Hi,
I am looking for ideas on how I can improve the layout and design of my website. I don't want to drastically change it but want small ways I can improve it and make it more efficient. Thanks
http://www.inspiredvisuals.com
Website (suggestions)
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Wishmaster
- DBB Ace
- Posts: 133
- Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:48 pm
- Location: In the mines
This may not be precisely what you're looking for, but I have two suggestions just for usability.
First off, the drop-down menus aren't cross-browser compatible - they're offset to the right by a hundred pixels or so on IE7.
Also, the user shouldn't have to scroll sideways to view parts of the page. The site is easiest to use if the content and pages collapse to the width of the browser window. At my preferred browser width under 1280x1024 (about 1000 pixels), I have to scroll - anyone running a lower resolution will be traveling significant distances back and forth.
As far as the aesthetics of the site go, I think it looks quite nice. Simple is best. Navigation is well laid out - you've made it very easy for the visitors to get exactly where they want in one intuitive click. The menu hover effects are nice, too. Speaking of the menus, I do recommend making simple navigation pages with the menu entries under \"Digital Art\", \"Photography\", etc. and linked to those buttons so that someone who's turned off JavaScript can still reach those parts of the site.
One question - are you using a design tool, or coding everything by hand?
First off, the drop-down menus aren't cross-browser compatible - they're offset to the right by a hundred pixels or so on IE7.
Also, the user shouldn't have to scroll sideways to view parts of the page. The site is easiest to use if the content and pages collapse to the width of the browser window. At my preferred browser width under 1280x1024 (about 1000 pixels), I have to scroll - anyone running a lower resolution will be traveling significant distances back and forth.
As far as the aesthetics of the site go, I think it looks quite nice. Simple is best. Navigation is well laid out - you've made it very easy for the visitors to get exactly where they want in one intuitive click. The menu hover effects are nice, too. Speaking of the menus, I do recommend making simple navigation pages with the menu entries under \"Digital Art\", \"Photography\", etc. and linked to those buttons so that someone who's turned off JavaScript can still reach those parts of the site.
One question - are you using a design tool, or coding everything by hand?
C:\\>cd games\\descent
C:\\GAMES\\DESCENT>descent
C:\\GAMES\\DESCENT>descent
There's some nice work there Cyclone 
I'm the Creative Director of a small advertising agency - here's what I would recommend:
I see a lot of photography / 3D folios over the space of a year. Most of them are acceptable to good in standard, a few are very good and one or two are truly great. Your work is very solid - good composition, nicely lit, well exposed shots. Your 3D work is equally strong, so the quality of your product is not a problem ...you've passed the first test.
My next test of a photographer / 3D artist is me answering the question \"Can I work with this guy?\" If I'm meeting them in person then I can usually judge by their demeanor - when buying or choosing based soley on a web site, I can't. What's missing for my money from your web site (as far as I can see on a surface examination) is a shortage of actual commissioned work - work that someone has paid you to produce. This will be your biggest drawback if you were trying to get work out of me. I wouldn't be able to trust my client's work to you because nobody else I know of has done so.
I'm not saying you're not trustworthy - it's that you are an unknown quantity when compared to my other photographers / 3D artists. You haven't given me enough reasons to choose you (an unknown) over someone I have worked with before and have a measure of faith in. So you need to work on instilling more trust in me.
It's always going to be hard to score that first comissioned job (if you have some comissioned work already, then make this a separate section of your site - that's the stuff I HAVE to see in order to give you work). The best way to get this kind of stuff under your belt is to offer your services either free or at a discount to worthy causes in your area. Even pro-bono work will have value in this regard as it shows me what you can do with a proper brief - even if you didn't make money from it. In my mind, if you're willing and able to do a good job for a charity on little money, then you're probably young and eager ... and probably willing to do a good job on MY stuff for the same amont of money - allready you're looking more attractive as a supplier.
Remember that anyone you approach in my industry will have access to photographers / CGI artists allready. Your web site has to answer the question: \"You should choose me over those guys you already use, because... ??\" Right now your web site isn't answering that question for me.
