New Website - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

11/26/2004 09:14:26 AM · #1

Hi guys,
I have a new website up at the moment, where I'll be directing potential clients.
All your valuable constructive criticisms will be appreciated as always!
//www.EyesOpen.co.uk

Cheers,

Bob

hyphaefungi

Canon EOS-10D

11/26/2004 09:22:03 AM · #2

I'm a big fan of your picture viewing format. The only thing that I don't like about the site is the logo. It's a bit too big and bright for a black background. That and I'm not a big fan of black backgrounds in general although I think it may help with focusing a viewers attention on the pictures... especially with the borders. Nice fonts.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/26/2004 09:25:22 AM · #3

Hmm, I was afraid of that (logo a bit overbearing).
I do want to use a black background which makes the photos look a lot better, and I want a white logo so I can print easily on paper. Anyone have any ideas for a quick compromise?

colda

Nikon D800

11/26/2004 09:27:20 AM · #4

First impressions:

I really dislike the graphic in the top left. The images, including the first one of the eye feel a little too large, they are causing me to have to keep scrolling up and down slightly, the design of the site feels that scrolling is wrong (I'm viewing at 1024x768 using firefox). Having your email so large looks bad.

I love the general concept though - has a lot of potential :)

Hope this helps

Darren

colda

Nikon D800

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/26/2004 09:28:00 AM · #5

Originally posted by BobsterLobster:

You could try a dark grey

cbeller

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 16-85 f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

11/26/2004 09:39:36 AM · #6

I like white on black, and think it can work alright (mine is black,white,grey).

The problem I see with yours is there is really now flow. You have the black background and this big white box on the top left. Try making the white background of the logo transparent, so you just see the eyes and name on the black background.

Also, on your contact page your e-mail address should be the same text type/font as the rest on the site.

Just some ideas.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 16-85 f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

11/26/2004 09:47:05 AM · #7

Thanks for the comments,
the font for the email address is different because I thought it should be cut-and-pasteable. On balance, would it be better to use a graphic with the relevant font, or leave it as it is? I always put usability as the highest priority on a website, so I'm a little reluctant to use a graphic, but I'm open to suggestions.

cbeller

Nikon D300

11/26/2004 09:51:47 AM · #8

why would you cut-n-paste if you can just click on the link to open up a new e-mail window? My opinion, if you're using a single font every place else, you really shouldn't change it for one line of text.

Edit: Also, as I think was mentioned already, it is rather large font size. It really shouldn't be larger than you heading at the top.

Message edited by author 2004-11-26 09:53:23.

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

11/26/2004 09:53:04 AM · #9

I also agree with colda about the graphic on the top left...maybe just two eyes or something? Dunno...but that third one is a bit strange. I also noticed a typo on your "About Me" page...the word "conert" should be "concert." As for the email address, I would prefer to see it in the same (or more similar) font as the rest of the page, too. Nice start; love the ease of navigation. :o)

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/26/2004 10:14:57 AM · #10

Thanks for the typo heads-up... oops!
I'll change the email address to a graphic when I get home tonight.
The logo will take a bit more time, they're tricky as hell. It may take me a few weeks. Making the background transparent will look terrible (I've already tried it), as the edges of the eye fade to white. So any ideas for a temporary solution would be appreciated!
Perhaps I should offer some free prints to anybody who could design me a logo?!

Cheers,

Bob

colda

Nikon D800

11/26/2004 10:18:07 AM · #11

Originally posted by BobsterLobster:

Perhaps I should offer some free prints to anybody who could design me a logo?!

I've done a bit of logo design over the years - I'll happily have a go at it for you :)

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

11/26/2004 10:22:39 AM · #12

Thanks Darren,
would some prints at base cost be okay for anybody who comes up with the winning logo? Funds are very tight right now!

Edit: Let me know if you need full-resolution copies of any of my files.

Message edited by author 2004-11-26 10:23:12.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

11/26/2004 10:28:08 AM · #13

For the logo, if you can make the URL type about 1/2 that length, you can trim the whole thing down into a vignetted oval, somewhat the shape of an eye itself. Then make the whole thing about 2/3 the size it is now.

I think your link and page should read "Galleries" since the page it goes to lists several categories of pictures. (Not explaining this too clearly -- hope you know what I mean). I think the photos which link to the galleries could be a bit bigger too.

You're off to a good start -- congratulations!

peecee

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

11/26/2004 10:44:16 AM · #14

Have you tried a white b/ground ?
Your logos would look great on a white transparency, maybe change the borders on the pics or even a table with a different b/ground colour?
Just a thought,
Paul.

11/26/2004 10:52:25 AM · #15

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Good points, it's a bit of a pain changing all the images to read 'Galleries' instead but I'll try and put some time aside early next week.
BTW, I may have reported this post as I quickly tried to quote it but wasn't really thinking about what I was doing. Oops!

