My freelance site; opinions welcome.

Hi Jim,

I like the new site design, like a few other people have mentioned I'm not sure about the location of the arrow, this could be used to lead to contact details or some form of quick e-mail enquiry form? I'm not sure about the blue intro text on the grey, seems a little hard to read, maybe consider switching that to your darker grey?

I'm not a big fan of using thumbnails with a lightbox, have you considered giving some prominence to just 2 or 3 of your latest projects in that area? I think it would be of more benefit to see more of a few projects than less of more projects if that makes sense.

Like others have said like the little octopus illustration, maybe you could develop that in the design further along with the ink splats.

Look forward to seeing how it develops/turns out :)
Greg
 
Cheers Greg.

Yup that makes sense. Would you recommend using lightbox at all? I like the idea of using the grey for the text - Originally I did the whole site in greys and it looked really bleak but so cool. The bleakness was too much though.

Cheers for all the help so far, guys, this is really useful. Keep 'em coming!
 
I think due to the popularity of lightbox scripts a few years back, they just seem a bit out of trend now, they were a bit over done, I think a simple slider with larger project images would be more effective, that's the switch I made with my own site with my last re-design, be interested to hear other peoples thoughts on this though!

Cheers,
Greg
 
to me a lightbox script (albeit slightly overdone) can work well, it does depend on how it's done and how it looks, a little customisation goes a long way, just look at apples larger images, it's still a 'lightbox' but its got a different feel etc.

If you're showing larger work you've only really got a couple of options, you've got your new page/pop up windows approach which just looks a little messy these days, the lightbox approach or a zoomy/slidy/scrolling type affair.

Another thing is most lightbox scripts scale to the screen too if its smaller so it saves a fair bit of hassle.

On both my current and my revised site I've used a lightbox script (albeit different ones) but theres also the option of a slideshow (on my current one atleast). With mine you can either open individually one at a time or you can click left/right (or arrows) to go through all of the larger images once the first one is open.

I do limit how many thumbs are on each page and have page links etc with my site but thats a personal thing and more part of its overall feel.
 
I think less is definitely more, and showcasing my really, really fab work with no 'fillers', not that I have any :) would be the right way to go.

Maybe in my case I could have a website, an illustration, a brand id and some print. makes sense!... it's just a case of deciding how to present the 4 thumbs and what kind of image viewer to go for.

Links to other peoples sites would be helpful to see how you guys have solved the issue.

Please keep on with the brilliant advice!
 
Nice work there, guys.

I like the way you have presented your site designs, Greg - having them contextualised on the screen like that really adds a sense of completion to the piece.

I think that a nice, simple lightbox is still the way to go for me. I know that they may be a little old hat stylistically, but I think the overlay functionality will allow me to keep to my 'one page site' idea. Although, thinking about it...I could use a JS image slider type thing within a large window in place of the thumbnails...hmmmm decisions...in fact - that would be even simpler still...

I'm working on the revised layout today/ tomorrow and I'll put an image on here as soon as it's ready so people can see how I've progressed, with help in no small way from all of you excellent people.

Like you say on your own branding section, Greg, we tend to leave our own promotional material 'til the last minute, which is lunacy since we all know that if we just make time to bring our profile in line with the kind of work we want to do, then we'll be doing that kind of work sooner. Which is why getting my site made and online with decent advice (from you all) to back up my decision making represents a significant step for me, and one long overdue.

Thanks guys!
 
Just to make it clear, Greg's link is to the old site, I'm still finishing the current updated version (aiming for end of month to get an uploaded version).

The one I used on the current site actually allows you to load pretty much anything, webpages, images, video's etc but it's just not very smooth on the transistions/fades etc hence why I'm changing to an alternative.
 
I saw the preview of the new site.. I like the subtle changes you've made - it looks good. Taking out the icon nav really allows your new logo to take pride of place in the nice clean layout.
 
I still like the idea of the old layout (actually wanted the icons to rotate but I'm not a web person) but it's a bit old now and as any designer knows our styles evolve etc so it was time for an update :)

I'll send you a pm (not telling everyone :p) to the one light box I will be using (with a few changes here and there) although it's not as fully featured as the old one it is a damn site smoother when it's working :)
 
Pretty silky, that.

I think the main benefit of using a lightbox script, is that it enables you to present very large images without opening a new window. Using a JS slidey man won't give you that scope cuz it has to fit into your layout. I want to include some crazy big macro shots of some business cards I've made, and the image really needs to be the size of the site for maximum impressification...ism. Greg's viewing window is around 600 x 300 px and your lightbox viewer comes it at around 820 x 500, which I think allows a considerably more detailed look at the items on show. I'll be presenting my images at around 900 x 600 and the best way to achieve that (nicely, imo) is lightbox. This is especially important for me since I'll only be presenting four pieces (nice idea Greg) - so they need to be nicely shot, and rather special and very laaarge.

I like the feel of the script you sent - I may well have to use something like that, nice one!
 
my lightbox is restricted by image sizes, I went for smaller sizes (kept to a 1280 widescreen iirc)
 
Hi!

Follow the link below to the updated site image. There's no functionality there yet, since I don't code much and I don't want to overwork my developer.

I've made several changes based on the feedback I've had from you all.

Let me know what you think of the updates:

1. Smaller logo
2. No thumbs in favour of scrolly area.
3. Tabbed nav on written content area.
4. Monster in arrow.
5. More splats
6. Grey rather than blue intro text.
7. No 'about' or 'contact' area; intro is about and email is contact.
8. No mob. number, just email address.

jwillis.co.uk

Cheers guys!
 
your 'backing' image is repeating on my screen (20" widescreen)
I don't like the bold main text
the tabs aren't working (could be not coded yet)
Arrow still seems pointless
still don't like the diagonal line
 
Yeah, the image is tiled - this is just to show layout, so just close the browser up a little and pretend the other tiles aren't there.

Tabs aren't working - it's not coded as I mentioned.

The diagonal line will be staying as will the arrow, although I may put something else in there.

Imagine the tabs are working; do you like the way they look?
 
I'm kinda new to this stuff, so here's a question: How do I ask people if they wouldn't mind having a last look at the site now I've made amendments? I'm itching to see what people think of the tabbed nav thing, but I think people have moved on from this thread now.. arg!
 
Righty-O!

The tabs as an idea are an improvement, but they don't function well enough. The fact that you can't see the complete title of the tab you are clicking on isn't ideal. Clear communication with the nav is key IMO.

The arrow still bothers me. You are using it at decoration, when it s a functional graphic. I can understand you using the octopus as decoration, but I don't know what the arrow adds to the layout?
Every part of the layout has to have a justifiable reason to be there. I think you're missing a trick to use the arrow to draw the viewers attention to something.

I also think the octopus is wasted being placed in the arrow, it's lost it's impact from the first visual, and it just reinforces the pointlessness of the arrow.

Sorry if this has come across as negative, I jut think you have a nice layout on the go, but there are a few things throwing it off at the moment.

I like the focus on the design work. I shows you have confidence in the work you are displaying by reducing the amount.
 
Cheers,

I agree with you about the octopus man - he needs his own space as before, and he'll go back there. I think the arrow will serve as a links area... facebook, my other website that's super cool! Penbird V2 (oh dear) and....somehting else, that way the arrow will be like a pointer to other things and that should work I reckon.

As for the tabs, I think you're right, I'll address that too.

Cheers!
 
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