[Godslilrosebud]

http://www.thestrawbearypatch.net/test/test.html

This has been basically an exercise in graphic design, and I have several questions.

1: what do you think of the different graphics? Pleas refer to them by number:
Lynx 1 | Lynx 4 | Lynx 7
Lynx 2 | Lynx 5 | Lynx 8
Lynx 3 | Lynx 6 | Lynx 9

2: Does the whole idea of a "puzzle" index menu work?

3: The test logo doesn't look right. Any suggestions?

4: Should I scramble the puzzle pieces?

5: Overall, what was your first impression?

Any other things you can think of would be appreciated.

No, I haven't linked to the actual sites. I need to go over them too, for errors etc.

[Nate]

Originally Posted by Godslilrosebud

1: what do you think of the different graphics? Pleas refer to them by number:
Lynx 1 | Lynx 4 | Lynx 7
Lynx 2 | Lynx 5 | Lynx 8
Lynx 3 | Lynx 6 | Lynx 9

None of them are particularly exciting. How are you creating them?

Don't rely so much on text effects (shadows, italics, etc). Also, don't try to put so much text into a graphic to begin with. I'd probably stick to two or three words tops in all of these, if any text at all.

To my eye, the "site histories" (#5) looks the best, but the text is bad. It's a pretty enough picture, but the text just looks like something you found in Microsoft Publisher. You need to work on it.

Here's a recommendation: Go to the biggest-brand websites you can think of, places like eBay, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc. Look at what these people, who have tons of money to spend on professional logo designers, do with text and graphics. You'll probably find that their text and their graphics (especially in logos, which are essentially what you've given us in these nine examples) are very simple, with very few effects. There's always some little twist (Microsoft's o-to-s overlap, eBay's different colors, Yahoo's staggered font, and Amazon's smiley face arrow thing), but it's always a lot more subtle than what you've done.

2: Does the whole idea of a "puzzle" index menu work?

It might if the puzzle itself was not covered over by graphics that are entirely unrelated to the puzzle itself or to each other, and if the puzzle image was small enough to be seen on one page without scrolling down.

I think a more effective way to do it would be to make the graphics themselves look like puzzle pieces, rather than just plopping them on top of a jigsawed background image. Draw yourself the outline of a puzzle in your favorite image editor, then separate out each puzzle piece shape and use it to crop your graphics / logos and then piece them all back together.

3: The test logo doesn't look right. Any suggestions?

Make it plain-text. It serves no purpose as a graphic.

4: Should I scramble the puzzle pieces?

See above suggestions.

5: Overall, what was your first impression?

Honestly, it looks very amateurish. Sorry.

[Nate]

Here's an interesting looking site I just found with a similar index menu idea: http://www.stillwaterco.com/index.html.

[Godslilrosebud]

*staggers*

Uff da, Nate! Have a heart!

Originally Posted by Nate

None of them are particularly exciting. How are you creating them?

I'm using PhotoFiltre. Transparency is a big key for me. I'll block something out, give it a transparent background, and paste it onto my background.

Don't rely so much on text effects (shadows, italics, etc). Also, don't try to put so much text into a graphic to begin with. I'd probably stick to two or three words tops in all of these, if any text at all.

I don't use Italics. I've been using a caligraphic font, though.

To my eye, the "site histories" (#5) looks the best, but the text is bad. It's a pretty enough picture, but the text just looks like something you found in Microsoft Publisher. You need to work on it.

It wasn't something from MSP. *stare* I detest Microsoft and use it only because I have to. GNU is awesome.

Here's a recommendation: Go to the biggest-brand websites you can think of, places like eBay, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc. Look at what these people, who have tons of money to spend on professional logo designers, do with text and graphics. You'll probably find that their text and their graphics (especially in logos, which are essentially what you've given us in these nine examples) are very simple, with very few effects. There's always some little twist (Microsoft's o-to-s overlap, eBay's different colors, Yahoo's staggered font, and Amazon's smiley face arrow thing), but it's always a lot more subtle than what you've done.

