GRC 175 Learning and Discussion Forum

Here's my final versions, for now. I made some suggested changes and discovered there would be challenges getting my desired result to be 'uniform' across both formats. There are a couple other changes I didn't get to but wanted to get these up so youse guys will have it to critique today while I am hopefully sleeping.. I will be.

And oops, I didn't update the navigation list on the left to be "projects and websites", but kept them just placeholders that make me happy while building this thing out and letting me think happy thought about my faraway daughter. Eventually, those things will say, "other projects".

Well I definitely like the color scheme you are using and I enjoy the fact that your content is personal and engaging. I wonder if using transparencies might help the constriction you are experiencing in your mobile version? Also I wonder if changing the way you display your image might help with the balance of your site on the desktop version, it kinda feels as if though everything is sitting on the picture itself and it was perhaps an afterthought. however have you thought about using the entire image as the background with the elements used as transparencies or cascading the sections so they layer like pages in a book? Good luck on your project, I think you are off to a solid start.
James

Hey Elle,
I think you had improved greatly from the preliminary critique because these designs look wonderful! I especially enjoy your layout in the computer-sized format, whereas the photograph of your daughter is almost in the middle than it being placed on one side or the other--it comes off as a unique sense of placement and adds visual interest to the entire site! My only critiques so far would be: the navigation, I don't see where it is exactly? Unless it was replaced by the bulletin list on the left side (So for this, I would recommend checking out the project's requirements on the handout again to see what was needed vs. what you have now); and removing the circular dots on the mobile format (I think that they make the overall composition seem too full and does not leave enough room for the user to breathe in, so by removing them it offers more space to view everything all at once). Besides this, these designs are still wonderful and are designed well with the different fonts, colors, and placements! Good job!

I like the overall color scheme of the piece I think that the blue matches the snow in the back perfectly. the sort of boxy element that you have around your boxes in the desktop version sort of have less detail in your mobile rough.

Hi Elle

Your colors are great! The blues and greens mix nicely and the pink pops nicely. The layout is unique. Will there be a Navigation tab to feature your future projects? or is it like a pull-out screen like they have on mobile devices?

Hi Elle
These look really good and i see what you did with them from the preliminary. I like the color palette you are using here and the layout improved a lot. good job!!

Hi Elle,

Your design is very personal and easy to understand "this is my website". It is very nice and easy to navigate and turned out well.

-Tyler

The colors are so vivid on this thing, Elle. You've come a long way from the preliminary work.

I'm a sucker for a good use of transparency and this one does. Your different colors and gradients intermix behind the transparency to create new colors and really add depth to this layout. I can see you love color and you really play that up here. The whole thing has a 1980's New Wave that pops up here and there throughout. Your picture makes for a great visual center and contrast point for the blues and purples of your design. It also balances the text content areas pretty nicely. The actual layout itself is very clean with three big content areas. It's slightly off center, which is more than made up for by the brightness of the image; asymmetrical balance. Your type is easy to read and works well with the had edges of your layout. Your navigation is easy to see nad use.

I think "She Hikes" and "She's Happy" are short enough that they could be one line each rather than two lines each on your mobile layout. Also, I think your class info would have been fine just a couple of point sizes smaller on your mobile version rather than vertically smushed. The box behind your "C" on your mobile layout would have looked better just behind your "C" like it is on your computer layout.

Good effort!

Hi Elle!
I like your alignment and visual balance, it helps with the visual flow. I also think the picture you chose helps give a vertical movement which is nice on the eyes. Nice design!

Hi Elle!

Wow! Great job on refining your layouts since the preliminary. Your color scheme is so fantastic - super vibrant and it just grabs the attention of the viewer by how much it just pops off the screen. I really love the unique way you rearranged your desktop layout with using your picture to divide up the main menu navigation to your homepage content/about me section. I totally concur with some of the critiques on here that your use of transparency is fantastic, particularly on the desktop version. Super easy to read, follow and is organized very well.

My only critique with your placeholder buttons are a little confusing only because of the text you used for the placeholders - I would’ve just stuck to Home, Contact, Projects, About Me, etc. just so that people ‘ get confused (granted you clarified that in your post so that helped). My only other suggestion is to remove the excess dots at the top and bottom on the mobile version as I feel it would make both versions feel more cohesive since you don’t have those on the desktop. The space is so limited anyways on the mobile that there just isn’t a need to add more than what’s on the desktop version (most of the time unless its an important content element rather than an aesthetic). If anything, I’d say simplify more on the mobile.

Regardless though, these are awesome foundations for your site and iI really look forward to seeing your skills progress and growing along with you in the class. Your personality just shines through your work and its going to be so fun to see you build this into a real functioning site! You got this! Great work!