So,

[lorren.biffin]

Please Read Before Replying!

I've been dealing with the typical difficult client lately and because of this, I've had a VERY hard time being creative.

FINALLY, after a while of busting out designs like a mancake, and throwing them out just as fast, I've come up with something I think is half decent. It's also half finished.

So, I was hoping you genius kRupians could give me hand in getting the creative process moving again.

Things I need:

Space for branding
Those extra bits of "Flair" that I could incorporate into the design
Any and all critiques/suggestions(please keep it constructive and don't demand changes...if it's a good idea, i'll give it a shot...)

Thanks in advance :)

*High Five*

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4043/afcconcept01copybc8.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=afcconcept01copybc8.jpg)

PS: Addaboy's are always cool too :P

[InfestedDemon]

It looks like a good site, REALLY good site, could you host pics of more pages? :p:

[lorren.biffin]

Thanks Ryan...actually at the moment it hasn't come out of photoshop.

Still lookin' for suggesions :/

[travis]

Not bad, not bad. How does it look with a solid backround?

[Jeff Wheeler]

Seems like you need to put the brand/logo left-justified, very simply above the rest. What does the logo look like?

[lorren.biffin]

Heh, they don't have one(a logo). We're supposed to create that for them too. The direction we're given for creation is "A #1 inside of an oval." GRRRR *rips hair out*

Tried the solid bg, without the pattern. Doesn't look bad and it may be a direction i go. As for identity placement, the top left does seem like it will be the best place over all, i'm just not sure how I'm gonna implement it.

I'm still just really not sure what to do with it...Or even if the design as a whole is doing ok. Any suggestions at all would be great.

I'll keep you guys updated on progress and I'll keep checking back for replys... :)

Thanks everyone.

[jimmyo]

Looking very nice so far. All of the elements seem to work well together. One thing which struck me was that it wasn't overly visual and could do with a graphic/photo/bar at the top or even the side (after bunching everything up). Perhaps you were planning on putting the logo here with another visual element.

[BoonDock]

Could you possibly add the logo - whenever you come up with that - to the top but not in a header or box etc. just with a transparent background as if it were floating right above the links etc. towards the left or right...wouldn't matter on either side to me.

Other than that - the fonts and colors all look clean and appropriate. Not much to it IMO ... simple and clean.

[lorren.biffin]

UPDATE: http://bluemillmedia.com/images/clients/website_screenshots/afc_concept02.jpg

That's the latest version...crits are still very welcome...

[Anogar]

Just in case links are scary:

http://bluemillmedia.com/images/clients/website_screenshots/afc_concept02.jpg

[lorren.biffin]

haha, good lookin' out home slice.

[built_by]

looks good, nothing mind blowing, but it does its job. good job!

[lorren.biffin]

So, for the first time in my 8 year professional career I was told by a client that they were unsatisfied with the first draft of their work. :(

Anywho, I've put a new one together and now I'm stuck. You guys are always pretty responsive so I decided I would post the new version for your critiques and suggestions.

Well, without further anticipation...

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/561/afcconcept04copyba8.th.jpg (http://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=afcconcept04copyba8.jpg)

[Jeff Wheeler]

It is 100x better! The nav looks very much more professional, and the glow looks great. Logo subtitle also looks nice. :thumb:

Now just fix that horrid aliasing. :-/

[lorren.biffin]

The aliasing on the fonts? Lemme try...

UPDATE: K, fixed. Changed the aliasing from sharp to strong. Will post another jpg when i have more changes made.

[lorren.biffin]

UPDATE:
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3899/afcconcept042od6.th.jpg (http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=afcconcept042od6.jpg)

Any more critiquers? I'm about to send it over to the client and wanna make sure I can feel confident about it before I do.

[SimplyArun]

looks great! simple n nifty - does its job

[danulf]

looks great! Very professional

[fasterthanlight™]

Hrmm, with respect to your latest latest composition:

1. Commit more to the "out of bounds box"
ie: navigation should pop out more from the container div, not much more, maybe 5px, it just looks "half in - half out" right now, very undecided

2. I don't like the Home and Contact font, it looks hollow

3. Perhaps add a graphical image treatment to the backgrounds of your h1's, like a simple swoop or color block....

4. "Employers Post Your Job Now!" link colour and the one below it is hideous, that blue you are using does not fit your palette

5. Fiddle with the text treatment for your navigation link descriptions, Something tells me it doesn't need to be left padded, and the top and bottom padding values aren't the same

6. I love the logo, but it needs to be vertically centered between the window top and the top of the site container

7. The graphic needs a bit of treatment, maybe desaturate it and give it a similar blueish hue, or maybe it just needs gloss-ifying

8. "Home" and "Contact" need to be pushed downwards and to the right about 10-15 pixels

9. Theres too much bottom padding between the 3rd nav link and the bottom of the nav background

10. Perhaps make the page background a dark blue to lighter blue gradient?

I hope that helps!

[Adobemedia]

Lookin good. Very pro.

PS. I know what type of client you've got. Pain in the arse. :D

[lorren.biffin]

@Faster: Nice :) Very in-depth critique. I'll consider your suggestions.

@Everyone else: Thanks guys...I'm a bit more confident in the design than I was before I posted.

[tedc]

Definitely looking a lot better! I know what you feel like but when it starts rolling you'll feel confident and creative again... I would consider throwing in a different color. Right now I dont see any real accent colors which would make the site a little less plain.

[Andy92]

I think it looks really professional!

I also like the colour scheme.

:cool:

[Icy Penguin]

Looks great!

I don't really like the h1 font - maybe make it bold or another colour even.
Maybe center the logo and anvigation and put the navigation under the logo?
Maybe a bit more padding for the text in the main content area?

It looks really professional, keep it up!