kdev

Cheers Malyo. Trust me, if I had an influence on the copy, it would read much more clearly! I'm interested by what you mean by "chaotic typography". Could you expand on that? I do take pride in trying to use solid typographic principals. What do you think makes it chaotic? Great feedback from everyone, much appreciated.

My main issue with it is the lack of delineation when the white text passes over the clouds.

OK, so quickly back to the header issue. I've attached a screenshot of a 'tidier' (I hope) version. Does that look better/worse/the same?

If you don't have Futura, you're supposed to see Century Gothic, and if you don't have Helvetica Neue, then Arial is the next choice. font-family: Futura, "Century Gothic", "Apple Gothic", sans-serif; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; Looking different on different systems and being a "cross-platform nightmare" are two very different things. That's what font stacks are for right? I see that you use them on your site too! e.g. font-family: Museo500,Georgia,serif; and font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;. Am I missing something?

I'm intrigued. Why do people feel that a navigation has to be 'interesting'? This could be the start of an interesting debate!

Hi Chris, Thanks again for the feedback. I agree that it's slightly messy looking. I have kept the elements grouped by type and separated by colour, so that all the contact info is together and in black, and the main navigation is all in blue. Everything is also aligned to a tight grid. So there really isn't anything blended or random, in theory anyway, but I appreciate that it still doesn't quite 'work'. The thing is that the client wants all of these elements to be present, so I need to find a way to make them work. He's happy with it, but like you, it doesn't sit right with me. Any more ideas are welcome!

Cheers guys. Neil, interesting that you don't think that there is a focal point. I thought that the video stood out as a clear action. If not, can you think of a way to further highlight this? I agree though that it's difficult to see what the site is about. Unfortunately I have no control over the copy. I definitely would have been more descriptive in the opening text. It's a bit waffly for me. 4colourprogress, I have to disagree about the navigation. I don't think that navigation has to be exciting ( I assume that's what you mean) just functional. But, out of interest, what would you suggest to make it less dull, and why? Thanks for the feedback, Keith

Hi guys, i recently gave a new designer some advice: "Peer review is the best way to learn." As soon as I said it, I realised that I haven't posted on here in ages. I used to love hearing what other people thought. It really helps to learn. So, here it is, my latest creation: http://www.cellularattitude.co.uk/. Please don't hold back with criticism, but try to keep it constructive! Keith

This is what I mean...

Hi all, Finding work is probably the hardest part about freelancing. There are so many ways to do it and not enough time to pursue them all. One obvious source of work is through freelance websites. However, I have found that the time spent applying for jobs on sites like Elance and PeoplePerHour is wasted. In all of the bids that I have made, I have only won one bit of work. There are any number of reasons why people would choose another designer but I think that most often I am priced out. I put a value on the work that I do, I have rent to pay and food to buy and I'm not "cheap". The problem that I have is that clients are being falsely educated by these site into thinking that they can have the next Amazon for £200 - £500. I have never seen a project that has had a budget too low so that people won't bid. Who bids to build Facebook for "Under $1000"? What do these sites end up looking and functioning like? Or maybe great sites can be built on a shoestring? Can they? Am I wrong to charge £1000 for a simple e-Commerce site? Are there sites out there that try to educate clients about what is involved in web design? Is there somewhere we could link to to explain the stages and costs involved? Even better, are there any freelancing sites out there that only great clients go to? I have shared some of the sites that I know of in my poll. Which are your favorites? Keith

Hi all, Recently I have found that getting work through sites like Elance and PeoplePerHour has become increasingly difficult. I used to get regular emails from people saying they had found my profile on these sites. I think both sites have made it much harder for potential clients to get in touch directly. this makes sense as it protects their business model. However, there is a second problem with these sites. The quality of job is very poor. Usually this means that the budget is ridiculously low. E.g. "I want the new Facebook", Budget Range: under $500. There are usually about 30 companies willing to bid at this price too which distorts people's views on how much a website costs. Does anyone know where to find quality clients online?

Hi Ink, Thanks for the reply. I agree with everything that you said in that last post. The client showed me examples of sites that he liked and gave me some other pointers on what he wanted. The original design (still the best in my opinion) was based on everything that I found out from these initial rounds of consultation. He liked full bleed imagery, textures, etc. The colors had to match the logo and I tried to keep it looking fairly minimal in terms of graphics. It's only after he saw that first design that he wanted it to look more like another site that I had designed. I agree that it is always best to design with the customer's clients in mind. I always do. I also agree that the client's opinion is valid, even if they are not design experts. People still know what they like, even if they can't articulate why. I guess my problem is both in creating the initial brief so that I get the most information from the client, and how I present the final piece. Do you have any advice on how to get to a better point of understanding before the mockup stage begins?

Starting a reply with "no offence" always seems a bit offensive! I definitely considered who I was designing for, and more importantly had a brief to which I was working. The colours in all three designs are based on the same colour scheme, the one provided by the client. The CCTV effect was deliberate, as it is a security business. But he didn't like it either, so it was changed. The picture is of Jacko with his bodyguard, not too dissimilar from the one that was supplied by the client in the end, the one with him and Emma Watson (Lindsay Lohan?!). Thanks for the feedback.

The border colour should be #DDDDDD. I changed it with Firebug and it looked good. I can't see the comment module anywhere.

I think the link hover looks great now. What do you think? Try changing the outer border colour too. I really think that will make a difference.