It took me a total of about 20 minutes to layout this graphic, assemble it and get it pieced together like this. My friend from the UK got a sample of it and told me He would only change the arrows so I did. There is a before and after picture to show what I changed. I would like this graphic critiqued as i am a Graphic Design major and would like to know your inputs on whether or not you think I will be good at it or not.


Before:


After:



Second Shot!
Before:


After:


This post has been edited by mcdanielnc89: Jun 23 2008, 01:44 PM

I love the cross but I'm not too keen on the text that you have used. Purple is the wrong choice of colour here in my opinion. The purple and black with the red isn't easy on the eye and when put together I find them hard to read. I would consider using some more modern, sleek pastel colours.

The effects you are using on the text is nice but could possibly be toned down a bit and I think the arrows in both images are tool large. Try shrinking them and pushing them up closer to the list text at about middle line height. (Like a normal list would do, it's rare that list bullets dwarf their text).

In summary, work with what you've done really well -- the cross -- and try carry the style across to the rest. Good work so far.

The script for the bulleted text is too hard to read. People want answers and info fast, they don't want to have to struggle to decipher text.

I would prefer to see that bulleted text without a shadow as well. The arrows don't have shadows so the text should not have it either.

3D lettering, shadowing and that script font "date" this graphic. It's rather old fashion.
I'd eliminate the bevel on the company name as well. Colors are dated too. Purple and red don't go together at all. Try for something a little more conservative.

I have to be totally honest with you and say that the whole emboss thing looks very 90s.

Now it's all about fat letters mixed thin ones, etc...

I would much rather see your logo in a more regular looking font like Helvetica .... not "that" one but something more like that.

My 0.02 cents worth

The cross is promising and has some potential. The text look's like you have gone a bit wild with photoshop layer effects. To be blunt you appear to have missed your objective.

1) The readability is poor
2) The color choice is bad
3) Too many photoshop effects
4) Too many arrows
5) The content is irrelevant

Lets start with feedback.
Its very hard to read, this can be fixed by changing the font. To me it looks like you have gone for some scripture font to link it to christianity. I would say this is a poor choice as many Christian websites are surfing the wave of technology and good taste (ala http://www.ichurch.co.uk)

The color looks like a throw back to the 90's. Its in your face, its bright and the colors don't really go.

Too many photoshop effects ruin it. What have you got on it. Bevel, satin, outer glow, drop shadow? Such effects have their uses but they shouldn't make the graphic itself.

The arrows are intrusive and are not needed at all

The content. Shared web hosts fall into 3 categories. 'We give you everything under the sun', 'We are ultra cheap', 'We run discounts and give freebies out all the time to entice users'. All 3 categories provide what you have listed as standard. You are not listing selling points. You are just listing things people expect to have. This will not get you any customers.

The feedback has been negative but lets face it. You have only spent 20 minutes. I usually spend 3 hours+ on creating important graphics. Sometimes it takes up a whole day.

Moving on...

Firstly the questions.

What is the graphic for? (uses)
What is the company called?
What is the companies usp? (What is your unique selling point and what makes this special?)

I assume that yours is an advertising graphic that will go on your homepage or affiliate pages.

The most important things are.
> Brand recognition
> Eye catching (tastefully so, subtly draw the users eye without over powering all other content.)
> Background (Get some background and color into it. Make it a graphic instead of a set of bullet points)

Next thing to do, grab a piece of paper and thrash out some ideas. The advert needs to have some identity to it. Some brand recognition. Once you have 5-10 mock ups select 2-3 and create them on the computer. Fiddle and tweak them until they are looking good then pick out the best.

Great post, Jason. I agree 100%. It looks like you went photoshop-crazy and applied every layer effect you could.

The photoshop layer effects are *not* meant to be used in their default settings. You have to do a little massaging to make them work and look good.

Re the arrows, lose 'em. I think the points are pretty clear without them.

Black, purple, and red don't really strike my as colors to be used for a christian hosting website. Maybe try something a bit more neutral.

Font: Something a little clearer would be really nice.

And while we're talking about fonts -- Comic Sans is your font choice for this post... Seriously? As a graphic designer it would be in your best interest to never, ever ever ever, use that font again.


Lastly, if you're looking for a little inspiration don't hesitate to browse around a couple web galleries.
http://faveup.com/
http://cssmania.com/
http://cssloaf.com/
http://cssremix.com/

Wow wee... Very nice feedback. This is exactly what I wanted... If I don't get feedback I will never move forward. I have to say it hurts hearing the bad feedback, but that's what makes us better desginers when we get tips/tricks and suggestions... I thank you for the feedback and will redo this image with some of teh advice you all have given me.. I'll return in a day or so with an update.. Thank you all again...

The website this is being made for is located here. It's a friend of mine's website and Is currently being worked on..

Okay guys, I have redid them, Take a look at the first post..

