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Welcome to TWF!! You can get help with databases in the [url="http://www.webmaster-forums.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=17
"]database & SQL forum[/url]

As for your site, you really need to work on the colour scheme. The splash page doesn't seem to have any defined set of colours, and then that colour scheme is totally different from the one on the main page. Also change the serif fonts on that flash intro to sans-serif - it'll look much better.

The navbar at the top looks fine (isn't "Multi Media" usually one word - "Multimedia" though?). THe part on the left, though, seems to be entirely out of place. The text on the picture, for example, is not in the same font as it is in the nav area above. The links below it confuse me too - I don't know where those first three are going really. Are those recommended links? Are they sites you've done? Why are they there?

Actually, I think that the stuff on the left side is a problem on all of the pages - it seems to be kind of random. Take the Imagery page for example - why are there flags there? What is that text down at the bottom doing? It doesn't make sense to me. I don't know what "Vexillogical" means either.

It's interesting, because your content has a very academic feel. It's very different from other designer's sites I've seen. I do think that you should be more specific about the services you provide. You do talk about why these things are important, and something general about what you do, but no specifics. I also think that in some cases (Research, Editing) the page headings don't seem to have a direct relation to their content.

Oh, and another thing - those arrows beside the navbar confuse me. I'm thinking that they're going to send me to the next page in some sort of order you've got set up, but they just send me to the next/last page I visited. I know how to use my browser's back button!

Overall it's not a bad site - it's a little strange to me because I've never seen a designers site that looks and reads like this one. That's not a bad thing - I just don't know what to think!

My first impression: I'm looking at your splash page, loading. Or rather, I can only assume it's your splash page, since I can't actually see anything. I've got Flash, but not version 5. Eventually get a Javascript prompt asking me whether I want to download Flash 5. I don't. I'm transported to your main page.

If you have to have a Flash splash, please include a "skip intro" text link.

On the main page I click "W" for "writing". I end up on a page about multi media information. I backtrack to the "WIRED" page, and click on "R" for "research". I end up on the same page about multi media information. I'm beginning to feel very, very confused...

With this W(riting) I(magery) R(esearch) E(diting) D(atabases) thing on index2.html I think you're definitely on to something. Unfortunately, by

* sending me to the same page, regardless of which letter / subject I choose
* using none of the look and feel of index2.html in the subsequent pages
* not using the "WIRED" thing as a navigational theme on your subsequent pages
* introducing Multi Media Information in your navigation bar while it isn't part of the "WIRED" thing

you're pretty much losing me once I arrive on mmi.html.

To be blunt, I don't really like the design of the content pages displayed in the mmi.html frameset very much. In my not overly humble opinion, which you're free to ignore

* the "comic" font that you're using doesn't look very professional, and it's not optimal for readability
* there's not enough white space around your text
* the file size of the images is on the large side for use on a web page
* the images don't seem to for an organic whole with the rest of the layout.

I haven't read a lot of your content, but what I've read makes me wonder who your intended audience is, and what you're trying to achieve here. You seem to be describing your services from a very technology-oriented point of view, rather than selling them to a potential customer.

Let's take, for instance, the text on your "Editing" page. "When producing for the internet, authors can determine the content but not the presentation of their work. Web pages are laid out with HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language). This process does not offer the level of control enjoyed by print designers. Each viewer's client set-up (browser and platform with preferences) affects a document's display."

What is it that you're trying to tell me here? "Don't worry about this stuff, we'll solve all these technical problems for you"? "Don't bother with a website, use a printed brochure instead"? Also, your potential clients visiting your site may not be all that technology-savvy (and why should they be? that's what they'll be paying you for, right?) and if you start talking about placing text in image files they may not have a clue what you're talking about.

I'm not suggesting that you should "dumb down" your text, far from it. But I think that you should keep in mind that a potential client visiting your site wants to know whether you can solve their problem, and isn't interested in these technical issues per se.

well, I definitely agree that my site needs work but...

