Your opinion?

[Daneeeeboy]

Hey, I'm kinda a design student and I recently got the chance to do a little freelance work. I've decided to carry this on and turn it into a permenant thing, and to do this I'm trying to put together a site to showcase my talent. I have to say, it's one of the hardest sites I've ever had to design, it's taken MANY attempts.

Anyway, I've finally come up with something that I feel is easy to use, loads fast, looks good and reflects me in some way (since I am what I'm selling). I'd appreciate your thoughts and opinions on the layout and design. The site is under construction at:

http://egg-central.com/eyecandeee/index.php

I should say that some pages are lacking content or scripts, still working on that side, but there's some dummy stuff up there so you can get an idea of what I am trying to achieve. Cheers

- Dan

[Mimic]

Honestly I donyt like it, it doesnt appeal to me as a portfolio site. Doesnt seem very professionla IMO. That background isnt to great, really missleading to me. BUt i know you can always improve! Try light colors like blue

[MACORA]

Ewww. Sorry i dont know i dont like it though

[smoseley]

I love the use of texture. Gives the site a very dimensional feel. Unfortunately, it simultaneously makes the text overlaying it impossible to read.

I like the general flow of the site.... the navigation is easy enough to understand.

I don't like the logo at all. I don't like the look of it, the colors, or the offset "drop shadow". I also don't like its placement in the site. I would put it above the red bar (or IN it... but that would require some rethinking in terms of layout. Check out how I did my logo treatment at Transio. I made the logo overlap the frame of the site... which works pretty well in the context. Figure out something that works well for your site.

I don't like the portfolio page at all. It doesn't follow the same format as the other pages, and doesn't flatter your work... besides which it's not functional yet and there isn't much work displayed.

All in all it's a really nice start. You're on to something with the textile textures... that's something that I haven't seen before on the web. Unfortunately, the reason we haven't seen it seems to be that it's really difficult to carry off well. I think if you persevere, though, you will wind up with an extraordinary site! Keep on truckin!

I do have a question for you though... what is the driving concept of the textile thing? What message are you trying to get across? I think if you get to the root fo that, you could find the answer to your design issues and get inspired for the completion of your design

[Cal Poly Forum]

The first time I saw it, it didn't seem like an eye-candy.

It has got to be that textile thing.

[splufdaddy]

The textures seem like they'd be more appropriate on a personal page. You're trying to advertise computer related services...denim and canvas backgrounds don't really give me the "cutting edge technology" feel. Also, the white text you have going across the top in the bottom of the banner is almost impossible to read.

It's a cool concept, and with some work it could be a great site. For a clothing store it would be perfect, but it may be able to work for your portfolio too.

[Daneeeeboy]

Thanks to those of you who gave constructive crits. I've come down from the honeymoon period and agree, it ain't great. :P Problem is, this is one design that's taking aaaaaages. I guess it's because I can't be too arty with it, it has to be simple to use and navigate.

I like the denim texture myself, I used it in a sudden moment of madness. I did many designs before this, all of them utterly useless, using a more 'classic' approach, and I just wasn't getting anywhere. I've never really seen the denim texture used anywhere else, and since I live in jeans, i figured it reflected me perfectly.

I've set myself the following criteria for the site, which are pretty common criteria I guess, but it's important to me that I meet them:

1. The site's design must be different. It cannot use the same effects and design trends as other sites, because I see hundreds of sites a day, and I only remember the few that didn't look incredibly corporate or like a copy of another design. This is where the texture idea came in.
2. The site must reflect me, the way I work and my personality in some way, otherwise it's going to be useless. I'm not techy, I do print work aswell as webdesign work, which means I work with big 19th century presses aswell as computers. Because of this, I don't want to go for something with scanlines or futuristic text.
3. The site must be bright and bold, because I don't think a dark or monochromatic site would work in this instance. It's not what I'm trying to sell.

That probably sounds really obvious, but it should help you to see where the design came from.

Anyway, I've had a rethink and come up with some new ideas. I'm going to keep the denim texture for my next attempt, but I'm not going to use it as much, certianly not as the body background. Will report back when I'm done.

Thanks again, oh and MACORA, I don't like your site either.

- Dan

[MACORA]

o hey sorry danee i havn't been in the greatest mood lately no offense on the site i will take a better look at it and give constructive crit. I am sorry honetly. I have been working like 6 days a week, with little sleep. But that is no excuse. But i will get back.

[splufdaddy]

If you want to use the denim texture, using it as the bg for the banner or navigation may look nice. Or you could use it as a background behind subject headings...just a few suggestions. ;-)

[smoseley]

If you do print, why not do something like I did on my homepage (home link in my signature below)? People always tell me it looks like a printed flyer :-D