Turning to the layout of your web-site, with the greatest respect, you need to work on it more. You have some truly impressive work (the butterfly for example). That butterfly should be the very first thing I see - big,bold and beautiful,with your copy reversed out over the top perhaps. Cause I'll bet you money that the other CDs you approach (like me) will be checking your stuff out between meetings or on a lunch break, cause that's all the time they can spare.
Don't make me dig for the nuggets of gold in your work, serve them up to me on a platter instead - in a steady stream of polished, well chosen, emotive composed, consistantly high standard work that has me thinking \"This guy REALLY knows his stuff!\" ...cause you do. Like I said your work is solid - but the presentation is letting it down.
Speak to a really good web designer and arrange a contra deal - your services for theirs. That will give you commissioned work (after a fashion) and a professional, polished web folio that wil have me thinking \"This guy is good!\" and not just \"This guy has promise.\" Cause the guys who are really good get the work, and the guys who are really promising get encouragement.
You're work is good, a solid understanding of the fundamentals and your talented eye give you great potential. BUT DON\"T JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT, don't just be satisfied with that. Be excellent! Put just as much effort in to the little stuff as you do into the big. Cause your photos and 3d work is good...but your website is nowhere near as good as the rest of your work. Slave away at it until EVERYTHING you do is equally GREAT, and not just good. ...then you know you're getting somewhere!
Best of luck.
I'm the Creative Director of a small advertising agency - here's what I would recommend:
I see a lot of photography / 3D folios over the space of a year. Most of them are acceptable to good in standard, a few are very good and one or two are truly great. Your work is very solid - good composition, nicely lit, well exposed shots. Your 3D work is equally strong, so the quality of your product is not a problem ...you've passed the first test.
My next test of a photographer / 3D artist is me answering the question \"Can I work with this guy?\" If I'm meeting them in person then I can usually judge by their demeanor - when buying or choosing based soley on a web site, I can't. What's missing for my money from your web site (as far as I can see on a surface examination) is a shortage of actual commissioned work - work that someone has paid you to produce. This will be your biggest drawback if you were trying to get work out of me. I wouldn't be able to trust my client's work to you because nobody else I know of has done so.
I'm not saying you're not trustworthy - it's that you are an unknown quantity when compared to my other photographers / 3D artists. You haven't given me enough reasons to choose you (an unknown) over someone I have worked with before and have a measure of faith in. So you need to work on instilling more trust in me.
It's always going to be hard to score that first comissioned job (if you have some comissioned work already, then make this a separate section of your site - that's the stuff I HAVE to see in order to give you work). The best way to get this kind of stuff under your belt is to offer your services either free or at a discount to worthy causes in your area. Even pro-bono work will have value in this regard as it shows me what you can do with a proper brief - even if you didn't make money from it. In my mind, if you're willing and able to do a good job for a charity on little money, then you're probably young and eager ... and probably willing to do a good job on MY stuff for the same amont of money - allready you're looking more attractive as a supplier.
Remember that anyone you approach in my industry will have access to photographers / CGI artists allready. Your web site has to answer the question: \"You should choose me over those guys you already use, because... ??\" Right now your web site isn't answering that question for me.
Turning to the layout of your web-site, with the greatest respect, you need to work on it more. You have some truly impressive work (the butterfly for example). That butterfly should be the very first thing I see - big,bold and beautiful,with your copy reversed out over the top perhaps. Cause I'll bet you money that the other CDs you approach (like me) will be checking your stuff out between meetings or on a lunch break, cause that's all the time they can spare.
Don't make me dig for the nuggets of gold in your work, serve them up to me on a platter instead - in a steady stream of polished, well chosen, emotive composed, consistantly high standard work that has me thinking \"This guy REALLY knows his stuff!\" ...cause you do. Like I said your work is solid - but the presentation is letting it down.
Speak to a really good web designer and arrange a contra deal - your services for theirs. That will give you commissioned work (after a fashion) and a professional, polished web folio that wil have me thinking \"This guy is good!\" and not just \"This guy has promise.\" Cause the guys who are really good get the work, and the guys who are really promising get encouragement.
