30 Minute Redesign #86: Get it Done Home Improvements
30 Minute Redesign: Ink It
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PSDFan Extra
Week 20: Climb Addict
In the space of 5 minutes I can identify some of the key strengths and weaknesses of this design, and sketch out a mockup.
STRENGTHS:
- The site has a clear logo and heading announcing what the site does
- The products are fairly prominently displayed, instantly giving the user what they’re looking for
- The brown color-scheme seems relevant to the site’s theme (rocks)
WEAKNESSES:
- The site has too much going on. The sidebar is extremely long due to listing every single product – this just isn’t practical.
- The welcome text is really unappealing. Instead of having a simple welcome sentence the user is barraged with paragraphs of small, uninteresting text.
- It’s good that products are displayed on the homepage, but there is simply too many. The owner should display on the best products to get people’s attention.
- The black outline around the content areas and layout make it feel rigid and restricted. You need a sense of freedom that climbers feel to be associated with the design.
My Redesign
As always, I was limited by the 30 minute time-frame, but I tried to improve upon several of Climb Addict’s features, adding a few design flourishes and a clearer layout that promoted content over wasted space:
WHAT I TRIED TO DO:
- Open the design up, using a creative rock face header and sky background. This captures the freedom and openness associated with climbing.
- Add a much clearer welcome message, cutting down on text and focusing on the essentials.
- Generally make the design more fun, through use of icons, colorful elements and creative fonts.
- Cut down on the number of products displayed, instead choosing 3 latest products and 3 popular products.
Comparing the 2 Designs:
Here is a quick comparison between the original design and my 30 minute redesign. Sure, my design could be more polished, but I believe that a lot of the basic elements have been improved upon, creating a more pleasant browsing experience.
How and Why To Enter Redesign Saturdays
You can have the chance to have your website redesigned in next weeks post. All you need to do is leave a comment to this post with your website address and why you think it needs a redesign.
The Benefits of Getting Your Site Redesigned Include:
- Most obviously – a FREE redesign job!
- Your website gets exposure to PSDFAN’s thousands of readers
- You understand how to improve your website. This isn’t just a redesign, it’s a lesson in design.
- You will get emailed the .psd of your redesign and can do whatever you want with it!
So please, leave a comment today for a chance to have your website redesigned next week!
About the Author:
Tom is the founder of PSDFAN. He loves writing tutorials, learning more about design and interacting with the community. On a more interesting note he can also play guitar hero drunk with his teeth.
17 Comments:
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Another fantastic redesign. Relevant colours and textures and a much more pleasing design. Just my opinion, but the product images look a bit odd, maybe a thin border around them would sep. them from the background a bit.
Anyway, another fantastic redesign. Well done.
Oh man, this is *so* much better, what a great improvement!
Thanks a lot guys!
This was one of the most fun redesigns I’ve worked on so far.
Nick: I see what you mean about the product images. That’s definitely the kind of thing I’d touch up if I had more time.
An awesome redesign. What a transformation. The new design is “hip” and really connects with the target market. Fantastic work.
Sweet re-design. The text in the top one is to small and the large/small/color variations all about it are unbalanced & confuse the eyes. Yours is much easier to read and I am drawn to the products vs: what to focus on in the original. Nice work~
30 minutes? Man you have mad skills!!!
wow what an improvement, your design looks clean and inviting. i struggle to believe you achieved so much in 30 mins? you are the man.
The “volare windsurf school” website i built for a friend a few years ago, whilst teaching windsurfing and is in need of a fresh look.
A big difference for this design, the original really wasn’t telling us what the company are actually selling so this is a lot more clearer and enjoyable to browse through. You need to get people’s attention as soon as they are on your site and this design definitely does this.
Great redesign! Always enjoy reading the posts!
But how about something more challenging? Here is the website that I would like you to try to redesign. http://www.unece.org/stats/stats_h.htm
It targets global audience, it doesn’t sell any products and it deals with very specific information (statistics). How would you make this more user-friendly?
Cheers,
David
Thank you SO much for choosing my site for your redesign! I am going to work to incorporate the changes you offer, to the extent I can within the shop(it is not completely customizable, as it is a template through cafepress.com).
I have been trying to get an actual website for ClimbAddict, as well(and having frustrations trying to do on my own, via WordPress blog software). I’m to the point I’ve asked for paid help, and will keep your suggestions in mind as we work on that as well.
Nice design and awesome.
The redesign is much clearer than the original as it shows what the website offers in a more attractive way. This is a major improvement over the original design as it stands out more and looks easier to use. Also the redesign looks fresh and has more of a chance of connecting with the target audience.
Great redesign wish to also submit my site for redesign . Its a joomla template butwould want a cooler design to code to wordpress
Thanks
Wow, what some skills you have, esp. to be able to do this in 30 mins. I would like to put out site forward for a re-design. We have been planning an overhaul for a while both in terms of content but perhaps more importantly, looks.
Hi Tom. This week, 300% better than the original!.
I´d like to submit this site for a redesign: http://rivaspropiedadesmdp.com.ar
This is probably my favorite out of all of the redesigns you’ve done. Amazing job!
Wow, this is a great redesign!!! definitely my favourite site you have done Tom!!!
Keep up the good work!!