Megan — Tue, 15 Aug 2000 14:51:33 +0000

Well maybe you could ask in the jobs and barter forum if someone could make a logo for you.

The layout looks a bit better, but the grey is just boring. I would use a more interesting colour.

I still think that you need to find a better balance between cramming in your content and having an organized layout. Too much crammed in to too small a space just makes it hard to find anything. You should probably add some borders to your content boxes, and streamline them a bit mroe so you have more of a regular shape. The grey headers shouldn't run into the grey background of the search box. Your content text should be spaced into more regular looking paragraphs to make it easier to read.

revans — Mon, 14 Aug 2000 20:32:52 +0000

First of all I'd like to thank everyone for responding.
I've made some changes (maybe you can let me know if I'm heading in the right direction . I've removed the yellow/orange from the color scheme, doubled up on the small rotating ads (I'm excited about this, while it may detract from the appearance of the site, it will be greatly appreciated by the advertisers), and moved the search/directory to the right side of the page.
My index page is more of a topic specific portal than a personal page, so the intent is to cram as much as possible into the initial viewing area (which obviously contributes to the cluttered look).
As far as the logo, what can I say. I know my limitations. 30+ years ago, when I was in school, I made straight A's in math, science, drafting, and shop. I also made straight D's in anything to do with art.
Still working, and thanks,
Bob

Justin S — Mon, 14 Aug 2000 16:33:14 +0000

1) I agree about colors. I think you have enough, but you didn't choose the ones that would look good for this particular site. For some reason the colors you used in the logo just don't give me the impression of a 'kart' type site. I would think you would use deeper, darker colors.

2) Yes, definitely add some cellpadding, or just create tables eithin tables to give that effect. But make sure everything gets lined up correctly.

3) Navigation is key. The mainpage is very confusing because you have links scattered all over. You also combine them with advertisers links so it gets even more confusing.

4) You need to use the same design on every page.

Overall the site needs a lot of work. The content is great, but you need to show it correctly.

Megan — Mon, 14 Aug 2000 14:21:18 +0000

My first impession is that this looks very cluttered. You can reduce this by:

1. Adding some cellpadding (or blockquote tags) to your table cells.

2. Organize your layout better - everything seems to be kind of scattered around in it's own box. It would probably help a lot to put the "buller built" and "ec tilliston" logos in a box with the hit counter info to match up with the other three boxes yoiu've got on the left side there (4 Cycle News, Blueprinting and discussion boards)

You should also think about a colour scheme. It doesn't look like you've done that here - the main content area has yellow, grey and dark blue links. The logo has completely different (and really ugly) colours. It would probably be good to use yellow, grey and dark blue as your colour scheme. Add more colour and change your logo to match. A more interesting font or other effect would be a good idea while you're at it. You might want to try adding a dark blue background to the page, I think that would look good - and it's an easy way to add more colour.

Another thing that strikes me about this design is that there is no obvious navigation menu. You should have one of those - especially if you're planning on using this as a template for the other pages. It will make it easier for people to find things and get around the site.

Big improvement over the old version, but you've still got a ways to go.

jackchen — Sun, 13 Aug 2000 05:32:35 +0000

I don't really like the big grey box on the left. Maybe you should make it smaller or change its color. Looks dull.

Your logo needs more work.

Parker — Sun, 13 Aug 2000 04:24:59 +0000

It looks good.

- Needs more color.

- The logo needs to be more distinct...something people will remember you by.

Don't have time for a big thing. I like the layout though. Keep up the good work. Add more colors, and change the logo!