Your Critique Of This Homepage

TMI all jumbled together, not a clean design, extra window opens at the bottom about cookies which was distracting from...well...from the other distracting areas! Why are you asking this?

Jumble. the Cookies policy, needs saying, but up front?

i needed no script to turn it on 3 times. so its annoying. kind of jumbled, hard to read, don't like the lime green. words are too long on the bottom, thin font, white on dark, hard to read. has some kind of cookie policy that makes me want to leave just to get rid of the box. insert the cookie, i shouldn't have to adjust my browser to see the site. the flash should flash faster.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

The first thing a visitor sees:

START SHOPPING

What a way to introduce oneself


Edit:

My bad,

I thought this was about this Home Page

(http://fineartamerica.com/)

LOL

It looks fine on my browser, but maybe that's because I have cookies disabled. I'm not seeing the jumbled mess that others appear to be. I kinda like that the reservation window is on the front page, but I'm a simple no-nonsense kind of guy, I just want to get right to it.

Looking at it again I'm really baffled at the "Jumbled" and "distracting" comments. I love simplicity and this front page seems to be simple enough to me. I see four neat, organized bands of information. The top band is the menus, the 2nd is the reservation window with a slide show window along side it. The 3rd band is some kind of thing you can scroll through to see other pages and the bottom band is just the typical stuff you see on most commercial websites such as "more from" links and legal mumbo jumbo links and logos.

Curious as to why you are asking. Most hotel sites have the reservation stuff right up front. Many people don't just browse hotel sites, they go to make reservations...

Looks like pretty much every other chain hotel site. Though it does look like just a standard wordpress design for this particular one.

...

Seems fine to me. If I wanted to stay at a Radison hotel, I think I could figure out how to make an online reservation reasonably easily, which is really all I care about in a hotel chain website.

Although... I don't like cookies unless they're chocolate chip, so the consenting to cookies box makes me wonder if I'm going to be sorry I exposed my computer to the website.

Normally hotel websites show some pictures of the outsides of the hotels, beautiful swimming pools, and stuff like that. Not doing that makes me wonder if the hotels look kind of bad from the outside. I'm reasonably familiar with Radison hotels, they're usually not bad looking on the outside, but I would not know that from this website.

Did you design this website? I'm no expert, but I think it looks pretty good.

Very nicely conceived and constructed site. The images are fine, except I don't personally like the green Statue of Liberty.

HOWEVER, I have an issue with the green and dark and light gray color scheme.. too much green on the LP.
The image slider overlaps the gray bar (at the bottom).
Is the favicon intentionally not square?
A minor font snafu for "Make" on New York page.. "Make it here and you...."
Don't forget the comma in those long compound sentences.
On "plan ahead and save"... there is a vertical alignment issue with the reservation box.
I'll stop now.

If I'm not mistaken, the cookies disclosure is required in Europe.

Just my $.02.

I also don't like the color scheme and it does look like a basic template design like Heather mentions above.

The cookie disclaimer is law in my country.

He might be trying to prove a point in the worst way possible. Or it might be his next vacation spot. Kind of like another time where he dumped half a puzzle in our laps and chided us later for not solving it. Of course, a better test is presenting the whole code and seeing if we can crack it, but never mind.

Whoa! The first thing that came into my head was "peas!"

- Richard Reeve
ReevePhotos.com

Really bad. Annoyingly bad. Makes booking a hotel room a headache.

Peas indeed.

Dave
Bridburg.com

I think it's terrible. The green is overused and the reversed out fields on the reservation form look like an error.

Is there a reason this is being asked?

Yes Robert did not get a good night's sleep.

Dave

He might be trying to prove a point in the worst way possible. Or it might be his next vacation spot. Kind of like another time where he dumped half a puzzle in our laps and chided us later for not solving it. Of course, a better test is presenting the whole code and seeing if we can crack it, but never mind.

You are far too suspicious, ... excessively and unfairly so. What half a puzzle? Are you referring to moi? If so, then I think you might have me confused with someone else. What code? Crack what code? Why the incredulity over a simple request for feedback on a design that I had nothing to do with? NOW I'm "chiding". (^_^)

I used to participate in a website design critique forum, and every now and then the habit sneaks back in. That forum seems pretty inactive now, but here at FAA we have a primo group of design conscious people. I asked for feedback on a design, and I get suspicion and curiosity as to my motives. Interesting.

Again, I had NOTHING to do with this design. I simply encountered it for the first time yesterday, and I had a strong first impression that I wanted to weigh against other experienced design eyes.

This is an international hotel chain, and this is their branded image. Does it say "international hotel chain"? Do the colors have appeal? Do the eyes find it pleasing? ... annoying? etc.? I'll weigh back in later with my own reaction.

Thanks to those who have already offered THEIRS.

And I got a VERY good night's sleep, thank you very much.

Speaking of suspicious, I didn't say even half of what you are conjecturing. Where are you getting the idea that I think you designed it, for example? But yes, I'm being unfair since what I'm referring to was your alien alphabet posts. This seemed yet another exchange like that one and if it isn't, mea culpa.

Hi Vanessa,

I asked him if he designed it.
I didn't think that was a suspicious question, it was just a question.

--Cheryl

Abbie:

"The cookie disclaimer is law in my country."

Q: What do you call someone who has no idea what the law is in other countries? A: American.

