Please crit my new portfolio website?

[Caveman Joe]

Hey! My portfolio website at stainless-design.co.uk is absolutely awful. It was a rush job when I did it two years ago, and I've not updated it since - every time I want to update it, someone actually gives me some paid work to do, so the portfolio site goes on the back burner. Well, the past week or so work has been quiet, so I'm making a new one!
What I have so far is up here: Professional, classy website design in Cheshire : Stainless Design. There are a couple of incomplete sections, but I'm putting it up in a subfolder for crit now, in case there's something I've missed and can correct as I go along.
Thanks in advance for any comments, good or bad.
(BTW, the "v4" in the URL means this is the fourth incarnation of the Stainless Design website. It's the first one not to use Flash, and I'm quite proud of myself for resisting the temptation. )

[Brad Isaac]

Hey Joe,

First off, I think your style is wonderful. It IS classy. The colors match up and the fonts look great.

Here's my first thoughts - warning, I focus a lot on copywriting.

Your Logo I found it to be a bit difficult to read. Therefore, it would be difficult to remember. You want people to remember your brand so I'd tune that up. Make sure, without a doubt people see it and remember it. Make it "pop"

Your Headline Arguably the most important part of your site is the headline when people land there. You want it to grab their attention and never let go. Currently yours is Websites by Stainless Design (seems like all web designers use an opener like that.)

Some ideas -

Why The Quality Of Your Website Should Match the High Quality of Your Products

Your Customers Pay A Premium for Your Services, Make sure Your Website Reflects Your High Standards Too

As you can see, your headline will separate you from the other designers which will give you an advantage over them.

Good luck!
Brad

[wolfgang]

There seems to be a lot of tech words running around your site - that may distract from most bussiness people just looking for solutions/internet store front - not technology.

Sometimes when I popped over to another section the jpg letter head, like http://www.stainless-design.co.uk/v4.../letters/g.jpg, was not present for a long time and made the web page look broken.

I like the navigation break down - how once in a section you can get simple, advanced, examples and planning.

I too did not makes much sense out of the main logo. I couldn't tell you what the name was now as I type this.

OK, Stainless Design - why the wood look? When I read stainless I think of metal and that association, if part of the face of the web page, may achor the branding of your name better.

I like how you stress the importance of design being art, I can appreciate that. But also, if I was looking to put up a web site, I'd be wanting to make sure the pieces are functional in an efficient manner - that part of the art is also how well navigation targets the intended audiance and provides the users with the experience the bussiness is desiring.

"Websites should always be beautiful; if they're not, someone clearly isn't trying hard enough." - hmmm... makes me think I'm going to get a beautiful thing but not too sure about the functionallity - maybe too much stress on beautifulness. And actually there are some kind of ugly sites that do their job well because they are beautiful in how they operate, or the art work is simple and plain.

[Caveman Joe]

Brad, what you brought up about the headline was very informative, and I shall take your information to heart.
Thanks also for the kind words about the layout.
I'm not sure how much I can change the logo without losing the brand identity I've already built up (which, I'll grant, isn't an awful lot) - here's the original logo:
http://www.stainless-design.co.uk/images/biglogo.gif
Perhaps I could overlay it on a nice brass plate or something - but I'd really like to keep that font, if I can get away with it. It's been a part of my life for the past few years.

Wolfgang - even in the "Simple" sections, I'll admit I do have a problem with giving people too much technical information at once. I like my clients to understand their websites, which to be fair does keep them happy, and they appreciate it - but it also gives me problems sometimes when I'm dealing with new clients, particularly in knowing when to back off and let them absorb and think about the information I've given them. I'll take your advice to heart.
The letter heads shouldn't have been taking long to show up - they're less than 2k each! Maybe I could hide them all in the home page, near the bottom, 1*1 pixel each, so they're cached and ready.

When I thought of the name "Stainless Design," I was making a lot of goth, punk and generally alternative websites, and realistic rust was my speciality. Early prototypes of the portfolio site (which, thank God, I never went insane enough to make live) were very dark, with lots of rusted metal, and only the "Stainless Design" logo untouched.
What I'm going for with the name is a clean, streamlined feel. Almost clinical, and untouched by corruption.

I've always thought that functionality and psychology were both part of the art just as important as aesthetics; but I guess it's so ingrained in me that I forgot to mention it! Thanks for pointing that out.

[Brad Isaac]

Joe,

I didn't mean to change the font. Maybe adjust the contrast or something so it's easier to read. You've only got approx ~5 seconds to get someone's attention. You don't want those 5 seconds wasted on someone stuck on your logo.

[Dani]

I agree on the logo. It does need to stand out more.

Also put a tiny bit (3-5px) of left padding on the center pieces. It looks a little cramped pressed right up against the side of the page.

I also agree the site needs more steel!

Keep the wood, but maybe put some chrome edging on it. Make it look like a pimped out car. Chrome trim and woodgrain.

You just need the pink hat and the walking cane then.

I like the simple/advanced etc idea. I might steel (sic ) that idea myself if you don't mind.

[Caveman Joe]

Right, I've spend bloody ages in PhotoShop now trying to make the logo stand out more / be easier to read. I've tried being subtle, and that didn't work; at least, not to a noticable degree on this laptop monitor. Then I tried being un-subtle, and changing the colour to the original steel (original logo was copper caging, steel text - this one's copper text, and the caging is just a slight recess in the wood). That stood out, but The Wrong Way. The Bad Way.
The only possible way I'm gonna get it easier to read is to change the font, and I really, really don't want to do that. Maybe I should spend some time thinking about just why I don't want to change the font - perhaps I'm being a bit irrational.

No, no steel! I left the days of steel behind after I moved on from making sites like this! No more!
(well, it was quite fun to make, and the Revs were fun guys to be around... No, Dan! No more biker sites! PROFESSIONAL! CLEAN! NOT SCARY AND WRONG!)
(oh, who am I kidding, I've got a tattooist's website lined up for this week...)

@Dani: Point taken about the content box, and regarding stealing: knock yourself out, mate. I can't recall stealing the idea from anywhere, but I'm sure I must have.

[Dani]

Email me the font file, and the logo PSD if you like and I will see what I can do with it.

A new graphic designer just joined my team also so I can show her as well if she has time.

Perhaps yes, you also could have a think about why you don't want to change the font.

Especially if you are trying to change your image away from biker/tatooist sites.