Is 15 too old to be listed here?

**Foundationflash** · 06:28 PM

Pfft... At least I'm going to be a bit more modest. I know I haven't posted for ages, so sorry and all, but both Leon (my friend and fellow web design business partner) and I have been working on our new web design firm's site. It's called Dreamed Up and we want to it to be fantastic.

Unfortunately (and ironically) neither of us are artistic people, so we pretty much always need inspiration. We generally draw this from lots of different sites. Sometimes it's hard to take a step back and that's where you great guys come in.

Basically we only have a few debates to settle, so I invite you to take a look, see what you think, post and particularly answer this question: Is everything simply too big?

Well, here's the site (only one page at the moment - links do NOT work): http://www.foundation-flash.com/dreamedup/.

Happy looking! All suggestions welcome.

**notleon** · 05-31-2008, 05:21 PM

Yes. Massive.

**VOID Pheonix** · 05:41 PM

Not only is Dreamed Up too "large" it is definitely uninspired. You also have issues to which you must attend. The "only" page is amateurish, unfinished, and click away encouraging; this lead to a very confusing link-hop session searching for answers. This is a web design firm?! There are links "Home" which lead to Dreamed Up and others which lead to Foundation Flash. There will NOT be any customers developed from the Dreamed Up page! Maybe you should consider a different line of work. The web design ideas must be uniquely developed for each client, and you have not a clue.

Futhermore, (concerning deception) your Foundation Flash site was essentially "swiped" as suggested by your own admission. Tsk, tsk.

**Foundationflash** · 06:26 PM

That's really harsh. I mean, really harsh. I shall, however, attempt to respond to some of the claims made in your post.

Quote:

"only page"

As I said, this is currently only a one page design. Hence, this bit does not make any sense:

Quote:

this lead to a very confusing link-hop session searching for answers. This is a web design firm?! There are links "Home" which lead to Dreamed Up and others which lead to Foundation Flash.

The links aren't supposed to work. They're dummy links and are not intended to 'go' anywhere yet; no wonder you had problems trying to follow them.

Quote:

your Foundation Flash site was essentially "swiped"

From where might have I swiped 84 hand-written tutorials, may I ask? And where did I "admit" this? I am going to correct the wording of my earlier post in case I give this misleading impression to anyone else.

Finally, do you have anything constructive to mention? Improvements to suggest? If I wanted design inspiration I probably wouldn't use a pretty much default blogspot template. That can be saved for another thread, however. For the minute I am going to ignore the considering of "a different line of work" comment and get on with life.

Thank you.

**notleon** · 05-31-2008, 07:43 PM

You kind of got pwned there harry.

In case you hadn't guessed, I am actually Leon. I don't design. I code. I keep telling harry the site looks crap. It does. thanks for backing me up.

**andrei155** · 09:10 PM

The body text is too large. You might want to make it a size 12 font and reduce the amount of spacing between lines. The outline of the body looks very good, so there isn't any problem there. However you might want to liven up the header bit.

The brown part should be replaced with some kind of attractive image, or series of web icons.

Your logo and navigation should also be enhanced.

More importantly, try to something creative with your body text. Don't get carried away, but try to find web icons that would represent each category. Or divide them horizontally in a series of blocks, with an icon representing each. Currently it is a bit too plain.

And lastly, try to make the rounded edges of the container div less-pixely.

All in all it's in okay site.

**VOID Pheonix** · 05-31-2008, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foundationflash

Unfortunately (and ironically) neither of us are artistic people, so we pretty much always need inspiration. We generally draw this from lots of different sites. Sometimes it's hard to take a step back and that's where you great guys come in.

You and I both know this is the paragraph where you created the "swipe" confusion. The page in question must be recognizable else you would not have advised those in the know to keep quiet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foundationflash

From where might have I swiped 84 hand-written tutorials, may I ask? And where did I "admit" this? I am going to correct the wording of my earlier post in case I give this misleading impression to anyone else.

Swipe files are a common tool of many trades and crafts. We used to call them idea files or trend-trackers. None of this had anything to do with your hand-crafted tutorials which I never even noticed. It was all about DESIGN; the difference between your two sites is staggering.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foundationflash

Finally, do you have anything constructive to mention? Improvements to suggest? If I wanted design inspiration I probably wouldn't use a pretty much default blogspot template. That can be saved for another thread, however. For the minute I am going to ignore the considering of "a different line of work" comment and get on with life.

Thank you.

The new paragraph is MUCH more precise but, looking at the Dreamed Up site I still have to wonder about your design proficiency.

At least now I understand the faulty linkage. They ARE live; however, and DO go somewhere. I know this because I went there through those links.

Finally, your immaturity demonstrated itself quite clearly in your attempt to discredit me through the mention of my own inspired website on Blogspot. Since I am NOT a web designer, NOR a coder, I rely heavily upon WYSIWYG editors and the relative genius behind every little snippet and widget I utilize. Due to the over-abundance of coders and designers here, and their demeanor toward those not of their ilk, my site will not again be up for content and layout review. I write, Leon codes, you design(?) - that is the kind of networking that makes big things happen for little players.