Megan Jack: what would a "defined set of colours" for the splash page be? - and since the dominant color on that page is black (no color at all) how can it be that the "colour scheme is totally different from the one on the main page?" If you're saying that's it's a problem that the splash page is black and the others are off-white, I guess I'd just hafta disagree - I'd say I do agree that the font in those images on the splash could be changed - I created those in my first bout of developer's fever when everything in the site was Times New Roman - like you say, usually one word - I wanted it for MMI (2001) - again, the font on the company logo is left over from TNR days, but I don't think it's a major conflict - I think attention to being consistent with fonts is important but not to the point of rigidity - you say the logo "seems to be entirely out of place" and offer the font conflict as an example - is there another way it's out of place? - Indeed, Cooking My Way is a recipe site I built (my original, predates MMI) - I ask people to "visit it" - should I explain something about it - maybe with a mouseover layer? - I understand that it's a mistake to offer links that don't give any real clue to the viewer as to what to expect - but this seems pretty straightforward - and when you get to cmw.html through the link, that page says it was produced by MMI - the second and third links are, as they indicate, proposals - this is a page called "web sites" - they're not marriage proposals - you ask if they're "recommended links" - well, I figure being set off from "Today's Hot Links" helps distinguish them from those appearing in the dd menu - the flags on the imagery page are examples of web graphics - I could see where it would be confusing if they appeared on one of the other pages, but... - you say "What is that text down at the bottom doing?" - do you mean the letters A-J? - clicking on "TEST" answers that - also, even if you don't open that window, I guess I'm hoping your mouse will want to wander into the "letter field" and cause a mouseover - all I'm trying to do here, I guess, is put up some (more or less ) carefully edited images (not much to them really) and demonstrate a rollover - you can get a definition of vexillological from one of the dictionary links on "EDITING" - "be more specific about the services you provide" - I think that may be a very good point and I'll definitely look to do that - any ideas on the kind of info you'd be looking for? - the text on editing is incomplete and may match the heading more when I finish it - for some bizarre reason, I just block on it - on "RESEARCH," I try to talk about research on the internet - I'm not altogether happy with this little essay, but can you think of other issues I could discuss? - I agree it's a problem that the "forward" button doesn't take you to anything in a sequence other than history, but I like the idea of getting viewers to focus on my page and forget about the gui - esp. if it's IE

rjs: I do have a splash page and it does have a skip intro - I am definitely looking to edit that movie but only had the thirty day trial with Flash and haven't had access to it to change things - I've heard you can save a clip produced in ver5 in a ver4 format - that would hopefully resolve the problem - why don't you want to download 5? - I understand your confusion about clicking on W and not going to writing - that was part of my motivation in producing a Flash page - the problem is I want everybody to go to "WEB SITES" first, so that's the only place you can go from index2.html - I'm not sure how to resolve this - maybe I could add some text explaining - on the other hand, when you go through to mmi.html, there's links to all the services in the navbar - obviously, this may not be enough since it was confusing to you - any ideas? - you both don't like the shift from the front page black to the other pages off-white - is that the problem? - I guess I'll just hafta be in a minority on this one - "not using the "WIRED" thing as a navigational theme on your subsequent pages"??? - but I've got w-i-r-e-d right across the navbar - "Multi Media Information" is in the navbar, but set quite apart, isn't it? - like I said, I useta have TNR as the near-exclusive font, but, well, I like CS-MS better (even though I DESPISE the Criminal Enterprise - M$) - that can sure be changed more easily that those TNR graphics - any suggested fonts? - can't remember, but I think the ones I like (e.g., Goudy Old Style) aren't widely supported - maybe that's old info - I agree the images are kinda big - MAYBE I'll resample 'em down a little - yeah, the images vary quite a bit, but...well, they are on separate pages, they're basically the same size and in the same place, so... - I guess I'm looking to satisfy a moderately informed audience that I have some idea what's going on while not being overly technical for those unfamiliar with web development - I agree it's not a mass market appeal, but I guess I'm thinking that I wouldn't get those clients anyway - my primary target audience is, I suppose, non-profit public service type organizations and some 'a your more sophisticated (college-educated?) small business owners - and of course I'm looking to sell writng / editing / research to anybody - those are the only services I've been able to sell!! - hence the "Proposals" for web sites

bottom line - I REALLY appreciate your efforts in giving me a review - rest assured I have gained insights from it and will look to incorporate them into mmy site - THANKS!!

