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Would love your feedback. Over 200 hours went into this, and I learned a lot in the process. Still has a couple php issues I need to resolve, but other than that it is finished. Until I hear from you! Thanks.
http://www.doctoredmedia.com
[Edited by pheck on 05-07-2002 at 04:50 AM]
That's some tasty 3d work.
The main interface is well executed but a little cluttered.
i think your site is great. my only suggestion is to make
the nav links visible before you mouseover.
thanks you 2 for the comments. i'm not quite where to start on your comment on clutterness Tom. Hmmmmm. Any ideas for improvement? ex-i, i had been mulling that over and your input put me over the edge :)
thanks for the check.
guestbook seems not to work
make design of the links the same and not differently coloured!
the nav buttons have different colors to match the different color them of each page. the nav bar slowly fades to that color after transitioning. is this what you don't like?
not sure why the gb isn't working for you. maybe it's the crappy free server :)
Seemed to take forever to load, I would have liked to see some sort of indicator as to how much "Initializing" was left.
Okay, so it finished initializing and is now initializing again, with a lower case i this time...:) Im lost!
Actually, other than the capital/lower case "i" thing, I think it may be your server that's bugging me...I think I'll reload in a bit, it looks like it's going to be good. :)
Hi Phil
First off, congratulations again on a great job.
I think your site does its job very well. The site looks very professional and in itself shows off your design and programming skills without even having to see your portfolio.
I think the intro is excellent. I like the use of minimal colours - the blue and the white convey a nice clean medical feel. I generally don't like intros as they cause quite a delay on a 56k modem. For a site offering animation services though it is probably acceptable.
I like the layout of the main menu. I think that the colours aren't quite right though. I like the idea of them coordinating with the different sections but the colour clash a little bit when placed together.
The text above the menu does appear a little cluttered but I like the way it is layed out. Maybe a bit of tweaking with font sizes - maybe try a non-aliased font, or maybe just decrease the main window area a bit.
I don't quite understand the photo of the security camera on the homepage although I like the other photos - esp the way the cardiac monitor works!
I'm on a 56k modem. It takes about 1.5 mins for the intro to load and about 3 mins for the entire website to load up. This wait is probably acceptable for those on broadband and for people who specifically want to view your site but might deter some casual browsers. I can't see how you would cut the download down and keep the style of your site demonstating you flash skills. Maybe a simple html alternative could be an option (or is that just giving in?)
Chris
Anna, thanks for the heads up on the I-->i issue. Yes, you are right, it is a crappy server issue. Hopefully by the end of the weekend it will be on a paid server.
Chris, thanks for dropping in as usual. Please see my comments/questions here:
I like the layout of the main menu. I think that the colours aren't quite right though. I like the idea of them coordinating with the different sections but the colour clash a little bit when placed together.
very good point. i'll have to reconsider my color choices. It wouldn't be too hard to redo the color theme of each page. do you have a recommendation for the four colors I should use? The deep blue is staying, b/c there is too much source to go through to change everything from blue, but the other four are relatively open to change.
The text above the menu does appear a little cluttered but I like the way it is layed out. Maybe a bit of tweaking with font sizes - maybe try a non-aliased font, or maybe just decrease the main window area a bit.
help me out with the non-aliased font thing a minute. i used _sans throughout the whole project. Is this not anti-aliased? to be honest, i am not wholly comfortable with the term aliasing. i know it means that things look better/worse when zoomed out and in, but i can never figure out the benefits and disadvantages on either side. i guess the upshot is this: what font would you recommend here?
I don't quite understand the photo of the security camera on the homepage although I like the other photos - esp the way the cardiac monitor works!
don't they have examing lights in the UK Dr. Chris??? J/K. :) That is not a camera, in the US these lights are almost ubiquitous in examination rooms... and dentists room as well.
