give me suggestions on my site

It doesn't matter if you do all the error checking in the world, or if you have the most beautiful graphics, if your site or application design isn't usable, it's not going to do well. Get input and advice on usability and user interface issues here.

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malcolmboston
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give me suggestions on my site

Post by malcolmboston »

im currently developing this site here and am now reaching a point were as i would like some recommendations on where to take the design and anything you cant stand in the current layout.

Im basically aiming for an, as i like to call it, 'iPod based design', simple clean and simple but attractive, completely driven by CSS and the div tag.

please give me some ideas,

Thanks Mal

ps. Im working on it atm so dont worry if things start breaking :lol:
Last edited by malcolmboston on Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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JayBird
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Post by JayBird »

A little more subtle colour would help i think.

Maye the menu font should be the same colour as the blue in "evolution"!?

That dot matrix font could do with being a little crisper too
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phpScott
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Post by phpScott »

I think the blue is a little washed for my liking. Other wise I like the clean, simple design.
Maybe with a css roll over effect on the menu you could change the grey arrow into the same as the blue in your text.
Since there isn't much else to see at the moment I will leave it at that.
Roja
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Post by Roja »

Grey on white is extremely hard to read, and the white-washed blue isn't much better.
malcolmboston
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Post by malcolmboston »

this problem has been doing my head in for a while now

http://www.evolution-interactive.co.uk/

in IE, it sometimes seems to freeze on loading a 24bit PNG image, im employing a hack to get around IE's 'inefficiencies' with the format, can anyone tell me exactly what is going wrong?

Thanks
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jayshields
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Post by jayshields »

Very nice design and colour scheme, I like it.

The only flaw I can find is that if you're on less than 1024x768 then the layout gets screwed up.

Try to sort that out, especially for 800x600 users.
malcolmboston
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Post by malcolmboston »

hmmm, it seems that the middle div, moves down when you pull the right div across too far, any idea why this is?

code for div is

Code: Select all

#middleBox {
	padding: 5px;
	width: 570px;
	float: left;
	color: #9d9d9d;
	font-family: verdana, arial, tahoma, geneva;
	font-size: 13px;
	z-index: 10;
}
thanks
malcolmboston
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Post by malcolmboston »

malcolmboston wrote: this problem has been doing my head in for a while now

in IE, it sometimes seems to freeze on loading a 24bit PNG image, im employing a hack to get around IE's 'inefficiencies' with the format, can anyone tell me exactly what is going wrong?
Just wanting to know if anyone else can see this happening as well, IE only for me, viewsource to see the fix i employed
malcolmboston
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Post by malcolmboston »

still havent managed to figure out the problem after 3 long (very long) hours, im thinking its probably due to the fact i havent slept in.....29 hours now.... but hopefully someone can shed some light on it

basically the only problem i have now is when the window is resize from right - to - left the middle image gets knocked down, i can guarantee its more than likely a one command thing, but i cant seem to get my head around it

Kudos to whoever solves it

Also some more criticising would be welcome seeing as the base template is pretty much finished apart from a few very small additions later

Thanks
Mal
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pickle
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Post by pickle »

Really nice looking colour-scheme. I'd suggest putting a border around it - the menu seems to be kind of just hanging there.

Also, you could get away with making your menu with just one image. The text you can duplicate pretty closely with CSS - that'll cut down on page size. Also, why not use CSS to preload your images rather than JS?
Real programmers don't comment their code. If it was hard to write, it should be hard to understand.
malcolmboston
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Post by malcolmboston »

pickle wrote: Also, you could get away with making your menu with just one image. The text you can duplicate pretty closely with CSS - that'll cut down on page size.
it uses a custom font, which i would use, and im sick of seeing the site of verdana.....is a valuable piece of the design imo
pickle wrote: Also, why not use CSS to preload your images rather than JS?
how?
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pickle
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Post by pickle »

Re: font
fair enough.

Re: CSS preloading
Just make a bunch of hidden containers:

Code: Select all

<div style = "background-image:about_us.gif;display:none;"></div>
Real programmers don't comment their code. If it was hard to write, it should be hard to understand.
malcolmboston
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Post by malcolmboston »

hmm nice idea :lol:
crackedPavement
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hola

Post by crackedPavement »

Asking a bunch of programmers to critique a design is like asking a stagehand to put on a concert, imo. I know developers run the gammot in design skill, abilities, and even awareness, but it just seems like you should be asking in a design forum maybe. That said, PHP developers tend to know more about design than other programmers simply because of the nature of this language.. But still I think you've not recieved good feedback on your actual design thus far.

I think your design is well executed, and your target of an 'ipod based design' is right on the mark. You made up for the lack of an 'anchored' layout with strong visual pointers. #1 your logo, the square is the first thing I see. #2 your image. I think this design rests entirely on the chosen image for its feeling and emotive response. The layout is clean, simple, and does only what it needs to do without clutter. Its refreshing with one image onthe page, and the receding design around it. The internet is full of overdesigners and its nice to see a minimal design who knows how to reign in the desire to embellish.

That said, I do think the links on the left are a bit blurry and could use a little working with. The text is so faded that I expect it to darken when I rollover the links.. I think if the text changed to one of the colors in the picture, or a nice complement (not necessarily complementary color in the color theory meaning) would really help this design. I would make the initial state of at least the main link heads (about us, services, etc) just a bit darker or more blue as well.

Those are my ideas on the matter.
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Re: hola

Post by Roja »

crackedPavement wrote:Asking a bunch of programmers to critique a design is like asking a stagehand to put on a concert, imo.
A large portion of the high-quantity posters on this forum began their careers doing design, continue to do so, and in some cases, have been internationally recognized for their design abilities.

Or put another way, the fact that you are backstage may be fooling you into thinking the guitarist is a stagehand.

Also, as noted on the page itself, malcolm was interested in accessibility issues - something many of the members here are extremely well-versed in.

As to the design itself, I'll repeat the comments about the font color that several people have made - its hard to read the text and the blue/blur look is harder.

There are a couple minor compliance issues (img's with alt tags, and some css warnings), but nothing too difficult to fix.

However, the links to all items are images, with alt text "image". While the name is accurate, check out the layout in links:

Code: Select all

image image image image image 
                                                     Username_________
Would you know which one to click to go to "About us"? Not so much.
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