Cool One-Review Please

[chadsten]

I have a pretty cool site here, logo was done by a GD, and I did ground up development on the actual site itself. Use the sitemap to get to the media pages, the client has yet to give me content. And most aspects of the site are controlled by CMS.

The shop and forum we did for a basic installation fee, and I spent about an hour on the shop to make it "match" more.

http://www.getyourhooey.com
http://www.getyourhooey.com/shop

Please tell me what you think guys!

[WebJoel]

Colors are bright but not excessivly so. Valid code (points there!). A bit of a display problem with URL #2 in Firefox: some header-text is overlapping (see screenshot image).

[chadsten]

Well thanks! Good to hear that it looks nice. And about this...

A bit of a display problem with URL #2 in Firefox: some header-text is overlapping (see screenshot image).

The text you see overlapping is actual text on top of a background-image. I forgot that Zencart uses that line as default. So that was a known one, but good eye tho. I rarely catch all the bugs. Thanks again!

[infinityspiral]

For the first link with the big character I didn't like having to try and find the links. You can see them when they first come up but when you move the mouse to go click on them they disappear. If you move the mouse over where they used to be nothing happens. It took me a little bit to figure out where they went which was annoying because I had to work to go around and find what all my options were again.

It's got a web 2.0 look, but that seems like a weak concept tie-in in relation to the product, especially in the shop area. Its a roughy and gritty down and dirty sport/product so why does it look like it's trying to sell products from Sharper Image?

The media gallery has a cool treatment for the feature areas with the orange circles- these bars would work so much better for the home page at least it tells you what environment you're getting into right from the start.

[chadsten]

Well, the input on the main index is good, but the rest of it you seemed to fail to see the point of this post, and maybe this whole forum.

The products in the Zen Cart are still the default filler, the client has yet to remove these, and as you can see by the navigation on the page, that is not the live shop.

This forum is called Web DEVELOPER, so maybe next time you will actually comment on the development instead of bashing the design. Even better idea-

Fix this:
http://validator.w3.org/check?verbose=1&uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.infinityspiral.com%2Fportfolio_moreInfo.php%3Fmenu%3Dportfolio%26category%3Dmu% 26IDname%3D0

This forum is for constructive criticism of development, so lets keep it that way. Maybe spend a little more time on a designer forum, or less in Photoshop.

[WebJoel]

Well, a web-site review encompasses all aspects, -including design. If you had posted a question on HTML or CSS forum and someone took to critiquing the graphics or whatver, then maybe. It's a dichotomy of how to post if the post doesn't answer or address the question, but raises some other issue. I have certainly pointed out validational erors on posts that were even asking about that so I am guilty of this transgression as well. :o

[infinityspiral]

If you don't want people to comment on your site don't put it up in a feedback area. The feedback I gave was constructive you just got defensive when you didn't get something dripping with honey over your stuff so you missed the suggested fixes.

Thanks for the validator link although I didn't create a thread asking for my site to get reviewed so it looks like you're lashing out rather than trying to help me. There's always something someone can do better. Get over yourself.

[chadsten]

missed the suggested fixes.
I did acknowledge the feedback on the main index, and ignored moving the media navigation of the site to the home page.

The feedback I gave was constructive...

Its a roughy and gritty down and dirty sport/product so why does it look like it's trying to sell products from Sharper Image?

Oh yea. Real constructive. But then again, half the pieces in your "portfolio" are just mock ups of large companies. (Although even I must admit the TLC project you actually did is awesome) So, if anything, maybe if you were to 'get over' the misconception that YOU are the 'someone' in There's always something someone can do better., your valid points might be taken as so, and not as some "freelancer" running his mouth. It was what you said, and how you said it. Big difference between a pompous critical answer and something dripping with honey over your stuff.

I am done admin, I just feel that needed to be said. This is the first issue I have had with anyone on this forum being anything less than polite and helpful. Hopefully it will be the last.

[infinityspiral]

Glad you feel better. A philosophy that usually keeps me pretty laid back is, "Will this matter a year from now? A month? A week?" Usually there's not too much getting really worked up over including this.

[infinityspiral]

Hehe just noticed I mispelled rough as roughy as in, the fish hehe :)

Anyway flame nature of the other post aside, rather than perpetuate a few misunderstandings I thought I'd take the time to explain a few differences between the design and the development worlds.

First, mock-ups don't mean the project wasn't completed. I think this is a gross oversight. Just because it's a multimedia project doesn't mean it lives on the web. I have created several kiosk only pieces. It would be expensive and time consuming to re-optimize these for the web with no real added benefit to me and I'm in business to make money.

Additionally in some cases I feel that my original mock-up is much better than what the client wanted. They're paying for it so in the end, what they want is what goes up, but the mock-up gives me the chance to showcase the power of the original concept and design before it had 30 people in different meetings pecking away at it and trying to put their mark on it.

I've also run into situations where the project gets canceled part way through or put on hold indefinitely due to some national event or restructuring within a company. Hurricane Katrina for example affected the deployment of several marketing initiatives as companies buckled down and tried to put a cap on lost revenue. Retail chains especially.

Also I'm not sure why freelance is assumed to be less of a job than a salaried position. Freelancer means business owner and with that comes all the weight of running a business alongside your main skill set whether it's design or development.