TaylorHewitt.com

[Taylor Hewitt]

I just did a new layout for my site. This is the old layout:



Do you think it's better or worse than the old one?

I'd like any feedback on the layout or content and such.

I've been struggling with content lately and am not sure what to add so if you have some suggestions, I'm up for a challenge. Thanks!

http://taylorhewitt.com

[echoSwe]

better than the old one

[Taylor Hewitt]

better than the old one

Thanks but I kind of wanted a review.

[echoSwe]

alright...
hmm...

it's too small, too low contrast, I personally don't like shoutboxes - try guestbooks, add some lorem ipsum text to the main content box to show us how the typeface will look in the finished layout, perhaps the header would look better expanded to cover the whole page width...
I personally don't like visit counters like that. in that case present a page on your site with statistics. (like charts and stuff)

and we know it's copyrighted by u (the footer)

awaiting a mockup in html.
depending on your time spent learning I'd say two to four out of five.
less than a month with photoshop: a four
more: a three
more than a year: a two

..not trying to be mean or anything. this layout can be made to look quite nice

[Taylor Hewitt]

what is lorem ipsum text? and what do you mean finished layout? and i tried expanding it but it looked really tacky and i didnt want to stretch it for people using 800x600.

what is mockup in html?

and ive been using photoshop for about four years now. i never took any professional courses or anything i just figured out everything for myself.

[echoSwe]

Lorem ipsum: filler
http://www.lipsum.com/

Mockup in html is when u transfer the layout to html instead of having it as a jpeg. Mockup is like a draft.

But try making a higher-contrast version with less whitespace on the top or something.

[Taylor Hewitt]

What are you talking about? That picture is the old layout and I took a pic of it because it's not up on the internet at the moment.

[Shani]

Geeze!

I just wrote out a bunch of things only to realize I messed up the same thing echoSwe did. Taylor, not that you would know this, but we generally put the new site first (click) and the old site later. So all the mock up confusion is probably due to echoSwe looking at the old one and saying, hey, there's nothing here. And I did the same thing.

So, now that I've figured this out, a new post, for a review.

[echoSwe]

Oh... hehe... Well then. Thanks for telling me that dcscene.
Hmm, well then - the old one is better then.

Due to a bunch of reasons, but I think DCScene has a dazzling review comming up, so I'll wait for that one.

[Shani]

Top graphic and colors are nice. I would incorporate some rollovers into the nav. Most of your "portfolio" type pages should have a sub navigation so that I can look at one piece and then another piece without having to click back to the main topic page. Also, you may want to make a nav in html, not just graphics.

Another general comment, many of your pages could benefit from more graphics. The header is nice, but there's space to do more.

The layout expands very nicely to accommodate larger amounts of content.

Now content... Let's talk.

What is the purpose of the site? Who is the audience? It's a rather formal layout for a seemingly informal site.

Some of your pages have little blurbs about your ideas, or disclaimers, but these tidbits of info make work very well. To make things more consistent, come up with one for ALL of the pages.

Flash is an amazing tool, and you're only beginning to scratch the surface. The first two projects are in fact very similar to each other, with the second one having a better story line. Petey has been blocked by Angelfire, so you should look into that. Suggestion: Make a graphic logo/label to go along with the title to use on the Flash page.

Audio, okay, Music, okay.

GFX: I would either sub-divide these the way your other sections have been sub-divided OR eliminate the intermediate link and go directly to examples.

The photo section, well, it leaves a lot to be desired. Read: quantity and variety.

My first site was tons and tons of photos. It was aimed at friends and family and people who have a personal interest in me. I think the same is true of this site, so include photos of other people, places you've been, and other interesting themes of weird things you find around you. Everyone you know will look for themselves in your photos, so jazz it up.

About... if it's not a link, don't underline (period!). Thanks for telling me how old you are (I couldn't figure it out). Short (didn't look that short in the photo pages) RED. Blue. Matching words to colors is a little kitchy, if that's your thing. I honestly didn't read your computer history, because frankly that paragraph should be broken down into at least three.

Contact: Make a form.

Shoutbox, why a pop-up? Obviously not for professional use.

Woah, it's been a while since I've done such a long post, so I hope it all makes sense.

You have a good thing going, and your sense of humor really shines through, you just need a little more focus on the content, so, go to town!