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Critique my site please.

Why does it take me 3-4 clicks and a good 10 seconds of pointless animation that covers the quicker ui to get from section to section? Why two separate navigational systems? Why do I have to mouse over everything to find out what it is? There's nothing wrong with designing decoration but decorated design is just plain bad. Form follows function, it never gets old.

Flash has its place and its uses but all-flash sites are slow to load, slow to use, largely pointless and extremely difficult to use for a lot of people. In the UK they actually breach disability access legislation in many cases.
 
if you read other post they told me about that the quick navigation. So I know that, I'll change that.

Why not 2 separate navigation systems? one for the user who which to interact with the site the other one who doesn't.

rollover to find out everything that is why you have the quick navigation so you don't find out.

Flash has its place and its uses but all-flash sites are slow to load, slow to use, largely pointless and extremely difficult to use for a lot of people. In the UK they actually breach disability access legislation in many cases.
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That's why you decide that before doing the site ... that is what I call PLANNING.... and also there is where you decide what is the target audience. and many other thing. Pre-Production its the key for everything.
Slow to use well that depends how you use Flash.
Difficult to use, elaborate please ?
But once again all that it has to do with what you do before getting into the computer, just with a piece of paper and pencil.

And as I said earlier I'm doing the CSS version as well so people who hate flash can have an option. Dial up v/s Broadband.

Thanks for your comments Les Kern, jaguarx.
 
You know, I see this argument all the time. And I agree with pretty much everyone's generalized statements here (yea wow, agreeing with many people on one subject, aha) But really it comes down to your audience. Like sepu has said several times, he has planned this website from the beginning and has a target audience in mind. If you know what you are going for and there is a market or target you can hit, then go for it. I love playing around in flash sites. I do find that transitions can be uncessarily long, or load times can be slightly annoying, or the sound is bad (that's why flash users started creating buttons that turn on/off music) or any number of typical *problems* that can be associated with entirely-flash websites. It's still an amazing platform to build highly interactive pieces with. And can be a lot of fun.

So I say, of course keep pretty much everything stated in this thread in mind. But that's all you have to do, keep it in mind. There is a time and place for everything. If you want a full flash website and it will work for you and your clients/friends/colleagues or whoever else, then go for it.

Great job sepu
 
Text is pretty much unreadable for my 46 year old bifocaled eyes. Microtext white on green or white or red on black BG, all caps, with an unconventional font - this is a worst case legibility scenario.

Front page doesn't give me enough information about what I am looking at or why I should enter.

I'm not into searching for hidden rollovers. Life's too short. If I want a game, I'll fire up a game.

If I want a clock I'll look at my menubar clock. If someone has to explain to me where the quick navigation is, the point of 'quick' has already been lost. Then when I click on quick navigation, nothing happens. Doh! just about the only text on the screen that isnt a link is the one that says 'Navigation'

Page to page transitions took too long. Menus in the portfolio take too long to load -- I had actually decided that there was only one project in the list (Letterhead) and clicked on that, before the rest of the list drew to the screen.

I presume the error on the About page is due to the site being in beta still.

To sum up:
I would have to be otherwise motivated to go into the site to find out what it was about. If I was looking at it from a google search for design companies, for example, I wouldn't have made it past the opening page. Even if I were predisposed to be interested in this company I might still bail, because I can't read the $^^@#*& text without a lot of effort.
Don't make me work so hard as a viewer, because you'll lose my interest.
 
Thanks guys for the comments ...

CanadaRam I wont repeat myself, but I already gave an answer for what you are asking for..... I Know what you mean about its difficult to read for older people but as I said I already talked about that , Im working on a CSS version.

Thx Again.
 
sepu said:
Thanks guys for the comments ...

CanadaRam I wont repeat myself, but I already gave an answer for what you are asking for..... I Know what you mean about its difficult to read for older people but as I said I already talked about that , Im working on a CSS version.

Thx Again.
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I think that having two versions of a site is not a good solution for the problem. It's so unprofessional no matter who your audience is. You obviously have the technical skills for web development, but I think you are lacking in the usability department.
 
so Grapes11 can you give a good solution for the problem then please if you don't mind.

Thank you.
 
That is one slick web site, I really like it.

Well designed, well thought out, very good navigation, good use of colour and the site with the use of Flash fills the purpose of the site. I really like the continuity of the site with feed back when you hit a link or something that is supposed to do something.

I do agree with some of the comments about using Flash just for the sake of using Flash but for a designers' portfolio design agencies expect a good know of Macromedia Studio and Photoshop (3D is a bonus).

I think the site covers all bases, it's functional, looks great and uses a good range of software.

Again great site I like it.
 
sepu said:
so Grapes11 can you give a good solution for the problem then please if you don't mind.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

I think you should make an HTML/CSS site. Embed flash in the site much like you would embed a picture or a button. I think you have the skills to pull it off and still keep it more like a standard site for easier navigation and viewing. Right now the site looks like it was created by a design student with too much time on their hands. It's just too 'busy' of a site.

By the way, you said you have a target audience in mind. Can you explain who your audience is?
 
rather than showcasing the work the site showcases the site itself. a portfolio website should be about the portfolio, not the website (even if you are a web designer - showing restraint so the site does not overwhelm the work in the site is a good idea)

people who make entirely flash based sites often do so in some part to be able to rework the standard web interface (rollover underlined text, highlight, click, etc..) into a completely original interface. the problem with this is very, very very few people understand interface design so you end up with a lot of hard to navigate bling. it quite simply looks like you are trying too hard.

i think designing for your audience is a good idea, but i also think you need to understand who that audience really is. design directors and art directors, contrary to popular belief, are NOT impressed with all the theatrics of a site like this, they want to see your work, right now. not wait for a bunch of animations. what they are impressed with is a site that provides a context for the work, that enhances the work, that allows for some kind of a way to convey the overall idea behind the work to the viewer.
 
I really dont want to get in this war Flash vs CSS becuase I love both equally!
Its like PC vs MAC and many more.

so Im not going to respond anymore about why flash etc etc ..... I really just ask for an opinion on the site if you dont like that's cool if you like great as well.

So thanks for all your comments so far.
I will take it into consideration for my next version.
 
Mac... definitely Mac.

Something I wanted to add. For some reason designers feel that they have to make their website a more impressive portfolio piece than their actual portfolio work. The point of your site should be to give the viewer quick and easy access to what they came to see (examples of your work). Simplicity in design, color, and layout can really make your actual portfolio work look even better.
 
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