Project 1 - Final Critique

[ryansegal]

Hello again! First off I just wanted to thank everybody that commented on my roughs post; I appreciate all the feedback you guys provided! It seemed the preferences for one design over the other were pretty evenly split, so I decided to go with my orange design, while incorporating a bit of the colors from the first, since I wasn't liking the monochromatic color scheme as much as I had initially. I'm pretty satisfied with the way it turned out; I think the shadow effect on my name came out a lot better this time around. It does feel a little too empty for my right underneath the navigation buttons, but I wasn't really sure what to do with the space. Also, I had the idea to put a blue overlay on my black and white image, but it seemed to make the image harder to make out. As an aside, I'm probably going to change that picture, as it's a couple years old now. By the way, I styled the project two link differently to show what those navigation buttons will do when rolled over. Thanks for checking it out!

My inspirational sites again were http://www.clearassembly.com and http://www.thenormanbrothers.com for their well-executed less-is-more designs.

I used both http://www.w3schools.com (mainly for its color picker hex codes) and https://kuler.adobe.com/create/color-wheel (for its simple palette generator) as tools for this project.

[paula_b]

Hi Ryan!

I love the changes that you've made! The blue really adds to the layout, as do the shadows on your name!

[wendy_boddy]

Ryan,
Great design. Super clean and I like the way it has some 3 dimensional space with the use of shadows. Nice color contrast. You could change out the colors easy if you wanted to.
-wendy

[justinepaigek]

Well, this is pretty awesome. I love the extensions behind your head text and main container, the dimensionality brought forth is insane! The only thing I noticed upon first glance is that the area with your headshot and the other sides of the main container is a tad dark. Not so much that it's super bothersome, mind you, but with the brightness of this monitor turned up a decent amount, I would like that area (particularly the area of your face) to brighten up a bit so my eye can be drawn to it easier. Perhaps just a bit more chroma with that mustardy color you were originally considering? The colors, though nicely reminiscent of pumpkin pie, are pretty dull, so a little bit of vibrance won't hurt Great job otherwise!

[recordd]

Hi Ryan,
I like the simplicity of your design! I love how you made your name 3D it looks awesome! All of your typography goes well together and it is all easily readable, as well. The balance of your layout is good. I really like how you placed the shadowing behind your whole layout, it makes it seem like it is pops right off of the page. I have a suggestion on how you could fill the white space above your image. You could maybe move your image up a little more to even out the white space on the top and bottom. Great Job!

[mlauc]

Hi Ryan,

The 3D shadowing looks fantastic! I really like the pop art feel of your site. I think it would be cool if your portrait was illustrated to compliment the design.

[aslychsm]

This is so good! I love the complimentary colors, and how simple it is. I've seen a lot of minimalist type websites, but not all of them are successful, yours is definitely in the successful category! That subtle gradient in the background works well to give it depth, in addition to the shadows of your name and text block. Honestly, I don't really find that space below your buttons empty, I think everything is balanced nicely. I'm having trouble finding something to critique, if I must make a suggestion, maybe give the footer a blue background (similar to your button hover) to help with legibility and make it stand out more. But great job!

[rrodriguez]

Ryan Segal…if you were creating the illusion of a box coming out at you, it definitely does that. And then again with the title of your name, coming out. Cool effect. Your layout of your home page is clean and neat. The colors and font choices are professional, and well put together. Of course, the photo of yourself helps bring a personal touch to your site. Good job

[Sierragirlnv]

Hi Ryan,
I like your final for project one. I think going with a black and white photo was the right choice. Also I like the fact you chose complimentary colors for your design. Not many can choose the right saturation to mix together. The pop art was a good choice as well. I might lighten the black and white of yourself a little to bring out the highlights in the picture, but that's a picky photographer talking. Great job!

Sierragirlnv

[schakarun714]

This looks awesome. i love all of it. the contrasting blue and orange work so well together. An the 3D look is done so simply but gives the whole layout depth.