I'll do that.

It might if the puzzle itself was not covered over by graphics that are entirely unrelated to the puzzle itself or to each other, and if the puzzle image was small enough to be seen on one page without scrolling down.

They aren't entirely unrelated to each other! They're all my "sites"!

I think a more effective way to do it would be to make the graphics themselves look like puzzle pieces, rather than just plopping them on top of a jigsawed background image. Draw yourself the outline of a puzzle in your favorite image editor, then separate out each puzzle piece shape and use it to crop your graphics / logos and then piece them all back together.

I'll try that.

Make it plain-text. It serves no purpose as a graphic.

Arg.....

Honestly, it looks very amateurish. Sorry.

Well, now that you've taken my baby and trampled on it....

Originally Posted by Nate

Here's an interesting looking site I just found with a similar index menu idea: http://www.stillwaterco.com/index.html.

I don't like that a lot. Maybe I just am graphic happy.

FTR, my mom loves it.

What do you think of scrapping the "puzzle" idea and just using the logos/buttons and arranging them someway?

And is there anyone who disagrees with Nate?

And Nate is probably right as usual....

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do about the text, though.

[Godslilrosebud]

Microsoft: Meh. It's okay, I guess. I don't really like it.
Yahoo!: Do big name companies have to be bland?
Google: At least they have some colour. It's kinda nice. I like the holiday ones.
Amazon: Meh. I honestly don't think it looks all that great.
eBay: Text overlapping doesn't do things for me. But, at least I like eBay!

Any others for me to look at?

[Jay Tea]

Originally Posted by Godslilrosebud

http://www.thestrawbearypatch.net/test/test.html

1: what do you think of the different graphics? Pleas refer to them by number:
Lynx 1 | Lynx 4 | Lynx 7
Lynx 2 | Lynx 5 | Lynx 8
Lynx 3 | Lynx 6 | Lynx 9

#1 - too many elements in it, it first struck me as part of a banner ad. Getting rid of the CBH logo would help the most, and then the diagonal piece.
#2 - the font doesn't do a whole lot for me, and the smaller font could definitely use some smoothing (aliasing? anti-aliasing? I forget which). It also doesn't seem quite balanced for some reason.
#3 - I like it. The flowers in the background are interesting, but the purple and black are close enough to each other, and different enough from the text so that it's easily readable.
#4 - uh, big cats are cool
#5 - something seems off with the font, but I can't place it. I don't like the way the text butts up against the border
#6 - the gate and book images seem to be a lower resolution than the rest of the image, which is odd
#7 - not bad, but the dark colors all seem to run together a little bit. It makes the text hard to read, and something makes it look like the bunny's nose got cut off...maybe it's just the angle of its head.
#8 - not bad, but again, I don't like the text butting against the border
#9 - again, the font could be smoothed some. The musical staves are a little odd. I think it's the combination of the perfect straightness of the lines, and the sorta crudeness of the bass clef symbol and the actual notes.

2: Does the whole idea of a "puzzle" index menu work?

Yeah, I think so, as long as it's only on the intro page, and not the rest of the site. Although it might be interesting to use a smaller version of just the corresponding puzzle piece in the upper left of each page, or something like that.

3: The test logo doesn't look right. Any suggestions?

Do less. It's hard to read with so much going on inside it. It also takes up a lot of valuable "above-the-fold" space.

4: Should I scramble the puzzle pieces?

It could be fun to randomize the scrambling, so it's different on different visits.

5: Overall, what was your first impression?

It seemed very overly busy. If you're going to superimpose images over the background graphic, I would go for more of a unifying theme. Same fonts would probably be the first place I started.

I know I tend to be a minimalist in a lot of ways, but like Nate pointed out, that's the way a lot of professional web sites are presenting themselves these days. If you're interested in more graphics-happy sites, I'd check out big-name music performer sites, or movie-promo sites. It's all about the purpose of the site...if you want to say, "Hey, I'm fun and creative," like a movie promo, than maybe more graphics is the way to go (but they still usually have a very set theme and mood that goes with it). If you want to say, "I'm a professional, and I get things done," or, "The content that you'll find on these pages is more important than the pictures," then you probably want to tone things down some.

