hey guys, can u help me decide which layout is better? I've had a few of my friends choose and most of them like the darker one but my "design" friends, like the lighter one.
So I'm coming to the experts, which one do you like and why? or shall i say, which one is working better....
thanks skate for replying, this is what the layout look likes when i changed it according to your suggestions. if i changed the whole bg to white, the center square would be almost white also, so i omitted changing the center and keeping it black, was this what u had in mind?
Hi, the third ones much better, one thing to bear in mind is how big each page will be (I aim for 50k as a max) slow sites tend to make people leave quicker.
hi BP, thanks for replying. i do know about the size, its just a PS layout so its jsut for testing. Im not going to have a html page but i am going to have a splash page, i was already going with the first layout but for some reason it didnt look right to me so i started playing around with other stuff and i got this done for my splash page. so i wanted them to connect somehow....
i dont have a zip program yet, but here is my FLA for my splash page
Originally posted by Tracy981 thanks skate for replying, this is what the layout look likes when i changed it according to your suggestions. if i changed the whole bg to white, the center square would be almost white also, so i omitted changing the center and keeping it black, was this what u had in mind?
if you dont mind, can u explain to me why you think the "darker" version is working the best? i thought the "lighter" version was more sophisticated, mature looking, alot more cleaner....what is about that other one that you like? im trying to understand why one is better b/c i thought the lighter was good.
I'm going to have to swim against the current on this one. Personally I think the second (lighter) one is the best. I believe that it conveys an air of refined sophistication that the other designs lack. I also believe that it more truely reflects the personality of the person the site represents.
The dark background lends a much darker mood to the whole design. Take a close look at the photos in each design. Even though they are exactly the same pics, the photo on the right in the darker designs takes on a brooding appearance and the one on the left looks almost fearful. If you look at the photos in the lighter design though, the photo on the right appears thoughtful or contemplative while the one on the left is evocative of quiet intensity and playful vision.
The third design is improved by changing the background from black to white, but it still remains 'weighted' and gloomy to my eye. I also prefer the exclusion of the grid. It's omission in the second design makes for a more fresh and engaging presentation.
I'm lookin' at this thing, and the more I look, the more I like it. It's a really nice piece of work you have there. At first I thought that the fuscia didn't really go with the rest of the design, but then I saw that you very nicely tied it into the border, effectively pulling it together for me. The one and only thing I might mention is that the fuscia (bright pinkish color just so there's no mistake) in the gradient bar next to 'contact information' is just a tad too prominent. Not only is it the first place my eye goes, it keeps straying back there. Now maybe this was exactly as you intented. You do want people to contact you, right?
Perhaps try making it a halftone-like pattern of dots that still carries the same gradient, but does so in a slightly more subtle way. I would think this would tie it in a little better with the little colon-esque dots you have next to the other menu items and the dots in the border. Who knows, it might look like crap, but I think it's worth trying.
Great job on this one, T-Girl!
These are obviously going to impact everyone differently as evidenced by BP and skate342's preferences. The aforementioned reasons are why I personally prefer the second design, however. Do with that opinion what you will.
Last edited by RUSHVision; 07-16-2004 at 05:28 AM.
mrush
> .. _ .: Join the FK ARENA!:..:RUSHVision vs. JWin:. _ .. <
..:: "Why aren't the lockout programs working?!?...Release the monkey!" ::..
hey rush, thanks hun for the reply, i was hoping you would see the post! yeah the "bar" near the contact word is intentional BUT each button (resume, etc) will have the dots, and when on rollover, it forms in the bar. i was trying to get in alot of interactivity but be as smooth and "not as obvious" about the animations. re-reading everyone's post, i see each side so im gonna try to incoporate both layouts, but i do like the lighter version, to me for some reason it looks more sophisticated. anyhow, thanks a bunch for replying to me, always looking for forward to your expertise and likewise for everyone else. if i may ask, what did u think of the FLA that I attached? do you think it fits with the layouts?
Feel free to hold off on making any changes to the gradient bar, then. Sounds like you've got a plan.
I'd say that initially the splash looks pretty good. To give you a real opinion I'll have to see the final version of the site layout that you come up so I can accurately compare the two, though. And maybe you could also attach a .SWF next time so I can see the actual fonts you used since I don't have all the ones you have used in the .FLA either. The only thing so far is that I might try to make that bright red in the middle blend just a little more subtly into the background, and perhaps desaturate it a smidge as well. How much will depend on the overall contrast values that you end up with in your site layout.
Everything is lookin' great so far!
mrush
> .. _ .: Join the FK ARENA!:..:RUSHVision vs. JWin:. _ .. <
..:: "Why aren't the lockout programs working?!?...Release the monkey!" ::..
thanks rush, in flash how would you desaturate the colors? i made all the gradients in flash so im not sure where u would or how u would go about desaturating them? hmmmmm
In Flash open up the color picker and just to the left of the RGB values there are input boxes for Hue, Saturation and Luminosity. Just reduce the Saturation value in the box to change only that aspect. You might have to play around with it a little bit, though. The final color you use may end up having different values for Hue and Luminosity as well because while I think a desaturated version of the color you originally used would be good, it might not be that exact color simply desaturated, if you know what I mean.
Now don't hurt me if this is something you already know, but you can get the same effect by simply moving the crosshairs in the color picker. That part I'm sure you knew, it's the next part that might be a little grey, so to speak. heheh...little color joke)
- Moving the crosshairs left or right changes the Hue
- Moving the crosshairs up or down changes the Saturation
- Moving the slider on the right up or down changes the Luminosity
mrush
> .. _ .: Join the FK ARENA!:..:RUSHVision vs. JWin:. _ .. <
..:: "Why aren't the lockout programs working?!?...Release the monkey!" ::..
thanks for the tips guys. i jsut started getting into "drawing" and vectors in flash so i didnt know about the saturation etc, thanks =)
Hopefully this attaches correctly, i tried redoing the the gradient with a more desaturated look to it, what do you think? is this what you were suggesting?
Reply With Quote
