Testing Minimalism

[Cetanu]

So I've recently been reading everything I can find on minimalism in web design. I just felt very inspired to create a minimalistic template for any web sites I may like to make in the future. Personally, I feel that for one hour of raw coding, I've done okay, but my opinion doesn't matter: I want someone else's.

 

http://mythscape.freezoka.com/testsite/indextest.php

 

 

All critiques requested.

 

PS The XHTML doesn't validate because my stupid webhost inserts their link with invalid JavaScript and HTML.

[ILMV]

Hello

 

I'm glad those ads at the bottom aren't yours, looks horrible... you might want to consider using a different host

 

 

Anyway I think your design has a long way to go, it was all summed up when you said this:

 

I feel that for one hour of raw coding' date=' I've done okay[/quote']

 

Now I am no design god, in fact I'm pretty average, however when I'm designing I tend to start with my idea, sketch out a wireframe, then I can fire up Fireworks (or your pref. image editor) and slap together a few prototypes.

 

I think that's where your problem lies, you have jumped straight into the coding without a clear idea as to what you are designing, and because of this your design is neither appealing or functional.

 

However, here are some points that I hope will get you on the right road.

 

* Decide what type of template you are creating (e.g. site, ecommerce, blog etc)

--> This will help you think about what elements you need and how you want them to be positioned relative to each other.

* Construct a complimentary colour scheme

--> A purple gradient in a drop down box doesn't go well with a brown background

--> If you're going for minimalist feel, choose colours that are subtle, brown is a massive attention grabber, thus not very minimalistic.

--> Consider using kuler.com for colour inspiration

* Choose a decent font family

--> Positioning and sizing of elements will depend entirely upon this

* Consider using a different host, those adverts really make it difficult to view the site for what it truly is

 

 

 

I think that will do now, remember, use this as constructive criticism, I will answer any further questions as best I can.

 

 

 

 

[Maq]

• I have no clue what this is supposed to be so a theme or color scheme recommendation would be impossible to give.
  
• The colors are ugly.  There are color scheme resources on phpfreaks for you to refer to.
  
• The image on the left is blurry and disproportional.
  
• If you have control over the ad, take it out.  Trust me, you're not going to make any money until you have a lot of traffic, and currently, it just takes up real estate on your site.
  

 

I just felt very inspired to create a minimalistic template for any web sites I may like to make in the future.

 

Minimalism?  Yeah, I guess you achieved that to a certain extent.

 

Personally, I feel that for one hour of raw coding, I've done okay, but my opinion doesn't matter:

 

Why are you asking for a critique after 1 hour of coding?  Seems logical to me that if you've done 1 hour of coding than it's obviously not going to look spectacular.  You should probably put some more time and effort into your site and not just slopping something together.

[Cetanu]

 

I'm glad those ads at the bottom aren't yours, looks horrible... you might want to consider using a different host

 

Well I'm certainly not paying for hosting yet, I have no need. I'll stick with this host (and just make the link color the same as the background. That will eliminate the obstructive factor for the most part, until I can pay for hosting.

 

Anyway I think your design has a long way to go, it was all summed up when you said this:

 

I feel that for one hour of raw coding' date=' I've done okay[/quote']

 

Now I am no design god, in fact I'm pretty average, however when I'm designing I tend to start with my idea, sketch out a wireframe, then I can fire up Fireworks (or your pref. image editor) and slap together a few prototypes.

 

I am starting to get more into that mindset, although I don't have access to Photoshop or Fireworks, I have Paint.NET which isn't nearly as good. I usually try and sketch out a design on paper, but it's not the same. Nor is Paint.NET since its tools are a little more limited than Photoshop. Anyway, I will keep this in mind since going at a web site blind isn't too good of an idea.

 

--> A purple gradient in a drop down box doesn't go well with a brown background

This was an accident and I didn't realize it. XD I don't actually want the drop down to be colored.

--> If you're going for minimalist feel, choose colours that are subtle, brown is a massive attention grabber, thus not very minimalistic.

--> Consider using kuler.com for colour inspiration

That's an amazing resource and I love it! Thanks for that!

* Choose a decent font family

What's wrong with the ones now?

 

• I have no clue what this is supposed to be so a theme or color scheme recommendation would be impossible to give.
   
  
• The image on the left is blurry and disproportional.
  
• If you have control over the ad, take it out.  Trust me, you're not going to make any money until you have a lot of traffic, and currently, it just takes up real estate on your site.
  

 

- It's supposed to be a test scheme for some future website I may wanna make.

 

- About the image on the left: does anyone know how I can create decent vectors? I don't have Photoshop, and the Photoshop brushes I have for Paint.NET come out waaaaaaay disproportionate and fraggy. I have to blur them to make them look less ugly, but I still hate them.

 

I don't have control over the ad, it's the hosting company.

 

 

Personally, I feel that for one hour of raw coding, I've done okay, but my opinion doesn't matter:

 

Why are you asking for a critique after 1 hour of coding?  Seems logical to me that if you've done 1 hour of coding than it's obviously not going to look spectacular.  You should probably put some more time and effort into your site and not just slopping something together.

 

I'm asking for critiques one hour into it because I'd rather start small and expand upon my design to make it evolve with the help of others. I have a preference that's different from other people, and I'd rather not just code for a week and then come here to have people say "Eewwwwww!" If I nip the problems in their infant stages, I have more time to fix problems, and I don't need to erase/modify all of the [potentially] time consuming/hard work.

 

Thanks for the feedback! It's really appreciated, I'm going back to the drawing board for some design fixes and stuff.