Mad Season Design

[brett7481]

Okay, I'm wrapping up the design for my new design site. When it is complete I will be moving it up to my main site, but I wanted feedback first.

The site should validate as XHTML strict 1.0. Everything in the CSS should also validate except the opacity hacks... unfortunatly they do not. If however anyone know of a way to do the opacity and Alpha Channel in IE with validating hacks, I would be more than happy to replace them.

I'm looking for any and all feedback... I have tough skin so say whatever you like about the site, it can only make it better.

http://www.madseason.co.uk/design/new/index.php

Thanks,
Brett

Let me also add that I am still working on reducing some of the file sizes on the graphics.

[mark87]

Look great, nothing really bad to say about it but the one thing I don't like is the top bar thing - I think it would look better if the picture started at the top.

[Graft-Creative]

Niceness! :thumbsup:

Not too sold on the headings font - looks a bit too Neville Brody, circa 1987 for my taste.

Apart from that it looks great!

You could use a javascript solution for the transparencies, the one I used is here:

http://art-for-africa.net/png.js

Hope that helps,

Kind regards,

Gary

[Single Paradox]

I like it! The only thing I would change is in my high resolution, the content is on the far left and the nav is on the far right. There is a BIG gap in between them. It would look great if you moved the nav closer to the content.

[Pennimus]

In contrast to what SP said, I really appreicate the full use of my screen. The site is riddled with spacing problems though, to the extent that it looks like you haven't really cared about this element of the design.

A few examples...

1. Recent projects text is crammed against the thumbnail.
2. Decent spacing between blog headings, content, comments line and between entries is non existent.
3. Similarly, in the portfolio section, there is no spacing between the image of the website, the two links and the description of the project.

Some other issues: There is no search button, the welcome text is difficult to read due to the low contrast, and any blog entries you make with a title longer than two words break nastily in the navigation section.

Viewed at 12x10 in Firefox.

Certainly one of the better sites that crop up in site reviews though :thumbsup:

EDIT : Missed this at first, but I don't think the gradient bar spanning the top of the page is adding anything apart from visual clutter. At a guess, I'd say having a white bar with the turqoise border on the left, and just extending the background image on the right, would be better.

[Ranger56]

Looks good, but fix that background image.

[brett7481]

Thanks for the feedback.

I've gone ahead and removed the grey bar at the top, I had originally planned something for that, but never implemented it.

I also worked on some of the spacing issues. I'm still working out the search button problem, I'm using sNews, and the search is automatically generated through PHP. I'm having a bit of trouble finding where the search is generated at.

I've also made the design more fluid, so it should fill up more of the screen at higher resolutions. I've tested it from 800x600 all the way up to 1280x1024.

Pennimus, I'm not quite sure what you mean by:
At a guess, I'd say having a white bar with the turqoise border on the left, and just extending the background image on the right, would be better.

Ranger56, what is wrong with the background? I've made it tile a bit better vertically is that is what you meant. If not, then let me know.

Ive also uploaded the page to my main directory now, so you can view changes at: http://www.madseason.co.uk

Thanks again for the feedback, I really appreciate it.

[Pennimus]

Mmmm, much nicer. There are still one or two spacing issues but I'm sure you're working through them.


Pennimus, I'm not quite sure what you mean by:
Quote:
At a guess, I'd say having a white bar with the turqoise border on the left, and just extending the background image on the right, would be better.

I was trying to describe what would look good in place of the gradient bar. As it happens, you have simply removed the bar rather than replacing it. But I think the graphic and logo should have a white space above them... yeah, that basically says what I wanted to say but a whole lot more succinctly!

Kudos on making it bigger, it sits very nicely on the screen now.

[Ranger56]

i mean add position:fixed; to the css , the background image doesnt tile well at all.

[brett7481]

There we go, I fixed the background image... sorry ranger56 what you initially meant about it went right over my head.

I'm now working on making the welcome text not so washed out, and I'll wrap up with the remainder of the spacing issues and adding a little space above the header image.

Thanks again for the help.

[TheShaner]

Everything looks great, except one thing. View your site at 800x600. Now, I know most of us here use larger resolutions, but a vast majority still use the 800x600 resolution (older computers and visually impaired.. I've found that most people that are not computer savvy use this resolution = good clientele, haha).

Anyway, your navigation on the right hand side crashes with your main content and starts piling below. First, the nav images go and then the entire side bar. My screen resolution is 1152x864, but I keep all my windows small when i'm multi-tasking, which means the same problem for me. Also, a white background crashes through the content area.

My suggestion would be to re-scale for 800x600 and set those sizes as a mininum-width. If people choose a smaller size and window, then they can deal with scrolling, but larger sizes can yield the liquid layout you've implemented.

Just my two cents.

-Shane

[NancyJ]

...I dont like it.
I'm not saying I couldnt like it, but at 12x10 its just not right....
Your background image is like a giant eye magnet, like I have to strain to force my eyes to look at the content, then the nav is all the way over the other side, and I have to strain to get past the spongly background again, choose the link then all the way back over to the other side.
I just want to pick all the bits up and put them in a different order, I want to put the content at the right and move the nav stickers to the left of the content.... I dont know why I just have really strong feelings about it.
I had a fiddle with your css and it looked better on the right but that might have just been my edit css box making the screen narrower.

