David Airey, graphic designer » Your design critiqued

When asking for a design critique

David Airey — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:50:20 +0000

The students among you often get in touch looking for a design critique, but for the most part, your question won’t lead to a helpful answer.

Don’t show two logos and ask, “Which one’s best?”

Who’s it for? What do they do? How do they want to be seen? Why?

Additionally, it’s always easier to offer an opinion on designs in context, i.e., on websites, signage, vehicles, stationery. How does the design interact with different media? How does it adapt, flex, grow?

Image via Thinkstock.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

The myth of constructive criticism?

David Airey — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:01:46 +0000

You’ll have heard of the need for criticism to be constructive (e.g., that’s no good, here’s why, and here’s how you can improve it).

Perhaps you’ve also heard of the “feedback sandwich” (e.g., this part’s great, but you need to work on that part, and doing so will make you an even better designer than you already are).

But just how necessary is criticism?

What if the sole focus of feedback was to encourage those seeking it, creating a progression in design learning by prompting more of the good, while purposely leaving weaker facets un-criticised?

Consider which of these two learning environments is more effective for design teaching:

one with a direct focus on the negative aspects of a designer’s work
or one that’s 100% positive — no negativity whatsoever

The first option can potentially demoralise the designer, but at the same time, some see criticism a necessary tool used to help us improve. The second option teaches through positivity, and is likely to breed a student more open to exploring ideas, and less anxious about “getting it wrong.”

But additionally, all of us will face the inevitable time when a client simply doesn’t like our work, so will constructive criticism help us deal with clients more efficiently?

Just some questions I’ve had floating around.

Sandwich photo courtesy of Thinkstock.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Your changes to my graphic design blog

David Airey — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:05:31 +0000

Every now and again I like to ask what you think about my blog. You’re taking the time out of your day to visit, read and interact, and it’s important for me to ask for your feedback.

Back in March, Dawud gave a detailed critique of my blog, and hopefully I’ve improved my site since then. What do you reckon, Dawud?

A recent article here asked, What does your website say about you? The conversation that followed was enlightening, and I made a few tweaks to my site afterwards.

Then last weekend I had a refreshing chat on Skype with Liz of Successful Blog. We got talking about blog design and I asked what her very first impressions of my site were.

I was very appreciative of Liz’s feedback and found myself agreeing with everything she suggested. It just goes to show how important it can be to have another set of eyes looking at your blog (it also helps that Liz has a very successful blog of her own). You become so familiar with it that you can miss the most obvious of errors.

My search box was previously beneath my photo (which left the reader wondering if the photo was actually me). Liz suggested I move the ‘graphic design’ section from the top of my middle column to below my photo, and to also add more white space between the three columns of content. There was also quite a large gap below my main headings, so I narrowed this to pull each section together more.

Another great suggestion was to swap the two links in my ‘graphic design’ section, having ‘hire me’ appear first and ‘view my portfolio’ second. That’s one of those ones you wonder why you didn’t think of first. Liz also thought I could highlight the ‘hire me’ link with a button, perhaps similar to the ‘pay now’ button on PayPal. That’s something I’ll experiment with. Again, thanks very much for your time Liz.

John, with his graphic design, art, typography and architecture blog, suggested changing the cloud header to something more graphic design related. I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit. The header quote previously showed a line by the late Chairman Mao, and more than one person mentioned his terrible legacy, so I’ve removed it, and am also wondering what (if anything) I should add in its place.

Have your say

The last time I asked for critique I was amazed by the quality of tips, and now is the time where you come in once more.

Is there something you see that you think I can improve upon, either about the design / layout of my blog, or the content / writing style? There are some great designers amongst you, so any opinions are very welcomed.

Why do you visit my blog? I think this is an important question because it allows me to provide more of what you like.

If you ask your own readers for feedback on your blog / website, I’ll gladly be the first to offer my thoughts.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

3,000th commenter deserves a mention

David Airey — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:34:04 +0000

Comments are the life-blood of any blog community, and it’s with delight that I can give a special mention to the person who left the 3,000th comment here on my website.

Michael, of Michael Gabriel Communications (MGC), left this comment on my article about free PDF converters.

It has been just over a month since the 2,000th comment was left here and I gave a special mention to Lisa Sabin-Wilson. I’ll do the same if I’m able to reach 4,000 as it’s just another way to give a little back for your kind comments.

MGC is a Nova Scotia, Canada-based firm specialising in logo and web design. They also offer written, visual, and instructional services. To offer Michael some useful anchor text, I’ll link to his website using the words web design Canada.

