I’ve Modifed – will you please critique

HUGE step up! I’d be saying that even if I wasn’t looking at a picture of a hedge-hog http://kerioakimaging.com/image/hedgehog-close-up/?r=kerioakimaging.com

MY QUESTION: How is the guy showing up in similar images to a hedge-hog? Is he the hedge-hog’s owner? Maybe he slightly looks like the hedgehog?

Great job though. I like.

I think it’s ok, a little girlie but not bling’d up to hell and back which is what people loath. I’ll give you a little tip in when designing sites (or anything really) and you want to keep a theme and not give up your colours. To use pinks and purples (or any colour) is that you can make things like text a very dark purple, closer to black (or on an inverted page closer to white). It’s not immediately noticeable but it retains the overall colour coordination.

A big thing to avoid is light fonts on white and dark on black. Medium colours are also a problem. People shouldn’t need to struggle or go closer to the screen to read.

A major point to make is that you must assign a background colour to your top menu even if just white or slight grey. It is distracting and illegible when you scroll and get text over text.

Otherwise I definitely like it. It’s got a more slick look now 🙂

Jo

@cidepix wrote:

Christine, it’s definitely too busy for my tastes.. As a designer, I don’t get the idea of incorporating photos into a logo.. I agree with JoRodrigues that it’s a little girlie.. 🙂 Very home-made looking..

but it’s your tastes and your site and what matters the most is what you think..

I don’t mind it being a bit girly. Girly doesn’t equate to home-made in my opinion. This site is girly and I like it…

http://www.firstforwomen.co.za/

Variety makes the internet interesting. First and foremost a site must be easy to use. It should be easy to read. Easy to read is almost more important than looking good. I’d rather look at a simple site that is easy to read than a masterpiece that is hard to read. Most people (esp. buyers) are in the easy to read over funky design majority.

I’m just saying that as long as your site works as it should and isn’t glaringly bad, you should spend more time on the content than the “look” of the site. As someone who researches regularly for many things, I want to find what I am looking for quickly without jumping through hoops. I don’t care what your site (and taste is) and as long as the design doesn’t compromise my information gathering, I largely don’t even notice it.

If you page design is being noticed then it better be because it is outstanding. One lesson I have learnt after 25 years in design fields of different types is that if your design is REALLY good… almost no one will notice. If it stands out then most often it is because it is way out there.

You want your buyers to notice your wares, not your warehouse!

Jo

@christine wrote:

I will get on with the content, not in the mood today

Yes, I need to do some writing and stuff on the site and just don’t feel like it. Editing some photos. It’s like laundry, the pile of Raw photos only ever increases 😀

J

@christine wrote:

This is really a fantastic group of people. Even though we are all competing against each other for customers you would never know it.

Someone has taken the time to write to me privately and inform me, quite rightly, that I had been rambling on a certain part of my site and sent me a suggested variation which I have taken full advantage of. I had forgotten about editing it since it fell off the bottom of my to-do list so that is another job done, thank you.

Honestly I never actually thought about it as competing for customers. I think of people on SymbioStock as a bunch of adventurous people trying a new route and learning from each other.

… and no! You can’t have any of my customers! I ain’t got any yet LOL!

Jo

@jorodrigues wrote:

A major point to make is that you must assign a background colour to your top menu even if just white or slight grey. It is distracting and illegible when you scroll and get text over text.

Jo, thanks for pointing that out about Christine’s site. I have the same problem and don’t like it, but didn’t have a clue what to do about it.

Now, thanks to you, I know. Gonna go fix that right now.

Thanks!