Project 1 - Preliminary Critique

[YoAdrian!]

Hello there,
I have two simple designs for my home page. I'm not entirely clear on the content that we are going to post to these sites, and that will obviously affect the layout or design in the end.

My 1st design incorporates some drawings I've done to make the home page feel a little more personal. I kept to the "hand-drawn" theme by using my handwriting for some of the main "buttons" or areas were I can add more content later.

My 2nd design is what I'm probably going to go with. Music and sound is a HUGE part of my life, and I've been known to collect jurassic technology, so this may be more fitting for this project. I know I'll have to rework the image to fit the mobil layout better, so please forgive the hard cuts for now.

Design Layout #1 = Spider Monsters

Proj. 1 - Prelim 1 - Rough 1 Web

grc175-proj1-roughs-jc_rough1_web.png (782.24 KiB) Viewed 1186 times

Proj. 1 - Prelim 1 - Rough 1 Mobile

Design Layout #2 = Unraveled Tape

Proj. 1 - Prelim 1 - Rough 2 Web

grc175-proj1-roughs-jc_rough2_web.png (3.56 MiB) Viewed 1186 times

Proj. 1 - Prelim 1 - Rough 2 Mobile

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Here are my 2 inspirational websites...

Nate Kitch
https://www.natekitch.com

I really love the simplicity of this home page. I Googled several "artist homepages" to see how different artists organized or laid out their content. This page has a wall of color and cool simple roll-over features that make the landing page a little more interactive than a static photo of his work. You don't have to think too hard to navigate through his site which is easy on the brain and helps you actually enjoy his work versus yelling at the computer.

Greta Thunberg
https://theyearofgreta.com/

Greta's home page has an incredible "explore" feature that spirals around a 3D image of her. I love how the design isn't "normal" or "simple" and forces you to interact with the site in a new way that is similar to how we should all interact with life...meaning not being complacent with the status quo and open to change and innovation.

[kelseymarie_ba]

Hey Johnna,
I really enjoyed your second design! I think that it has the right amount of expression and simplicity! I think you chose a great color palette and the organic look of the natural pen font is amazing! I think that your spider monster design is also cool but if I would have to suggest something, it would be to remove the scribbles from the numbers for the projects! Both layouts are awesome, can't wait to see all the work you make during this semester! Good luck!

Kelsey Bautista

[keatonbeatty]

Hello Johnna,

I really like both of your designs and think they both solve the problem of the project quite well. I really like the first one though, it's super unique and kinda cool because it looks hand-drawn. However, the second design has more flow and cohesiveness but I feel like it doesn't have as much personality as the first. I think that the first one does need a bit of work though, it's hard to see the big numbers through the lines so maybe just change the layering so that the numbers are on top of the lines. Layout wise it's working but maybe try gridding the type out and making the layout simpler so that all the expression is in the design of the little buggies! I'm super excited to see the final result!

[jjkusler]

Hi Johanna!

I love how creative your designs are, I think they both solved the problem well! I particularly like the 1st design and it's really fun and showcases your style well. The overall layouts for both are great, I think just moving the numbers in the 1st design to the front of the scribble would help make it easy to read + navigate. Can't wait to see your stuff this semester!

[Instructor]

Oh wow! I'd say you have two excellent designs here, Johanna. I'm personally partial to the spiders with their Chucks, as I indicated in your lovely poll. That one is too much fun!

Those spiders, man! And their Chucks! I'm just grinning ear to ear looking at it. I like the whole sketchy atmosphere of it. Especially the handwritten-looking font you use for your title, class information, and email. I also like the sketched in hamburger menu. And the use of the spider web to call attention to critical things like the navigation, as well as create a footer for your website. I also like how you concentrated all your color into the spiders. They function as little splashes of color in an otherwise plain and clean design. The whole thing translates well into mobile from what I can see. Your navigation is easy to see and use, too.

I'd recommend winding some of the webbing behind your project numbers to make them a little more visible. I'm thinking maybe a little rounder font for the bodycopy, maybe an Avant-Garde or something similar?

Excellent work! I look forward to seeing it as a "real" website.

[Juan Lara]

Hello Johnna,

I have to agree with everyone else and say that your spider design is the strongest as well as the most appealing. It's quirky and very cool in my opinion. I also like your use of typefaces to create visual hierarchy. The only thing I would do differently if this were my design (and this more of a nitpick, honestly) is that I would change the position of the text on the right-hand side of the page to somewhere more legible. Aside from that, I believe you're on the right track. keep it up.

[bmeyer]

Hi!
I really love both of your designs, they're both so fun and unique! My favorite is the spiders because it feels very personal and shows some of your own style. They're also very cute!
I think the only advice I have would be to make your contact information more visible instead of putting it in the corner. Good Job!
-Bella

[isaacm03]

Johnna!!

You showed me both of these in class, but I think these are perfect representations of your personality. I love both of them and it is really hard for me to pick a specific one. The first one with the spiders is so creative, and the use of drawings paired with the handwritten style for your name, info, and menu sidebar works so well. As for the second, I love the imagery, and the cassette tape having your name on it is so smart. If I had to offer you advice, I think you could play around more with the placement of the body copy, as it feels a bit small compared to everything else. Good luck on the final!

[qcottel]

Hey Johnna!

I like both of these concepts, but I just love the tape recorder design. It gives off a vintage vibe just seems to connect to me more then the spider (Though both are made with a lot of skill).

While I'm definitly team tape recorder, both websites have an awesome vibe to them that I'm here for. Good Job!

[lil_cactux]

Great Job Johnna!

Your web layouts are so fun and creative. I love the uniqueness of the spider design and the chic-ness of the cassette tape! They are both so so good. I think I like the first one more tho because of how unique it is. Well done!