Maybe a simple html alternative could be an option (or is that just giving in?)
no. for sure this is not giving in. i fully intend to develop an html version of the site. but my html skills aren't as high as my flash, so of course i'm putting it off. the load time issues you bring up alone are worth it. but frankly i forsee most of my business coming from publishing houses and academic institutions, which are for the most part wired broadband all around. my brother grant is a genious at html and backend, so i may enlist him :)
Thanks for all the great comments!
Hi Phil,
Sorry about that - I meant non-anti-aliased... which doesn't actually make any sense - lets just say aliased or 'pixel' fonts :). I like sans fonts but try it out pixel fonts instead - or maybe just make the space a bit bigger.
Your forgetting I work for the NHS! - you'll be lucky to find a lamp that has a bulb, let alone a fancy 'examination' lamp ;-)
Colour choices... hmmm. I don't know really. I guess you'll just have to experiment. Try a colour chart. I know certain colours work better together than others but I'm no expert. I generally take the easy option and stick to blue, white and grey/black as that seems to work but now all my websites are starting to look a bit bland. I think I'll by a book and educate myself. Maybe someone knows a website that discusses this type of thing??
Chris
[Edited by dissector on 05-04-2002 at 06:49 AM]
Sorry mate
did not have the flash 6 player and did not want to install it just yet
can i ask you to check my link on this site check - it is my company's site that i just finished
check the portfolio section - quite pleased with that
any comments on the site would be greatly appreciated - even if you hate it!!!!
http://board.flashkit.com/board/show...hreadid=306878
thanks in advance
gilesb
Your mistaken, those free servers are certainly not slow. Geocities, tripod, et cetera, are on the high dollar servers and connection. The problem is your flash is too big in KBs, not the server is too slow to get it to the user.
nope, it is the server. i am on T1 and the site lags with the worst of them, even when the swf is in my cache. other sites that are larger in file size than mine come through fast on their paid servers.Quote:
Originally posted by marknovak
Your mistaken, those free servers are certainly not slow. Geocities, tripod, et cetera, are on the high dollar servers and connection. The problem is your flash is too big in KBs, not the server is too slow to get it to the user.
no matter tho, DM will be on paid host soon.
Chris et. al,
I took your advice and switched the color of the portfolio section. i think the problem with the colors was the red looked too much like the brown, and clashed. maybe? anyway, check this out and let me know if you think it's better.
http://66.33.110.67/
(this is the IP of http://www.doctoredmedia.com as soon as the dns resolves itself.....48 hours maybe)
thanks!
[edit]PS-Chris, i tried a few pixel fonts, including some from minml.com, and was unhappy with the results. maybe the better html formatting in the textboxes on the new site (news section) makes it better?[/edit]
[Edited by pheck on 05-05-2002 at 11:19 PM]
Haha, mark, I must agree with pheck...whatever free server he was using really did suck. :) It even asked you to set it as a homepage!
Anyway pheck, I promised you a review, and here it is...
Preloader looks great now...the animation is new too right? And I feel much better knowing how much is left to load. However, right after loading the intro "DM", I get the old "Initializing" screen for a second, then the new loading afterwards...Did you leave a few frames in by accident, or should that happen?
I'm still not fond of the brown color + the blue color together on the home page (but at this point I need to find something to pick, so don't take this one too seriously.)
I really like the transitions between sections, it happens just fast enough for me, I don't like having to wait for someone's pretty, elaborate animations...but the effect is still there. Good choice. (and I know I'm totally guilty of that myself...shhh...)
I like the way the menu fades to match the rest, the only thing I could possibly say is that the About/Contact button looks a little squishy, but hardly noticeable if you aren't actively looking for something wrong.
Everything else looks very professional. I especially like the demo cartoon...If I were a doctor I'd sign on with you right after I saw that. It conveys the message "You need us" very well.
Sort of off topic: When I opened your portfolio, I noticed Simbryo! I specifically remember seeing it on FK a while ago too, and I need to thank you for that! That little flying embryo opened my eyes to the world of Motion Blur. :)
Sorry about not finding any really big problems, but I guess that's a good thing, right?
thanks anna for that.
i'll have to reconsider the brown on the homepage, and the about us button text.
i got the contact us mailer form to work tonight! woo hoo! that was the last major bug to fix. PHP mail wouldn't work on my windows host so i went with ASP. also cleaned up the php code for the guestbook. no more null pointers at the end of the list. oh and i added a splash page.
do people like the yellow on the portfolio section better than the red?