[PatrickStar4491]

Don't take any of our suggestions personally or anything. We're just giving you critique to help make it look better.

Originally Posted by Godslilrosebud

1: what do you think of the different graphics?

It seems like everything is just too busy. Make it a bit more simple. Nate had great suggestions about this.

2: Does the whole idea of a "puzzle" index menu work?

Right now, I wouldn't have thought it was a puzzle without reading this thread. Having separated jigsaw pieces would be pretty cool and actually make it look like a puzzle.

3: The test logo doesn't look right. Any suggestions?

It doesn't seem to have a purpose as a graphic right now. It's better suited as a heading. The effects just really make it hard to read. I could understand having "The Strawbeary Patch" in logo form, but the rest should just be a text heading.

4: Should I scramble the puzzle pieces?

It wouldn't matter to me. I guess it would look more like a puzzle if it were scrambled too.

5: Overall, what was your first impression?

It just seemed too busy. Do less.

[Nate]

Originally Posted by Godslilrosebud

They aren't entirely unrelated to each other! They're all my "sites"!

Yes, but people are used to seeing one picture when they're piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. These sites, and their respective graphics, have nothing to do with each other except for being together at this portfolio site and all having been designed by you. As a result of this, the entire puzzle idea kind of falls apart, and it just looks like you put your various logos on top of a picture of a big cat for... no apparent reason. They don't look, as a "big picture," like they're parts of a puzzle, that's all.

I don't like that a lot. Maybe I just am graphic happy.

FTR, my mom loves it.

Well, I wasn't exactly touting that website as the epitome of good design... I just googled around a bit and found the first interesting-ish thing I could with the "puzzle menu" idea in it. I thought it was better executed (not the whole site, not even the puzzle graphic, just the actual "hey! it's a puzzle as a menu!" concept) than your example.

[Nate]

Originally Posted by Godslilrosebud

Microsoft: Meh. It's okay, I guess. I don't really like it.
Yahoo!: Do big name companies have to be bland?
Google: At least they have some colour. It's kinda nice. I like the holiday ones.
Amazon: Meh. I honestly don't think it looks all that great.
eBay: Text overlapping doesn't do things for me. But, at least I like eBay!

Any others for me to look at?

Another idea would be to look at logos of products that you think are "cool," not just websites. Do you like iPods? Look at Apple's logo. What do they do, graphically, to say to the consumer "hey, this is a cool product that we make"? Do you like Coca-Cola? Look at their logo. What do they do, graphically, to make their products seem hip and trendy when they're really just sugary water?

[Nate]

It might do you some good to look at the CSS Zen Garden.

Especially interesting is the archive of all of their designs.

[Godslilrosebud]

Originally Posted by Jay Tea

#1 - too many elements in it, it first struck me as part of a banner ad. Getting rid of the CBH logo would help the most, and then the diagonal piece.
#2 - the font doesn't do a whole lot for me, and the smaller font could definitely use some smoothing (aliasing? anti-aliasing? I forget which). It also doesn't seem quite balanced for some reason.
#3 - I like it. The flowers in the background are interesting, but the purple and black are close enough to each other, and different enough from the text so that it's easily readable.
#4 - uh, big cats are cool
#5 - something seems off with the font, but I can't place it. I don't like the way the text butts up against the border
#6 - the gate and book images seem to be a lower resolution than the rest of the image, which is odd
#7 - not bad, but the dark colors all seem to run together a little bit. It makes the text hard to read, and something makes it look like the bunny's nose got cut off...maybe it's just the angle of its head.
#8 - not bad, but again, I don't like the text butting against the border
#9 - again, the font could be smoothed some. The musical staves are a little odd. I think it's the combination of the perfect straightness of the lines, and the sorta crudeness of the bass clef symbol and the actual notes.