You're work is good, a solid understanding of the fundamentals and your talented eye give you great potential. BUT DON\"T JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT, don't just be satisfied with that. Be excellent! Put just as much effort in to the little stuff as you do into the big. Cause your photos and 3d work is good...but your website is nowhere near as good as the rest of your work. Slave away at it until EVERYTHING you do is equally GREAT, and not just good. ...then you know you're getting somewhere!
Best of luck.
Anyone else have suggestions?
Wishmaster - They were working but when I upgraded Internet Explorer to a new version and they became shifted like you said. Anyone have a fix?
Hmmm. I am not sure why you have to scroll. I designed it to perfectly fit 1280x1024 res and I don’t have to scroll.
That’s a good suggestion for the menus. I will have to do it. Thanks.
I coded it by hand reverse engineering code I found…probably why I have bugs
Gekko71 - Wow long reply! What company do you work for?
I wouldn’t mind doing work for free or at a reduced cost I would still be learning and improving my skill set and like you said it would be good for my resume. All the 3d work I have done has been for free so it doesn’t matter who its for as long as it has a purpose
Hmm I am not sure what you don’t like about the site. The front-page image won awards so I didn’t think it was a bad idea for it to be the first thing people see. I am probably going to change the images on the top and replace my name with something that looks better. Thanks for your advice.
Wishmaster - They were working but when I upgraded Internet Explorer to a new version and they became shifted like you said. Anyone have a fix?
Hmmm. I am not sure why you have to scroll. I designed it to perfectly fit 1280x1024 res and I don’t have to scroll.
That’s a good suggestion for the menus. I will have to do it. Thanks.
I coded it by hand reverse engineering code I found…probably why I have bugs
Gekko71 - Wow long reply! What company do you work for?
I wouldn’t mind doing work for free or at a reduced cost I would still be learning and improving my skill set and like you said it would be good for my resume. All the 3d work I have done has been for free so it doesn’t matter who its for as long as it has a purpose
Hmm I am not sure what you don’t like about the site. The front-page image won awards so I didn’t think it was a bad idea for it to be the first thing people see. I am probably going to change the images on the top and replace my name with something that looks better. Thanks for your advice.
Re:
It's not that I have anything AGAINST your website Cyclone - in isolation, it's fine - nothing wrong with it... but a website (especially one promoting a service) NEVER works in isolation - it will always be compared to the websites of your competitors.Cyclone wrote:Gekko71 - Wow long reply! What company do you work for?
I wouldn’t mind doing work for free or at a reduced cost I would still be learning and improving my skill set and like you said it would be good for my resume. All the 3d work I have done has been for free so it doesn’t matter who its for as long as it has a purpose
Hmm I am not sure what you don’t like about the site. The front-page image won awards so I didn’t think it was a bad idea for it to be the first thing people see. I am probably going to change the images on the top and replace my name with something that looks better. Thanks for your advice.
I don't work or live in the US so I can only talk about my local market which is Perth Western Australia.
Have a look at the following links - if you were in Perth, these guys would be your competition. This is the standard of work and of websites when it comes to Perth Advertising photography:
http://www.f22photography.com/
http://www.allanmyles.com.au/
http://www.galeforcephotography.com.au/
http://www.apiinteractive.com/
I've used all these guys at one time or another. Granted, these guys have probably been doing it far longer than you have. But you still need to provide me with some reason NOT to use these guys and go with you. And like I said - right now I don't see that in your website yet. But it won't take much - a bit more polish on your site, a list of charges, a few commissioned pieces and I could put you in the "young, fresh and talented" category ...which could put you in the running for commissioned work.
As an advertising CD I judge all my suppliers on everything they do: their work, their price, their availability, their demeanour etc... and when t comes time to choose a new one, I do the same. People will make judgements about your professionalism based upon your website. And right now you're close - but you're not quite there yet for my money.
Hope this helps.