As for Dreamed Up, scrap it and start over when the inspiration strikes. Trust me, as a writer I create some horrid stuff at times. When that happens, and as the proof-reader and editor I know it, I follow my own advice.

**Foundationflash** · 06-01-2008, 06:12 AM

Yeah, I'm sorry. I was just kind of annoyed (overly so). I'm feeling better now though. And I will take all of the above ideas on board, and alter the design accordingly.
I'm not going to scrap the design though, just alter it.

**DomsRoberts** · 06-02-2008, 09:03 AM

Wha tis going on with the header, it's got blocks of white and blue all over it.

**LadynRed** · 06-02-2008, 11:14 AM

Well, as a DESIGNER, I have to tell you that your new site is, well, unimpressive. I personally don't care for all that big text, everything big, look, it's just so 'in your face' and not pleasant at all.

It is unwise to specify a font that very few people will have in their machines. I happen to have Myriad Pro on my machine, and I have to tell you that as a display font for the web it LOOKS HORRIBLE. Ditch that one and find a display font that was not meant just for print.

The color scheme.. is kinda non-existent, sorry. That 'baby poop' brown isn't a nice color. I suggest utilizing a color tool, like http://kuler.adobe.com to come up with a pleasing color scheme.

If you're going to sell yourself as a web design company - HIRE a designer if you don't have the talent for it yourself.

**highanddry** · 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foundationflash

That's really harsh. I mean, really harsh. I shall, however, attempt to respond to some of the claims made in your post.

As I said, this is currently only a one page design. Hence, this bit does not make any sense:

The links aren't supposed to work. They're dummy links and are not intended to 'go' anywhere yet; no wonder you had problems trying to follow them.

From where might have I swiped 84 hand-written tutorials, may I ask? And where did I "admit" this? I am going to correct the wording of my earlier post in case I give this misleading impression to anyone else.

Finally, do you have anything constructive to mention? Improvements to suggest? If I wanted design inspiration I probably wouldn't use a pretty much default blogspot template. That can be saved for another thread, however. For the minute I am going to ignore the considering of "a different line of work" comment and get on with life.

Thank you.

Yeah that guy basically ignored everything you stated just to bash you. It was pretty obvious to me immediately, that the links were "dummy." I actually don't think its THAT bad, but it does need some work. The design is kind of ordinary, the graphic (rounded)corners are low quality. It is also hard to judge a single page, but the text looks cluttered at that size and organization. Keep trying man, I had a number of duds before I hit the design that I was really proud of. If you are not artistic, look for inspiration in sites you like online. When you find elements of sites you like, you can start combining them and practicing until you have something unique and original. Good Luck~

BTW, if notleon is a "partner" he seems like an <snip>.

Quote:

I keep telling harry the site looks crap. It does. thanks for backing me up.

If it were legit business, you would never want to attack your partner on an open discussion forum. Aside from business, that's not "friendly" for a "friend." But I guess when I was 15, a " friend" was defined as, "male that I know" because there are few genuine friends at that age.

Quote:

HIRE a designer if you don't have the talent for it yourself.

I don't think design is necessarily a matter of "talent." I know great designers who have little artistic knowledge or skill but utilize the principles of design to make fantastic websites. If you are intelligent and work hard, there are very few things that 'not having talent' will limit you with.

**vangogh** · 06-02-2008, 06:32 PM

I agree with Jacob. I won't tell you the design is great, but it's far from bad. The text is too big. It looks like you have it set at 18px. Try something between 11px and 14px.

I'd rather see a color other than the brown and you might want to add splashes of color in other places. Give your headings a color other than black.

The design could use some improvement, but it doesn't need to be scrapped.

**Nike** · 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VOID Pheonix

Not only is Dreamed Up too "large" it is definitely uninspired. You also have issues to which you must attend. The "only" page is amateurish, unfinished, and click away encouraging; this lead to a very confusing link-hop session searching for answers. This is a web design firm?! There are links "Home" which lead to Dreamed Up and others which lead to Foundation Flash. There will NOT be any customers developed from the Dreamed Up page! Maybe you should consider a different line of work. The web design ideas must be uniquely developed for each client, and you have not a clue.

Futhermore, (concerning deception) your Foundation Flash site was essentially "swiped" as suggested by your own admission. Tsk, tsk.

hahahahahahah Dude you better be a God at web design to talk all that crap. hahahaha Oh my God im actually dieing right now.. Next design you make hes gonna tear you apart hahah

Well anyways about the design.
it's a nice design for like a blog.. But the top header is nice. But, I'd recommend putting a Services link. Also put a quote, like "Your quality hosting. Put like a server in the design some where to show your a hosting company. And "Dreamed Up" doesn't really sound like a hosting company...

**LadynRed** · 06-03-2008, 11:33 AM

Nike.. where did you see anywhere that it's a hosting company ?? By his own words, they are a WEB DESIGN company.

Quote:

I have been working on our new web design firm's site. It's called Dreamed Up

**Nike** · 06-03-2008, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadynRed

Nike.. where did you see anywhere that it's a hosting company ?? By his own words, they are a WEB DESIGN company.

hahahaha touche! it was late last night, and i was high. so i kinda thought it was hosting.