GRC 175 Learning and Discussion Forum

Hi guys,
So these are the preliminary roughs I decided to create. I was focusing primarily on the color schemes of both the layouts as I wanted them to be analogous. I also wanted to focus on the readability of the type, so that's why I only stuck to sans-serif typefaces. On top of readability, I wanted the navigation to be pretty clear on where to find the future project links, which is why I decided to add drop shadows behind them. I created these roughs in Illustrator because it's the software I'm most comfortable with, and I personally think they turned out ok. It was a little hard trying to figure out how to lay out the designs in a vertical format, and it took me a few times to figure out how to fill in the negative space in some spots. Overall, I think my preliminary designs delivered in what I was looking for, but I'll probably still play around with the placement of certain features, such as the placement of the resources and references, before the final design.
The reason why I chose these websites for inspiration was because of the simplicity and functionality of their layouts. For example, the Graphic Mama website looks very clean and organized when it comes to categorizing different blogs and places for inspiration in the realm of graphic design. Carrie's crocheting website is very easy to navigate for tutorials and free patterns, especially because she puts images in the posts on her homepage.
Websites I found inspiration in:
https://graphicmama.com/blog/
https://www.crochetwithcarrie.com/

Hi Allison,
I love the overall look of the websites. I don’t know how else to explain it, but the graphics remind me of the old computer games in the 2000’s, in the best way. The overall composition is also nicely done, and readable. One thing I would recommend would be to enlarge your name or bring more attention to it. The large “Welcome!” is a nice greeting, but it’s hard to tell who’s website it is when your name is so small. Maybe switch the white color and size of the welcome message with the name font/color? But overall, nice designs!

Hi Allison,

I really liked both of your designs! The have a very fresh feeling to them, the colors and layout work really well together. The little tmcc logo being part of the border in the green design was also really fun. One thing I noticed was that for the second design the welcome sort of blends in with the white gradient in the background.

Hey Allison!

I Love the concepts, I love the colors, The Font, I love it all!
I Do feel like the order of importance needs to be changed around, especially with the desktop layouts as my eyes keep swapping to different areas in a instant!
Welcoming people to the website is nice but I don't know who's website it is since your name is really small! Your Name is really important Don't Forget!

Love What you are doing, can't wait to see final product!

Hi Allison,
I really like both of the layouts that you have. I think that the simplicity of both designs works incredibly well as they are both easily legible. I also feel like the little lines and right angle lines add a lot to the design and they bring everything together. I think that the drop shadows that you added to the blocks help out a lot. Overall I think that you did a really great job!

Hello Allison!
I like the clean look of your designs a lot, I think the details mof adding drop shadows to your links does help emphasize it well and stick out. I think the design that sticks out to me the most would have to be the Green one. I like how you added the subtle gradient on the left side of the page, It really offsets the rest of the layout and fits well. If there was one thing I would recommend I would say maybe make the type for your name bigger on the Website so it sticks out more.
Great Job!

You've got a couple of very clean designs here, Allison. I like your first gray-blue design better. I think it uses contrast better.

I like the subtle skeuomorphism you've got going on here with the gentle drop shadows. It gives everything depth. You also use margin very well. Your distances between objects give everything room to breathe. Good use of proximity as well to group things together into chunks to make them easily digestible by the eye. The gray-blues all work well together and give a subtle sense of contrast. It makes both the white and the truer blue stand out. Good placement on your photo. It adds a little splash of color to visually anchor everything. Your sans serif type works well. It's both clean and feels a little soft and puffy here. You do a good job of using color to indicate hierarchy. Your navigation is easy to find and probably to use.

Where you really have an opportunity to take this design to the next level is with alignment. I'd make sure the bottom edge of your picture aligns with your bodycopy container on your computer version. Move your name above it. And then on your mobile version, make the contact box the same width as your bodycopy box and then scoot your photo slightly to the right and your navigation slightly to the left. That will give them the same left and right edges and make it look like a column that stretches from your navigation down. Watch the padding in your bodycopy box on your mobile version and your contact box on your computer version. Your text is awfully close to the edge.

Good work! Give Zephyr a pet for me.

I like the first one better. The colors seem to match better and they also match your shirt! It’s also easier to look at in my opinion. I think instead of saying welcome, your name would be more bold and funner to see. Everything is very clean and it seems easy to use and look at. I also enjoy the cat picture in the corner. I think the project buttons could be a different color than the bio background to bring attention to them, but it doesn’t seem like I don’t see them. It just might be worth experimenting with. This looks great!

Hello Allison! I think your colors for the blue design work much better than the green and I enjoy your addition of drop shadows to help the buttons stand out more, but I think your best layouts are the blue mobile layout and green desktop layout! They seem like they'd go better together than how you have them right now. Nice work!

Hi Allison,
Both of your designs have a really welcoming vibe, and the layout is super easy to follow. The blue and green color schemes feel calm and professional. The font is clean and readable, but maybe adding a little variation could make it pop more! The "Welcome!" header is a nice touch. The text blocks feel a bit heavy. Maybe breaking them up with some spacing or bullet points would help. The buttons and project links look good but a little more contrast could make them stand out even more. Overall, it’s looking great.