Maxwell Render | Official public forum

Hi All,

Well I've just 'finished' getting my new website ready, still a bit rough around the edges but I really think I need some outside input..........what's wrong with it or needs changing?.....anyone got a couple of minutes?

I think a pre-loader for the gallery would be a good idea maybe........I may have overdone it on the number of images.....

It's aimed at clients, not other CG professionals...........so I've gone for a variety of images across genres, not simply the best of my images.......as such, there's a few doughnuts in there.

http://www.glebedigital.co.uk/

Appreciate any thoughts you may have, be blunt and honest!

Cheers all,
Stu

Very nice new website Stuart nothing wrong at all

The gallery images are compressed way too heavily, this really takes away from their quality.

The photorealism sub-section is odd to read imo, starting with a "Using...", you intuitively expect a following sentence structure. I know how you meant it, but i think most readers are gonna get stuck there for a moment and wonder about the seemingly cluttered collection of insider terms, and that's bad for business.

I also think you should go with 1000ish pixels instead of 800, i don't know a single person still using the latter, and that includes "old" (=50+ nowadays) people. I'd much prefer a larger font, like used in the Gallery section, this contrast is needed to really appeal. Rather add a bit of transparency to the text if you want it more subtle, but really make it larger and fully white.

I question if some of the self-advertising sentences, specifically those describing you as a person ("Proactive ‘can do’ attitude to every project"), will be taken well by possible clients. I'd rather focus on the work you deliver, as if there never was a question about your attitude or competence.

Just some ideas, i don't have any experience with advertisement or self presentation, so those are my personal notions browsing the website.

p.s. The many things i don't mention are great, don't forget that

Thanks for taking a peek Curt.

Yep Adrian that's a big help, appreciate it. Lots of things there that my brain couldn't quantify, but felt 'wrong' for some reason.........always happens when you're too close to a project.

The text is what's bothered me the most through this process........just how do you pitch that kinda thing.......even though I've been looking at a lot of sites nothing really grabs me as the perfect solution.

Cheers big man.

Hey man,

It's looking really good. I'm loving the colours/fonts you've chosen and I think that they really work well together. My only suggestion would be some kind of small roll-over effect on the text in the main menu and in the gallery. Just a subtle colour change would really finish it off nicely in my mind. Although obviously you might have already thought of this and concluded that its a terrible idea, so feel free to ignore

Nice one mate, keep us posted,

Dr Merman

Thanks Doc! Yeah the general look'n feel I'm pretty happy with...........it was my intention to add some rollovers, subtle ones......
.....a delicate colour-change would fit nicely I reckon.

Hi Stuart,

Overall I like your web page layout and presentation, subdued and understated but effective…. I particularly like the home page background image with it’s muted colours…. It works for me. My only suggestion would be to increase the size and image quality of the images in your Services Section.

Great web site.

Nice website Stuart.

You might want to think about adding thumbs of some sort to your gallery page to emphasize the visual nature of the work. Right now it looks more like a client listing page - which isn't bad, but adding a small thumbnail would make for a quicker read IMO.

Great work in there in any case.
b

Thanks Joedex, Brett.........really appreciate the feedback and suggestions......I'm making notes.

Looks great to me.

I agree that the thumbnails on the gallery page would be nice.

Your animation of those lighted totems came out nice.

Stu ...... liking the whole 'I'm dark, moody, mysterious, and a CG bad ass kinda thing .... ' Really.

Now, .. I noticed that on my screen 20" (firefox) with my bookmarks open ( and I have them stretched out pretty far), ... that when viewing the gallery --- the main menu gets forced to overlay onto the imagery.... Maybe you'd want to try using a horizontal menu on the top or bottom ?

.....also, ... I know that small print is popular and comes off as more professional, ......but damn its hard to read. In fact, .. so much so, ..when I see it, .. I don't read it. How about a point or two larger?

very nice looking site, ...the only thing i'd say is it's quite hard to make out the glebe digital text in the top right.

Great stuff guys, I'll come wash your cars next time I'm in town.

That'd be great, ... I drive a double-decker bus. You can use my ladder.