Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

4 Beautiful Websites

1. South Beach








- Nice colour scheme
- Minimalistic
- Convenient and neat gallery display


2. National Television









- Bold navigation bar ----> attention grabbing
- Simple layout, looks chic
- Lots of space for image display




3. Erguvan Platin







- Eye catching background
- Smooth transition between page
- Nice illustration
- Specially coloured form that looks more interesting than normal


4. Lorgans shop








- Strong colour contrast
- Interesting interface that fits into a retro TV - very suitable for the theme of the shop: "RETRO"
- Buttons are made into elements of the TV. Interesting to navigate and interact

4 HTML tutorials

1. Image Maps: HERE

2. HTML Forms: HERE

3. Insert SWF into your HTML: HERE

4. Drop down Menu: HERE

4 Design tutorials

Due to the design I have in mind for the website revamp projects, I'm more interested in websites that focus much on showcasing images rather than text. That explains why I picked 2 photographic interface design tutorial here.

The look I intend to go for is a bit futuristic so I'd include a tutorial on how to make glossy buttons


1. Personal page tutorial : HERE



2. Restaurant page interface: HERE



3. Glossy buttons tutorial: HERE



4. Photo Portfolio interface design: HERE

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Competitor Site 4: WIP

Screen Caps










Feedbacks:

1) Content-wise
  • Lots of text

2) Design-wise
  • Website look Flat
  • Navigation buttons too blend into background
  • Headline of the website doesnt' fit into colour scheme. Inconsistency in design. Typography can be improved since the catch line looks so out of place
  • Buttons design should be more polished
  • Gallery page looks boring

3) Function-wise
  • Pop up window are suitable for some contents ( like promotions etc. ) But not all. Sometimes it become annoying

Competitor Site 3: Sky Bar

Screen Caps











Feedback:

1) Content-wise
  • Indirect reference to each categories/content group

2) Design-wise
  • Cool drop down content from the buttons yet the buttons are not designed nicely
  • Lack of consistency in overall design (between the left hand side frame and the body of the website
  • Website was so crammed onto left hand side of the screen. Uncomfortable to view

3) Function-wise
  • Convenient cocaktail menu viewing.

Competitor Site 2: Over Time

Screen Caps










Feedback:

1) Content-wise
  • Menu levels of contents that are arranged nicely into smaller chunks of info and categories.

2) Design-wise
  • Promotion banner is placed right at the top. However it doesn't striked the balance with the main logo of the site.
  • Dark colours. Look high class and chic at the same time
  • Nice loading bar

3) Function-wise
  • Can view individual items as well as download the full menu which is very convenient.
  • Straight forward video and photo gallery function
  • Navigation bar at the bottoms which are not very attention-grabbing
  • Recruitment logo is too small to see
  • Fonts for promotions sections are not eye-catching enough.
  • Order forms are also too small to be spotted immediately

Competitor Site 1: ilLido

Screen Caps









Feedback:

1) Content wise:
  • Straight forward naming system. Clear categorization of contents
  • Information is broken into small chunks so it can be read more easily


2) Design wise:
  • Has lots of space for picture display
  • Design is minimalistic but somehow unfinished and too simple.


3) Function wise:
  • Typography of the banner can be better
  • Viewing gallery is a bit confusing when the main Navigation buttons are at the bottoms but photos are at the top without any explanation
  • Navigation bar is not attention grabbing enough due to unconventional placement.
  • Pop up window for menu is a bit inconvenient.