Hi Phil,
I like the splash page... looks good.
I've tried looking at the site a couple of times on my 56K modem and it doesn't seem to load up properly. It takes about 3 mins sometimes before even the first screen appears. I think the problem may be that all the other movies for the other screens are loading up at the same time. It might be quicker if you load up the first screen before the others start loading.
Chris
Chris,
Excellent point. I was wondering about that. I'll have to change it.
Intro was good but was grateful for the skip button. The high quality imagery of the into carried over into the images used on the site. Unfortunately at the sacrifice of a lot of bandwidth. I am sorry to say it but big KB sites are a real real hard sell.
Brown and blue combination was not easy on the eyes. Nor was the color combination of the menu bar which clashed big time with the predominant blue of the site. Mostly because the blue is bright and the colors chosen were pastels.
The flying graphic on the bottom left was odd and a little annoying.
The white on grey text was impossible to read.
Launch freelance forums in a blank page. I completely lost your site when I clicked the button. Did not like the swf in the middle of the screen advertising Freelance. Did not say much.
In summary, nice intro, too large, useful action script put together a little hapharzadly. However the site was professionaly done and had a clean appearance.
thanks a lot for the feedback TST. Couple questions on how I should improve based on your suggestions...What would you suggest for colors here? I already changed the red --> yellow (portfolio section). What other colors would go with that blue? As you probably saw, the nav bar morphs to the color of the section, so on any section, the one of the buttons is the same color as the nav bar and section tint. Happy to change the colors, just need some guidance as to what those colors should be.Quote:
Originally posted by theswedishtiger
Intro was good but was grateful for the skip button. The high quality imagery of the into carried over into the images used on the site. Unfortunately at the sacrifice of a lot of bandwidth. I am sorry to say it but big KB sites are a real real hard sell.
Brown and blue combination was not easy on the eyes. Nor was the color combination of the menu bar which clashed big time with the predominant blue of the site. Mostly because the blue is bright and the colors chosen were pastels.
The flying graphic on the bottom left was odd and a little annoying.
The white on grey text was impossible to read.
Launch freelance forums in a blank page. I completely lost your site when I clicked the button. Did not like the swf in the middle of the screen advertising Freelance. Did not say much.
In summary, nice intro, too large, useful action script put together a little hapharzadly. However the site was professionaly done and had a clean appearance.
WHich flying graphic on the 'bottom left' are you talking about? Sorry, I can't figure out what it is that you're referring to.
I'll change the color of the grey textboxes to a darker grey shade. thanks for the heads up on that.
Yeah, I know what you mean by the launching problem (same pg vs new page). I have the thing set to _blank, but (i'm guessing) because it's embedded in a main swf, it's not working correctly. anyone know a workaround for this? It's not like you can say, _root._blank for the JS part of the getURL a/s command, right?
In regards to your comment on the size, you're right, it's a bit much. based on your and chris' remarks, i'm thinking i should do a load on demand type of deal (instead of loading each section independently). that is, when portfolio section is clicked, it loads then, not before. or perhaps go with the load frontpage first, then load the other 3 simutaneously. leaning toward that last one, what do you think?
Thanks again so much for the great feedback.
i updated this. let me know if it works better for you know. thanks for the suggestion.Quote:
Originally posted by dissector
I've tried looking at the site a couple of times on my 56K modem and it doesn't seem to load up properly. It takes about 3 mins sometimes before even the first screen appears. I think the problem may be that all the other movies for the other screens are loading up at the same time. It might be quicker if you load up the first screen before the others start loading.
Chris
i've also updated the site based on suggestions by others posted here as well (including fixing the getURL "_blank" problem)
if anyone still has comments, would love to hear em. thanks.