Fresh designs, hot off the farm
I've been doing a lot more web design than usual lately, all in a hurry since I haven't had much free time. Check out these 3 new sites:
Do let me know which one is your favorite (and if you were wondering, the last one is built on top of the theme I used for ihavesenioritis.com).
IANAD (i am not a designer) but, I like Feedmeplz the most. Facebook App Reviews is my least favorite.. something about all that whitespace
Ditto what kenny said ('cept I'm working on becoming a designer)… I'm not sure what I like about Feedmeplz but I just do.
Maybe the appeal of feedmeplz has something to do with the fact that the colors are not very "typical?" It was definitely a change of pace for me to use orange in a design.
I don't mean to be a downer or anything, but the designs aren't very inspiring. They actually look very pre-2000 and just overly lack-luster. The color palettes are boring and none of them make me want to stick around. I like the feedmeplz idea, but the design is enough to keep me from being a full-fledged member at the moment.
Ben: For someone who didn't want to be a downer, you did a very good job.
I'm just trying to help. That's all, man.
I understand your intention, but I am wondering if you are looking for something here that I had no intention of delivering. My goal with these designs was to make something highly usable and easy to read, since the content is what matters. I could have paid someone to make a design that would attract users on looks alone, but I'm more interested in letting the content stand out.
When you say things like, "the design is enough to keep me from being a full-fledged member," it's instantly clear that you are a design junkie who only visits websites to drool over the graphics and doesn't have any interest in the content itself. I really don't understand that kind of thinking.
I think one point you might consider is that beautiful design and usability can go hand in hand. In fact, the measure of truly great design is how well these two are integrated. In these examples I believe the usability side was emphasized a bit too much, to the expense of the beauty of the site. Visual interest is not just for design junkies. While 'ugly' sites like Craigslist can be successful, this owes more to their content than any particular ease of use. All else being equal (which I know it never is) the more beautiful site wins every time.
So what you are saying, Tobias, is that these sites are on the level of Craigslist? I mean, don't get me wrong, I am planning on redesigning these sites in a couple months if I find the time; I'm just trying to understand your comment.
No, absolutely not! I personally like the designs (especially Feedmeplz) and feel they succeed at their stated goal - usability. They are not anything I would herald as examples of beautiful/innovative design, but as you said, they were never intended to be.
I just wanted to clarify that GREAT design (as opposed to 'good' design) manages to create beauty and visual interest without negatively impacting usability or obscuring content.
This is the very reason there are designers (and not just coders with Dreamweaver and Photoshop).
I agree with your opinion that beautiful design alone does not suffice. It must be backed by great content and also be intuitive and user-friendly. The union of these three in one package constitutes what I would call great design.
Oh, OK, understood. I very much agree with you.