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I am, indubitably, a perfectionist. But Callistonian.net was rejected (twice!) from Perfection, a design gallery that aims to showcase the web sites of passionate/perfectionist designers.
Okay—what I really want to know is what I can do to improve Callistonian.net (because, you know, I’m a perfectionist. I honestly want to get better! :P ). What’s wrong with this layout? What’s wrong with my blog entries? What would you like to see? What would you like for me to blog about? I hate criticism, but I care about improving more than I hate being criticized. So, as much as it pains me to say this and as much as I feel that I may regret it: do your worst and critique my site. Thanks.
What do you think of the header (the large graphic above)?1 I was rejected from Perfection because of it. -_-; … I like it. I think it fits my style: I can’t draw; I’m detail-oriented; I like complex things. I doubt that I will ever get into Perfection because its member seem to like things I dislike and vice versa—that’s fine. ♥
Anyway, I’m thankful to the members of Perfection who reviewed my site. Thanks! Also, because the gallery is all about perfection (and thus, improving), I’m going to return the favor by critiquing it just a bit. I made the mistake of getting rejected, so you’ll just have to believe me when I say the following comments aren’t the product of bitterness.
Suggestions for Perfection:
- Add a paragraph explaining how sites are added. The owner doesn’t decide who to add, so it’s atypical and hard to figure out intuitively… Sites are “reviewed” before they’re added, but how does it work? Do random members vote on the sites? Shouldn’t this be explained somewhere? If it’s a random number of random members voting on each site doesn’t that make the process more subjective than with most galleries because with Perfection different standards are applied each time? Anyway, an explanation is needed.
- Add more specific guidelines to the guideline page. This page doesn’t list anything besides the bare minimums; it makes it seem that all decent looking sites will be accepted.
Add the following:
* Clean, organized, often validated code.
* Quality, well-written content.
* Unique, eye-catching designs.
* Exemplary use of color and space.The guideline page also suggests comparing one’s site to those in the gallery. That can be a little misleading; it can also cause bitter my site is better than X why wasn’t I accepted rants. Brigette’s site displays the most beautiful dolls, but she’s using a pre-made theme… :( Impish.ca‘s layout is nice but really simple. Silencia.net and Amelie’s Not-Noticeably.net are also lovely and simple. But sites with equally simple layouts have been rejected. Aside from giving applicants a very rough idea of whether or not they can get in, comparing doesn’t have much of a point. It only seems to create false hope. What are visitors supposed to think when they see sites using pre-made layouts?
- Reevaluate member sites. Perfection lists the sites of perfectionists. If members become lazy and create things that are not up to the community’s standards, they should remove themselves or be cut. That sounds harsh, but Perfection claims to be “a collection of top-quality websites and like-minded designers.” It should push its members to achieve their best by refusing to list sites that have become second-rate. On the other hand, if it feels that all of the gallery’s sites are great – why refuse to list similar sites? :D
1 Don’t comment saying they were insane &c. to reject me over the header. Different people like different things. :)
Really, I think your site is fine. I mean, it could use more pink, of course! (Don’t mind the girl obsessed with the color pink :P). If I have to critique something then it would be that I’m not fond of pastel-y colors. I like bold
colors.
I’m not much help because I’m more attracted to a site’s blog, rather than fuss over the layout and such.
I like the overall composition, but like you said before on IM, you might make use of a bit too many details.
I’m not at all artistic, so I’m not really good at offering suggestions as to how to make an “eye-catching design”, but maybe what bothered most members was the lack of focus point in your header.
I’m using a resolution of 1280x1024px so I’m fine with the size of your header image. But my eyes invariably slide over it. On the one hand it’s not a bad thing, as it puts more emphasis on your content. Nevertheless Perfection IS a design gallery… so they want your design to be memorable… I think.
So that’s all I’d suggest: use something large, and very easily distinguishable from the rest of the images.
You know, for all that you were worried this entry would cause a stir up, I don’t think it’s that controversial. Of course you just posted. But really… I was expecting much more perfection bashing XP … or um… perfection members’ bashing. Tee-hee
My personal suggestions for to improve your site:
1) Centre it. It’s not quite centred, and it’s not quite left-aligned. Pick one. :)
2) Bit more padding between the text and the edge of the container would be spiffy. :)
‘Reevaluate member sites.’ – some of us members have been suggesting this for a while.
Perhaps I should check out the reviews over there because I don’t understand why you didn’t get in with this layout.
Oh hey, thanks for the plug. :P
I don’t like the way Perfection is run. When I got my reviews back, one of them was literally “Yeah, what so and so said.” That’s it. And my friend who’d applied, when she got rejected the first time, got reviews like “I just don’t like it.” or “she’s a bitch.”
While some of the members offer constructive criticism, some of them do not.
Yes, some of the sites are simple, but hardly any of the “simple” ones are “lovely.” Part of what makes a site “perfect” – I believe – is that a site is aesthetically pleasing as well as functional. It seems with some of the sites in Perfection that the aesthetically pleasing ones aren’t very functional and the functional ones are plain.
That is why I caused such a fuss about being rejected – and I don’t plan on reapplying.
Anyway, in terms of criticism for your site, I would center the layout firstly. I don’t know what resolution you created it in but I’m viewing in a 1440×900 resolution and it’s way off center. I would also justify your main text (but that’s just me, I love justified text), and make the navigation links up top stand out a little more. Maybe possibly also put boxes or containers around the little blurbs under the main image.
Otherwise, it’s a nice layout.
Vera, I think the problem with the header was that it was too busy (basically, the opposite of what you’re saying). :P Not that it doesn’t stand out.
I don’t like bashing people. I want to offer valid criticism… :D
Jem, I didn’t get in because a bunch of members said they don’t like the header.
Rachael, you don’t see why it’s not centered? How many times have you visited? :( I’ll think about adding more padding. Thanks.
Arwen, it’s not centered because the header graphic spills over. Maybe that was a bad idea? Anyway, I was expecting the sort of reviews that you got (I did get one or two that were like “I just don’t like it”)… but they were pretty nice in mine, so I can’t really complain about that. Thanks for all of the suggestions.
Well, it’s centred on 800*600 and it looks alright at 1024*768… Anything wider, and it starts to look kinda odd. :/
I’ll be honest here. I don’t really like the header that much; I find that there’s too much going on, and it’s just not my thing in general. I also dislike that the layout is left aligned, or almost left aligned, or whatever. I like it when layouts are centered.
Also, I agree with Vera – I don’t think you wrote this in controversial way at all. I agree with what you said. :)
My layout is centered! :P If you don’t believe me, look at the top and look at the code. It is perfectly centered at the top, it just gets a little odd when you scroll down. XD
Rachael, do you see why it looks as though it’s not centered? Everything looks perfectly centered in 800×600 for a reason… do you see what makes it off? I don’t see how you don’t see it. :(
But I definitely agree that I did an odd thing with the alignment. I was hoping that it not being centered all the way down wouldn’t be a big deal. My resolution is 1280 x 800…
I like your layout! It’s not centered in my resolution (1280×768), but I still think it’s beautiful! Don’t worry about not getting accepted. Your site’s still awesome!
I think people are a little confused with the centring thing, maybe you should add a corresponding-ish portion near the bottom? Personally, I don’t see why you didn’t get in with this layout; I think it’s beautiful! But either way, you’re right about different people liking different things. And the suggestions are good too, the reevaluation bit is definitely something to be considered!
I think the reason why people see it as not centered is because you’ve centered from the top, rather than working with the background. As I see the top part (the bit that’s ‘off’ the main content block) as more decoration than a part of the actual header, it probably would make more sense to center the background (this white part) and add the blue bit on afterwards.
Now that I’ve typed this out it makes no sense so I hope you ‘get’ what I’m saying.
The slightly off-centerednes (of the main body) doesn’t bother me. My favorite part of the header is actually the bit that “sticks out.” I think it is surprising, gauzy, and beautiful. I also like how big the header is. It does strike me as you, and sets the tone for the page. One bit of crit for the header though. I can see why people think it is busy. It isn’t really, the images blend into each other. But! my eye searches for the title of your blog in that header. I’m immediately drawn to the bright white around take, then I see the Korean writing, then I am drawn to the top bank of links, and then finally I see the callistonian.net tag. It’s easy to diagnose that as busy, but really if you made your title stand out more then the rest of the header would fall into the background making it appear less busy.
The only other bit of preference I can give is about the lead (or whatever it’s rightfully called) right below the header. It would be better if your main blog text appeared earlier. The stuff in the lead could be moved or condensed. “Introduction” could be somehow integrated in the header image or made into a single word link. The “latest review” could be a single word link or maybe a separate text box to the side of the main blog column (a separate text box along side the main column would help fix the centeredness problem all the way down the page). The “asides” would seem better suited to the bottom of the page. If they are asides why are they so prominent?
Really, though, do what you want. Perfectionism is dull if truly reached.
I’ve never heard of the perfectionism site, but your crit of them seems sound and non-bitter.
Erm… no that’s exactly what I meant. It’s too busy, and there isn’t any focus point, which would draw considerably more attention to itself than the rest. I’m personally not that bothered by it not being centered. Then again, my resolution is 1280x1024px, where the difference is not that big.
If I use firebug and edit your css live, and take out the min width and the max width, then the percentage, and just set the width to 760px it centers perfectly, but over laps that flourishy bit.
Jem, I get what you’re saying. :)
Yondole, thanks for the in-depth feedback. It’s fun to strive for Perfection – actually achieving it is a whole different matter. I’m not actually trying to get into the gallery anymore.
Vera, sorry… for not understanding what you meant. They didn’t talk of focal points, so it’s confusing.
Carly, thanks for the tip.
The layout is centered as oddly as it is because I still care about 800×600 resolution people (I will soon stop caring, but this layout was designed with them in mind). If I try something clever like offsetting the main column by the width of the flower on the right, the main column won’t fit in their browser windows anymore. The min-width/max-width thing was done to force the flower under the main column in windows that aren’t opened wide enough to accommodate it. As it stands now, if your resolution and browser window are wide enough to allow for the flower on the right, you’ll see it… If not, you won’t (a side effect of not seeing it is that the main column becomes perfectly centered).
No one has content related/blog related critiques?
I have nothing against the mods/admins/members personally, so take this for what it’s worth:
I think the whole concept of the site is silly. If I want to check out hot designs, I’ll go to one of the (hundreds of) CSS galleries and see what they have up. But with a site like Perfection, especially with its target audience and how interpersonal communication normally works within that target audience/member cohort, it will invariably turn into a popularity contest, based ever so loosely on the enigmatic concept of “aesthetics”. Some of the sites accepted to Perfection are ugly, others are totally bland, some are just boring. In short, I haven’t seen that much “perfection” over there, and I’m sure it has to do with how the sites are selected/accepted (playing favorites, being bffs with everybody & their mom, etc). Don’t get me wrong, some of the sites have great designs, but I don’t understand why you were deemed “unworthy” – it’s not like every other site in there is a masterpiece, and I really like everything about this layout. Honestly. I’m not even sucking up :)
In terms of the content, my only “critique” is that you should blog more! (Pot, kettle, la la la, I know.) I did a little random tour of some of the Perfection blogs, and 80% of my sample ended up being “so today I went to the mall…”-type entries. Eh. If that’s what they call Perfection…
Your site IS perfect. If it’s yours and you like it, that’s all that matters. Frankly, I love it. I think that when a header image is a piece of art, I can gain a fuller understanding of that person than when the header image is … non-existant, or plain, or pre-made.
This isn’t perfection. That website is simply a collection of the blandest, simplest layouts I’ve ever seen. I believe if you’re making a personal site or a blog, then it should be personal!
Honestly, I love this layout. It’s simple and clean, but it has just enough personality to make it really shine. You have nothing to fear. Your layout is beautiful. :)
Holy smokes, Batman. I never heard of Perfection before.
Like many have said, your site is your own and you are free to do what you will with it. Everyone will have different view on the looks and content. I think the header is beautiful.
Great to see the shilly-shally isn’t bumming you out though. No fights = yay!
@Chantelle: use the margin: 0 auto; ‘trick’ with the bg flower positioned center top, and it’ll be friendly to those on 800×600 and the background will move around to suit.
Jem, I do use that trick? But if I put the flower center top, it’ll be hidden behind the main container? The flower is only 160ish pixels wide.
Also, actually, -_-; I think part of the problem is that I don’t like it when the main container is centered because everything is off-centered at the top, which bothers me. =/
I hope that everyone can live with it as it is. But I will add padding and such.
I was rejected twice before I finally got in this third time. Sometimes a layout we really like ourselves just doesn’t “click” with others. I actually like your header (especially the detail around the ‘search’ box. What I would nitpick is the details, which I think are the real key in design.
For example. The headers for your entries (the pretty blue banner on the right side) don’t stretch tall enough and so the purple shows through. You may want to fix that. Also, the eye gets bored really easily, so you want to spice things like text and formatting (placement is key!). Font sizes, fonts, text styling – contrast is good. You have a ton of purple and blue tones in your banner – use them in your content as well! (And don’t be afraid to use some colors not in there as well!)
The author highlighting is very useful, though the blue text color matches too much with the container itself. Try changing the background color instead.
So basically, I everything from your asides/latest review/intro up I like. Below that the design seems less “put-together” – am I correct to assume that you spent a lot more time on what was above than what was under?
In regards to “Perfection,” if I were you, I’d use this layout for as long as you continue to like it. Then, when it comes time to change in your mind, take the extra time to comb through the details and completely redesign. By then, I’m sure you will have grown as both a person and a designer, and whatever you do will be even better than what you have now. It will be something that one, you like, and two, resubmit to Perfection and wow everybody with. :)
Happy blogging. – Vii
Thanks Viitoria. :) I spent an equal amount of time on pretty much everything (the header (the part everyone has issues with XD) took the longest though).
I’m not going to reapply to Perfection. I only applied a second time because I wanted to blog about the group… I was hoping that I would have an insider’s POV, but that failed. To me, Perfection is more or less dead. Only 10-11 sites have been added since August. Half of the sites there haven’t been updated in months. Others are using extremely simplistic designs. If it’s this much trouble getting in, I can’t be arsed to reapply. My site is listed in other CSS galleries, so I’m not desperate. But if Perfection cleans up its own gallery, then maybe I’ll give it a second look… Until then, I’d rather not be a member. ;)