Feedback on flash site

Originally Posted by Zeph

For the X button can't you, using Actionscript find how wide the picture is and place the X n number of pixels from the right or left?

I am looking into this but I will properly do it at the end to ensure i get the rest of it finished.

---------- Post added at 22:38 ---------- Previous post was at 22:38 ----------

Originally Posted by Aragorn

Very nice
Another minor point, in some of the pictures (eg first left) the pointer changes in places as though there is a link, but there isn't (if you know what I mean).

I cant see that myself :S

Hi! Me again

I wanted any last feedback on the finished version of the site! This time it included a pre-loader, sound, and basically. Its the finished article. (On the contact page, the artists email will not work. I know about this, its on purpose)

Many Many Thanks Again! Reps are on their way

http://www.damienoneill.com/Flash/

[danielf]

It looks very good! With regards to my earlier comment, the blue definitely works better than the lilac.

One thought that comes up with the new site: I find that sound can be intrusive. In fact, I was listening to talk radio as I looked at the site, and the mix isn't nice. I appreciate that it might interfere with the design, but I think a 'no audio' option would be good. One thing to consider is that what looks good in isolation may not be good when you consider what visitors to the site might be doing when they visit.

Originally Posted by danielf

It looks very good! With regards to my earlier comment, the blue definitely works better than the lilac.

One thought that comes up with the new site: I find that sound can be intrusive. In fact, I was listening to talk radio as I looked at the site, and the mix isn't nice. I appreciate that it might interfere with the design, but I think a 'no audio' option would be good. One thing to consider is that what looks good in isolation may not be good when you consider what visitors to the site might be doing when they visit.

Yeah, I am never a fan of sounds in websites unless you ask for it. But part of the assignment is to have a music control. I have being toying with the idea of having it off or on by default. This is actually the first version weres it on.

[cookie_365]

Got some comments for you: I do like it overall, but there are some things I'm not so keen on:

• Lose the music, or at least set the default to silent. Music has to be the best way to get visitors leaping for the 'Back' button
• If there's a 'virtual gallery' view for the first one, why not for the second one too? At least, I couldn't find it if there is one ....
• Why the particular layout and placement of images in the virtual gallery? You end up with a huge amount of screen space delivering a few small images - some so small that they're effectively invisible. And why were the ones with a lot of detail but low contrast at the back, whereas ones with not much detail and high contrast at the front?
• Gallery 1? Gallery 2? What are the themes of these galleries? Why would you want to look at one as opposed to the other? It seemed to me like the themes were 'some pictures' and 'some more pictures'. I didn't understand what the collection(s) as a whole were trying to say.
• I'd have liked a caption to appear when I moused over a picture with a bit of info about it; title, date, that sort of thing ...
• ... and when I clicked the picture to view in detail I'd also like to see extra info such as materials, size, and perhaps a brief note from the artist putting the picture into some kind of context; describing her initial thoughts when she started the sketching, where her inspiration came from, what emotions she's hoping to convey, that sort of thing.
• When you hover your mouse over the detailed images, the pointer turns into a hand over the strip where the 'thumbnails' were.
• Hate the close buttons at the top left!
• Some people will moan about the blue text on graphite background when you mouseover the navigation links at the top.
• The biography isn't very, err, biographical - I guessed she loved art from the fact she's got an art website - I'd like to know more about how she chooses her subjects, the people she's met through her art, something that'll help us relate her to the images in her gallery.
• Why the separate Credits and Contact pages - why not just put everything on the Contact page?
• The images used on the Bio, Credits and Contact pages didn't really seem to reflect the rest of the images in the gallery. There are some really interesting comments about life in 21st centrury UK in the galleries, but in contrast the Bio, Credits and Contact pages seem a bit twee.
• Couldn't get the email link to Christine to work at all; the one to you worked but only if I closed Thunderbird first. Otherwise I got an error message 'Thunderbird is already running, but is not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing Thunderbird process, or restart your system.'

I'm using FireFox 2 and Thunderbird 1.5.

However - these are just my personal opinions and not everyone will share them; it looks great, and is 1000% better than anything I could do with Flash - still haven't opened 'Flash 8 For Dummies' yet And I like the art - so the site's achieved it's main goal

Lose the music, or at least set the default to silent. Music has to be the best way to get visitors leaping for the 'Back' button

Yeah, Think I will do that

If there's a 'virtual gallery' view for the first one, why not for the second one too? At least, I couldn't find it if there is one ....

Time Constrants (and lazyness)

Why the particular layout and placement of images in the virtual gallery? You end up with a huge amount of screen space delivering a few small images - some so small that they're effectively invisible. And why were the ones with a lot of detail but low contrast at the back, whereas ones with not much detail and high contrast at the front?

Because the image is a real photo, I put the images into the frames. As the gallery is long down, the pictures get smaller.

Gallery 1? Gallery 2? What are the themes of these galleries? Why would you want to look at one as opposed to the other? It seemed to me like the themes were 'some pictures' and 'some more pictures'. I didn't understand what the collection(s) as a whole were trying to say.

I might put portrait and landscape as the links instead

I'd have liked a caption to appear when I moused over a picture with a bit of info about it; title, date, that sort of thing ...

Good Idea, Wont happen in this version though. Sorry

... and when I clicked the picture to view in detail I'd also like to see extra info such as materials, size, and perhaps a brief note from the artist putting the picture into some kind of context; describing her initial thoughts when she started the sketching, where her inspiration came from, what emotions she's hoping to convey, that sort of thing.

Same as before, I cant really ask my artist to produce 26 different statements, or titles. She is busy. Again a good idea if i could do it in time for the deadline

When you hover your mouse over the detailed images, the pointer turns into a hand over the strip where the 'thumbnails' were.

Yep, This will be fixed.

Hate the close buttons at the top left!

Some people will moan about the blue text on graphite background when you mouseover the navigation links at the top.

Sorry!

The biography isn't very, err, biographical - I guessed she loved art from the fact she's got an art website - I'd like to know more about how she chooses her subjects, the people she's met through her art, something that'll help us relate her to the images in her gallery.

Again, same as above. Do not want to ask her for too much. Shes not a professional or student of art either.

Why the separate Credits and Contact pages - why not just put everything on the Contact page?

was asked for in assignment

The images used on the Bio, Credits and Contact pages didn't really seem to reflect the rest of the images in the gallery. There are some really interesting comments about life in 21st centrury UK in the galleries, but in contrast the Bio, Credits and Contact pages seem a bit twee.

They have easy to extract main part of the Images, or had a background that was white by default. The idea was to include toned down images in those pages so they are not the main part of that page. Its just because it matchs the white ya see.

Couldn't get the email link to Christine to work at all; the one to you worked but only if I closed Thunderbird first. Otherwise I got an error message 'Thunderbird is already running, but is not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing Thunderbird process, or restart your system.'I'm using FireFox 2 and Thunderbird 1.5.

This is in the version I uploaded to the public web. Not the Uni internal one. Just for her privacy. At some point I am going to put a email address there that still sends to me and then i foreward to her. Unless she is ok with her email being on the web.

However - these are just my personal opinions and not everyone will share them; it looks great, and is 1000% better than anything I could do with Flash - still haven't opened 'Flash 8 For Dummies' yet And I like the art - so the site's achieved it's main goal

Cheers! Thanks for the long and detailed feedback. I will remove the sound, and think about the names of the gallerys. I will also fix the pointer problem.

The close button is unlikely to be moved and the images are certainly not going to include more information. Both of these I would like but I do have start drawing the project to a close.