project 1 rough Lea

[ltrueworthy]

Hi everyone,

Here are my roughs for project 1. I decided to go with a rock/mineral website. I am curious if people like the black background versus the white background I am also curious if people like the two columns of rocks versus one column. Let me know what you think.

THANK YOU

[fjbo]

ROCKS!

Your white design is pretty nice! I gotta say I am not a big fan on white backgrounds unless it works with the layout, colors an imagery ... and it DOES for this one!

Not a lot to add really I think this is very well done!

[HouseStark]

I like the one with the white background, and the layout is very clean. Maybe add some dimension with the layout of your text, like two columns. Other than that I think you are on the right track.

[Stephski]

Hi Lea,
Normally I always choose a design with a lighter background. In this case, I love the black background. I think it makes the beauty of the imagery/rocks stand out more. I think I would just keep the navigation links in white and remove the white background. You could play with the color of the text as the user hovers over it. But you used a cool graphic element to indicate which page is active, I like that!

[selvester]

I think I would go with the white layout rather than the black. I feel the black is a little harsh on the eyes white reading the white text.

Also, I love your logo with all the crystals popping out of it, very cool! I might try to reduce the copy length a little bit though, it feels a bit tight between the rocks.
Good work!

[Instructor]

Yay! Our first poll of the semester. I'll give this one my feedback first.

You know, usually I'm all about the contrast, but this time I really like the white background layout. It feels like a backlit display at some dubious strip mall crystal store, which is clearly the brick and mortar side of your business here. I mean, that logo screams "grow your own". You've really established a strong brand with these, both in how you echo the logo type in your navigation and headlines and use the crystal blue as a highlight color. The whole composition uses whitespace really well, too. Everything has room to breathe without fragmenting. Good spacing next to the text and between the main content area and the navigation. Your navigation is well placed and easy to see and use. Typographically it's super easy to read. I like your choice of logo/navigation/headline font. It echoes both rocks and the blocky armatures a lot of home "grow a crystal" kits use to grow their crystals. The bodycopy is straightforward and easy to read as well.

My only issue with it is that the underlines seem a little tight, especially compared to the good spacing throughout the rest of the design. Maybe try your type justified? I'm not sure it needs it, but it might enhance the blockiness a little bit.

Nicely done!

[Eduardo_Garcia]

Hello,
The white background design is the design I'd go with. The layout is clean and orderly, easy to use navigation, and has an appealing logo that really stands out!
Advice is to enlarge navigation buttons, since they don't stand out much. Put some space between the font and the underlines, and do not have the rocks images overlapping.

[AboutDead]

Hi Lea, I am really like your second design. Combined with your logo it gives a really cool "in your face" feel. Plus, I feel that the black background isn't quite so hard on the eyes as the plain white background is. If you do go with the black background, I would suggest increasing the size of your larger text to make it stand out more. Great job and I can't wait to see your finished product!

[BecomeAHero]

Hi!

You have some good branding going as far as color, and I think that gets shown off better with your white design. That said, I really like the little active page crystal that you have in your second design. Since the first one is so clean, I think you could have a lot of fun by adding more little touches like that into your first design. Maybe some more rock or crystal textures in other places? Other than that, I think it's very easy to navigate and spaced well.

[chaytothet]

I really like the white design, I feel like it's more open and "honest" in a way. I would work on your typography to make it more rock like, maybe even like a construction type font..?

Great job!