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ok, heres my website

B

bluelovesorange

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 18, 2006
14
0
ok, im 17 and no one else my age is into design/photography/web the same way i am.. they all tell me "wow.. its amazing" i would like some real professionals to look at this.. its just a start.. etc.. but i havnt really had any training at all. check it out. and some thoughts? thank you



http://www.caughtreadhanded.com
 
To be sure, any criticism/advice that I can offer is nothing compared to the advice that professionals like iGary can give you...I'm only 17 too, and I'm still learning...A LOT :eek:

Anyway, the first page of the site is very, very neat - although I would make it so that there is no scrolling available (i.e. cut it off vertically). My sister visited the site as well, and couldn't figure out how to enter it (I know, I know - you just click on the logo - but shortening the page might make this more clear).

Once I entered, though, there wasn't much there to critique. There's nothing in the main window, until you scroll rightward. Horizontal scrolling is very cool, but again, my sister didn't know where the pictures were, so consider adding an arrow at the top of the screen to show viewers that they can scroll rightward.

You're going to need to add some more pictures for anyone to really give you some solid advice. To be honest, while some of the pictures were neat (i.e. the girl holding the chain), others were less unique. The picture of the sunset, for example, had too much sky - the picture of the yellow flower (and weeds) could use some cropping, and its very difficult to take good macro pictures of flowers at night. The picture of the plant on the beach looked cool in its thumbnail, but looked worse when blown up, proving that good cropping does make a difference.

Like I said, I'm still learning - but this is a great site to come on to look for advice. I know everyone else here has helped me out a lot so far...hopefully they'll do the same for you :) .

By the way, to look at some comparable shots and a website by another 17-year-old, visit my site (and even more specifically, the 'nature' portfolio):

http://web.mac.com/c.peters06/iWeb/Site/
 
nice aesthetics. very nice aesthetics.

I hate to say, but yes, you should make link to enter a little more obvious. I kept wanting something to activate on the background image via mouseover, then finally moved over to the site name to enter. Right scrolling is novel, but I'd ditch it as it's non-intutitive.
 
thanks for the advice.. but i have to say i dissagree with everything u say about the pictures themselves.. im not trying to make postcard friendly material.. im trying to give the viewer an idea of the world i see. i honestly dont believe in cropping and only do it when i absolutely must. some of the pictures i agree are not my best. but i am, reviewing each as i type this. well, in between rather. i dont know exactly how i will end up revising the site, but more pictures are comming.

and as far as dissagreement goes, thats art isn't it? your pictures are great :)

and everyone else. thanks also :)
 
The site looks great, but most sites scroll down the page instead of across.

BTW i'm no web designer, and it's better than I would have been able to do at 17!!
 
I'm not going to critique the pictures, just the site design. I'm not going to be nice, don't take it personally, I'm giving an honest critique which you asked for.

1. Do you /really/ need a splash page? I know they're not uncommon, but ask yourself, are you gaining anything from having it? It's just another page to have to click through to get to the sites content and the link is not obvious (I drew from experience to find it instantly, but many people may not find it so quickly).

2. The main page contains lots and lots of wasted space. White space* is good, but it can be used badly too. What's with the big gray box? Also, having horizontal and vertical scroll bars is uncomfortable. With all the white space on the top and bottom, there's no need for it to be tall enough to create a vertical scroll bar. I'm not going to say a horizontal layout is wrong, but... vertical is just much nicer IMHO.

3. While I really like the visuals on the splash page, I thought the main page was disappointing. The stars and colors make it feel somewhat patriotic or hamburger joint-like. I would suggest taking the splash page and adding the rest of your content to it below the logo/pattern design you have, transforming it into your main page and making it a sort of one-page portfolio.

Work with the style you created on the splash page and try to keep it consistent, I think that will look very nice. Also don't go disabling right-clicks, I think it's annoying and WILL NOT STOP people from saving or otherwise copying content from the site if they want to. And maybe add a real title to your pages ("v" doesn't make any sense, at least). "caught re(a)d handed" is the name of the site, it should be in the title. That's really my opinion, but it would make for better aesthetics and practicality, especially if someone wanted to bookmark it.


*White space: a design term, referring to blank or unused space, not necessarily white in color.
 
i'd ditch the splash page altogether. not that it didn't look good, it's just pointless unless this is supposed to be some kind of site-as-art type thing and not an online portfolio. as for the main content page; it took me 3 reloads to realize there was actually any content off to the right. thought it was just an empty flag. nice photos though.
 
bluelovesorange said:
thanks for the advice.. but i have to say i dissagree with everything u say about the pictures themselves.. im not trying to make postcard friendly material.. im trying to give the viewer an idea of the world i see. i honestly dont believe in cropping and only do it when i absolutely must. some of the pictures i agree are not my best. but i am, reviewing each as i type this. well, in between rather. i dont know exactly how i will end up revising the site, but more pictures are comming.

and as far as dissagreement goes, thats art isn't it? your pictures are great :)

and everyone else. thanks also :)
Click to expand...

