Project 1 - Preliminary

[fionahdez⋆˚✿˖°(๑'ᵕ'๑)⸝*]

For my designs I wanted a noticeable contrast between ideas while also maintaining some similarities, I did that in how I used the text/navigation and in the colors I used.
As I did some research I noticed that a lot of the designs were optimized for mobile use, and for monitors the designs were just stretched out versions, I tried to keep that in mind, though for my second design I flipped the structure and went desktop first then mobile design.

The designs are both quite minimalist, additional information would be in the about section; I didn't want to overcrowd the pages to avoid eye strain.
In my first design I kept everything organized in its own box and I wanted to include a picture of myself, but I didn't really have any photos of myself I felt happy with so I drew a small icon that I thought was cute. The second design feels a bit less put together, however all the navigation is quite easy to see and I had a bit more fun trying to come up with how I wanted the gradient/shapes concept to look like. There were some other elements I wanted to include in the second website but I wasn't quite sure how to go about it.

For inspiration I used: https://www.miffy.com/, I really liked how the images and colors where put together, and https://shorturl.at/1Shik which had some really interesting examples of gradient websites that I liked.

[Jonnathan_ZepedaRojo]

Hey Fiona!

Love the 1st design a lot! It's very well organized as well being very eye appealing, looks easy to navigate and keeps it simple!
The 2nd Design can use a bit more work but I like the concept of it! Definitely needs a different font to help with the layout!

Keep it up and I'm excited to see the final product!

[ashley_jacobsy]

Hey Fiona ,

I love these layouts. The color choices are appealing love the sea themes ! the first design is my favorite but I do love the jelly fish from the second one. On the second one I would maybe play around with making the purple circle bigger and adjusting the titles a bit but otherwise I really like these designs

[Crane_Huang]

Hi Fiona,
I love the color palettes and images you’ve added to these designs. Gives a lot of added character to the website. The first layout with the graphics for the tabs is a nice touch, and keeps it organized. I would suggest maybe enlarging the font however for easier legibility. The jellyfish for the second layout is also a nice image for the design as well. You could try combining both traits to each other for the final design. There are good strengths in both designs!

[asullivan3106]

Hey Fiona,
I really like the colors you chose for both of your layouts! I think the soft colors look pleasing on the eye, and sticking to analogous colors makes everything work well. I also think you did a great job with the design on your first website layout, because the addition of columns makes it look like it would be easy to navigate. I do agree with you that you second design looks less put together than your first layout, but to solve this, I'd suggest playing around with different fonts and the sizing of your type so that you could establish a hierarchy of importance. Other than that, I think your designs have a good aesthetic and I'll be looking forward to your final designs!

[Instructor]

I like your thistle one better, Fionamoji. It feels better organized and less scattered. I also concur with your "start minimal and add complexity later" formula.

That thistle image makes for a great header. It's visually interesting and immediately intrigues one to read lower to see what this is all about. I appreciate how you built your entire color scheme around thistle colors as well. It helps really lock the whole composition together. Your logo is fun too. It looks like a cave painting of a happy face and it puts a smile on mine. Really good for establishing a sense of fun whimsy. Your typeface choices work well, especially at the distance you have them. Your navigation is clear for all to see and should be easy to use. Your use of margin is generally quite good in this layout. Everything has room to breathe and nothing feels crowded. Yet it's not so far apart that everything fragments. Right on the edge in a few places, but it reels it in.

I would add images to your large cluster of navigation buttons. They feel a little plain as just alternating colored buttons, I think having a topical image in each of them would add visual interest and a bit more fun to the whole design which it has the beginnings of right now. Also, make sure your button columns are centered. Right now the whole block of them are a bit right aligned. I'd also add a bit more height to the pale purple bar in your header to give a little more vertical margin for your name. Right now it's a little tight to the top and bottom.

Good work!

[kendra_mcaninch]

Hi Fiona,
I really like both of the designs that you have created. I especially really like the first design. I feel like it is very clean and clear. It does come off a bit empty with the white background. I feel like you could add even like a tiny flower repeating in a line to give it a wallpaper look if you didn't want to add color. But I really like the color pallet that you chose for that because it looks very cohesive! Overall I think that you did a really great job!

[quentin_debrabander]

I like the first one better. I think you could make the text on the buttons way bigger. I think there also needs to be a bio in there somewhere, but regardless of that the design is very clean. Your name could also be bigger and bolder. The colors are great and match the flowers well. The little face is nice too! It looks good!

[Kym_Griffith]

Hi Fiona,
I really like both designs you came up with. The little smiley face logo you made is actually very cute! I know you said you used it because you couldn't find a picture of yourself but if you used it as a main identifier for your website I think it could give it a very cute look to your site. I think I would enlarge the text on your first design so it looks more centered overall and maybe raise the three boxes on the bottom to expose the white background more. Great Job!

[Adrian_Brewster]

Hey Fiona!
I love the colors you picked for both of your designs, they go really well with each other. Its really well done! I enjoy the simplicity of your first design and find it set up nicely. I am more drawn to your second and fond the jellyfish to be really cute! I'm curious to see if there was a way to make the website version and mobile version of this design match each other more in the middle, I believe you can do it and make it look super cool!