Feedback on Design and Usability

[Laron123]

Hello,

I would like to get some critiques on my new personal website. Any feedback you can give me on look, feel, navigation is appreciated.

Also, do you think I’m selling my service well through the copy?

Thanks in advance.
Laron.

http://www.big-brite.com

[Truk]

Hi– I really like your design! I don’t even mind the sound-effect (normally uninvited sound bothers me a lot!).

Minor problems–

• It took me a moment or two to realize I HAD to scroll down to see the content. Maybe that splash should be just that- a splash page. My first instinct was to click the lightning bolt (I definitely expected it to highlight upon hover).

• The menu you’ve created (as well as some of the text/graphics) need a little more contrast. I have good eyesight and had some trouble seeing them at first. The menu is below the fold as well- did you intend for that? It seems like since it’s just targets to different sections of the page it should be visible on load… maybe consider having it follow the bottom of the page instead of being stationary.

• The “research”, “wireframing… graphics” are very difficult to see and need to be lightened. Strictly from a design perspective, I would consider using a third color in there somehow (even if it is just another shade of grey), as the “My Process” section is lacking in visual punch.

-fyi– the “intro” link gave no response for me (current FF browser).

cool site– I’d hire you!

[chrisburton]

All caps nor small caps should be used for body type. I think that’s the main issue here.

I am starting to wonder why Orator is called italic when Adobe does not offer an ‘italic’ but rather a ‘slanted’ style. Pirated? Not to mention that the fonts installed do not hold a license and are violating the EULA from Adobe. It is best that you go the correct route and choose a plan on Typekit (or my favorite Webtype).

[Laron123]

Chris,

This site hasn’t been promoted and not a single nickel has been made from it. It’s still in development.

I like to use font-face to play around with different weights when I’m working a concept.

It’s “Italic” because I re-named the font after converting it.

I wanted to get more informed critiques, which is why I threw it to the server a couple days ago to give the community a chance to bounce around in it.

Thanks for the reply.
Take care.

[Laron123]

Truk,

You hit on all my concerns, the lightning bolt, menu. But my biggest is the contrast. I knew I was taking a chance with the thin font weight against the background, but somehow I thought I could pull it off. You’re not the first to respond that way.

I’m still working the site and will definitely take your points into consideration.

Thanks for the reply.

[Laron123]

Thanks,

I certainly don’t want to lose visitors because they can’t read the thing. Contrast is something I’ll definitely tweak, since you’re not the first to touch on this issue. I was trying to give it a sort of slick digital look with the font’s thin weight and color against the background. Thought I could pull it off. Not workin’. I’ll definitely fix it.

I’ll try to do something with the lightning bolt to solve the scrolling problem or I may go in another direction. Not sure, yet.

Initially, the boxes on the left were animated to draw attention. But since I went with the animations on the opening screen I thought the boxes were overkill. I’ll work the color to bring them out more.

Your’re right..the whole “rating of my skills” thing is everywhere and I’m trying to avoid mundane trends for my personal site. I thought if I did something a little different than those standard pie chart/bar chart graphics it could work. I’ll certainly re-think the section.

Hey Josh,
Thanks again.
Take care.

[chrisburton]

This site hasn’t been promoted and not a single nickel has been made from it. It’s still in development. I like to use font-face to play around with different weights when I’m working a concept.

Cool and I’ve been there, trust me. However, this does not make it okay. Maybe you should use Mamp or Wamp to work on concepts so you can use the fonts already installed on your computer. I should also tell you that not all fonts are optimized for the web or appropriate for user interfaces.

I wanted to get more informed critiques, which is why I threw it to the server a couple days ago to give the community a chance to bounce around in it.

Great. I just gave you a few, including a legal one.

Thanks for the reply.

Happy to help.

[Author]

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