I looked at my site on another machine this AM, and I'm guessing this is what's happeneing with my flash splash - if you don't have ver5, you're sent to index2.html, the static page (with the confusing links) that I'm trying to get away from - I've placed a link in there saying "watch the movie - requires Flash 5" - BUT, I think I DID save this in ver4 format - because when I clicked, it played, and I'm pretty sure that machine doesn't have 5 - SO, if somebody out there with 4 will try playing the clip, I'd really appreciate it - I think it will play, and I'll simply change the link to say "requires flash" - THANKS!!
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I forgot to say, I didn't receive emails about the responses to this post - can anything be done about that? - thanks again

I don't want to turn this into an endless discussion, you're free to take or leave my critique, but just to clarify a couple of points:

Quote: I do have a splash page and it does have a skip intro

I see that you've done some work on this. This is what happens now:

* I wait about 20 to 30 seconds looking at an empty screen, without a "skip intro" link
* the question whether I want to download Flash 5 appears. I click "no"
* I get to the movie page (which has a "skip intro" link). I get another invitation to download Flash 5, which I turn down
* the movie starts to play. By the way: it works fine with with Flash 4 under IE 4.0

Quote: "not using the "WIRED" thing as a navigational theme on your subsequent pages"??? - but I've got w-i-r-e-d right across the navbar

Yes, but by:

* not emphasizing the initial letter of each word like you did on the previous page
* adding the MMI thing to the navigation bar in a colour scheme that draws attention away from the "wired" topics
* totally changing the colour scheme and look and feel between the two pages

you're making it difficult for your visitors to recognize it.

Quote: I useta have TNR as the near-exclusive font, but, well, I like CS-MS better

Most people associate the Comic font with, well, comics. If you like it by all means go for it, but I think you should be aware of its connotations. For a readable font that is widely used, try Verdana.

Quote: yeah, the images vary quite a bit, but...well, they are on separate pages, they're basically the same size and in the same place, so...

Nope, that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is design. For an example of what I mean by text and images forming an organic whole, take a look at http://www.chrysler.com. Things like the way that the gray area in the photo extends downwards, the way the gold and silver in the Chrysler logo is picked up in the image, the lines that continue down the rest of the page, make the image an integral part of the page in stead of something that seems to be stuck in as an afterthought.

By the way, I see now that in the last paragraph of each page you're talking about the services that you provide in the different areas. I'm not sure whether I overlooked these paragraphs when I first visited, or you've been adding these paragraphs. Anyway they're a really good idea, and IMO will enhance the appeal of your pages to your visitors.

Hey rjs,

I very much appreciate your input - actually, I haven't done anything to that clip since 12/1 when my 30-day trial expired - don't have access to the software - I am, of course, QUITE disappointed to hear that this 20-30 second wait is occurring - what's supposed to happen is: a flash sniffer in index.html looks to see if you have Flash (apparently it's sniffing for ver5 - I'd like to make one to sniff for 4 and use that) - I use onLoad="setTimeout('location.href=\'index2.html\'',1500) to (supposedly ) send viewers to index2.html in 1.5 seconds if "nothing good happens," like going through to the_movie.html - MAYBE there was a problem with my server when you visited - wishful thinking, probably - since the clip played on your machine, I guess ver5 is not required - I've changed the link on index2 to reflect that - I created the clip in ver5 and (I believe ) saved it in ver4 format - I'm GUESSING that MM wants to prompt you to download 5 under that scenario and I don't know if I can prevent that - could be way off on that - just goes to show ya - I thought I'd pulled somethin' off by gettin' a few movies produced in 30 days - turns out I got all kindsa problems with theater owners and distributors and agents and...oh well - on to arguments I can understand -

