I hope, if you plan to revise anything, that the following criticisms help. But, first, a disclaimer: I don't intend them to be mean or hurtful – quite the opposite. In art school, we'd rip each other new ones every critique – there were tears and sobbing and such from time to time. But we got loads better because of it. I was in a few classes where everyone was just "oh, it's nice," and I didn't see the class-wide progress I saw in other classes where people were more outspoken and critical. So, consider it "tough love" if you want
It's meant to help. Now, you could very well be past the point of revision, and if so, these aren't any use.
But if not...1. For such a typographic, text-centric site as NWR, your textual hierarchy isn't nearly strong enough. Your text fields bleed into one another, and I'm left asking, What am I supposed to read first? Next? Last? Not at all? There's no
dominant design element, making the other elements feel "squishy" in their placements, as if they could float around without ever clicking into place somewhere). Now, your advertisers are probably happy that their ads are in contrast so bold, but... come on, give the visuals of your site some graphical weapons to fight back against them!
2. The site "logo" hasn't been pushed enough yet – where's the polish and detail? It says "Round 1" to me. What does the 5th round look like? The 10th? Now, I don't mean that the base design has to change – just that, if you keep refining it, how does it evolve? That may very well be the dominant element you're missing right now that makes my eye float around without ever settling on something. A logo, before anything, must be flexible. Does it have a vertical or stacked orientation (because honestly, a stacked version would fit in the corner much better in the current design)? How does it translate when it's very small and very large? The browser-line graphic demonstrates that it doesn't translate into small sizes well. And when large, as I mentioned before, I'd want more attention to detail and/or evidence that someone
painstakingly crafted every little serif (ok, there aren't any serifs, but you know what I mean
)
3. It's too plain. It doesn't come off as minimalistic, but rather unfinished and, almost oxymoronically, cluttered. A few masterfully-placed strokes/rules
could make all the difference, but it's hard to tell without seeing how the design reacts. If we take a look at the Wii console – and it's clear the design draws heavy inspiration from Nintendo's newest arrival – it's not just a seemless slab of white resin – there are seams, feet, a disc slot, vents, a stand, etc. Given the amount of info you need to fit onto the front page as a news source, it needs a better "tray" to deliver it all.
Ok, a critique is comprised of pointing out what needs work and what's already working, so keep your head up! There ARE things which are working really well. Maybe these could serve as guideposts for bringing the rest of your elements up to the same level.
1. The "Lead Post" designation, with the vertical red rule. Dig it. I'm supposed to read this first. It beckons to me with hungry eyes.
2. Image Viewer is pretty slick. It's
flashy and effective. On my machine, it's a little slower than just loading up a new HTML page, but I'd say it's worth the trade off.
3. Name. It transcends fansite-dom, which is fitting since this is the most professional independent Nintendo news site around. I also like the acronym. NWR. It doesn't
quite roll off the tongue as well as PGC, but it'll become more and more second nature the longer it's around.
There's good groundwork laid here, guys. To me, though, this is only the beginning. A few revisions could improve it vastly. I just hope some of my comments can help it reach its full potential.
Topic: Nintendo World Report (Read 13874 times)
