oldsprinter

Hi all,

this is a shameless self-promotion (and mods, if this breaks any rules please don't hesitate to delete).

I'd love to hear from any designers/writers/editors/web techies out there what you think of my new website.

This is the cycling page on my site: https://www.kanki-knight.com/cycling.html

And homepage: www.kanki-knight.com

Thanks for looking (oh, and please don't hold back with the criticism, that's what I want to hear most of all)

idleuser

I'm no expert in web design by any means, but I do know what's aesthetically pleasing to my eye. In my opinion, I like the overall simplicity of the site but it could use more lines here and there to segment off the banner and weblinks up top from the main content of each page. It'll also add more to that modern-simplistic look that you seem to be going after.

Oh, and I thought the words up top were links at first. Just thought you'd like to know where my eyes went for the links first.

emj2390

I too drifted to the words at the top and even tried to click on them.. I like the simplicity.

aoto

Um it isn't centered on my screen and too much white on the sides. Other than that it looks good

mzeffex 

I clicked the words at the top too

I really like the picture though.

Saltybeagle

josu des, ski

antiguru

haha, ok i'm actually a pro web guy so here goes - this site sucks.


it's "clean" which some people like, and is better than "busy" i guess, but it took me bloody forever to figure out that...

-you're a writer (i think)
-it's a personal portfolio page


Instead of a random list of things you're interested in / are, you should have a big 5 word headline that tells visitors what the site is and who you are and what you do.


I just went back and noticed now that you do translation. You're seriously not getting your message across.


anyways, just trying to help. The design itself is ok, just not very revealing.

edit- you should also make a version in japanese i guess.

oldsprinter

Thanks to everyone, I'm going to make some changes based on all of your suggestions. Antiguru, you've made some great points - I got tunnel vision, too close to the site to see it with fresh eyes - I'd love to see your work, to see if there's some ideas I should be *ahem* learning from. Also, the Japanese version is in the pipeline.

Thanks again everyone - an thanks for the compliments, I wasn't fishing for them but it's good to hear.

chadteck

+1 on the link comment here.

I think you should keep the style as-is, but move the links to the top and the descriptions below the heading. Also "from japan" seems awkward without being visually separated some how. I'd try: design / interiors / ... - from japan

enjoi07

i would definitely love to see the work of a "pro web guy". especially one who's version of a constructive critique starts with "this site sucks".

urbanknight

After hearing my wife's tales of school crits in graphic design and interior architecture, antiguru sounds just like any other pro criticizing another's work. I specifically recall quotes such as "your color palette looks like someone vomitted all over it", and "your grass is too green".

Caad 8

Overall this is my first impression of the site: Why can't I click on these words at the top damn it!

mustang1

love the fonts
like the simplicity
would like a touch more color and/or squareness/separation between sections... something like that
didn't have a good look, thoguht at first it was a cycling website, then some kinda media design kinda thing website, then got confused. I think your a design kinda guy who writes stuff and has an interest in cycling.
Not sure if cycling picture on home page (while that's a great picture) is the right one....
but...
depends what msg you're trying to send out.

I suppose coming from a cycling backgroun, I was expecting more cycling related stuff so hence i got confused. Maybe if you asked someonme more neutral they'd give a better opinion.

oldsprinter

Mustang1, just to explain, I gave you a link to the cycling page first - but most people wouldn't land on that page. So homepage is actually www.kanki-knight.com - which has a photo of my large nose instead. :-(

About to tweak the site so you CAN click on those words near the top.

Thanks again for all the criticism and comments - I've taken some ideas in already, others we'll have to ponder more.

antiguru

re: examples

Can't really think of any 'personal portfolio' type sites that I've worked for, when i was agency-side we mostly did work for retailers and B2B.

Maybe an architect site would be good to check out since that's pretty close? They also love the clean look.

https://www.lamoureuxarchitect.ca/
https://www.djcarchitect.com/
https://www.bortolotto.com/

jfmckenna

I'm also a web professional and I agree with antiguru though I personally wouldn't be so harsh. Essentially what the OP is doing right now is a usability study and he got some glaring results right off the bat, the 'links' at the top. Upon first inspection Iget the impression that you are an archetict and or interior designer possibly living in Japan who likes to dabble in writing and share his personal lifestyle. Thats what your home page says to me. If that is what you want to get across then the design is ok. I'm not sure what the picture with the two people seperated by the green space has to do with some one who is an archetect posibbly living in Japan who likes to dabble in writing and share his personal life style though Though it is an interesting image. The girl, who probably is Japanese is looking right at us. This emphasizes the Japanese aspect of the site design. The guy is sort of looking off into space, perhaps thinking about writing or maybe which painting belongs in his next clients foyer. The separation of space between them almost makes them strangers who are about to meet walking down a busy street blocking out all the noise. So yeah it's quirky and interesting.

It's difficult to design web pages for clients who do this kind of work because as designers you want your web site to have a nice design after all this is what you do. But at the same time countless usability studies suggest that if you are trying to sell a product or service on the web then that is the first thing web users need to see.

Another note on usability, when a user clicks on a link, like your media link for example, once they are on the page the media link at the top should be highlighted in a way that users know what page they are on. Similarly hover links are nice too. I think your text links need to be a bit more prominent too. They are too close in color to the static text which will make it easy for users to just glance over. Studies show that the average user hardly even reads text, they just look right to where the links are. So when writing a link make the link text obvious and pertinant i.e. no "Click Here" type links.

Good luck and have fun.

Oh BTW that will be $200

enjoi07

love the last link, bortolotto.com

mustang1

oldsprinter: ah yeah i see what you mean.... i knew i was doing somink dumb

GP

I got an error message when I clicked on the Home link at the bottom of the Cycling page.

Randochap

I'm not a techie by any means (I muddle along) but I do have a cycling website (VeloWeb).

I had the same issues (last night) as others noted and you fixed. (on edit: or maybe not -- upper links don't work) The cycling aspect is sparse and had a hard time navigating back to the cycling page, until I had explored a bit.

Anyway, I rather like the austere look, considering what you're promoting.

oldsprinter

I found the perfect site! https://yvettesbridalformal.com/index.htm

And for those of you who are still wondering what I do - I'm a writer - for design magazines. Sometimes I write about bicycles.

Thanks for finding the deadlink GP - will fix.

telebianchi

Who is Gordon?

Didn't find this out until clicking on the CV link.

I do like the sparse layout but think you should incorporate some more relevant information about what it is that you and/or the company do.`

Sparse = Google
Cluttered = Bing

I like Google but I read that Bing is getting its share of users.

And, by the way, thank you for not getting all cranky and pissed-off when people actually give you the critquing that you've asked for. That's quite a refreshing quality on these here interweb forums.

snowman40

His page is great....and remember, it could be SOOOOO much worse.....

https://shortformblog.com/tech/goodby...-of-a-net-icon