Hi Guys, first time poster, read the rules. Hoping we can get some feedback on 2 candidates for a front page banner.

We have two designers working at our company. Its is a fairly conservative company, selling products in the naturopathy industry.  Customer base is predominantly seniors, but target population is encompasses anyone of any age. We're arguing about which of the following two banners to use in an upcoming update.

Top half is banner one, the conservative banner, white bg with lemons on right. Bottom half is banner two, higher impact, black bg. Black bg not so common on the web, but I see it trending a little more now days.

Any feedback or criticism welcome, on either one, or both.

Thanks.

 

Neither of them.

Use a full width image and overlay the copy with a ‘buy now’ button.

Dont ever use a black background. 

2 hours ago, fisicx said:

Neither of them.

Use a full width image and overlay the copy with a ‘buy now’ button.

Dont ever use a black background. 

this.
while i would say never a black background for this i would never say never... to using a black background on a different site

If this is the best your designers can come up with maybe its time to find new designers.

2 hours ago, fisicx said:

If this is the best your designers can come up with maybe its time to find new designers.

as a designer i find this a bit much  the first top version is a pretty good attempt - though more of a print solution than a web - and don't forgot that design is a process - of concept, design and reiteration. You can't hit the bulls eye every time, though you should certainly be aiming for it. It would also help to know the context - both for visuals and information hierarchy - to see how this banner fits into the page - if there is already a hero image for example it could be visually 'surplus to requirements'.  

What comes to mind first is that the content in both banners isn't suitable.

Usually a special designed banner is not an element that gets updated regularly

The first one says "New" - Is the product still new a year from now?

The other one says "10% off" -  Is this product still on sale 6 months from now, or what if the company can't sell the product, then the circle has to contain the following text. "15% off and 50 free opera festival tickets" or something similar

A designer should always advice clients about the best use of graphic elements and the best use of banner elements are for emotional statements. Use the banner to catch the users interest, promote the message and the "dream" rather than the product.
Discounts and news should be shown in elements that can easily be updated by client with out having to hire designers.

Edited August 18, 20187 yr by Nillervision

Why don't you test them, one at a time. Monitor the results to see how effective each one it in attracting click throughs.

Interesting comments from all, thanks for the feedback.

BlueDreamer: testing is a good idea, getting both passed will be difficult.

Nillervision: they're front page banners, if you take a look at a site like say : https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/

you'll see they use a black BG, and alternate images pretty regularly. That's the idea here, rotate images on say a fortnightly basis to promote diff products to new and return visitors.

davep: this would be the primary banner top of page, just beneath nav menu. Spot on with the print design comment.

fisicx: yeah, you're right on possibly needing new designers, not sure I agree on never use a black bg, seems to be trending now days, see for example https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/

that's pretty similar to the layout of our site. Def needs a buy now button, was looking for feed back on impact, which would likely garner more clicks, which looks better etc.

 

 

Ok, I rescind my never use black comment but it should be the exception not the rule. It’s not a trend, it all depends on the product being promoted and the imagery used. I’ve looked at a load of online stores and very few have a black background. What they all have is a promotion and are well designed to attract the eye.

As suggested, do some testing and see if hero images get many clicks.

You may find they people scroll straight past. It’s called banner blindness.

Ok so the first banner is Clean, Fresh, Modern and Simple. I have Direction and know where to click to purchase the product or find out more.

 

The second banner does NOT suit the product. Too dark, the colours in the circle stand out in all the wrong ways!

The circle itself looks like it has been drawn in MS Paint. The powder behind the product looks like cocaine.

 

Personally, the top banner is the best by far. But neither of them strike me as "Professional".

23 minutes ago, CardwellCodes said:

The powder behind the product looks like cocaine.

Hahaha now that's something to get shipped direct