Ok so this is the very first full website I have ever built. Its my personal website portfolio but the portfolio page is still to be done, I've just lost motivation in this site and want to move to a flat design. Anyway any comments or feedback would help me a lot, also big thanks to throzen for some help with it. After this project I have learnt so much and that is good enough for me. Thanks.

 

The website: www.jamiemcardle.com

Edited July 21, 201313 yr by jamiemcuk

Thanks. The logo isn't a vector, I whipped it up in 1min in photoshop. I just needed something satisfactory to be there for a while. As for the logo quality I don't know why it isn't crisp for you as it is sitting perfect on my screen, could be cross browser problems as I recently noticed the background image doesn't sit right on IE. I actually never though of converting this site to a flat design, was going to start from scratch so thanks for that. I totally agree with the fonts, I will update them to something more appropriate when I convert to flat. All I need is to win the lottery and get Proxima Nova .

I use chrome too and thats what it looks like for me haha. I don't notice any problems with it lol.

Just out of interest, what are your motivations for making a flat design site?It has it's uses but skeuomorphism isn't quite broke. Depending on your target audience, I found a lot of them don't quite 'get' flat design - knowing when a button is a button.

 

Proxima Nova is a decent font (a bit overused in my opinion) but it's won't break the bank to get a copy for web use. If you want a similar(ish) font for free, why not try Montserrat http://wdf.co/yX

 

Nice looking site Has potential - stick with it.

Well, Your website looks normal. You need to add attrative graphics. Make with best color combination. There are several Flat Design available on the web for your inspiration. Develop website as per users point of view, users should get easily what they want.

Well, Your website looks normal. You need to add attrative graphics. Make with best color combination. There are several Flat Design available on the web for your inspiration. Develop website as per users point of view, users should get easily what they want.

 

Well, it doesn't have to be flat! OP: Design for your users, not for other designers and trends.

Well, it doesn't have to be flat! OP: Design for your users, not for other designers and trends.

 

'Liking this' a thousand times. Despite not being a fan of flat design, there's some really good stuff out there - but it was done for a purpose. Teodora's comment "Design for your users, not for other designers and trends" is one of the best rules of thumb for any form of design work. I'm very guilty of designing for other designers (what with our delicate egos ) but at the end of the day, don't snub your clients - and if it's a pet project, realise who your market is and design for that reason.

Sorry for the late reply, I appreciate the help and from this I realise I need to design for the target audience, the customers. But what exactly do they want? I know what designers want as they inspiration blogs are pasted all over the net but what does an actual potential client want to see in terms of design. I can see content wise now what they want.

 

Also to 4li4s, I suppose I wanted to go flat for personal preferences, but I realise now I need to design around my clients (there aren't any obviously but hopefully in the future ) . I know what you mean about customers not knowing if a button is a button haha, I've spent a lot of time myself hovering over what appears to be a button.

An audience is very broad, you need to knuckle it down to what type of clients you're looking for e.g. individuals, small companies, large. Whether or not you're looking to do similar clientele such as specialising in the education sector or cutlery makers - or perhaps you want to target the world in general. Don't forget age groups too. While nimble fingered sprogs know their way around the backside of any new tech, some of the older groups either don't get it nor interested. That's a general comment of course as you can't tar people with the same brush. From my experience the majority of clients have either been indifferent, not able to understand or simply not interested - hence that's why they approach us. A couple have been know it alls and there is the odd one who likes to give out mad orders (i.e. they want the next Facebook for £20).

 

As a rule of thumb, keep things simple. You can add as you go along. Chances are that you'll redesign your site in a month or two (most of us are guilty of that). One of the biggest things a lot of us seem to dismiss is the actual marketing of our stuff. Thankfully I get most of my work from referrals but if I relied on online stuff, I'd be out of work. Put some time into SEO and marketing in general. It's not an overnight thing. If it gets too much, or you're not interested, outsource it (or call in a favour ). That's what I would do if the budget would allow it. Social media is also your friend.

 

In summary though, your site is coming along and I like it. Try get some exposure and general feedback from people and steadily build from there.

 

Hopefully some of that helps. Unfortunately, typing past midnight after a bottle of plonk isn't always the best in terms of being coherent

Love the flat design and simplicity of it. Great job for a first site.

Thanks. Im going to add a portfolio, about, contact etc to it and make it a single page site.