REVIEW REQUEST: OpenCanvas.ca

I find the site a little confusing, not sure if it's lack of content on some sections or lack of coffee on my part (probably the later). the index describes whats where etc but the content pages don't express the same feel.
the site map link isn't working from the message board page
some of the different navigation sections (left side) are hard to see (html section) and the top 'open canvas' logo is a little jagged around the curve going down to the navigation.
some of the links takes you to a page which IMO isn't needed, gives the option to view the content or edit it, place the edit link on the same page and save the users an extra click (remember people hate clicking and scrolling) and some sections don't have the side navigation (sub-main.asp?SubGenre=Portraits)
the index page is very linky, 3 sets of links (top, middle (content) and bottom), you've also forgotten to add the title tag. there is a slight horz scroll on 800x600 and the content table is right aligned leaving a 20mm gap on the left.
looking at your source code it looks like you've used FP to make the site, but maybe dreamweaver?
there are a lot of unused tags and out of order tags, maybe run the site througha validator to help you out.
nice stuff

First impression is very nice but then on a closer look I was disappointed with the quality of the graphics, especially given the subject matter of the site! The graphics are really jaggedy and the curves at the top need to be smooth and also where you have the line separating the white/content from the blue at the left is unfinished at the top.

I totally missed the navigation at first!! It blends in too much with the actual browser and your eye is drawn to the logo section underneath it. I would make it stand out more or move it to be under the logo section where you'd expect it to be. Plus I think the repeat nav at the bottom would look better centered.

I also get a horizontal scrollbar at 800*600.

Good start

What bugs me is how the navigation behaves. I think that if you're going to have drop downs they should apply to all of the options not just one. It was quite unexpected on the "Open Canvas Works" option. What I would do is put that section as a left sidebar and keep the rest horizontal. Easier. Or since you have all those options listed on the front page you could only have the sidebar on subsequent pages.

I also don't like how the design changes from page to page. It's fine to change the colour or something, but to completely move the navigation is another story. Or are those old designs that you're planning on replacing? Oh, I see, it's a network and each site is responsible for their own design??? This is really rather confusing.

Some of the pages here are messed up in Opera 7. I don't know how I got here, but I'm looking at a page with a big green circular button graphic. Called "Photoshop Experiments." All the page content is overlapping the base design. The top part of the graphic is on top of the text menu from teh bottom of the page. Bad idea to combine layers with tables. I've seen similar things happen on other pages so be careful about that.

I would work on the curvy graphic at the top of the page, it seems a little choppy. The link hover color seems a little too pale in my opinion. The site kind of reminds me of the look and feel of PHPBB Forums.

I agree. It looks like the top cure especially to the left is a bit pixilated. I don't know what you did but maybe you should try redoing the graphic initially larger.

I like the index page but some descriptions may need to be redone...

Overall, I do like the site layout as it's easy to follow and I can semm to get to places.

Very nice, enjoyable site, only two sore points:

- the aliased curve is an eyesore

- Compilations page needs to have "next page" link at bottom of page

http://www.opencanvas.ca

Hey all,

Well it has been over a month since my last post to webmaster talk. ALL of the feedback and comments on opencanvas.ca where extremely appreciated. I have almost used every single comment to redesign the site, stucturally, aesthetically, and functionally.

Please this time be really picky... I want everything that could be improved upon mentioned and brainstormed.

Thanks for the great feedback in advance

Simon

P.S. If anybody wants to join... please do so

Overall very nice & the graphics seem to be much better plus the navigation is easier to see but it doesn't work properly in Opera6 as the background to the drop down menu isn't visable and so it's just black text over the page.

A couple of things that bug me are the 'Newest Postings' box is left aligned and should be centered like the ones above it. The circles with the images in on the second half of the page are still jagedy and rough.

On the about us page, the link for 'purpose' goes to the benefits anchor.

All your pages should have the same header set up as the first page, it's a bit odd that the nav moves to the top and looks different.

Nice work though

It seems a little busy to me. Also, at first, I didn't see the top navigation. It sorta blends in with that graphic at the very top.

I think the front page would work better with less graphics. Especially in the main body part where you have all of those little icon things. You need more focus on text content here instead of visual stuff.

Nice site.

tad clunky, though good concept.

I like the header, It invites me to go further.

I checked out your artists and where did you get them? Great stuff!! You should do good.

The only problem I saw was on some of the thumbnails, when I clicked on them and enlarged them, there was a link to close window and it didn't work. Check that out, otherwize, great.

Dmcgill

the only fault I can really pick with it is the "featured posting" on the right hand side. it kinda sits down about 10 pixels below the box next to it. I think it would look much nicer if the two lined up across the top. That might just be me tho.

I found the very top navigation section gets lost in a tabbed browser (if you have a few tabs open), it blends in to well and so gets lost.
One thing that stands out is the details in the sections, some you have
title: title
and others you have
title:
title
the one thats underneath looks like an after thought, even just removing the ':' could fix it as it looks like it should be next to rather than underneath.

only two things

#1: the large white space on the right throws me off. but that is something that i personally am just annoyed by. others dont seem too bothered by it.

#2: in your galleries, you dont use thumbnails! the links to the pictures shouldnt just be the pictures with the size changed in the tag. open up an image editor and resize the picture to the right size. otherwise it takes forever to load all the images. even on a fast connection it takes a while.

other than that the site looks nice, nothing jumps out at you when it first loads though... might need something to kinda catch your eye.

Nice site! I like the design the flow is good and the eye roams freely from one button to the next without confusion. I had a site like this around 5 years ago, lot's of free stuff, downloads and advertising for my services. At one point I was getting a million hits a month off search engines alone. It's a solid idea for generating traffic. I'll bookmark it and use it in the future.
Good Luck!