Well that certainly changes things a bit :D ! Your website could use some text - some commentary, you know, on how those pictures underscore the world you see. That, in my mind, would elevate it quite a bit.

I know a few people don't like the horizontal scrolling - I personally find it a very, very solid addition to your website. Everyone's used to scrolling vertically - why not change things up a bit (especially if it makes sense, which it does, for your site?) Just add a small arrow and you're good to go. But yeah, do make the link on the front page more obvious (but don't take the front page down, I love it!)

Good luck - I'll keep checking this thread in the future :)
 
Dude, I'm not going to comment on the website itself. Or the pictures. I'm going to tell you right now to get rid of the javascript disabling right-click. It's stupid and pointless because I can just go to View > View Source.

That's my rant. Take it or leave it. :cool:
 
i made some considerable changes after a very long sit down session in front of my mac.. and decided to make the site simple. i like simple things. i like color. and a clean mix of the two i think works best.


the original background of the old splash page will reapear soon.. i need to find a suitable place for it.. but now.. i have added an info section (an attempt at explaining what the site is) and thats it.. the index page and the info page... thank you all for your critisism.. it deff works.. the site will continure to undergo various changes... but i hope some of u at least visit once or twice to see how im doing.. im learning flash right now.. or trying to.. and hopefully will incorporate the power of that app into my site.


thanks again
 
I started doing web design back when I was 14. I know how it feels. Everyone seemed to be amazed that I was able to make a web page and very impressed. I could never separate out those who genuinely felt that I was doing a good job and those who were just being nice to the little kid. I'm glad that you recognized the importance of peer critique, and that you seem to be accepting some of the suggestions.

Now for a couple of comments:

I really liked the original splash page. I can't stand splash pages, but the design was probably the best part of your site. Like other's have suggested I'd base the rest of the site design off of that.

Simple is good. I have a thread about that very same subject as I was worried about it when redesigning my portfolio pages.

I'd focus a bit more on the usability and legibility of the site. I honestly didn't know what to do with the previous horizontal scrolling design until someone on this thread mentioned it. The same sort of thing happens to me on the new site. I'm never sure what to click. I feel like the content might be a little too hidden. Case in point: The information button. It's small, in a strange location, and has little contrast with the background. I never would have noticed it had you not mentioned it. I'd also tone down the colors some. I know its late at night, but it honestly hurts a little to look at them, especially the white text on the yellow background.

Your design certainly is different though... and that's a definite plus. A willingness to break the rules is essential and you seem to have that down.

Oh yeah... it bugs me when people refer to themselves in the third-person. That's probably just me, but I'd change it.

Best of luck and make sure to keep us posted on what you do. I'm anxious to see the site progress.
 
panoz7 said:
I started doing web design back when I was 14. I know how it feels. Everyone seemed to be amazed that I was able to make a web page and very impressed. I could never separate out those who genuinely felt that I was doing a good job and those who were just being nice to the little kid. I'm glad that you recognized the importance of peer critique, and that you seem to be accepting some of the suggestions.

Now for a couple of comments:

I really liked the original splash page. I can't stand splash pages, but the design was probably the best part of your site. Like other's have suggested I'd base the rest of the site design off of that.

Simple is good. I have a thread about that very same subject as I was worried about it when redesigning my portfolio pages.

I'd focus a bit more on the usability and legibility of the site. I honestly didn't know what to do with the previous horizontal scrolling design until someone on this thread mentioned it. The same sort of thing happens to me on the new site. I'm never sure what to click. I feel like the content might be a little too hidden. Case in point: The information button. It's small, in a strange location, and has little contrast with the background. I never would have noticed it had you not mentioned it. I'd also tone down the colors some. I know its late at night, but it honestly hurts a little to look at them, especially the white text on the yellow background.

Your design certainly is different though... and that's a definite plus. A willingness to break the rules is essential and you seem to have that down.

Oh yeah... it bugs me when people refer to themselves in the third-person. That's probably just me, but I'd change it.

Best of luck and make sure to keep us posted on what you do. I'm anxious to see the site progress.
Click to expand...




the colors i feel are right on.. and intentionally bright and vibrant.. i know the info buttom is hard to see.. that was intentional.. as for the content of the info page.. as u said.. it is late... so it was kind of.. rushed.. it will be redone.. and a different color or larger/diff font will be used

as for the usuability of the site.. as in content access etc.. it will be revised... i think its obvious to just click on the thumbnails... and then the little popup etc.. to view the images.. but as for any other content.. i want the site to stand on its own.. not what i put into it.. if that makes sense (forgive me if not.. its 12 30 am ) content wise im keeping it to the index and the info pages.. (both will be redone with much consideration in the future)


and maybe on a subconscious level.. i made the info button and the content therein hard to see because i was unconfident with my own abilities to express what the site is... and also the fact i used third person might be an extention of that unconfidence... im honestly not a very confident person.. this critique atmosphere hurts.. but its necessairy.. esspecially if i want to hone my portfolio for college...




pardon me if that is to much thinking into it....
 
I was about a second away from the closing the window when i finally noticed the information link.. just something to consider.
 
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