Project: The American - Cassinese Congregation
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Hi Richard,
You have done a great job in developing this project. These are my thoughts on your work and I hope you find them helpful.
I really like the simple and clean design with the complimentary colors of blue and gold, the richness of the medallion as a logo gives the design an identity.
I like the textured cloth background in the header which gives the feeling of the fabric in a cassock, (hopefully the correct word here) and the contrasting strong element of the medallion. I would remove the blue background in the medallion and use it as a transparent gif so that the texture of the header surrounds the medallion.
The comp follows the rule of thirds, consisting of one third grapic/pic, one third content and one third white space. At 900 pixels wide the main areas of the comp fits into the WPDFD'S browser grid at 800 X 600 resolution, but the site identity, the medallion is missing.
The blue color scheme is calming and recedes in the design while the gold heading and medallion stand out in the design. The color scheme evokes a mood that is calm but powerful. (For me black indicates power)
The typography is clear and easy to read, but could use a bit more variety. A different and contrasting font in the heading would add interest, variety and really make it stand out.
The navigation is easy to understand but was not noticeable on the first scan of the page. My first thought was to place it just under the banner in a gold background, but it would also stand out if it was in a gold background at the top of the page. Many people surf the net with Java script turned off and would not be able to use your menu, but you could get the same effect if you style it with CSS. I did like the idea of the eagle looking at the navigation, which you have dropped from your design.
My eye moved from the main pic to the medallion and then to the bottom navigation. Initially I missed the top navigation all together.
There is a good balance of graphics, one large and one small.
I do not like the light blue background on the page body. I think it cheapens the design. Maybe a darker color would work here, like the dark charcoal color you had in previous comps. I also like to have the design centered on a web page, and dislike the comp sitting to the left with a lot of white space on the right.
The drop down menu positioning, when viewed in Firefox, needs improvement as the drop down covers the bottom of the menu item. I do not like the light blue background in the drop down either. I think it needs a darker, richer color.
I like the color of the background in the rollovers but at the moment the text is being suffocated and needs a bit of surrounding space, which can be added by using padding in the element.
I would like to see color in the grey border of your design, maybe black or dark blue - even gold.
I would add a link to the Rule written by Saint Benedict of Nursia - as I had to do a search to find what it was all about.
Overall the design is strong and simple and displays a clear message of providing information to the American-Cassinese congregration. Well done.
Kind regards
Angela