Why web design Canada? According to the SEO keyword suggestion tool I’ve written about in my beginner SEO article, there are 2,177 monthly online searches for that term in the United States alone (I would’ve tried the Canadian searches if there was the option).

If you want to read more about why you should carefully choose the words you link with, check out Liz Strauss’ article, “Link Anchor Text: SEO and Relationships“.

Quick tips on the fly

Michael uses plenty of white space on his website, which is great, but the text legibility suffers in certain areas. My advice is to avoid using orange text on a yellow background. Also, stay well clear of tiny text sizes that eliminate a large portion of your target audience, such as in the MG Communications testimonials page.

Thank you to each and every one of you who has taken the time out of your day to comment here.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

What does your website say about you?

David Airey — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:34:07 +0000

Your website opens doors to contacts you’d never imagine you’d meet. Now more than ever, millions of people have access to your online presence, and whether you like it or not, they’ll immediately judge you upon your site design.

What does your website design say about the person or business you are?

All too often the impression you think you’re giving is very different to the one you actually are. This is where it’s important to ask the opinions of others.

This is a good exercise and one I’d like you to join in with. Take a moment and think of just three words / traits you want to exude when people see your website design (words such as ‘organised’, ‘friendly’, ‘accomplished’ etc.). With those three traits in mind, now take a good look at your website homepage. Is it an adequate reflection of your personality, your skills, your business acumen?

With honesty and constructive criticism we can help eachother here. Enter your URL in the website field below, and by visiting eachother’s websites we can say what impressions we get when viewing the various designs / layouts. It’d be great if you did likewise with my own online presence.

In an ideal world

I’ve listed three traits that I’d love you to think when you see my online presence. Hopefully you’ll have thought of one or two things before reading them.

It’s something I’m always working at and aspiring towards, but I hope people view the person behind this website as…

Professional
Trustworthy
Friendly

There are other aspects I think are essential to my business practice, but these three are certainly important.

What do you want your website design to say about you?

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

EarnMyDegree.com website critique

David Airey — Mon, 14 May 2007 13:10:30 +0000

Update: 07 January 2009
Since my original review, the good people behind EarnMyDegree.com have taken our comments on board and redesigned their website. Certainly an improvement over the screenshots shown in this post.

To be honest, I was reluctant to take on this ReviewMe review for EarnMyDegree.com.

The reason being that I don’t place any value in online graphic design degree programs. You can’t take a course in visual communication without social interaction.

Group discussions, critiques and reviews of other designers’ work are all a necessity for a successful graphic design course. Would you agree?

With that said I’m going to review the website from a design and usability standpoint.

First impressions

Poor.

Take a look at the screenshot above (or visit the online graphic design degree homepage) and tell me I’m wrong. If there was ever a slight hope of gaining trust in an online graphic design degree, the website that’s selling needs to be well designed.

It’s bland, very text heavy, and looks like a template straight out of the Dreamweaver box. Certainly not something to inspire. If they offer graphic design products they should surely know a little about it themselves. Know your product.

I’ve nothing against stock photography, but there are some photos you can tell are staged for stock shots, just like the main one on the homepage for graphic design (shown below).

What I’d love to see is more imagery, and more compelling imagery at that. Sure, the navigation is obvious, which is good, but what’s the point if I don’t want to navigate through the site?

I don’t like the logo either. There’s no idea behind it, other than emphasis on ‘My’.

Suggestions for site improvement

There’s a need for a re-design, both for the logo and for the website, but here I’ll suggest a few ideas that can be implemented immediately.

Increase the size of the logo by about 50% and give it some breathing space. It needs to be more emphasized ahead of the other site elements and it’s currently squashed up in the corner, almost suffocated.

Cut a lot of text from the graphic design homepage and add more imagery. Images that say ‘graphic design‘ and ‘visual communication‘ – not ‘stock photography‘.

Increase the size of the horizontal navigation bar to promote further information.

Add testimonials to gain trust.

Change the site to a fixed width layout. It’s odd how half the site is fluid and half is fixed (such as the online learning centre pictured below).

Personally I’m not a fan of fluid site designs. It takes some of the control away from the designer / developer, and in this case increases the number of words on one line to above what is comfortable to read (though I do use a larger than average monitor).

The website doesn’t validate. Neither does mine, mainly due to third party additions, so I’m hardly one to preach. Nevertheless, I think it’s worth pointing out in a website critique.

To conclude

I’ll say it again. I don’t place much value in online graphic design programs. I apologise for the negativity in this review, but I do hope that my suggestions are taken on board.

This previous post of mine may be of interest: 5 important design aspects of any website or blog.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Watchband.biz website critique

David Airey — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:00:16 +0000

I haven’t worn a watch since my last one was ripped from my arm by a drunken hooligan, but I’ve been asked to critique Watchband.biz, an e-commerce site offering replacement watch straps.

