Website Design

[enkoujin]

I'm using Chrome on Windows XP with 1280x1024 resolution. I'm not too sure how many of these functions were required as part of the marking criteria.

Functionality:

- I agree with Buff; centered websites aren't too appealing nor are they suitable for product/shopping pages

- maybe I'm missing something here, but I can't change the quantity of the items I'm buying; if I want more "Darth Vader Mugs", I would have to go back and keep on adding it to my shopping cart

- search function doesn't work

- it would be awesome to be able to see thumbnails of the products I'm looking at so that I can see more products on my screen (~8); if I want to look at a product in more detail, I can click on the thumbnail to see more information

- the double navigation (checkout | search | subscribe | ...) and (home | shop | cart | ...) looks really awkward; maybe you can bring the user to the product page with a highlighted function asking me to continue to shop, edit my cart or checkout?

- navigations are typically on the left hand side while search functions are on the right

- the footer "website designed by ..." is really annoying; they should not follow me everywhere I go



Aesthetics:

- the second header/bar underneath the registration/login part seems really out of place

- there are too many colours in your gradient background

- the grey font on the home page at the bottom next to your logo does not stand out at all (grey on light grey)

- the capitalized text are sending mixed messages (screaming) at me to buy this or that (the condescending factor is bothering me)

- what's up with the blue bar under the grey bars (it looks pretty random)?



Personal:

- site "under construction" messages always annoy me to no end

- product pictures are too big to be practical on a real website

- the logo could use some work if it was an actual business logo

- add money signs ($) so that I'm not confusing quantity with money amount

- add taxes and shipping fees if applicable

- there should be a name underneath your logo or at least something telling me that I'm on xyz.com; it's subtle subconscious advertising and also lets me know immediately what website I'm on

[Lucifus]

Thanks to all three of you very much! (especially to enkoujin for the in-depth and enlightening review)

Got a 95%, went above and beyond all of my classmates and my professor's teaching. Granted, this was for Computer Networks & not for a web design course; but I'm a fan of creating websites and I do want to get my own up and running eventually.

My first time coding in PHP, useful as hell and I still have a lot to learn.

I intend to address each and every point you guys have made despite the assignment being over, because as I've said, I intend to officially host this site eventually.

My first venture utilizing jquery, javascript, html, php(cookies & session variables), css, & an actual SQL database I made on my own. (used em before, but always pre-made ones)

Very educational, though I know there's still lots more to learn. Please feel free to comment on any of the changes I've made and let me know if I'm doing something a little off. Thanks enkoujin, you pointed out a great deal of helpful insights. I have no idea what I was thinking having navigation on the right & searching on the left.

Things to do:

- Flip Navigation & Search positioning.

- Streamline template to better aesthetics.

- Create dropdown menu's for simpler navigation.

- Miniaturize product pages & create pages of each product.

- Setup User Database.

- Make search/registration/ & login functional.

- Streamline Cart/Checkout pages.

Let me know if you think there's anything else I need to add/change on that list. Thanks guys, you've been a big help.

Edit: As far as resolution goes, I had checked out my site on IE, FF, & Chrome using 800x600 on my home monitor. Once you mentioned your resolution though, it hit me that despite my test, I still had a 27" monitor. Went to school and checked the pages out on school machines and boy did I need to fix somethings. Aesthetics should be far more pleasing now, though I still intend to change the template a bit more.

[enkoujin]

Looks better already, brah.

Great work (though, I'd really reconsider changing your logo if you're using it for a business site)!

[Lucifus]

Well, that is the first logo I've ever made. I'm pretty proud of it, but your judgement's been spot on thus far.

What issues does it have, and since I appear to be in need of a business logo, what do you think are the criteria's I should be trying to meet?

[enkoujin]

All personal opinion coming from a 20 year-old young adult over-analyzer.

A typical business person would say that they want something that's powerful, sleek, stylish, simple, etc. (varies on their business) that speaks to consumers. Whatever you choose to do as a logo becomes a message to your clients/customers and any bystanders; ask yourself, what does your business/organization represent? The Apple logo is probably the greatest example of this - the food and imagery is simple and almost universal. This logo says to consumers that their products are very simple to use because there's a high emphasis on user-friendly interfaces; simple like an apple.

Now for your logo, let's say this:



We've got the nice fancy shadow, motion blur and reflection. Really, it would be something innovative looking 10 years ago, but if you can read marketing, people are looking for something that's simple, means a lot and is easily recognizable. There's just too much going on here.

The imagery is telling me that yeah, there's a bunch of unclear shit in the background, but the "A" is very clear. So yeah, I can see that your business probably makes finds or creates solutions more clear to me. But it's also reflecting against a surface that your company is on the edge. That's pretty cliche and overused in today's logos, but yeah, I'm cool with that. There's a drop shadow as well, so it's telling me that your organization is very human. Maybe too human.

Then there's the complex weave inside the "A" enclosing a small disproportionate "s". It looks like you use complex methods to find your solutions like there's some kind of entrapment around your "s". What also strikes me is that the "s" is small; like your business offers small solutions that are tucked away in honeycomb hive.

Also, the reflection at the against the surface is different from the actual logo. Are you trying to tell me that your organization is not what it actually seems? Of course, you could argue that a projection of a solution isn't clear unless they directly see you (your logo), but but a logo shouldn't be easily misinterpreted; it should be clear.

As you can see, there's just simply way too many mixed messages going on in this logo. You need to tone it down a lot and go for one or two main messages that your logo can represent. Also, the name seems a bit too long for the size of your logo. I'd consider re-branding or shortening the name as another option if it makes creating your logo easier.

A lot of innovative web logos often make clever wordplay with their logos, text or motto. Sometimes they'll mix it up and combine the logo and text together. The impression and impact of the logo is key. Here are some examples of what I'm referring to:

http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/50...r-inspiration/
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/80-crea...esigned-logos/

I'm not saying you should go along the same route, but I've got to admit that they're damn impressive. Be creative/innovative and create a lasting impression with your logo.

[Lucifus]

sitelogo.png

New Logo; far more happy with er, but worried I went a bit overboard with the drop shadow.

Other than this, I'd go with a dark blue theme, whatdya think peops?

sitelogoblue.png

[Buffalobiian]

sitelogo.png

New Logo; far more happy with er, but worried I went a bit overboard with the drop shadow.

Other than this, I'd go with a dark blue theme, whatdya think peops?

sitelogoblue.png

What's the background colour?

If it's a dark background, go with the white version. If it's light, go with the blue.

Contrast (without going overboard) = easy/comfortable reading = win.

[enkoujin]

I really like the blue one; great work!