[thelist] Which Design is Better? (again -- sorry)

[Chris Johnston]

On 2/22/06, Rachell Coe <rachell at rachellcoe.com> wrote:
>
>
> Hi Again!  Per your awesome critiques, I've developed a 3rd design that
> hopefully incorporates the elements of the previous designs everyone
> liked.
> I have all 3 up at http://www.4thegrapes.com/design11.htm.  Which one do
> you
> guys like best?
>
> And if it affects your critique, here is what I'm going for: professional,
> creative, intuitive, and easy to understand.  (Most of my target audience
> will not be especially web savvy, but will be creative and intelligent.)
>
>
Without text in the first design it is really hard to judge its
effectiveness against the other two. Text is every bit a part of the overall
design as the graphics and background colours. Saying that though, I think I
like the middle design. However, the text is a little too strong and the
line spacing needs to be opened up a bit. Try one and half spacing instead.
You need to breath some space in between the lines.

I really like the menu placement at both the top and the bottom of the page.
I do not like the thick black border that runs around the entire design.
Actually, come to think about it, I think the entire design is a just a
little too strong. The design elements are great, but the colours, the bold
text, the thick black border all come across as being to strong and
overpowering. I always thought the most important thing about wine was its
subtelties?

In addition, when trying to decide what a design will look like, always
consider the browser and its dimensions. Are these designs liquid or static?
If they are static, what will the background look like when my browser is
maximized to 1280x1024?

I would really like to see the first design finished. It would make it a lot
easier to judge. There are some interesting elements to it, but without
proper graphics or text, it is really hard to tell what you intend to put in
the rectangles.

Just my $0.02

Chris

--
www.fuzzylizard.com