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cbscreative
08-21-2008, 12:00 AM
OK, it's launched. There is still some work to be done over time, but the facelift and implementation of my new logo is complete. For those famiiar with the old design, the layout is similar, but I've made some enhancements to the navigation structure and significantly changed the look.

I'm still thinking about adding in a thicker dark blue line that's thicker only above the content area, then thins out to what it is now. This would permit me to add the main pages (like Home, About, Contact, etc.) as text links over the thicker portion of the line. I think this would add a touch of user friendliness even though those links are available in other places on the page.

If you notice any problem areas, or things you could suggest, please let me know. I've tested on several different configurations and browsers, so I hope everything works correctly.

Constructive criticism is welcome too. If I can make it better, I call that a good thing.

I'd post a link, but it's the one in my signature below, so I don't think that's really needed.

vangogh
08-21-2008, 12:40 AM
I've been waiting for the new look ever since you mentioned it on the old forum. It looks good. It's still similar enough to connect it to the old design, but it's obviously been updated.

I like the colors, though I'm kind of partial to green and blue so I may just be biased.

One thing which might not really be important is when you're on the interior pages the link home may not be obvious to some. I know it's in the footer and I know the logo is a link home, but I wonder if a text link "Home" below the logo would be a good idea.

I really like how you integrated the testimonials into the pages. It's something I've been meaning to do.

I noticed that outside the home page the "Add this to Favorites" link doesn't seem to be working. I didn't check every page, but on the ones I did check it didn't seem to be an active link.

Nice job overall. I'm sure you're excited to have an updated look to the site.

cbscreative
08-21-2008, 11:01 AM
Thanks for the heads up on the add to favorites link, I'll do some checking on that. I was thinking very similarly on the Home page link, which is one reason I wanted to partially thicken the dark blue line and add some text links for primary pages (like the Home page).

cbscreative
08-21-2008, 02:03 PM
I went ahead and added the extra links at the top because I think it will improve the usability.

billbenson
08-21-2008, 02:13 PM
I like the look steve. I also usually try to stay out of site review posts. Anyway... I personally dislike dropdowns unless they are absolutely necessary. By placing the normal links in the blue bar at the top, the dropdowns are covered either by the top menu or the left menu. Seems unnecessary and they drop down and cover the links in the top blue nav bar.

Business Attorney
08-21-2008, 02:29 PM
I think it looks much more up-to-date than the old design. I like it.

I guess drop-downs and fly-outs are a matter of personal taste. Bill says he doesn't like them, but I think they are fine if they serve a useful purpose. I prefer to get where I am going as directly as possible and would prefer to navigate through a drop-down menu rather than go to an intermediate page that often has very little function other than to give me a more detailed menu.

In fact, that is the first thing I would change about my own law firm's site when I get back to it. The pages "Our Services" and "Our Attorneys" are really nothing more than a navigational tool.

vangogh
08-21-2008, 02:59 PM
Drop downs don't bother me either. I've seen them used well and I've seen them used poorly. I prefer not to rely on them as the sole means of navigation, which Steve isn't doing. They're an alternate way to get to where you want to go. Useful for the people who like using them and easy enough to ignore for those that don't.

cbscreative
08-21-2008, 03:51 PM
Thanks, guys. I prefer drop downs for the same reason David mentioned, and prefer to make them optional like vangogh said for preferences such as bill's. I consider them a convenience, but the navigation definitely does not rely on them and they can be ignored.

billbenson
08-21-2008, 05:31 PM
Guess I got outvoted :)

cbscreative
08-21-2008, 06:54 PM
Oh, I don't know, bill, the election is not over yet.

vangogh
08-21-2008, 08:03 PM
Bill you could always try stuffing the ballot box.

KristineS
08-22-2008, 03:22 PM
I really like the color scheme you choose. You don't often see a sage green color used in web sites. It's unique and very soothing.

(I know that doesn't have anything to do with the menu issue, but drop downs or fly outs don't really bother me either.)

billbenson
08-22-2008, 05:54 PM
I'm being ganged up on here...

I kind of view them like flash or gif's. If it has a purpose great, but if not its a distraction.

cbscreative
08-22-2008, 06:13 PM
Uh, oh. The site uses Flash too.

The Portfolio page has a slide show for a series of greeting card designs. I consider this to be one of the appropriate uses for Flash.

I tried to design so anyone who doesn't like drop downs can ignore them, while those who do can find them useful.

vangogh
08-22-2008, 06:19 PM
Seriously Steve, what are we going to do with you? Flash and a drop down menu. It's back to redesign school for you.

The greeting card Flash app is nice. One thing though, is it took me a few minutes to realize I needed to click once to be able to view the card of my choice. I missed it when it loaded and didn't realize I need to do a mouseover until I accidentally did.

Definitely an appropriate use of Flash though.

cbscreative
08-22-2008, 07:07 PM
That's excellent feedback, vangogh, I will have to think about how to make things more obvious.

vangogh
08-22-2008, 09:04 PM
I think just switching that default text to what the mouseover is would do the trick.

lav
08-22-2008, 11:32 PM
I was hoping you would update some of the portfolio to show some more recent work, you have had those examples on there for quite a while now.

cbscreative
08-23-2008, 12:16 AM
Great point, lav, and yes, that is in the works, I just had a higher priority on the redesign itself. In fact, I have a good resource pool of other designers to work with, so I am in the process of including not just other work of my own (which I have to get permission to feature), but work by other designers to show the style differences. They have responded well to the idea of being featured, but the redesign was a higher priority.

The fact that you noticed just serves to reinforce my perception that a greater diversity of style needs to be shown. This won't happen immediately as there are some details yet to work out, I'm just responding on your point to advise that this change is in the works. Normally, I would not reveal that plan in advance, but your observation is very keen, so I'm being more transparent about things that are not yet complete than I usually would be. I prefer to keep things under wraps until I'm ready, but your comment addresses something I've already been working on, so stay tuned on that one.

You raised an excellent point. It was so good, you forced me to reveal some future plans. No harm done though, you actually reinforced what I already was thinking.

Blessed
08-29-2008, 10:13 AM
it's a big improvement over the other site! I like it.

cbscreative
08-29-2008, 12:48 PM
Thanks, Blessed. I figured an overhaul was overdue. I just needed to go ahead and force myself to do it.

KristineS
08-29-2008, 03:59 PM
Updating a web site can be a really big job. We're in the process of doing that with one of our corporate sites now. It can get pretty complicated.