[brett7481]

Hmmm... When I view it in 800x600 I don't get a break. But I will do ahead and add the min-width anyway to make sure no one does get it.

NancyJ: thanks for the feedback. I guess you can't please everyone :) . I tried the links on the left, but I personally liked them better on the right. Would you like the background image better if there was a little bit of black opacity over it... to help calm it down. It doesn't distract me as is, but that could be because I designed it.

What do others think about the background image? Need to be toned down, or no?

[Ranger56]

I thought most people used 1024x768?

[brett7481]

I think most people do, but I don't want the design to break at any resolution, well except maybe 640x480... those folks are just crazy for still having a screen resolution that small.

[ubik]

I think it looks good. I like how you made it fluid. i personally use 800x600 cause my tv tuner runs fullscreen at this resolution only and plus i have a fairly small monitor, so anyway.. I checked it out at 1024 and it looks good. Only thing I would suggest, being a graphics freak.. I would sharpen up all of your text in your images, bit blurry there. perhaps use a pixel font or just go in there zoomed and take out all the blurry edges. Atleast just on the navigation images.

The background image on the right is pretty cool, yeah perhaps a tone down in brightness could help. It doesnt quite texture at the bottom of it, it just ends abruptly and begins again. but this could be passed off as somewhat artistic so its ok.

Nice site, I like it.

[brett7481]

The background image was suppose to be fixed, so that it did not repeat. What browser are you using? I apparently need to look into that.

Thanks for the feed back, I too have noticed the nav fonts are a little blurry. I couldn't decide if it was the white on teal contrast or if it was the font itself. I will try to sharpen them.

[ubik]

I viewed it in firefox 1.5 & Internet Explorer 5.5 both repeats-y for the background on the right side. I dont really use IE much except for rare occasions but i viewed your site in the outdated version i have(5.5) and your "site_news" div is pressed against the left border which surrounds it, in firefox its centered. I guess its just the IE5.5, i dont know.

[NancyJ]

Hmmm... When I view it in 800x600 I don't get a break. But I will do ahead and add the min-width anyway to make sure no one does get it.

NancyJ: thanks for the feedback. I guess you can't please everyone :) . I tried the links on the left, but I personally liked them better on the right. Would you like the background image better if there was a little bit of black opacity over it... to help calm it down. It doesn't distract me as is, but that could be because I designed it.

What do others think about the background image? Need to be toned down, or no?
Toning it down might help, but I think it would lose some of the impact... I dont know - you could try it. Its not so bad when I slouch to the left at my desk ;)
It has a kinda curved look to it whereas the site content is flat, so it looks pushed back and the background really 'pops'.
I think the biggest issue is that your background image fills the central third of the page at 12x10 so thats where your eye immedately goes - it feels to me as if you need some part of content in the central third to draw the eyeline towards it - this is why I think it would look best on the right - the content would overlap into the central third and as us westerners read right to left, the eyeline would be pulled towards it and kinda flow naturally... hope this is making sense. - I'm not very eloquent

[TheShaner]

I don't think Ubik is viewing the correct link. I think he's still looking at the old link.

Ubik, check here: http://www.madseason.co.uk/

-Shane

[NancyJ]

I don't think Ubik is viewing the correct link. I think he's still looking at the old link.

Ubik, check here: http://www.madseason.co.uk/

-Shane
*ahem* looks like I was looking at the wrong one too.

*MUCH* better

[ubik]

Oh right right. Yeah i was looking at the original posted link, must have missed the updated link. Looks very good, i must say. Very well designed, I'm really diggin your color scheme, everything fits quite nicely. :thumbsup:

[mark87]

Looks great; a nice feature would be if you could get the menu bar staying fixed, but that's my opinion.

[harbingerOTV]

Brett-

has your site been up long? Has it been on one of those review or showcase sites before? It seems fimiliar and I may have crossed over it in the past.

I like the layout and the colour palette is nice. Simple and used well. I guess thats what the designer does though.

Fixing the sidebar would be bad. I use 1152 res and the sidebar is longer than my screen. Fixing it would be bad. I wouldn't see all of it and fixing it wouldn't allow me to ever see all of it. But I guess you gathered that as well.

One thing that is off though.

Im using FF and clicking on any of the links except for "home" gets me a gray bar at the top. Your "http://www.madseason.co.uk/images/gray_diag.png" is showing at the top by some 20px or so. on all the links but the "home" it does this.

So to sum it up I guess, it looks great. Works great (save the one png exception). Nice.

[brett7481]

Thanks for the replies.

harbingerOTV, The site hasn't been up too long, and i havn't been featured anywhere that I know of. Also, thanks for pointing out the gray bar at the top. I had forgotten to remove that.

All the feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks again.

Brett

[evo]

You've done well. Very good. :)

[Green Beast]

I like it. Nice design. That said, I don't like it with images off because the site is not usable. Can you offer up some image replacement? I realize not a lot of people visit sites with images disabled, but some do and I feel they should be supported just like everyone else.

Nice original design.

Mike