[headbirth]

HELP!

I guess I'm looking for some design direction and and some coding suggestions. I'm a print designer trying to update my site ...

What I like to see in a webpage is SIMPLICITY, LOGIC, and DIRECTNESS.

I started programming this with only a vague idea of what I wanted and a rough PS mockup.

I like the sites navigational structure (I'll probably combine the whereabouts with the news section and run contact info at the bottom of the page), but it's graphical structure eludes me. I'm currently thinking I should follow the single centered column structure used by blogs ... a very efficient design.

I like using color as a navigational tool, but feel I should add a graphic at the top of the page. However, I don't want to add anything that's too distracting that will take away from the viewing of samples in the work section.

Any constructive input would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and one other item .... I just took a look at it on a Windows machine (which I guess is always the critical factor) and the coding seems to fall apart.

OYE! I'am so glad I didn't pursue web design. It must be so painful being at the mercy of greedy corporations bucking the standards :-( or more likely my problems come from my lack of scripting skills. Anything I should stay away from that Windows doesn't like?

Here are the links to a couple of early roughs .... Safari seems to display it the best:

http://nomadicmind.com/

http://nomadicmind.com/Tests/

[Sarah31]

I have to use Windows at work and in Firefox both display well for the most part. I think it looks good for the most part but dressing it up with a small image of some sort or a faint image in the background might would be a good thing.

The only thing I was left wondering is what the heck the three clickable up arrows were for.

I like the look it just needs some minor touchups and it would be great.

[headbirth]

Thanks for the feed back Sarah. Those are actually 3 letter "A"s that I was going to use with a Javascript to allow the user to increase the font size via CSS. They're non-functional at the moment.

Hmmm ... other feedback I've received has been along the same lines as far as the look of the site. Too grey ... needs an image or more color.

On to round 5 million and 5.

:-)

[Sarah31]

Originally posted by headbirth:
Thanks for the feed back Sarah. Those are actually 3 letter "A"s that I was going to use with a Javascript to allow the user to increase the font size via CSS. They're non-functional at the moment.

Ah great idea. the fonts are kind of small on my monitor.

Hmmm ... other feedback I've received has been along the same lines as far as the look of the site. Too grey ... needs an image or more color.

On to round 5 million and 5.

:-)

Yeah it is a bugger to get things right. I have gone through alot of different looks and titles for my web site and now I think I have it just right (for me anyway).

How about using a light green or pale blue in the title bar? Even a yellowy green would probably work. Right now the simplicity is great but I don't think people would be too turned on by a grey on grey .

If you look at my site (sarah31.ca) you will note that I use a very simple (css) layout and dress it up mostly with colour. In fact I didn't even have that fancy title graphic until just last week. The images on the side bars were to make the site look busier. I an I have to admit it dresses the site up.

Anyway, if you ever want any feedback I am more than haoppy to give it. I am not a pro web designer but I am an expert web browser and one that despite having the connect to use fancy sites well I prefer the simplicity you use. After all it is almost always the content that interests me and not the fancy dressing ( I actually really hate sites with flash intros and heavy flash content)

[headbirth]

Thanks for the pep talk Sarah! ... it's always been a pain to attempt designing anything for myself ... doing it for others is a breeze.

I do ned to address the font problem. I've noticed that the Gekko based browsers (Firefox, Camino, Netscape, ...) tend to render type smaller and have problems with CSSs use of letter spacing. I also have to work out a few CSS glitches with IE, and Firefox.

Your right about the colors as well .... my initial thoughts were to minimize the colors using grey and colored variations of grey and use brighter colors as a navigation tool. This would also allow any work I showcase to stand out and be the focus as they should be.

Great links on your site! Thanks for posting your url. :-)

I totally agree with your opinions on website design and usability .... I hate flash based sites as well!

Thanks again for the positive outlook! :-)