So what do we think about this image and font?

[harlequin2k5]

I've been through several ps tutorials which were posted under the graphics and multimedia forum (they were fantastic by the way!) and I came up with this (http://www.suncoastwebdesigns.com/index3.cfm) - just curious what you all think...

I think the font might be a little bit big and not thick enough and I think I'm going to round the corners

lemme know whatcha think :D

[Pennimus]

I think it's hideous. I'd never, ever employ a web design company with a site like that to make a site for me.

Not only is the font unprofessional and difficult to read, but it's badly spaced in the header. The photograph is irrelevant and 'hokey'. I see other issues but this is obviously a work in progress and you did only ask for comments on the image and font.

[Nischumacher]

italic header is ok.
not the contents...
and the links don't seem to work... ?
( using IE on XP-Pro )

the violet-ish form looks good... but the wierd blue bgcolor spoils it...

[harlequin2k5]

about the blue bg - that was the last thing I played with last night and I agree that's it's horrid

@Nisch - content isn't supposed to be italic - I was just positioning the left column that's why the links aren't working

@Penn - ouch but ok - follow up on a couple of points with me if you will
I have the worst time with graphics and I have no money to hire someone else to do it for me so unfortunately I have to keep doing trial and error - you may have finally answered one the hardest questions I've had for my site about whether or not to include a background image
as far as the font - I want something smooth and inviting and no matter how many sites I've been to I can't find just the right one - I want something cursive and as far as the spacing - I don't get how to scale fonts - again I have a limited budget so I can't afford to hire someone to create a logo for me
to be quite honest, I saw this site being designed with greens and golds and teal/aquas or maybe oranges and gold and browns because of the "Suncoast" image I want to get across - I still want to round the corners of the overall image and still have an easy enough time creating the site using only css

I've been trying to take the time to sit down and actually go through more than just one tutorial and I don't particularly like to copy someone else's and make a few changes to make it mine - I've been to color wheel sites to get the right mixes of colors and I wind up just blending it all together anyway

I want to get away from "square" sites and color outside the lines if you know what I mean - I just haven't found a way to tap into that creative part of me - I can visualize it but can't make it happen

Penn - believe me when I say that you were harsh but I'm not at all offended - that's why I posted the page - now I just hope you can help me refine it

[harlequin2k5]

just a quick note that I fixed the italic content and took out the bg color

[harlequin2k5]

do you think it might be better if I center the content column and use a horizontal nav instead of a vertical nav? I'm just so used to verticals...ugh

[rmedek]

I'd say overall things just need to be sized/spaced better. The logo is HUGE, the navigation is tiny and the content is squished up against everything else.

Increase the nav, decrease the logo and decrease the width of the content (more space and less column length) and that should help things a little.

Also, the letter-spacing (kerning) isn't quite right in the logo. See the huge gaps between the capital and lower-case letters? I would tighten that up a bit.

[harlequin2k5]

@rmedek - about kerning - is it better to just use the preset font sizes (8, 10, 12, ... 48, 60, 72) instead of trying to edit>transform>scale (ps 7) to change the size of a font? as I already said in a previous post I don't know how to scale fonts

@pennimus - if I chose to leave an image on the site do you think it would be more acceptable to use it in a banner with the swd typed on it - something like my old one (http://www.suncoastwebdesigns.com)? or something like a flash banner like this site (http://www.tdsoft.com/) has?

thanks for your comments and advice - I'll be working on it some more over yet another looooong weekend :D

[harlequin2k5]

All the Dude ever wanted was his rug back.
who took his rug? :p

[rmedek]

Kerning isn't about the size of the font—it's about the size of the space between the letters. Photoshop has a few different adjustments; here's my Fireworks screenshot of how I adjust kerning (letter-spacing, tracking, whatever you call it):

http://richardmedek.com/temp/images/kerning.png

The first part is the "before." Notice by default the font I used squeezes the "st" in Suncoast and the "sg" in Design together.

The second shot is the treatment—I've highlighted the letters I want to adjust and increased the space between.

The third is the final text with the adjusted spacing. Although I do think that this is a bad font for a pro web design company.

About the rug, the Chinamen took the rug. Although, "Chinamen" isn't the preferred nomenclature… "Asian American," please. :D

[harlequin2k5]

thank you for the demo rmedek - and yes I know that kerning is about letter spacing - my question was whether or not scaling adversely effected the spacing as opposed to just changing the font size - or does the kerning get thrown off no matter which method?

wouldn't use a script font eh? hmmm...I have a few arial derivatives maybe

did you have an opinion about my post about using an image in a banner as opposed to using it in a bg?

thanks again! :D

[Nischumacher]

looks better than the one i saw last time... only better.
no blue bg...
non-italic contents... font is ok too.

the links still don't work...

[harlequin2k5]

the links still don't work...
They're not supposed to yet - I'm still deciding what they're going to be and whether it's going to be a vertical or horizontal nav :)

[Pennimus]

Just checked again, obviously it's not how you want it right now but...

Font is much better. I think you have to use an image, of some description, somewhere... but no, background images generally don't work because they're either too hard to make out or they interrupt with the text too much.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with. But it has to be said, if you've got no money to outsource design work, and you're not comfortable with graphics/design yourself, how are you running a web design company? ;)

[harlequin2k5]

Pennimus -

It's a long long story about the web design company thing...believe it or not - that was the original intention but I found myself performing more office automation and desktop publishing tasks instead

After alot of careful budgeting I've found someone to help me with my graphics...but more importantly I thought I'd let you in on some of the enlightenment I've encountered...

I've always been on the coding side of things and never gave much thought to how things looked as long as they worked

But I must admit - out of the clear blue I happened to see what rmedek was talking about with kerning with an old text image I had made and I thought long and hard about your comment about using a background image - talk about getting hit by lightning - but I'm beginning to develop more respect for images and how they help or hinder a site's viewability and success.

Thanks for your input and advice - I'll prolly have something new up by the end of the week :D

I've also found that gradients aren't that great for a content background either - I'm gettin' there!! :rolleyes:

[harlequin2k5]

I want to thank those of you who took the time to look at the page and to offer your thoughts...

I'm going to remove the page because I've found the type of design I wish to use and although it is based on a template I think I can personalize it enough to get just the right theme using web friendly fonts and colors and appropriately sized and placed images

Thanks again and look forward to a more mature and experienced looking design in the very near future! :thumbsup: