GRC 175 Learning and Discussion Forum

here are some of the websites I used to help me...
https://www.wix.com/blog/2017/10/5-desi ... htEALw_wcB
https://www.globalreach.com/global-reac ... ld-include
here are some websites I found inspiring...
www.facebook.com
http://ianenders.com
https://albinotonnina.com
Hello Amber here,
the websites that I used to help me create my homepage, tell you to not overwhelm the viewers eyes with too much. I know that my roughs are very graphically chunky, however I am just seeing what looks good together and what does not. I want to have a lot of shape and movement, in moderation, so that the viewers eyes are forced to look all around the page; instead of in a singular direction.
I really like the layout with the darker color scheme.[/img] I really wanted to incorporate my kind of style into the design of my homepage. I based the backgrounds off of two of my favorite pairs of vans shoes. They are very rough drafts, I am more just getting a feel for the overall flow of the homepage.
I was inspired by a Facebook profile page first, Its easily recognizable and easy to read because its something most of society is familiar with. I wanted my designs to be a similar format to Facebook or instagram but with a little creative personal twist of my own in regards to color and shape.
I think that both of these layouts are completely personalized to my style, I do however need to experiment more with my type because I was not too particularly fond of the choices I made in either draft.

Hi Amber! These concepts are really nice, I enjoy both of them a lot, they both are very personal and seem like your style (I assume). I find myself leaning towards the cloud/colorful one more but I enjoy them both quite a lot, for the space concept I might go for a thicker font for the body copy and keeping the white text, the text is just a bit thin and hard to read at the moment, I would also take out that white box and make that text white as well, I like the circles for the navigation in the second concept and you could maybe do something similar in the space one. I'm not really feeling the home button or question button in either, you could just make those white line art and it would be a lot cleaner, or take out the gradient background and leave the shape. The drop shadows in the cloud one could be pulled up a bit and that might help. Other than that I really like these! Well done!

Hi Amber,
I like your use of shapes in both of these. I feel like what makes them a bit chunky is in the space layout you have bright white popping out, and in the cloud layout you have black popping out. I honestly think you could roll with either one. But finding some softer colors to mitigate the contrast could prove to ease the chunkiness. Perhaps play around with your sizing. Very cool.

I have to admit that I immediately preferred the space ones because I love the aesthetics of space so much and it makes me so happy. So take all of this with a grain of salt. I do agree with the others that the white text box might look better if it was just the white text on the dark background, just so that it matches the other text. The use of altering shapes is pretty cool, but have you considered flipping the resources triangle upside down so that it fits perfectly between the other two? Or play around with the triangles and see what other fun shapes you can make when you combine them. Also, I think you're using stroke instead of fill on your white text, it gives a constellation vibe which I love, but I would consider increasing the pts on the stroke so its a bit more readable (if that's what you did, I added stroke to my text to make it easier to read too). One last thing, I would just see what the navigation would look like if it were on top in the mobile version, for some reason it reads better to me that way. But I didn't do that either so maybe ignore me lol.
Anyway, real good start. I like space.

Hey Amber,
I'm really digging your first concept, it is so cool because it looks like all of your elements are floating around in a deep spacey galaxy or in a witch's potion. I also really like the font you had used for your name, it stands out beautifully and matches really well with the rest of your composition! However, I cannot say the same for your introduction paragraph. Due to it being small in size and in a somewhat scripture-esque style, it is difficult to read and strains the viewer's eyes where they would not want to read it. What I recommend is to change it to a sans serif font and additionally adjust the white rectangle behind it so that the text does not feel so trapped. But moving back onto the pros of your design, I really love how you made the reference and project buttons into triangles, and continued creating shapes within your layout with the sphere behind your name and the hexagon for your photo--it is fun to spot them and adds more immersion throughout your site! Amazing work, I can't wait to see your final designs!

Hi Amber! I feel like I can really see your personality in your designs, I think I like the cloud background more as it provides better contrast with your content. My critique would have to be to make the fill of your shapes a sold or opaque color so that the type inside isn't fighting with the background as much. Cool Start!

Interesting ideas, Amber. I like your deep space design the best. The little sun home button makes me smile. And I'm always a sucker for contrast.

You're doing a lot of interesting things with this deep space idea. I like the different shaped presentational areas. The triangular/pyramidal buttons in particular are very eye catching. And important feature for navigation! I especially like how they stack. Your logo black hole also draws the eye. I like the use of the glow behind/around it too. Good choices on the logo type and navigational type, both work well. I like that you've put your photo in a little hexagon to draw the eye. Nice choice on the photo too. Makes you look adventurous and says a lot that you don't have to spell out in your bio.

You don't need to outline your type or icons or put a white background behind your bodycopy. I think you can make all of those white and they will show just fine on your deep space background. Also, I'd recommend not using that font for your bodycopy. I think it would be better in a nice sans-serif. Also no need to cram in on your computer layout. Just resize as needed.

Good effort! Don't forget to toss your name into your sig on the forum, BTW.

Hi Amber,

Of your two sets, I find the lighter one much more legible and easy to read, easy to absorb at a glance. I think maybe you could increase the negative space a bit, by just tightening up each of the elements that are unnecessarily large. The three items you've got as headlines (GRC, TMCC, email)--top two are the least important elements, so calls for least attention drawn to them, and the drop shadow so big: those icons really don't work on this light page, it looks like links buttons. The question mark and the house/home 'buttons' are distracting, don't fit visually with the rest of it. Fonts... sans-serif for the dense copy is better. Love the clouds, the colors, easy on the eyes. I think bring all the elements in away from the edges, just a little bit, and completely new idea for the GRC/TMCC and the EMAIL elements. :- )

Also, I love this website you listed: https://albinotonnina.com. Very clever!

Hi amber

In terms of your two designs, even tho they are a bit out of order because of the way you choose the colors, I can see which one is supposed to go with their friend.
Out of your two designs, I have to say the galaxy-themed dark mode one is my favorite. It uses its space very well with equal white space and the areas used with objects on the design.

However, I think you should change the black type you got on it. If you do go with that one, as it's kind of hard to read so; lighter colors will be better and make it easier to read with no eye-straining happening.

I like the geometric shapes in both, I like the darker version better, that may just be my preference, but I like the layout of the buttons better and for some reason it just catches me more, some of that may be the more striking contest. If I were going to change anything, it might possibly to watch margins to not get too thin and perhaps, perhaps, go with a lighter color on the Spring 2022, TMCC fonts, but I am not sure, I would at least experiment with it.