Ideas for re-design

[chriscorbin]

I,ve started an event photography company we also do videos, and in the past it was done in iWeb(i cry myself to sleep) i've taken classes and made "professional" sites before such as http://www.benicia.k12.ca.us/bhs/ with help from others, but i want to go solo on this one

but i cannot get any ideas on my own site i know how CSS works and can use it , starting to learn javescript, know a little bit of actionscript, good with flash, know dreamweaver well
just need some ideas to get started

any advice is welcome

here it is - http://web.mac.com/chriscorbin/iWeb/Happy%20Geek%20/Welcome.html

P.S.-for some reason it is riddled with errors, pages i deleted long ago cant explain that

[tominated]

start out with the basics like how many columns you want and the expand on that. A good tip is to not over do it. that website for the school is very complicated and I don't particularly like that.

[Nicolasdec]

Did you make it in iweb?

[chriscorbin]

Did you make it in iweb?

yes and i am sorry, i want to do it from scratch this time

[chriscorbin]

fixed the problems wiht the old site, but i still need advice

BTW i will be adding my portfolio of about 30 or so pictures and a video clip or two

[cr2sh]

Hey Chris,
I think it's important for you to identify first the structure of the website you want. What pages and functionality do you want to show the visitor? If you're providing professional services it might be a good idea to show examples of your best work in those areas. So maybe have an intro page welcoming the user, a few pages about your services/work/experience, and then some contact information. It doesn't have to be a HUGE website, just a few pages.

As far as a design goes, whenever I have a tough time coming up with ideas I let the fantastic minds over at OSWD do the work for me. I start with one of their open source designs and start tweaking it. You should check out their layouts.. it'll give you experience with css and maybe get some ideas flowing.

http://www.oswd.org/

Good luck!

PS. One thing I find myself doing a lot, is getting too obsessed with designs and technical parts of a site... I think if you're offering good photography and video services at a great price, the client will not worry so much about you having a simple website.

Oh and please.. for the love of god, get rid of the pink geek logo. That's just bad, really bad.

[chriscorbin]

Oh and please.. for the love of god, get rid of the pink geek logo. That's just bad, really bad.

That is a great site, and in my bookmark bar from now on

I don't know why it shows up as pink it is supposed to look like this
any help to fix this would be helpful too!!

-on the site listed above it is saved as a png not a PDF so that is not the issue

[snickelfritz]

Personally, I like Flash(vector)-based horizontal layouts with lots of negative space for photo/portfolio sites.

Using medium-dark neutral grays for most of the navigation and site structure will help promote the color and content of your photos.
I think adobe and Apple have established a new interface paradigm in Lightroom and Aperture, and I see no reason why a photography-based website shouldn't follow suit.

Also, the Happy Geek logo on your site needs some serious tweaking.
I think it's a good concept, but it needs some professional polish.
I would also make the logo MUCH smaller in relation to the rest of the site content.
Use clean sans serif fonts, and keep the interface neutral and business-like.

GL

[cr2sh]

I think adobe and Apple have established a new interface paradigm in Lightroom and Aperture, and I see no reason why a photography-based website shouldn't follow suit.

That's a really good point that I hadn't considered... thanks.

[chriscorbin]

Also, the Happy Geek logo on your site needs some serious tweaking.
GL

The size or the design, because i spent months designing that logo and it stays the same no matter what

[snickelfritz]

The size or the design, because i spent months designing that logo and it stays the same no matter what

I'd say both.
The concept (pseudo Apple Finder icon) is decent, but it's far too complex and not quite up to the standards normally associated with media pros.

A good technique is to work with black on white in a vector drawing program such as Illustrator or Freehand, while developing the logo. simplify and purify complex shapes as much as possible, and avoid texture fills, shadows, bevels etc... at this stage.
Let the basic shape define the character of the logo.

You'll have much more recognizable and versatile symbol this way.

Here's a link to a repository of logos for inspiration:
http://www.logolibrary.co.uk/

GL

[cr2sh]

The size or the design, because i spent months designing that logo and it stays the same no matter what

NM.

[Nicolasdec]

I whould use OSWD (http://www.oswd.prg) they are all great and free.

[yagran]

if you want i could design the site for you for free?

check out previous work at www.mcfluffit.com
email at yagran@hotmail.co.uk

[chriscorbin]

if you want i could design the site for you for free?

check out previous work at www.mcfluffit.com
email at yagran@hotmail.co.uk

that would be amazing

sent you an e-mail

[janitorC7]

that would be amazing

sent you an e-mail

I'd love to see this once its done...

[ezekielrage_99]

http://www.oswd.org/


Great link I was stuck on ideas (colour/layout wise) for a web site I'm designing, that site has given me some good ideas.

[yagran]

I'd love to see this once its done...

ill post a link here once that site is done.

[yagran]

heres the basic mock up of an initial design...

http://www.mcfluffit.com/happygeek

[ambient]

heres the basic mock up of an initial design...

http://www.mcfluffit.com/happygeek

looking good.. is it gonna be flash?

[yagran]

looking good.. is it gonna be flash?

dno. ent really decided, mebe just have some small flahs elements like galleries.

[ambient]

dno. ent really decided, mebe just have some small flahs elements like galleries.

if you got the money buying a full flash template could be the way to go.. its only about $60 and will save heaps of work.. templatemonster.com has some really good photography ones and if you already know flash well stick to that and the template will have most of the work done for you.. you just load your own content in there.. it is also a good learning curve seeing how other ppl do things...

[yagran]

if you got the money buying a full flash template could be the way to go.. its only about $60 and will save heaps of work.. templatemonster.com has some really good photography ones and if you already know flash well stick to that and the template will have most of the work done for you.. you just load your own content in there.. it is also a good learning curve seeing how other ppl do things...

no, i have a strong belief that to keep diversity in the web alive that each design should be designed unique, im very strongly against generic templates...and so should you be with ambientdeisgnstudio.com under your name :eek:

[chriscorbin]

no, i have a strong belief that to keep diversity in the web alive that each design should be designed unique, im very strongly against generic templates...and so should you be with ambientdeisgnstudio.com under your name :eek:

i agree i hate generic looking sites, it is as if the designer just does not care

[ambient]

no, i have a strong belief that to keep diversity in the web alive that each design should be designed unique, im very strongly against generic templates...and so should you be with ambientdeisgnstudio.com under your name :eek:


obviously, you would create your own graphics colours ect. and use just use a the basic navigation structure.. i think it allows more time for design and less time spending coding and implementing it ect.. im not talking about making a generic looking site.. but using templates are very useful to see how other people do things... i watched all the Lynda videos ect. and studied multimedia at university but playing around with templates was the way i learnt the quickest...

the first thing i would do is not use iweb too..anything you make with iweb is going to look very generic..

[Trogloxene]

The "visitors" text is overlaping the numbers. Too much open space on bottom of page, it should be the same as the sides. The same goes the box on the bottom of the page. Add copyright under the window at the bottom. Add links down there also. Refine and refine some more.

-T