site crit please
- Started
- Last post
- 16 Responses
- BREWMANCHU
We just went live with a new architecture site. Feedback please, much appreciated.
- madirish0
nice work. i like the format, but
(common crit of mine) would like the 'stage' area larger/taller. feels a little tight, IMO.- there are kind of a lot of clicks req'd to actually see the work. might be nice to prompt user earlier w/ visuals to then cause exploration of that area/focus. those could be randomly displayed when user selects 'gallery' or something.
- the central nav is a little distracting at first, but i do appreciate it after i am finally into the work.
- would be nice if the text was dynamically pulled so i could bump size w/ browser pref's- could be an issue (coupled w/ the light stroked Futura used) for poor-eyesight peeps (ie- decision makers/check-writers)
- might sound silly, but i really like the way you integrated the brand mark into photo transitions to keep the user prompted who is responcible for the work- nice finishing touch.
nicely done. i am sure the client is pleased.
- BREWMANCHU0
Thank you for the indepth response. I greatly appreciate it. The deep drill down to individual project access was a big challenge.
- madirish0
np duder.
hey, i remember you now, BREW! your angencies site i loved when you re-lanched it a while back. still do :)
i honestly like to give response when i can- keeps us all going. and oddly enough, i am working on alarge arch. firm's redesign as we speak and your issue is something we are ideating rigt now. it is an issue, and being not too high-design is an issue.
- letters20
Descent format, nice clean presentation overall. A few points to consider:
- I agree that there are a lot of clicks involved to enter into the work section, but perhaps this is unavoidable with the breakdown of the work/structure.
- The secondary navigation that opens to show thumbnails and info... Its motion is slow and a bit ragged. If its animated, script it. If its scripted, cange the variable to be a bit faster.
- Also, this navigation seems an afterthought, wondering why it wasnt integrated into the main nav bar?
- the Info icon seems out of place.
- Typography. Personally, I find this typographic choice Futura inappropriate – but this is rather subjective. Something more contemporary would be better suited I feel.
- Where you are using an all-caps setting, open up the kerning (not unlike "MOA ARCHITECTURE on the left) to let some space in there which will help the legibility.
2 cents
- letters20
also, forgot to mention, fisth thing I thought was that when the site opened it lacked a little personality. Thats not to say something quirky or gimmicky, but rather something that sets the tone. An opening statement perhaps.
- BREWMANCHU0
Thanks letters. Actually, the left slide bar was orginally built (scripted) to be much faster. But the client had concern that new visiters would not see it as they focus on the image.
As for the futura, I see your point. I used it as an extension of their brand on many of their printed pieces.
- GT_10
Such a boring site.
The logo is kinda nice.
- cram0
the site looks pretty good. i agree to make the animation a bit quicker on the nav as it looks a little ragged at the end.
make sure that you SWFobject to embed your flash. this way you avoid the explorer problem and you can put some stuff in for the search engines.
clients are happy i assume...
cheers
- letters20
GT_1 if you find it boring, tell him why – some constructive criticism is what this is about and I'm sure would help out :)
- gdodds0
I think its really counter-intuitive to have the subnav appear ABOVE the main nav. Most users might find that confusing. Other than that, I think its a nice looking site!
- ********0
yeah, bit slow and maybe less clicks.
other then that, not mind staggering, but ok.
- gdodds0
I'm on a PC at work (sadly) and the speed is fine. Hopefully once the maket is saturated with the Flash 9 player, flash will run at the same speed for mac and pc, but until then flash might be a bit slower on macs.
- BREWMANCHU0
Thanks all.
As for the "boring" comment. I get it. Keeping in mind the client and their target audience, this is not boring but risky, at least in their minds. And yes, the client loves it.
- BREWMANCHU0
Thanks all.
As for the "boring" comment. I get it. Keeping in mind the client and their target audience, this is not boring but risky, at least in their minds. And yes, the client loves it.
- ********0
if the client loves it then grab the money and run.
- ********0
...before it falls apart.