2-Cubed V2

[chenu]

My current site 2-cubed.net has need a facelift ever since it went online. This time i thought i'd rely more on flash than on photoshop but again this isn't completely true. Anyway i made the first page and i was just wondering if you guys has anything to say.

http://2-cubed.net/v2/

The home and about links are the only links active right now. Clicking on any of the others will mess up the site and will require a refresh. I wanted to make the file size completely to a minimum so i made everything load dynamically such as the text, images, sound etc. So if its a bit buggy at first please consider a refresh. Anyway please feel free to comment on anything as that is the only way i will learn.

There is an error in Flash MX 2004 for Mozilla based browsers that make it really slow when using transparent/windowless mode. I've read a bit on this matter and there is nothing i can do. I too am a firefox user and i'm disappointed.

P.S. The main complaint with my old design was the sound and i think i fixed it up pretty well in this release. I'm using 3 compositions by Hans Zimmer, they are from the movies Gladiator, Lion King and The Last Samurai. Another composition from Spirit is coming soon.

P.P.S. http://kirupaforum.com/forums/images/smilies/cubs.gif Cubs Rule!

[FlashFish]

I'm a little too tipsy to comment properly at the mo, but id add another colour. Its a little too blue. Looks cool though.

[chenu]

I tried with some orange but it looks out of place. Thats why i mixed in the white with blue. But atleast someone thinks it looks cool. thanks.

[Dj-Studios]

Looks alright dude. Just need to work on the font a bit. The "Welcome to 2cubed" font isn't working to well.

[chenu]

Would you think replacing it with the font that is found on the sideboxes would do it?

[Dj-Studios]

It's a possibility. It's just that pixel fonts don't look good stretched. Know what I mean?

[chenu]

Yeah I understand. Its just i want that text to stand out a bit more because its like the main content text. I'll try using bold or italics.

[chenu]

Ok I redid the whole content area. All the fonts were optimized and overall improvements were made. Tell me what you think.

thanks,
chenu

[sirtimbly]

The blurb beneath the "welcome to.." is difficult to read because of the stripes behind it. I like the motion when it first opens, really eye catching. The diagonal stripes theme is well concieved, but it does hurt readability with some of the pixel fonts. All in all I really like the direction of this layout. Clean is good.

[chenu]

I'm going to lower the opacity of the stripes. Its at 50% now i'll try 25%. Thanks for the comments.

[chenu]

I made some good updates. I added a bunch more animation to the buttons. I added some non intrusive click sounds for buttons and for the loading. Also now all images are inside the swf and they are not loaded dynamically. The dynamic loading was creating issues and i just felt this was the way to go.

[ruski_flasher]

wheres that song from? i love it!

[chenu]

Gladiator Sountrack - Now We Are Free
Spirit - Run Free
Lion King - This Land
The Last Samurai - Spectres in the Fog

They are all great songs by Hans Zimmer. Is anyone on IE experiencing problems with the music. I cannot get it to play on IE.

[ruski_flasher]

i have IE, works fine!!

[chenu]

I have no clue why IE on my computer is acting so weird. The music was working i just refreshed and bam it stops working.

[ruski_flasher]

odd, maybe you should download the latest updates for IE..

[chenu]

Just tried updating. Didn't help. Maybe a restart.

http://kirupaforum.com/forums/images/smilies/cubs.gifCUBS RULE!

[chenu]

1. I made the titles look a bit better. Used 1 color for all of them and made them look alike.
2. Got rid of that fps bug. Now the whole thing runs perfect.
3. I put in 3 different fonts. If you could tell me which one you like better.
4. I made the volume of the music 50% as that was a major concern at a couple design forums.

[chenu]

Just added new titles. I'm getting mixed feedback so what does the kirupa forum think.

[dru_nasty]

see post #12 http://www.kirupaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65410
Whats with all the blue?

[chenu]

see post #12 http://www.kirupaforum.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=65410 (http://www.kirupaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65410)
Whats with all the blue?
:lol: @ ruki_

I'd seriously consider taking some design classes, or study some books. Not knocking your site, its well built, it just doesn't convey great design. Savvy? :pirate:
Do some research on color combinations also.

It seems everyone with photoshop and flash, suddenly become c.e.o's of a company. And did you really get a copyright on the site?
Dude i may need more skill but my site isn't as bad as http://www.aroundaway.com/

I mean i've got colors that are easy on the eyes. Good clean fonts. That site is just an overdo of 3d.

[dru_nasty]

All that matters is how you feel about it. Im just offering my $0.02.
If your offering design services, you want your site to reflect "great design."
That'll get ya clients. But if you get work with what you've got, good.
Like I said, its all in how well you feel about it.:thumb: And I was in no way trying to compare your site with the other one.

[thumbs_of_fury]

You know how in resume workshops, the first thing they always mention is to not have any typos on your resume? I would think the same thing would apply to a website like this because in both cases you're marketing yourself. It looks like you're in need of a proofreader...

