looks a little messy, the edges aren't smooth.

Nice job so far.

[Starpromo]

Is everyone anti-scanlines?

The logo on there is just a temporary one, im most liking just going to use my fourleaves logo (the one on the wedding part)

My other question is what can i fill the other boxes with. I don't really know what that could be used for?

[SlowRoasted]

I like scanlines sometimes. Heck, I have them in my footer if you look closely.

One box could be used to display the date, sort of like on this website http://www.plainjoestudios.com/home.asp

Another one could be used to show off you latest project.

[Starpromo]

Yeah good ideas. I like the use of colours on that link and they match the autumness.

Just im going to add one bar as a footer to the whole site then i will post what i have.

Keep the content ideas coming in need to fill the space wisely.

[cj2a]

How about some thumbnails of current work? This would make use of your space and add design elements and visual interest at the same time.

[Starpromo]

On the work page i will have all the thumbnails to my work but i will also use one of the boxes at the bottom to show my 'Most Recent' work. Im not sure yet but i may also have some form of blog but im not sure yet. Also not sure if i want it to be Flash or just plain HTML.

[Flashthinker]

I like the scanlines and the photo. The section on the bottom-left should be aligned with the menu on the top (About Work Contact). By aligned, I mean that the right edge (white line) comes all the way to the end of the top menu in terms of the X position. You should work on the alignment of that bottom section.

I don't like the fact that it's all grey. I can visualize some orange and green or blue in there (no red). Grey is dull.

The top menu shouldn't be so close to the left edge of the screen (the About is touching the left) and not touching the bottom line (leave a bit of space)

You might be able to change the lines on the top-left. They're not bad, but you could step it up a little with something more sophisticated.

I think it looks very professional though.

[danulf]

I don't even see the scan lines :D Only if I look really close, headache close I can sort of tell that they are there... Almost :P I think it looks good! Maybe the bottom boxes (with the flower bg) is a little flat...

[Butters]

I really like it, that pattern you added at the bottom is awesome.

I don't think you should loose all of the scanlines, they look good in the 2nd image, perhaps you could just tone them down a bit.

Where do you go to Uni?

[lorren.biffin]

Is everyone anti-scanlines?

The logo on there is just a temporary one, im most liking just going to use my fourleaves logo (the one on the wedding part)

My other question is what can i fill the other boxes with. I don't really know what that could be used for?

No, they can be appropriate sometimes.

And actually i liked the "round things" up top right. Maybe just repositioned and realigned.

[SPAD3S]

i like the second one you did more!

[Starpromo]

Flashthinker:
About the colours. On the newest one i am doing it has the logo im using for my wedding photography which just so happends to be green. I may also change the colour of the red triangle i have at the top if red doesn't work.

Danulf:
But the rest of the site looks really flat too doesn't it?

Butters:
By the second image you mean the navigation or the main content area? I go to Hull School of Art and Design.

SlicDiggy:
I like them also but looking back on it i don't think they are really needed. However i do think they would make a nice logo.

I will post the stage im at in a little while. Still has more to be done but i think its looking better already.

Thanks.

[Starpromo]

http://www.fourleaves.co.uk/about3.jpg

Changes on this include;

Dark lines on the top
Logo Change
Scanlines Moved down a box
Wedding Logo added

More changes to come.

[Starpromo]

I really like the typeface for the logo but i think that there maybe a better one that could be used. Any thoughts are welcome.

[Qued]

Thats awesome, keep it up.

[fasterthanlight™]

If youre going to introduce that yellow and the tiny red triangle into the colour scheme of the site, then use it more than in just those two places.

Overall I think the site is too wide, if you bring it in tighter it'll make your site look more "populated" and "full"

YOu also need to work on how your actual textual content is presented. I know its just a mock up, but please please please do something about your content area, design text headings and other things to make the layout complete.

In the third mock up bump up the contrast in of the background pattern where the navigation resides.

You should also reverse your header so that the logo is on the left, and the darker part of the background design is on the right, Logos should pretty much always be on the left, as it will usually be the first thing someone reads, and if its on the right there is a larger tendency for the user to miss it and not know where the hell they are

Curricullum Vitae is kind of awkward as noobs don't know what it means, perhaps change it to "CV/Resumé"

[icio]

Have you tried narrowing it and making it longer? I think the body of the site could benefit from that. The content area looks a bit naff as it is.