I was previously unfamiliar with Watchband, and my first impression was one of disappointment. The colours are bland and give the site a heavy feel. This isn’t helped by small text that strains the eye. I suggest increasing the type-size and bumping up the leading. The left navigation column is black with white text. I’ve never been a fan of this combination, especially when the text is as small as it is here. I’d prefer to see white, or a light pastel for the background, with dark text. Much easier to read.

I must say, after taking a look at the site content I was surprised to see the wealth of different straps available — so it’s a shame how the first impression lets the content down.

There’s some good info tucked away in the footer navigation. Why not show it up top? Information such as tutorials to help you choose the right type of watch strap and sizing guides so your watch will actually fit shouldn’t be an after-thought, as it seems on the site.

There’s some nice photography on there too, which is hidden from the homepage. I’m sure the site would be more appealing with striking imagery on the first page. Brighten it up with more white rather than dark blue and black. This will give the customer a more pleasant visit.

There are a lot of excellent customer testimonials on the site which is vital when selling a product or service, but the testimonial page is very dull in appearance. How about some photos of people?

The Watchband.biz logo isn’t the worst I’ve seen, but I’m curious about the idea behind it.

If I wore a watch and needed a new strap, I’d visit Watchband.biz and browse their collection of products.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

Dawud Miracle’s critique of my logo blog

David Airey — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:32:39 +0000

In the spirit of giving back to those who read your blog (the SOAP programme I wrote about earlier) Dawud Miracle, of Healthy WebDesign, has kindly written quite an in-depth critique of my logo design website.

Plenty of things for me to consider, which is excellent, and right after I finish this logo design project I’m working on, I’ll get right to it.

Great critique, Dawud. I’ll let you know once I can address each aspect you mention.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

My public SOAPing of Jessica Duquette

David Airey — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 12:23:27 +0000

At the start of the month, Easton Ellsworth, of Business Blogwire, initiated Pass the SOAP — a nice idea for helping others improve their blogs.

Remove those thoughts of showers for now, because SOAP is an acronym for the Scratch One Another Program. The story goes:

100 bloggers. Each reviews one blog. Blogs are improved.

I was chosen to SOAP the It’s not about your stuff! blog, authored by the lovely Jessica Duquette.

Jessica says about her blog, “My writing is primarily about the emotional reasons that people have clutter in their lives. I also offer ‘lifestyle manangement’ tips and strategies, and sometimes, I go off topic and offer something quirky and fun!” Jessica asked for tips on improving her traffic, design and search engine rankings.

Here are some suggestions for you Jessica.

Traffic to your blog

What I notice almost immediately is the absence of an RSS icon, allowing people to subscribe to your feed. I see you have a section titled RSS Feeds at the bottom of your right column. It’s good to see you’ve included this, but why not have it up top beside the ‘subscribe by email’ box?

Many people are reluctant to give out their email addresses. Of course it’s great that you give the option of subscribing by email, because not everyone will want to learn about RSS feeds. I do the same on this blog and also use Feedblitz’s free service.

Looking through your front-page articles I notice the variation in dates when you make a new post. Again, consistency will help you here, giving your readers some indication as to how often you’re going to update. I know it’s not easy keeping it regular, so if you know you’re going to be unable to post for a while then why not let your readers know? Maybe you’re going on holiday for example. I’m sure your audience would be interested and they’ll not end up worrying about your absence (which does happen).

Blog design

The first thing I notice upon visiting your blog is the header. It’s not easy to read your title and strapline due to the lack of contrast over the background. My advice is to stay clear of outlines and drop shadows. All too often people see filters in PhotoShop and other graphics programs and think that using them will improve their design.

I’m not saying don’t use imagery. Just add a little contrast to the text and remove the outline and drop shadow. Had you thought of adopting a personal logo design? Use of a logo can improve brand consistency, even for personal blogs.

Moving away from your header image, the body text is mostly a good size for legibility and I commend you on that. Be careful of using too many colours within the text however. I notice you use pink, red, black and blue. Try not to use more than two colours within your text. Three at the most. Also, the body text varies in size from time to time and I can’t quite understand why. Consistency here will improve your design a great deal.

Search engine rankings (SEO)

This is not my forté, Jessica. I don’t profess to be an expert but there are some people who know what they’re talking about over at the SEO Clinic where you can submit your site for free advice.

