Project01 Preliminary Critique

[kelseymarie_ba]

Hello everybody,
My name is Kelsey Bautista, I'm currently enrolled in the Graphic Arts program. I'm hoping to graduate with an AAS degree and start learning more in the industry! Although I'm interested in graphic design, I still enjoy creating other things like miniatures, drawing, photography, and creating in general. I hope to continue to learn more skills that help me grow in design and showcase who I really am as a creator and designer.

During my research for project one, I found myself gravitating towards a variety of layouts; some being fun and expressive while others were simple and clean. I decided that since I enjoyed the different concepts, I would incorporate some of the elements from examples into my two final roughs. The first concept of my rough consist of a straight forward layout, a Sans Serif font which was "Helvetica", and a color palette that contains white, tints of black, and a pop of color which was a neon yellow. For now, I have chosen free photos from Pexels.com but in the future, I'm hoping to add a portrait or personal photo that matches the aesthetic of whichever layout I ending up choosing. Both concepts have photos that portray someone working on their laptop; the first rough displays hands in motion working on a laptop which almost depicts a sense of urgency and energy while the other concept shows more of a calm and soothing side of working on the computer. The first rough is pretty basic but I wanted to make sure that there were some factors of the layout that would pop out and keep potential clients engaged.

For the second rough, I decided to stick with an easy layout but wanted to add expressive typography. I only limited the expressive font named "Rendi Wendy" for the headline (my name) and chose another Sans Serif font which was "Quicksand" for the body text and navigation. I enjoyed this layout a bit more because I still thought the design was clean but lively. This layout also only consisted of simple swatches and stuck to white, tints of black and the lightest tint of this tan color I chose. During the design process, I wanted to make sure that both layouts had good alignment and hierarchy but for the final rough, I still want to continue to tweak the design and play with more color palettes and take advice from this critique and apply it to the next project.

Here were some links that helped me during my research for project one:

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2018/0 ... pp-design/
https://www.creativebloq.com/portfolios/examples-712368


I've also attached my two final roughs with both a website and mobile version. Can't wait to see everybody's work and feedback!

[keatonbeatty]

Hello Kelsey!
I really like your designs and how they both solve the problem of the project in different ways. I personally like your second one better, it has more personality in the expressive type you used for your name but still remains really professional with the use of the cream color. I think the use of grey in the first design may be too much, it kinda gives a darker vibe while the brighter one seems more airy and light, you could maybe add more of that yellow tone though to make it brighter if that's the one you decided to go with. Anyways, good job! I think that they are both really good layouts!

[kaiyote03]

Hey Kelsey Im loving the designs so far. The first one is quite clean but I feel is a bit too simplistic in terms of the layout of type underneath your name.
The color pallet for the first design is very dynamic and I love it but I prefer the calming pastel colors of the second design as they are quite pleasing on the eyes if I were to click on the page. I also really enjoy the type on the second design as it has some funk to it. The layout of the other type elements in the second design also are done very well. Your descriptor paragraph however has some tracking issues and also has
some minor leading issues that I would touch up. Otherwise I love both the designs and would love to see you go towards the second design! Good Luck!

[S_Osmar]

Hi Kelsey,
I think your designs are really cool! I think the methods that you used to make your name pop out were unique ways of doing it. The colors are nice on the eyes, good choice on that part! I think that some of your designs can use up some of the empty spaces, although sometimes having space can enhance a design as well and help it. Overall I think you did a really good job on these, nice work!

[Hinata_Sato]

Hi Kelsey!
Nice designs on both of them! I love the layout and font of the second one a lot! I think the first design looks too professional. Since this is your "design website" I think the second one works better. I really like how your name stands out and how you make your contact more visible. My only critique for the second design is that the TMCC logo is missing, and I maybe place your name either more toward the image or the other way would look better so it will look more like you did it on purpose. Can't wait to see your final work! Good luck

[isaacm03]

Hello Kelsey!

I love the layouts so far. The first set is very professional and would for sure work well as a design website. I think the greys are a little dark, but the layout is great. Personally, I am leaning toward the second one a lot more. I browse through a lot of designer websites, and I think the best ones are often the ones with the most personality, which I get a lot of when looking at this set. The colors contrast perfectly, and the cream color offers a nice switch up from the typical black-on-white. If I had to offer you any advice, I would say you should consider increasing the sizes of the buttons on the top row to match your name on the left-hand side. Next, the about me section could use some more work on tracking, as the letters feel a bit too far apart. Also, that font for your name is very cool. It works well pulling my attention to the about me section. Lastly, your hierarchy is great on the web layout. I think you should keep working on the mobile layout because it feels very crowded currently. I can't wait to see the final. Good luck!

[YoAdrian!]

Hi Kelsey,
These are both really lovely! I'm drawn to the 2nd design a little more, but the 1st design's simplicity keeps calling me back...it's just so clean. I think I'm going to steal some layout ideas from you. I absolutely love how you broke out the content buttons into "projects," "contacts," and "resources." I'm confused about what we're really going to upload to these sites, so I like seeing your open-ended options with these buttons/links. Honestly the only thing I would change, is to make the class name and TMCC text on the 2nd Design (all in gray) a little bigger. Having it in gray is very subtly with is great, but it may be better to have it more legible vs. having is a disclaimer or afterthought. Good work on both of these, I really like looking at them!

[Instructor]

Ooooh! You've got two good designs here Kelsey. I prefer version two, myself.

Love the overlap between your title and the photo. That adds such depth and visual texture to your layout. Love the rorschach ink blot headline text. If I look at it, I think I can see my childhood. The other type you used in your subheads and bodycopy is easy to read and works well with the composition. Your navigation is easy to see and use. Good placement. Great photo selection as well. The photo really helps set the tone of the whole composition. It works so well with your cream background color and brings it up. The way it merges with it and then adds detail to it is fascinating. Great theming.

There's only really two areas for improvement on this one that I see. One, I think your bodycopy is a touch too bold. I think it would be a bit better lighter. Also, your subhead and bodycopy area little close to your picture. I'd move it out a little. I think the same distance as your email button would be ideal.

Excellent job!

[Juan Lara]

Hello Kelsey,

I just want to say that both of your designs are really well put together and overall very solid. I like the streamline and simple aesthetic of the first set of layouts, but my attention gravitated more towards your second layout and your use typefaces. I think that you do an excellent job with incorporating personality through the use of typography, and it would really be nice to see how you expand your layout on that basis. My only suggestion is to dabble a little more with color and color schemes. Aside from that, I truly believe you'll deliver a unique and exciting design.

[Erikatsukamoto]

Hey Kelsey! I absolutely LOVE the font you have chosen with your name on the second design... I would definitely stick with that as well as the font that you have chosen with your main type. Im definitely leaning with the second design. I think that the image you have chosen with the first design is a little odd. For the second design, I might try messing with the shape of the image you Have. I think that rounding the edges and adding additional curves and bumps to match your name font would look really good. Overall, really nice job,