Forest Advertising Layout

[Timmo]

Ok, so I'm going to spend a decent amount of time on it this time. This is how it looks at the moment Homepage - Forest Advertising - FREE Business Directory and Tourism Guide - Forest of Dean and this is what i'm thinking of:

Any improvements/amendments I should make before I carry on and start? (bonus point for whoever can guess the program in the bottom left )

 

[Levi]

Personally I think I would have maybe done it slightly differently.
List form

1) I'd move the business/tourism to the other side
2) I would have used the leaves as a background feature (blending into a plain colour) and then had the header for the main site branding plus a bit for a 'sponsored by' advert bit to pull in a bit of revenue to maintain the site
3) I think the images need some rounding on them to match the logo as it stands.
4) I really do not like the background you've picked and think my idea suggested above may look better

 

[Tom Sound]

I'd agree with the Levi about the background, it looks more kitchen laminate than real wood, not foresty enough. :up:

 

[Jed]

Hmm I like the idea - the redesign looks fresher than the original!

I would agree with Levi and Tomsound but then you also have to consider your target market. Its tourism site right? So maybe instead going for a forest look maybe focus more on the commercial side of things?

An example to look at would be this: Visit London - Official City Guide & London Hotels - This site is typical tourism feature (it has places to go and events and such).

Maybe your budget does not stretch this far but you can still provide a low budget alternative with a similar website hierarchy, as it looks like your desing is more tailored for text (it has the same look as a blog layout) an minimal images. The idea of a tourism and business is to attract visitor's that will use your services - a few visuals in the right place can go a long way.

Keep us updated!