Also, here are some worthwhile SEO blogs:

What do you think of Jessica’s blog? Do you have any tips or suggestions you could offer up? Jessica, I hope this has been of some help. Kindest regards.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

My personal critique of Marc Rapp’s blog

David Airey — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 18:15:41 +0000

A few weeks ago I asked you how can I improve my blog? I thought the response was superb!

As a small token of appreciation I mentioned how the person who offered up the most useful comments would receive a critique from me. It was tough choosing just one person, so I’ve offered up a review for any of my commenters and regular readers. All I ask is for a little mention on your blog or site. A review would be even more well received!

The person I did choose, however, was Marc Rapp with his Uniquely the Epitome blog, and here’s my personal critique.

Marc’s blog is similar to mine in that it has some emphasis on creative advertising throughout the world. It’s also quite a simplistic design which gets my thumbs up.

At first glance there’s one major issue with the content, and that’s the type size. It’s not the easiest to read in the left and right columns and I’d much rather see it a couple of point sizes larger. The body text in the central column isn’t too bad at all. Perhaps just a slight increase would help. I do enjoy how Marc keeps the dark text on a white background. Too many blogs and websites show the main body text on a dark background which I’m not a big fan of.

The second thing that’s drawn to my attention is the absence of a ‘categories’ section. It’s not immediately apparent what Marc likes to write about without scrolling down through the posts. There is a ‘recent posts’ section at the top of the page which is helpful, and is actually quite unique in its placement. Most blogs I read have a large header filling this spot so it’s a nice difference.

At the time of writing there were five ‘recent posts’ listed on Marc’s blog. The first four spanned just two days yet the fifth most recent post was around one month before these. It’s not easy to post on a regular basis, but if possible, by staggering these five posts over a period of one month there’d be over one post per week, rather than having an absence of four weeks.

It would be interesting to know what Marc wants to achieve through his blog. Does he want to build a subscriber base? Promote his skills for employment opportunities? Make money? Perhaps he simply wants to document some of the things that appeal to his creative side. Maybe he can tell us. It’s a good question to ask yourself now and again so that you can evaluate what you’re actually doing with your blog. Setting specific targets is also a good idea.

Does Marc own his blog? I notice that Marc’s blog is run through Blogger. Perhaps switching your blog from its current location to one where you can host it yourself would offer more control.

You might notice on the Uniquely the Epitome blog that the ‘older posts’ section dates back to May 2006. However, with no sections for specific categories, and no search facility on the site, I worry that Marc’s great content is becoming buried in the depths of the blogosphere with few people getting to see it. By adding a search box or categories section (above the fold i.e. towards the top of the main page) older content would be within easier reach and findability. Also, no-one likes to read ‘old news’. How about renaming it ‘archives’ or ‘past posts’?

Shown in the diagram below, Marc has a great spread of readers across the globe.

This makes me wonder if I should add a language translator to my own blog. Marc allows readers to choose between English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Arabic. I know automatic text translators are far from perfect, but I do believe that it’s helping his global reach.

There’s a ‘future posts’ section at the top right of the blog. If I’ve seen this on another blog I can’t remember where. It’s nice to see what Marc plans on discussing. This is a good way of helping visitors decide whether or not to subscribe to his RSS feed. Speaking of which, I’d like to see the RSS icon further up the page. I’m currently viewing the blog on my laptop (1200 x 800 resolution) and the RSS icon is just below the fold. People shouldn’t have to look very far if they want to subscribe.

The future posts section is the only element that occupies the right hand column, making it look quite bare in comparison to the left. Why not shift a few elements from left to right, adding more interest to the upper section of the blog? Either that, or switch to a two column layout, allocating more space to the post content.

In summary

Add a search feature
Increase the type size on left and right columns
Increase leading for the body text
Label posts with category tags and display the categories
Think about switching to a self-hosted domain
Make RSS icon more prominent
Don’t advertise ‘old news’
Add some interest to the right hand column

If you have any comments or additions about Marc’s blog I’m sure he’d greatly appreciated it. He seems like a very decent bloke (finishing with some praise so Marc doesn’t black-list me).

David Airey, graphic designer » Your design critiqued

When asking for a design critique

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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The myth of constructive criticism?

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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Your changes to my graphic design blog

Have your say

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3,000th commenter deserves a mention

Quick tips on the fly

Thank you to each and every one of you who has taken the time out of your day to comment here.

Published on David Airey, graphic designer

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What does your website say about you?

What does your website design say about the person or business you are?

In an ideal world

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EarnMyDegree.com website critique

First impressions

Suggestions for site improvement

To conclude

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Watchband.biz website critique

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Dawud Miracle’s critique of my logo blog

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My public SOAPing of Jessica Duquette

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My personal critique of Marc Rapp’s blog

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