Project 01 Preliminary Critique

[ngrover19]

Just going to get this out of the way because I lost a whole post while attempting to save draft because I waited too long and got logged out, but friendly reminder to SAVE DRAFT FREQUENTLY before you get logged out and lose a post.

Well, Hi I'm Nathan!

This is my first attempt at anything like this, I feel like I'm swimming out at sea watching everyone around me having fun on jet-ski's. I look forward to critiques, so please, any and all advice will be considered with utmost consideration.

First rough is just that, super rough. If you look at it for too long, you'll start to get hungry (ketchup and mustard colors were speaking to me). I am sure I will change the colors quite a bit as the semester goes on, but I just needed to get familiar with Adobe and this was the product of a surprising amount of finicking and learning the program.

The second rough I actually kind of like, fonts are little weird but overall the outcome is closer to what I want. I also went back and forth on the grayscale, but ended up keeping it. It feels a bit more composed and the use of space is more attractive to me. Though sizing can surely use some improvement.

2 websites I found inspiration from:
https://www.bridge9.com/
https://www.ted.com/

1 website I found educational because I didn't have time or mental space to even full absorb this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib8UBwu3yGA (Envato Trust+ Adobe Illustrator for Beginners)

[LMisher]

Hello Grover!

I can see the potential in the black and white version of project 1. I would add some color to the page just to bring it to life a bit. I noticed that there was no picture on either page, so I believe that would help liven both pages as well.
I am not sure how I feel about the ketchup and mustard appearance in the first version, but it's a start and you did a good job with your first attempt. I would just have one suggestion for the mobile versions... Instead of having the buttons (project 2-4), I would replace them with a hamburger menu. This will allow more space on the mobile version of the site. Overall, you did a great job. I look forward to seeing the final version of your project.

[Brooke_Brown]

Hi Nathan! I was immediately drawn towards your line work design, it looks so clean and professional. I really love the simplicity of it. Great work!

[Instructor]

For an alleged neophyte at all this, you did pretty darn well. Especially the second design, which I really like. Let's not talk about the first one.

The meandering brush strokes that lead the eye around your composition and basically underline important things really speak to me. I think that's a strong design choice and it serves to organize your layout quite nicely indeed. I'm all about contrast, so having a design that's colorless and entirely reliant on contrast is not a bad thing in my book. Because it's a simple layout, it's easy to get around in without too much difficulty. The brush strokes add a nifty visual texture to the whole thing. Your title and navigation type choice is really good. The block type nicely contrasts with the smooth flowing lines. Your navigation is easy to find and hypothetically use.

Your bodycopy does not need to be anywhere near that bold. You don't want it competing with your page title or your navigation. I'd recommend using the same typeface, just at a lighter weight. I'm curious to see what image you'll wind up using for that second design.

Good effort!

[onnimelon]

Second one is where you should narrow focus. I like the concept of the brush strokes. The page navigation looks good as well. However there does need to be at least one image I believe

[Giselle]

Hi Nathan!
I love your second design. The lines and texture bring out the contrast in your layout! It looks clean and professional, especially the use of black and white. The one thing I would change is maybe the font. The hierarchies are hard to tell, and most of them are hard to read because of the bold type. I found it best to find a font that has a variety of different styles to choose from to help with separating information across your page!

[Sierra_Ross]

Hi, Nathan! I really like these designs, specifically the colored boxes that surround your text in your computer design. I also like the simple black and white look of your mobile design.

[CedarM]

Hey Nathan,
I really like what you are doing with the brush strokes on these pages. I think your black and white one works a little better as the brush strokes help guide your eye around the page.

-Cedar

[jillian_rodgers]

Hi Nathan!
I think your second design is much stronger. I love the use of linework and the black and white aesthetic. I would maybe add some photos or some areas of interest. Great job otherwise!

[kristenrothbauer]

Hi Nathan!
Your second design stands out so much to me. The layout is organized very well and I really enjoy how your graphic breaks up the space. The second design also gives you room to try a couple different image placements too. Great work!