Okay. I just did another completely different website, and I am happier with it then my last one.. what do you think? Good enough

The newer one is not bad, but there are some issues with it. For one thing, there are distracting artifacts. The "SOFT LIGHT IMAGERY" thing has very poor dithering, and the banner below it is obviously stretched. Also, it doesn't seem to serve any purpose or really have any consistency with the rest of the page. Also, the borders on it look completely messed up.

Also, the colors are incoherent. Where did the green come from? There should be some consistency in the colors. In particular, the green curve shape to the right of the navigation bar is too overt, and the gradient is not helpful. Also, the randomly sized green lines between "About," "Mission" etc. are not good at all.

What's good is the gray, cloudy background. The navigation bar is also pretty good; the grayish boxes go well with the background, but maybe they should have soft, blurred edges instead of such harsh ones. Alternatively, you could make them seamless with the background except for a change in color. The "SOFT LIGHT IMAGERY" thing goes well with the background color, but I mentioned some problems with it. I also think the borders on the letters should be removed or changed.

I think a web design should not draw too much attention to itself. If you design the page before there's any real content you may end up making the design too loud to compensate for the lack of content, but when there is content you'll want the design to be more reserved. It also follows from this that the website design should serve more to organize the content than to stand alone.

OK, well, my last post applied to that image before you replaced it with a new version, which, notably, removes almost all of the things I liked about it.

Thanks for your time

I've redone it, again.. is this better or worse?
I'm also aware the image is not fitting.. it was just a quick place holder, I want to design a nice scene from my Wars of Karaken Story to go there.



this is close to what it should look like with content.

Quote: Original post by soft Light Industry
Anyway, thanks for your hard to take feed back... this is why I only push in for a couple days or two, into my projects and give up... I SUCK

Persistence. Okay here to give you some encouragement:
View this if you can
It describes the story of a self proclaimed renaissance man who made a website solely about himself describing why he's good at everything. Look at the number of posts. Good times.

Your new design is getting better. What program are you using to make this? You're text lacks anti-aliasing but it's hard to tell. Save all your images as png please since it's lossless. I can't tell if I'm just viewing jpg artifacts.

Also research color theory. It's a pretty complex topic though, but you'd do much better knowing how most people view colors. Also do not use linear gradients like you did. It's a big no no.

Relating to colors: Color Lovers. Try to decide on a color pallet that works with colors that work together. Again color theory. (Which I don't even understand by the way other than hot and cold and the basics).

Your "Intro to Wars of Karaken" should be on one line. It looks like two links. You should have noticed this. From an HCI perspective you have to put yourself into the user's perspective. (Albeit the designer is often the worst person to do that so that's why there's a ton of critique threads for sites).

I'm not a fan of dual menus (horizontal and the left panel one). It looks too busy. It is possible to pull it off but I don't think it'll suit your site.

Also take more time positioning images. Make thoughtful choices about how the site will function with a changing width. Will it be centered or off to the left? Try to design some clear dividing lines between content.

Also I'll point out Gestalt Psychology Read the article, but focus on "reification". Notice on your site you have numerous areas where most people's brains are going to try to form shapes and objects. This will add complexity to your page. (Mostly referring to next to "Sound and Music" and "Wars of Karaken".

Speaking of that thinking of names that make sense. If you have a section labeled Wars of Karaken don't resay the name. Also don't use words like "Intro". Make that line say "Introduction" or "About" (just a guess).

Also what's the top image next to the T? I can't tell if it's just a background design or part of your logo.

Also keep all your images of your revisions so we can see the change over time. Makes it easier.

Also (I say also a lot...) try to design your site so that your buttons and header and such don't have the text as images. It's not necessarily good design.

[Edited by - Sirisian on May 19, 2010 9:04:02 PM]

Do you have any examples of sites you think look good?

It's hard to see if you just have an "alternative" aesthetic - or if you are just panicking and trying to overdo everything.

As mentioned before by others:

- Work with color.

Also try building up the site from scratch using no images. Just CSS. In the end you can decide then if maybe the "logo banner" needs to be some sort of image to spice things up.