'prescense' - typo, extra c
'pleasibility' - not a word
'inturn' - not a word, separate it
'tommorow' - correct spelling is tomorrow
'there' in last sentence of 2nd paragraph - should be their
'ideaology' - correct spelling is ideology

I'll assume that you know how to spell (or at least how to run this through a spellchecker), so having this many typos in a mere three paragraphs, let alone any when you're trying to market yourself, implies that you have no attention to detail and/or rush things. This is something you might miss but I definitely noticed it right away.

[ruski_flasher]

too much blue..take a look at other sites, and see there colour schemes..your site would really benefit from better colours!

[thumbs_of_fury]

Some other things:

Good job on the 'news' and 'featured project' headers, their animations are pretty cool.

When you fade out everything when switching to another section, you should have the text shrink down as well as the white box. Also it's minor but when the text first comes in, it shows over that bottom image. You should have the image on a higher layer so the text doesn't go over it like that. This is rather hard to notice anyway :)

Hopefully my nitpicking is helping

[chenu]

I'm going to address each of you with this one post. Sorry it will be long.


You know how in resume workshops, the first thing they always mention is to not have any typos on your resume? I would think the same thing would apply to a website like this because in both cases you're marketing yourself. It looks like you're in need of a proofreader...

'prescense' - typo, extra c
'pleasibility' - not a word
'inturn' - not a word, separate it
'tommorow' - correct spelling is tomorrow
'there' in last sentence of 2nd paragraph - should be their
'ideaology' - correct spelling is ideology

I'll assume that you know how to spell (or at least how to run this through a spellchecker), so having this many typos in a mere three paragraphs, let alone any when you're trying to market yourself, implies that you have no attention to detail and/or rush things. This is something you might miss but I definitely noticed it right away.
Thanks for the corrections. You may understand this excuse but probably not. Its my fault and i should have corrected it. Yet please do know that the site is still in beta and changing daily. The text is meant as a constructive filler. I didn't want to do the traditional "lorem ipsum" yet i was forced to with news. I will make sure to spellcheck with flash's built in checker and with a trusted source online. Thanks for a great comment.


too much blue..take a look at other sites, and see there colour schemes..your site would really benefit from better colours!
I agree yet i do not want to overload the site with colors. Thats why i'm basing the site on a blue/orange theme with the tints white and black. To fix this i think i will use black for all the content text with the exception of a little orange for the news titles. Also i will change the hue of the orange computer and use a more reddish shade to math the >> in the nav. Other than that if you have any more suggestions please go ahead and say them.


Some other things:

Good job on the 'news' and 'featured project' headers, their animations are pretty cool.

When you fade out everything when switching to another section, you should have the text shrink down as well as the white box. Also it's minor but when the text first comes in, it shows over that bottom image. You should have the image on a higher layer so the text doesn't go over it like that. This is rather hard to notice anyway :)

Hopefully my nitpicking is helping
Thank You about the headers I'm reading a couple books on color harmonies and a design concepts book. The color book was recommended by a reviewer at BB Forums. About the text shrinking that was part of the plan yet i'm trying to maintain a healthy balance of animation and processor burning. Many people were complaining of the site being a bit intensive that is why the sections don't come in at once. About text showing on the in tween i'll make the text appear higher. I recently switched fonts and i probably missed it.

Lastly I would like to thank both of you for nitpicking it will help me develop a certain nick. I'm currently 13 and as i grow older i hope to develop my design abilities whilest leaving times for what teenagers do like gals and hanging out. If you try 2-cubed.net what you see is my first ever flash website and my first flash design component. (I was mainly a horrible animator) I am extremely pleased with all the learning and improvements i've made both within flash and elsewhere.

Thank You,
Chenu

[thumbs_of_fury]

wow, you're only 13? I wish I had been that good... when I was 13 I just played video games all day. keep at it and good luck

[chenu]

wow, you're only 13? I wish I had been that good... when I was 13 I just played video games all day. keep at it and good luck
Thanks. I'll work a bit more and post some updates.

[sirtimbly]

When I was 13, I was proud to have just learned how to save as HTML from Word! Sheesh.

[ContinuumXLS]

Hey, you are doing a pretty good job so far...as for the music, maybe you should give credit to the creators of the music as to not get you in trouble....

Also, I like the color blue! :thumb:

[chenu]

When I was 13, I was proud to have just learned how to save as HTML from Word! Sheesh. I was designing since i was 10. I started with a book called html for kids or something like that.


Hey, you are doing a pretty good job so far...as for the music, maybe you should give credit to the creators of the music as to not get you in trouble....

Also, I like the color blue! That is all in planning. Most of this will probably go in about or bio in a subsection titled "thank you's". Also from now on my sites are going to be reflective of another persons career or work. This release in a 2-cubed tribute to Hans Zimmer. The next will probably be centered around the movie October Sky. I too love the color blue. I love the subtle navy blue color used in the overlay. Other than that i love the color yellow and i'm still trying to incorporate it in somewhere.

[chenu]

The titles have been redone to fit the entire theme of the sites. The rounded rectangles look awkward in a design with all right angles. Also i've made all the text 1 color except for the titles of the news posts. Also the outro has been redesigned.