11/26/2004 10:53:33 AM · #16

Originally posted by peecee:

Have you tried a white b/ground ?
Your logos would look great on a white transparency, maybe change the borders on the pics or even a table with a different b/ground colour?
Just a thought,
Paul.

It would be more convenient, but I far prefer to look at photos against a dark background. The colours appear much more saturated.

vontom

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

11/26/2004 11:24:02 AM · #17

My intital responses:

The logo is, as has been said, less than ideal. The one eye, as you have on your opening graphic, would be sufficient. Also, I would not use your full URL on the logo image. Just the name of your site. I mean, people are already there, they can look at the browser bar to see what the URL is. In fact, on your gallery page as well, just call it "Eyes Open"

Overall the site feels very browsable. I, for one, like the black background/white text. It really highlights the photography.

11/26/2004 11:50:29 AM · #18

Originally posted by vontom:

Thanks,
I also thought one eye would make a nice logo... but the site is called Eyes Open, so I felt I needed more than one eye. Could I get away with only using one eye? I put the address in the logo so when it's printed on paper or used in general, the address is always there. If you were trying to remember the web address months later, wouldn't it be better to remember it was a '.co.uk' because they had seen the logo so many times?

Anyway, I do appreciate all the feedback, even if I justify the reasoning behind what I've done. I may change my mind about some of my decisions based on feedback from this forum.

For those who are interested, I used some excellent gallery creation software called ImCat, which allows you to create very customisable galleries. If you're comfortable with HTML, you'll love this software which allows you to use all sorts of variables within your templates, and I love the fact that you can use 'Next' and 'Previous' thumbnails very easily. It's also very intuitive and quick to pick up. I also use Exifer to add comments to all my jpegs, so that ImCat can just zoom though all the jpegs in a folder, title them, add descriptions and create the web pages in the blink of an eye. Great stuff.

GoldBerry

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

11/26/2004 12:05:44 PM · #19

All the eyes on the splash page sort of freaked me out! lol
And it may just be a blonde thing, but it took me a few seconds (okay, maybe an entire minute) to understand the web address ... it really messed with my mind! lol

P.S. putting so many eyes up cause the site is "eyeS open" is overthinking it(IMO). :-)

Message edited by author 2004-11-26 12:07:26.

vontom

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

11/26/2004 12:12:38 PM · #20

i still think one eye. But, hey, it's your site! Do whatever YOU like,m and think your clients will like. BTW, thanks for the name of that software, will make my soon to come website much, much, easier to finish.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

11/26/2004 01:44:58 PM · #21

Thanks everyone!

pcody

Canon PowerShot G6

11/26/2004 02:16:58 PM · #22

The roll-overs are great, I like the font. It's easy to get around in. The splash page is to much of the same which has been talked about, so maybe when you get your new logo it will help. The large picture seems to large on the page. If you do flash, you might consider having a strip that changes some of your other pictures(ones with a red theme) randomly or even just have a strip of thumbs to add more interest. The email, what everyone else said.
edit: Another thought. On the people pages you only have one picture on the second page. Seems that it is a bit of a letdown to just see one picture. I'm not saying it's a waste because your pictures are beautiful. Maybe put in more or take out one.

Message edited by author 2004-11-26 14:25:14.

wickedpete

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

11/26/2004 03:02:50 PM · #23

bobster lobster: i love your photography.
congrats on getting a website together....

i have re-designed my photography website many times, and so far i have the one i like the best now. (www.petesphotoshop.com)

i like a site to promote the photos, not the design of the website so i keep it pretty simple. i have a regular size banner/logo on all screens except when you look at a photo.... that way the photo is the main focus and the logos/navigation dont distract from the photo.

(oh, i hate photo sites that popup the photo in a new window.)

btw: my company has a hosted solution for photographers/models that makes it super easy to manage the content on the site. basically i can upload a zip file of my finished photos (unlimited number) and blamo... my whole gallery with navigation is created automatically. then i can add captions, or add/remove single images at a time... and much more. we even have a feauture where lookers can add comments on your work... and it keeps track of times viewed, send photo to a friend feature, and more... it's an amazing solution... if anyone is interested contact me. (*its really inexpensive too.)

great work bobster lobster. love your work.

pete
pete@petesphotoshop.com
www.petesphotoshop.com

suemack

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

11/26/2004 03:08:18 PM · #24

Cool site and easy to navigate. Quick downloading too, am on dialup and for me that's a biggie! I'm with the others on the 3 eye graphic.

With the main graphic on the front page I'm not sure about the thin black line in the border. I love the pic but wonder how it would look with just the white and the edge fading/blending into the b/g. Does that make sense cos I'm not good at explaining what I visualise sometimes.

sue