This post has been edited by mcdanielnc89: Jun 23 2008, 01:44 PM

Twice as good as the first... this being said, when I look it I am not grabbed in any way to investigate this further. The 'Christian Web Hosting' needs more work. If this is brand name then it needs an overhaul.

Some wise man said 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. Unfortunately your picture just throws up questions.

What has a religion got to do with web hosting?
What makes your company different?
Why would I switch from my existing provider?

Furthermore. When I look for a hosting company, I look for a company that is dynamic and up to date. If their graphics and website are consistent with up-to-date trends then it gives me confidence that they will be stick to that crest of new technology and be able to host my website. Unfortunately your graphic doesn't exude this confidence. Further more I am still not certain as to what this graphic is for.

Take a look at this.
http://www.site5.com/images/08/summer/specialbar-july.png

Look at the use of color, patterns, the modern take on the flag. The contrast and the highlighting of the key points. This graphic sells web hosting.

http://www.Hostgator.com/images/hgsalesum.gif

Alright its a sale but its bright, vibrant. Its tasteful yet it gets your attention. it makes you want to investigate further

http://order.1and1.co.uk/oneandone_uk/img/...ome_hosting.jpg

I am a 1and1 customer *hangs head in shame*. But even they have got it partially right. The guy looks a bit chumpish and too stapled-in for my liking. That aside. Look at the wording. 'Powerful'. Look how the offer has been highlighted. Its eye grabbing yet not over bearing.

I assume this is the kind of thing that you are trying to create. I am not doing anything revolutionary. I am just going to competitor sites and seeing what they are doing. No one gets it right the first time. My first design site that I posted for critique was called 'bland', 'disappointing' and 'dull'. The site was taken offline and I reworked it all. Recently the 6th version of my site won the 'smoothie of the month' award here. Sometimes you have to get it wrong to learn how to get it right. Stick at it.

A tip.

You wording is all over the place with the vertical spacing. Create a paragraph and have each point on a separate line. Then use the paragraph helper tool thing to adjust the line height. This way the spacing will always remain consistent.

Well, I'm glad that it's better than the first.. That tell's me I'm understanding what you all are saying... I don't understand what you mean by the verticle spacing...

I don't like the font. It's usually used by pop up banner or some cheap advertising banner.
Try to use some other style and use some other color theme. Purple seems "girlish"

lol, I have to go with what the website colors are, LOL...

While I tend not to get caught up in the Web 2.0 stuff - this logo is just so '90s. The text, as Monie pointed out is something that I'd expect to see on a cheap advertisement.
And by web 2.0, I don't mean gradients and reflections (that's what everybody thinks); I mean something modern and something that looks half like it came from this era.

I'd recommend having a look at Logo Pond's Featured gallery. I'd more or less start from scratch - but I agree the cross is promising, but might still need some sprucing.

Everything is a learning experience, even if that's learning that you're not quite as good as a designer you'd like to be.

Ed.

Not bad. Keep up the good work. If you're willing to be positive and critical at the same time you'll have a great future in anything you want.

Think about this though => IF you're going to contrast something (like the main heading, and the features) REALLY contrast them. As in, different fonts, different styles... don't just do a little bit smaller and keep the same font and effects... go like BOLD thin
[size=2]
Shadows and embossing etc... leave them for artwork, not logos. Think about flexibility across mediums. Think about lifetime and the timelessness stuff. Why bother putting your energy into something that is not going to withstand the tests of time? I'm sure Jesus taught something like that. And he is still around today.[size=1]
[size=2]
Also consider that shadows, embosses... its like trying to be 3d in a 2d environment. If you want it to look 3d... make clay sculptures... print it on actual 3d stuff... let light in the real world create the shadows. If you look around at major brands in the web world today you'll find that embossing and shadowing and effects are kept minimal. Subtlety is the key. Unelss you're not doing subtle, and your intention is to to create a different effect. For example the web squeeze logo... looks squeezed doesn't it?

Whats your theme? Christ? How does the text look like Christian? If you can't think of something genuinely creative for the font, just use something simple. Because if the focus isn't on the wording, then why waste your customers / audiences mind with focusing them on some font? Bring the focus onto the cross if thats your intention.

I've made plenty of disasterous logos. While the critique might be harsh here, keep in mind you're in an audience of people who have probably been slammed with criticism just like this from clients and so forth and have just as many terrible, maybe even worse concepts in the archive.

Take it easy mate. Love thy neighbour. And remember, jesus was probably a vegetarian. I am a dog and I find it a little disturbing that people say its ok to eat animals and I am an animal so where does that leave me? I'm glad I don't live in china.

peace. enjoy the creative festivities of being a designer.

This post has been edited by cosmicbdog: Jul 4 2008, 09:10 AM

lol.. nice post.. ty for that. lol.. i'm still lernign and believe i will be doing better!