Points taken and will be considered shortly. Thank you for your time.[/officialishness]

Seriously, thanks! I will see what I can do about the ones I agree on (don't have time to elaborate right now....).

Yeah, I think so, as long as it's only on the intro page, and not the rest of the site. Although it might be interesting to use a smaller version of just the corresponding puzzle piece in the upper left of each page, or something like that.

Hmm, I like that idea. I'll try it.

Do less. It's hard to read with so much going on inside it. It also takes up a lot of valuable "above-the-fold" space.

Thanks, I decided that last night.

It could be fun to randomize the scrambling, so it's different on different visits.

Hmm.....

Would PHP do that?

It seemed very overly busy. If you're going to superimpose images over the background graphic, I would go for more of a unifying theme. Same fonts would probably be the first place I started.

Gotcha.

I know I tend to be a minimalist in a lot of ways, but like Nate pointed out, that's the way a lot of professional web sites are presenting themselves these days. If you're interested in more graphics-happy sites, I'd check out big-name music performer sites, or movie-promo sites. It's all about the purpose of the site...if you want to say, "Hey, I'm fun and creative," like a movie promo, than maybe more graphics is the way to go (but they still usually have a very set theme and mood that goes with it). If you want to say, "I'm a professional, and I get things done," or, "The content that you'll find on these pages is more important than the pictures," then you probably want to tone things down some.

I will think about that.

Originally Posted by PatrickStar4491

Don't take any of our suggestions personally or anything. We're just giving you critique to help make it look better.

Lol, I wasn't! Just being goofy.

It seems like everything is just too busy. Make it a bit more simple. Nate had great suggestions about this.

As in KISS? Keep It Simple, Stupid?

Right now, I wouldn't have thought it was a puzzle without reading this thread. Having separated jigsaw pieces would be pretty cool and actually make it look like a puzzle.

Good point.

It doesn't seem to have a purpose as a graphic right now. It's better suited as a heading. The effects just really make it hard to read. I could understand having "The Strawbeary Patch" in logo form, but the rest should just be a text heading.

Gotcha.

It wouldn't matter to me. I guess it would look more like a puzzle if it were scrambled too.

Good point.

It just seemed too busy. Do less.

Okie dokie.

Originally Posted by Nate

Yes, but people are used to seeing one picture when they're piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. These sites, and their respective graphics, have nothing to do with each other except for being together at this portfolio site and all having been designed by you. As a result of this, the entire puzzle idea kind of falls apart, and it just looks like you put your various logos on top of a picture of a big cat for... no apparent reason. They don't look, as a "big picture," like they're parts of a puzzle, that's all.

Ok, I see your point now.

Well, I wasn't exactly touting that website as the epitome of good design... I just googled around a bit and found the first interesting-ish thing I could with the "puzzle menu" idea in it. I thought it was better executed (not the whole site, not even the puzzle graphic, just the actual "hey! it's a puzzle as a menu!" concept) than your example.

I'm glad to hear that! I thought of doing the jigsaw thing, but discarded it. I may resurrect it.

Originally Posted by Nate

Another idea would be to look at logos of products that you think are "cool," not just websites. Do you like iPods? Look at Apple's logo. What do they do, graphically, to say to the consumer "hey, this is a cool product that we make"? Do you like Coca-Cola? Look at their logo. What do they do, graphically, to make their products seem hip and trendy when they're really just sugary water?

Good idea.

Originally Posted by Nate

It might do you some good to look at the CSS Zen Garden.

Especially interesting is the archive of all of their designs.

I like that! *scurries off*

Thanks guys. I'll work on it and see what I can do!

[Bryan]

Originally Posted by Godslilrosebud

4: Should I scramble the puzzle pieces?

absolutely not. I'm not a designer, but a consumer. Websites I frequent I like because things are always the same. If something was changing everytime I went to a site. It would drive me crazy.

5: Overall, what was your first impression?

ACK!