Critique Briefs
sent in by readers
Review of: Carter Artist
Reviewer comments:
The review request said: full-time Graphic Artist for an award winning Creative Arts team. I'm sorry to say that I was unimpressed, not only with the site design, but with the actual designed pieces.
I would HIGHLY recommend taking some classes on typography and design as well as taking a look at well designed pieces for inspiration. Your type face choices need complete reconsideration and none of the pieces have a clear, understandable thought process behind them. You could look at "HOW Design Magazine" and "PRINT" Magazine, they showcase some good work.
I apologize for the harsh feedback but I feel as though you have a LONG way to go in your design work and the creative thought process you begin with. Not professional at all but the good news is that there is more potential in all of us. I am still working to grow better with every project I do.
Reviewed by Becky.
- Editor Note: Becky, don't apologize. It wasn't particularly harsh, you handled it well, and the criticism is well deserved. "Award Winning" doesn't necessarily mean they don't have room to grow.
Review of: The Toronto District School Board
Reviewer comments:
I like the colour choice. Pleasant not harsh. Nice logo design with apple design. However, colour scheme of entire site does not completely reflect that of the logo. Buttons seem inappropriate for this design. They are too thick & "fat" for the delicacy of other images & font selectiion. Nice photo collages. The menu navigation is simple. However, the pages are not consistently aligned. Some pages are center aligned while others are left justified.
Upload time is quick. My hardware is Mac OS X Netscape 7.0
Reviewed by Devi Multimedia
Review of: Teenopolis
Reviewer comments:
Easy on the eye graphically, many sites like to "dazzle" with flash and pop banners and animated gifs. This site sticks to a few primary colours throughout which is good.
- Style: In terms of the style, the font used looks very untidy, but then maybe that goes with the theme and target market of the site ie teens.
- Navigation: No navigation issues, just your standard drop-down menu. Site was pretty fast, but then it's not really graphic heavy so it shouldn't be slow should it?
- Content: Content is pretty much what you'd expect from a site like this (music, movies, fashion, gossip etc) there's a nifty little calender to be found on the site as well.
In sumary, it should appeal to tween or young teens 10 - 16 with news that pertains to them. Good effort
Reviewed by Shaun Oakes
Review of: Alexander Sadoya Art Gallery
Reviewer comments:
Artwork: great. Nice colours & shapes. Would like to see those abstract forms reflected in the design of the site.
- Site: opening page is nicely laid out. I was suprised to see a different textured background & layout on the linked pages.
- Font: the main page menu fonts & navigational fonts are different (one being sans & the other san serif). Not a wise choice. Seems like they chose the default font selection.
- Navigation: nicely organized content. However, many broken links from within site that leads to the same main menu options.
- Links: Pop up windows could be a better option for image links.
- Title: Should keep the same design for artist name (title) as in all following pages rather than using plain html text.
Review of: Marietta Contact Lens
Reviewer comments:
Very easy to use & smooth. Nice rollovers. Good use of logo images.
- Upload: Quick upload time Colours: soft colours (nice reflection to product).
- Content & Layout: organized well. Text layout nicely justified. Font selection consistent. Stayed consistent with "grid" layout. Information well presented. I'm not sure if the font may be too small and perhaps a bit too light (for readability), but it depends on their target audience.
- Effects: not much in the line of effects, but it is not required for this site. Information is the most important aspect and therefore other "flashy" elements become secondary & are not needed. Reviewed by Devi Multimedia
Return to the Critique Department
Participate in your Design Center
Lots of fun and information for all... don't forget, any community is only as good as the participation of its members. We invite your tips, tricks, comments, suggestions and camaraderie.
- Ask for the DT&G Monthly: to receive DT&G newsletter each month, happenings in the Design Center and regular columns like the "Mail Bag" and "Cool Sites"
- SUBSCRIBE : to the Designers' CAFE email list
- Link to this site, and then show us the link. We'll send you any of our current door prizes, just for your trouble.
- READ Our Writer's Guidelines: before sending articles
- SUBMIT: a news link, new font, or product review
- SUBMIT: a link to a Photoshop web site
- Trademarks & Legal
About The Design & Publishing Center: First established in 1994 to provide an online web site for DT&G Zine. DT&G was originally published each month on AOL and Compuserve for attendees of Fred Showker's design and publishing seminar and conference appearances.