Any ideas on what the surrounding of the page is going to look like?

[nobody]

Other than the "Download CV" bit which seems a tad too scrunched I think it looks real nice with the pattern and all. Definitely serves it's purpose and I think it's quite sharp.

Also I believe someone mentioned keeping a consistent accent color. I also would recommend either that or adding a couple more bright colors in addition to the bright red and yellow such as a bright blue and maybe an orange. Either way is going to look nice. I like the photo in there a lot.

[Starpromo]

Thanks for the nice comments guys. I will work on it some more tomorrow because im in lectures for the rest of the day.

[fabiopb]

if its for a wedding photo web site, as it is, i agree with the scanlines, they do not fit the purpose. scanlines, in my opinion, are more of a spy theme effect, or maybe a building site effect. weddings are "pure" (heh dont take that literally) at least that is the message you are trying to send, right?
in the other two boxes in the bottom, i would place opaque images of yours, as a sample, or a "taste" of your work, perhaps choose 10, make them small, or keep them big, and have them fading in then out, maybe from right to left, or just have 2 / 3 thumbnails in each, and everytime the page refreshes, they change. but not too many, you want viewers to actually want to see more... just a thought, but i do like it, nice blend of colors, and very interesting layout.

[Starpromo]

Its not a wedding photography site by any means. Fourleaves has a branch that does wedding photography but this site is a portfolio for all the work that fouleaves does.

I hope that your the only one who is mistaken otherwise the site as a whole is failing to get the message across.

Anyone else think that its a site for wedding photographs?

[Starpromo]

More changes. How are they? Also im really stuggling with the main box and how i am going to lay it out. If anyone has any suggestions i would really love to here them. I really need some inspiration right now.

http://www.fourleaves.co.uk/about4.jpg

[built_by]

4th version is the best so far.

[Starpromo]

Thanks.

[fasterthanlight™]

I agree

[SlowRoasted]

Coming along nicely. Im glad you got rid of the scans, looks so much better now.

[Starpromo]

Should i put this together as a Flash site or code it in HTML. Im not that great at either. Im more of a designer than a coder but i guess i have to learn.

[SlowRoasted]

I think this one could go either way. Just whatever you feel more confident in I guess.

[fasterthanlight™]

Don't bother with Flash for this...

Especially if you're not an experiance flash developer you risk butchering it where as html/css is pretty fail-safe

[BoonDock]

I think it could be great with Flash if you've got the talent to pull it off (such as good transitions and speed etc.) but it (as sated by others) could easily be a standard site without having flash involved just as easy.

[Starpromo]

Now i feel more confident with Flash, but i feel like i want to be challenged and make this a HTML/CSS site. Also i want it to be easily updated.

I just need to learn more on the subject. Any good books or websites?

[112am]

Don't be hesitant to use flash ... especially since it's a photography site. The key is to use it wisely/sparingly.

My fav CSS site: Web Dev Handbook (http://www.alvit.de/handbook/)
Here's how to validate flash (http://www.ambience.sk/flash-valid.htm) for XHTML

Looks good, I like the progression from the first to your current site.

[fasterthanlight™]

I just feel that this is the kind of site where if its Flash, it will only be good if allllllllllllllllllllll of the subtleties like transistions and rollovers etc are at an intermediate to advanced level. Theres no point in taking a nice photoshop layout and hacking it up in Flash.

Theres nothing more annoying then an awesome looking flash site but once you spend 5 minutes in it, it aggrevates you and annoys you with all of its 'noobie' qualities.

[viking chant]HTML! CSS! HTML! CSS! HTML! CSS![/viking chant]

Can't go wrong!!

[andrewfitz]

You know what, this has great potential for hybrid. It feels much closer to css/xhtml than flash, but would benifit from a few spices of flash.

I do have to say, eye flow is kind of lacking. My eyes scatter all over, and I don't really feel like there's a focus.

The white seperating lines aren't consistant. Make them all the same width or at least make it obvious in the size change for a specific reason.

It's looking great, but I think you may need another accent color. Or just better use of what you have.

[Starpromo]

I like the idea of a hybrid site. Im not a complete noob when it comes to flash. I have been using it for about 6 years. Im not advanced but i can use it. I know what you all mean about using it too much.

The real obsticle is getting back onto the coding bandwagon. Wish me luck.