Quote: * not emphasizing the initial letter of each word like you did on the previous page
* adding the MMI thing to the navigation bar in a colour scheme that draws attention away from the "wired" topics
* totally changing the colour scheme and look and feel between the two pages

can't refute those outright, to be sure, but...well, I guess I've got no defense and will be forced to ask for mercy - hopefully I've learned my lesson - I'll try a less comical font - I think your comment about integrating images into the pages is a valuable one and I'll work on it - I guess my best effort in that regard is the main page after the entry, http://ememi.com/mmi.html (the first shot of the frameset) - there's all that blue text matching the blue ocean - anything? - anyway, I've been askin' people for months to advise me on how I could improve these pages and I think you've come up with a couple 'a real good ones - ironically, you make a positive comment about the "service discussion" - I haven't changed this text, but I think you were correct in any event when you said earlier that I need to be more expansive and specific about these - maybe your criticism (a commonly misunderstood term) will motivate me to FINALLY finish writing up the editing page and look to improve the others by focusing more on what I can provide potential clients - for what it's worth, although we seemed to disagree on a number of things, I have benefited substantially from your informed input and will work to reflect that in my pages - thanks a lot!!

I've seen the 20-30 second wait and the invitation to download Flash 5 on other sites as well - maybe it's somehow built in to Flash and not something you can influence. I know very little about Flash, for more information try http://www.were-here.com/.

For the rest: please feel free to disagree with anything (or everything) I say. And I very much realize that critiquing (is that a word?) someone's site is a great deal easier than doing a better job yourself.

well, I'm guessing that MM allows people who know what they're doing to avoid problems - I'll see what I can do about getting that clip edited in the next week or two - I went to film school at were-here for a few days back in Nov - never would have published anything even remotely worthwhile without the help I got in their forum - "critiquing" is indeed a word (one can always check these things in the editing section of MMI ) and you, along with your only slightly immoderate colleague , have done a very good job of it - much of this is criticism I have heard in the past, but you guys were more focused, blunt, knowledgable, effective, that kinda thing - the ideas I have now are to redo the opening clip by having everything, as a group, fade down (new graphics as well), then have the 300px wide MMI logo fade up centered on a black screen, then fade or somethin' (any ideas?) into a NEW PAGE - THE BIG PAGE, that's basically a summary of the material currently on the pages appearing in the framset - all that w-i-r-e-d stuff - it'll discuss the internet in some kinda semi-sophisticated way (hopefully ), but will definitely make it clear that there are services for sale - and even more to the point, the navbar will link to new pages dealing with the w-i-r-e-d categories that expand on what MMI can do and what it's done (a little thin there - like the capital budget ) - I'm also looking for a way to be more explicit early on about the "wired" acronym - I'll do somethin' - we'll see how effective - you say a critique is

Quote: a great deal easier than doing a better job yourself

can't argue with that - but on the other hand, it's a lot easier to come up with new ideas when other people contribute to the process - you guys have played an important part in the development of MMI (a distinction of uncertain merit ), and I'm very grateful to you for it - consider MMI's entire staff and facility to be at your disposal

well, I cut-and-pasted a rough outline of my design for this site - http://ememi.com/tmp/test2.html - the navigation works, but don't use it - it just goes back to my site :eek: - I'm lookin' to display layers of text in the "content" area as you mousedown the menu on the left - this text would contain links to things like discussions of my services and examples of my work - as you mouseover each menu item, the letter at the bottom of the column will rollover as well - in the space below that, I'll display in layers the links currently appearing in the rollovers on WRITING, RESEARCH and EDITING - I used a cheap border display to simulate the type of "organic whole" effect you were talking about, rjs - obviously, needs more than a cheap effect - I'll use the right-hand column to hold things like the all-star baseball and flag id games currently on IMAGERY and DATABASES - maybe something like the local weather to fill it out - thanks again for your input - it really opened my eyes - how much, we'll see
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you can click through on the "Research" link now - what this site needs now isn't so much more reorganization as more and better content

[Edited by mmi on Feb. 14, 2001 at 09:59 PM]

well, I finally put up this redesign of my site - stills need a lot of work - I don't have regular access to Photoshop, so I still need to resample down a lot of images - I'm gonna have that letter in the navbar rollover to match the first letter of the link (W-I-R-E-D) - I've never done a "double" rollover :eek: - I can't seem to get the text to "justify" in N - I need to figure out a way to have the dd menus appear in the same space on BOTH browsas - some kind of detection / document.write?? - I'd say the biggest thing it needs is a complete overhaul and expansion of the text - haven't had a chance to use Flash to make any changes in my splash - I know this is an incomplete list of what NEEDS to be done - I'd appreciate any comments / views - thanks