Flipsphere 3.0

Let Me just begin by saying, compared to your old design, I see SO MUCH improvement. Now, onto the harsh nature of a critique.

Point of information: I am looking at your live website, not your deviantart picture, in case others are going to view the critique for learning potential.

First point: Loading time is slightly slow for me (I have 150mb/sec connection to the internet, which is insane high, most won't have this) so I am slightly concerned about the load time. This is due to the large, though they are HD quality, so the quality is great, so it's one of those situations of quality vs. load time.. I, personally, always go for quality, so I commend you for that... BUT longer load times due lead to missed views, as some people do not like websites they have to wait to view the main page. Suggestion: My main loading page is completely basic (www.wardarthouse.com) and I use it as a "portal" to my family's individual pages. This might be something to consider.

Next: Color scheme. It looks great. Last time, there were complaints I had, this time... I can honestly say, I have no negative thoughts of it. It's a great mix, neutral colors, with a splash of that light blue. It is a great combination.

Next: Scale. Viewing your page on my computer (1920x1080 resolution) everything is HUGE. Once the page loads, you see 1/3 of the top pictures on the 6-panel of art pieces, and everything above that. If you like the huge nature, I would definitely say move the panels down, so that they are next for the viewer to see, and they can focus on the main image, and the menu bar itself, as a slightly conservative/minimalistic entering point to your website. Or, which would also help loading time... Shrink everything down, so it is all one page from the bottom "view portfolio" button and above. Then leave the form as the only part you have to scroll down for. That is what I would suggest.

Next: Rollover effects. I like how the three circular buttons have the outward zoom effect to them, but then when i go down to the picture, and the outward zoom is also there, AND the fade to a darker color, AND THEN, slowly after, the text goes over to relieve the name and description... Well, it's just too activity much for me, I feel it degrades the image with too much activity for the viewer to focus on.... Kind of clusters them with too much. I'd say leave the effect on the circular buttons, but then, on the images, take away the zoom effect. Leave the rest. Have the text come in earlier as the fade happens, and when the fade stops, have the text be where it need to be then, not after.

Next: the top menu bar. It's confusing what pages they are actually trying to go to. "What?" "Who?" It took me a bit to understand what you meant by that, as there is just "flipsphere" on the side... but no text anywhere up top stating what the purpose of the site is.. I would stick to either adding a subtext to the logo to introduce the new viewer to the objective of the website... Or change the words What? and Who? to "Services" and "About" or something more literal to that end point. Then, I am assuming the website is not complete, as three of the buttons did not go anywhere, only the about did... Then once I went to about, i couldnt go back to home without pressing the Logo itself, like there was no button that stated where to go home.. Its a simple fix. Just add something that says home. Not everyone will know to click the logo right away. Then, as you will hear me say in the next section... Give your menu buttons more creative approach... The simple text is minimal... but I dunno... It's pretty boring. Maybe spice it up with a better text than what is used for reports and books.

Next: the bottom menu bar. One word for that... BORING. Even simpler text than the top menu... With such complexity in design everywhere else? That has to change. It is also soooo tiny compared to everything else, it just doesn't want to fit in with the design. I'd say take the top menu bar, and scale it down to like 40-50%, visually. That might actually meet that, but visually it does not look like it. Also, missing an index or home button.

Next: Who? Page, with headline of ABOUT. See previous note on thoughts of "Who?". But, then, the drastic change to the light blue background around everything... Too much color. Keep with the same color scheme as the home page, looks much better visually.

Last: Overall design elements. Sans Serif font. Geometric grid. Great improvement since last time. I really like it, though it is minimalistic, that is something that is really "in" right now, so I commend you for that.

Hope this all helped!

Regards,

Sean Christopher Ward