• Registered: 2009-08-30
  • Posts: 14

Topic: Feedback on the aesthetic features of my site

Hello,

I just finished a mock up, and I showed my girlfiriend, and she wasn't very enthusiastic at all.  The only thing she seems to like is the logo.   She doesn't seem to really like anything else.   

She said she definitely doesn't like the blue panel to the right, with the roots above it.   Her problem is with the colors, in general.

Here, take a look:

www.corewebworks.com


What do you think of the site overall?   Is it that bad?    Please be as honest as possible, and be sure to tell me exactly all the things you don't like. 

I'm especially curious to hear what you think of the roots of the tree (or the reflection of the tree, it could be interpreted either way).   Also, I want to hear what you think about the colors.

Last edited by Cory Duchesne (2009-10-29 18:53:49)

  • Gender: Male
  • From: Chico/Sacramento, CA
  • Registered: 2008-12-19
  • Posts: 2,343

Re: Feedback on the aesthetic features of my site

Hmmm... I think I kinda agree with your girlfriend on this one. I like the logo (though have you considered splitting it into a symbol and text? You could use the same two arc shapes wrapped around the circle, and then separate "core webworks" text. That might be more readable, and would allow you to use just the text and symbol separately, like I do with my personal logo.)

Besides the coding issues (if you look at this on a larger screen resolution, you'll notice that some elements are absolutely positioned and move improperly when the screen size is changed)... I think the best thing you can do is rethink your color palette. Limit yourself to two or three primary colors. At the moment, you have quite a mix: oranges and yellows, blue and purples, brown... Limiting your color use will help make the site feel more consistent and professional. The purples and blues in the "Affordable web design" box seem a bit out of place.

I'm not sure if I am a fan of the imagery used. The tree image looks dead, and the birds (crows? vultures?) only push that image further. I think you'd want to choose imagery that seems more alive and growing, visually demonstrating how you will help grow their business. Same thing with the background picture... It's hard to tell, but it looks like it is a picture of a wildfire. Going with a "fire" theme could work out (some companies do it successfully) but then you need to use colors and other imagery that supports that idea.

Perhaps you need to take a step back for a little bit before continuing work on this design. Browse a couple CSS galleries (http://www.cssclip.com/ , http://www.webcreme.com/ , http://bestwebgallery.com/ for example) not to steal ideas, but to draw inspiration from and see what elements work successfully together.

  • Registered: 2009-08-30
  • Posts: 14

Re: Feedback on the aesthetic features of my site

Thank you for your honesty, Falken.  smile    I am going to start from scratch and stick with two to three colors, as suggested.   I will experiment with the logo a bit as well. 

The coding issues were something I was aware of, and I plan on figuring out how to make the elements stay put when the screen sized is changed.

  • Eric
  • Advanced Member
  • Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • From: Carlsbad, CA
  • Registered: 2008-12-19
  • Posts: 2,038

Re: Feedback on the aesthetic features of my site

It's creative, but I bit too busy in my opinion. I have a real problem with making a unique design from scratch. Therefore, I find it much easier to browse all the insperational sites http://www.visibilityinherit.com/tools.php#inspiration and get some good ideas. I find what I like, marry them all together, and code it in a way that makes sense to me.

  • Registered: 2009-11-04
  • Posts: 9

Re: Feedback on the aesthetic features of my site

To be honest, it looks just like a web template that SMC offers for their members to sell stuff online (though only the images, and not the actual content/layout you have).  But besides that, it is not displaying right for me.  I'm using Firefox 3.5.4, and all of the content is squished up against the left.  Let me know if you can't check it on this version of Firefox and I will upload a screenshot of what it looks like.  You'll have to PM me the request, though, as I may not check this again due to forgetfulness.