Please review my site JoelCory.com

[Joel Cory]

Hello,

I'm always critical of my own designs, but would like to hear what other designers have to say...

http://www.joelcory.com

This is my portfolio site I use to represent my work in web design, development, and flash coding.

I would appreciate any constructive feedback you may have.

Joel Cory

[Joel Cory]

Love it? Hate it? Any comments at all?

Joel

[Bennie]

Your site is lovely - the sort I most enjoy. It is beautiful to
look at (intriguing with the 3D effect) and includes pertinent
articles and links. I admire the clean layout and perfectly
logical and easy navigation.

Good luck in your job search.

[tscreative]

Nicely done. The design does not wow me, but it is clean, uncluttered and well coded.

Suggestion: in your portfolio page, I would put linked graphics of the sites that you have done and let people chose to click on them if they wish and not have to leave YOUR site. Any time someone leaves your site, you take a chance they may not be back, either by chose or accident.

Also, make a decision what it is you want people to focus on, your web media, your design, or your photography. Either separate them or dump the lesser ones. If you want a job as a web designer, no one is going to care if you do photography. Keep your eye on what is your goal and how to sell that. Being a generalist only means you are more easily looked over instead of looked at.

Nice job.

[Joel Cory]

I have recently updated the site's appearance. Not as simple, and reordered the content. I am still planning on re-doing the portfolio section, but it more ordered now.

Thanks for the comments. Feel free to tell me what you think of the new site.

[Joel Cory]

Yikes, I'd never thought if it that way before...but you have a point. The original reviews were of a different site look. I updated it a bit, but now I may start all over again after this last comment. Not a Wordpress template, although, I did adapt my blog to use the CSSfor the rest of the site.

[ParkSinta]

Firstable, forgive me for my english and the format of my review:

- Your site is simple and clear, i don´t if it´s copy, but in that case, a good one

- Portfolio menu, seems a bit small

- Contact form seems to be not center.

Besides that, keep doind such a good work


please check my website too and let me your comments
http://www.dtg-forums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1339

[Joel Cory]

"It looks to me like a Wordpress template with a new photo at the top???"

Actually, having some time and distance from this evaluation (fred's) has made me question the validity of the critique. Just because it looks like a blog, doesn't make it a bad design. It is a blog. Just because it follows the standardized conventions of a top nav, top banner, content, and footer, doesn't make it a bad design. It makes it consistent with the standard conventions of web sites and corporate identity.

Please reconsider your flippant comment and really evaluate the design, if you care to spend more than 3 seconds thinking about it. Otherwise you're just flexing for everyone on this forum and not providing any value.

Additionally your comment might hold more weight if you actually had any of your own work available for review. To this point, in reviewing the sites you've praised, I wasn't that impressed. So maybe I don't need to really consider your opinion.

[marsel]

I love the design the glossy look is beautiful! I can't fins anything bad to say about it no flaws in my eyes. great work!

[fred]

Okay... my previous comment was a bit terse! Sorry.

I had been looking at these sites for review all day, and they were beginning to look all the same.

The conclusion is : one shouldn't look at too many websites at a time while trying to evaluate their design merits.

Let me make some CONSTRUCTIVE comments instead...

1) The "Joel Cory" type is nice, the warm orange type pops off the cooler gray-blue background.

2) I would like to see the main body text larger. Perhaps much larger.

Right now it looks like its about 9 pixels, maybe smaller. You're running 92 to 94 character widths -- and 45 to 55 would make it much more reader friendly. It would also make the text in some of the posts drive deeper into the page for a better matchup with the page template.

(Note on short posts, the right column continues far down the page leaving a lot of empty space. While I'm not one to complain about white space -- in the case of these template driven blogs, short posts turn out looking 'unfinished' ... I know, it happens all the time on several blogs I help with or run.)



3) Rotating Photos

One thing that puzzled me was the series of photos which blend through the header. I like the camera knob, crayons and other images which directly relate to you and the design profession -- but some of the more abstract "nature" elements don't seem to reinforce the message.

Are you primarily a nature photographer?
I looked through the portfolio, but didn't get the same feeling portrayed by the photos in the header. Those photos give sort of a soft 'zen' naturalist look, while most of your work is more bold with primary colors and hard edges.

I'm not suggesting showing literal samples in the header -- but perhaps one might consider a series of images which visually portray "designer" ... just an observation.

4) Foreground vs. Background color

Overall, the selection of colors in the foreground header banner and corresponding background "banner" area are nice, and really do help dispel the stigma of the typical "instant" blog look. The design of the header and white content presentation area gives an overall look of a printed sheet, which is effective and professional. (Some of the other reviewers sensed it too) However, we need to ask if that effect can be heightened. Perhaps a little experiment...

I'd like to see if the effect would take on much more drama if the dark color of the background behind the page continued on down the window, forming the whole background.

When the window is narrowed, the lighter background and small 'shadow' effects to either side of the white content area help reinforce the visual 'sheet' metaphor. However, at full screen width (which most people use) the light panels at either side tend to call too much attention to themselves -- rather competing with the whiteness of the "paper".

Let's see how much more that "paper" would pop forward if that background continued all the way down?

See: joel_cory.jpg

When a site is as "finished" as this one, it's difficult to pick bones at the overall design. However, one must continue to ask questions. It is not so much asking what is "wrong" with a visual image... rather "what is right" and does it fulfill the mission.

Never stop asking questions.

Fred

PS: and by the way -- you did NOT "pick a fight" with me... actually, I'm glad you called me to task. I should not have made the previous terse remark -- but rather should have adhered to my own hard-and-fast rule:

"If you can't say anything constructive, don't say anything at all."

I've been called everything in the book, but never once has it "picked a fight" with me. Open discussion is what this is all about, and if someone says something you don't like, ask them about it to clear the air so a more meaningful experience can come of it.

Hope I'm forgiven.