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PSDFan Extra
Week 28: Creativity-Quotes
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:
- Clean and simple design
- The quotes are fairly prominent, and utilize nice typography
- There isn’t much obsolete content, making the quotes the main feature
WEAKNESSES:
- The content isn’t especially engaging. The typical blog format isn’t really suitable.
- The sidebar content is pointless, as there are no comments, and all the latest posts are just to the left of it anyway.
- The number of quotes displayed on the homepage takes away from the individuality of each one. The top quote has less impact because of the other quotes on the page.
- The design is simple and clean which is good, but there is a lack of ‘design touches’. It needs something to distinguish it from other minimal blogs/websites.
My Redesign
As always, I was limited by the 30 minute time-frame, but I tried to improve upon several of Creativity-Quotes’ features, adding a few design flourishes and a clearer layout that promoted content over wasted space:
WHAT I TRIED TO DO:
- Maintain the simple, clean feel, but give it more of a unique design, with design flourishes.
- Made the quotes have much more impact, by only displaying one very prominently on the homepage.
- Encouraged user interaction, but getting users to click through to see more quotes, share quotes on their social networking sites etc…
- Used typography to fit the theme of ‘creativity’, using boldness, and various shades of gray to distinguish content and direct user attention.
- Used subtle lighting effects in the backgrounds and on buttons/other visual elements to add depth to the design.
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.
*NOTE: I can only accept sites with English content, as foreign language websites are simply too hard for me to work with.
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.
16 Comments:
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Lovely redesign still simple but way more stylish. I’m entering mine just to see what will happen to it! Very intrigued.
Thanks Jason
. You’ve already got a pretty cool design, but looking at it a few ideas spring to mind.
The site you have designed is far more comfortable to look at and engage with, the original site makes me want to go away. Too busy and monotonous.
Having said that, I know there is much needed improvement on my site. I was/am going for simple, fun, and clean. I would love your thoughts.
Loftymornings.com
Thanks, Kate
Very nice redesign,. Like the color tones chosen too. ~
I love how you kep the simplicity of the site and made the font the focus of the site. Using that style really gives it a chic professional look.
I really appreciate the kind words guys! I definitely think the simpler, more focused approach would work with this site.
Hi Tom, wow, thanks for choosing my site and thanks for the fantastic job you’ve done!! Plenty of food for thought there, I will look forward to receiving the PDF and looking at it in more detail. Thanks again, much appreciated. Colin.
Please consider a redesign for http://commercialstar.org, I think the reason I feel it needs a redesign is because I am still learning. First, the placement of elements, second, the proper format, and third, “Information” that coincides with the overall design. I love the colors and feel it pops and excites a viewer. Thank you for your consideration. Donna
Colin: Just emailing the design across now
. I’m really glad you liked the redesign.
Donna: I’ll be sure to include it in next week’s poll.
Another wonderful re-design, the colors are more appealing and the quotes are nicely presented in the middle, giving more focus to where the important subject is. Font selections also exactly matched with the contents of the website. Hope to see that up on Creativity-Quotes in the future.
A simple redesign. The site although it didn’t have too much content on to start with, you have managed to simplify it more. I think that it looks a lot more stylish this way and gives every quote the space to be read without getting lost in with others.
Very good minimalist redesign..
I hate to be a lone voice here – but I preferred the original design in several ways… I like being able to read several quotes at a time quickly and easily without having to click to get the next one – much easier and faster to read – especially on a laptop. The total wash of grey really turns me off… not that such huge amounts of white are all that wonderful either, but the grey is harder to read from and sort of depressing… I mean this is a site about what – CREATIVITY – right? A splash of some color wouldn’t be amiss. Just my honest 2¢ worth – we all have different preferences – which makes design such a joy and a challenge.
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Thumbs up on the redesign. Loved the rationale provided!
I really like the redesign as it is much cleaner allowing users to read one quote at a time instead of getting distracted by other quotes on the same page. The big button stands out so it can be easily seen once a quote has been read. Another great redesign as usual.