Thanks for the info.

I'm going to go eat some cookies now.

Hi Cheryl, you're right. That definitely doesn't qualify as suspicion. Maybe he's talking about both of us in a single paragraph in which case I'm not keeping track of the pronouns very well.

Hi Cheryl, you're right. That definitely doesn't qualify as suspicion. Maybe he's talking about both of us in a single paragraph in which case I'm not keeping track of the pronouns very well.

Thank you so much for staying focused on the critique requested. Stellar form!

But back to the topic now:

What is your impression of that website?

Simple question, I promise.

Artists here ask for critiques of visual designs all the time. A webpage is a visual design. This is not some far fetched, far out discussion, therefore.

What is your reaction to the page? I never implied that anybody thought I designed it. I was just trying to give some neutral background, to foster a more unbiased response.

I already learned something about the cookie law that I did NOT know by bringing up this topic. I also confirmed something about human nature.

Robert,

I want to apologize for jumping to conclusions.

When I read:......" Your Critique Of This Homepage" :

I read it as ........."Your Critique Of THIS Homepage"

The homepage of THIS site we are all now participating in.


And I thought, "What a brave thing to do"

My exact words used to start this topic were:

I am just curious what your first reaction is to the visual appearance of the page that you arrive at, when you click on this link:

http://www.radisson.com/?s_cid=af.cj.carlson

How is it that the title of the topic could smear out the exact clarification of the body of the topic?

I assume, perhaps falsely, that a person reads the title of the post, reads at least the first few words of the post, and then clicks on any link that might be presented to clarify the topic.

Maybe I will choose my title more conscientiously next time. (^_^)

Hey, better still, I will ask for a critique of MY art. I bet there would be no nebulosity there, ... resulting in a plethora of immediate willing, scathing replies.

Robert, what is your critique of the webpage?

I'm just here to read the comments...
*Grabs popcorn.*

i find the green pleasing the black seems to be throwing me off mostly where you would be looking to set up your destination / check-in ect. also my biggest problem is the art above the beds in the hotel room and below the main header are not mine...

i think it needs more cats.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

This is so genetic Hotel chain website. often messy, it looks like someone forced to put it out.
I have seen beautiful local inn's website better than this. I try to stay away from chain anything. unless it's a very good one.
This website turns me off.

Robert, what is your critique of the webpage?

Okay, I have enough from voices I respect here to posit my own reaction to it now.

My first reaction to it is most closely captured by David B.'s comment: Really bad. Annoyingly bad. Makes booking a hotel room a headache.

OR

by Cynthia D.'s comment: I think it's terrible.

OR

a reved up version of Mike S.'s comment [he was really being nice]: its annoying. kind of jumbled, hard to read, don't like the lime green. words are too long on the bottom, thin font, white on dark, hard to read. has some kind of cookie policy that makes me want to leave just to get rid of the box. insert the cookie, i shouldn't have to adjust my browser to see the site. the flash should flash faster. ... except the part about the flash, which I think should be blasted.

AND

Hyoye S. seems pretty on the money too with her comment: genetic [generic] Hotel chain website. often messy, it looks like someone forced to put it out.

It's fine.

Why not state up front that you used to participate in a forum critiquing websites and would like to start a thread like that here? To repeat what I said before using a slightly different tact, the challenge is to present the entire problem to elicit discussion rather than correct misconceptions afterwards.

Okay, I have enough from voices I respect here to posit my own reaction to it now. sounds like this thread isn't so much about critique. Too bad.

Okay, now I'll tell you what I really think:

Any sort of slide show at the very top of a homepage (or any page) is a big no-no for me. Get rid of those things. Performing arts organizations are notorious for trying to feature this very annoying bell-and-whistle device.

A person searching through information has already been moving around from screen to screen, looking for some solid information to land on, .... and what does this person land on but MORE moving screens.

STOP the information journey. Allow the reader to land somewhere stable, THEN to use his or her eyes to MOVE further at his/her OWN PACE across the relevant content of the page.

On this particular site, the reader is faced with ANOTHER slide show at the bottom of the screen, trying to sell him/her on some local or some deal. STOP the selling and START the informing on the home page.

That shade of green is simply horrendous, especially on a background that is predominately white. At least make it darker. Or better still, find a more fulfilling hue -- yellow it up a bit, and THEN darken it for more vibrance and contrast for the white text on it.

The block where you book rooms is well positioned. THIS is what people want to get to, I think. But it is embedded in all this other hideous distraction, and delineated in that horrible green.

Why not state up front that you used to participate in a forum critiquing websites and would like to start a thread like that here? To repeat what I said before using a slightly different tact, the challenge is to present the entire problem to elicit discussion rather than correct misconceptions afterwards.

The challenge is to present the problem as directly and in as few words as possible to elicit the least biased response to the exact question asked. Why not trust the words from the get go, AS they appear, without the need for a life history behind them? I generally do this in a discussion forum, until somebody gives me consistent cause to question their motives for even being there. Give the topic starter the benefit of the doubt, in other words.

Mike, cats are how you know a blog is quality. I thought an artist of your caliber would realize that.

O my goodness. I went there expecting crass yuk. I actually like it a bit.. Sorry...but I do love all things green

cover it in cats.

mostly its a jumble because they forced the size of the screen to narrow. they used a thin white font and dark gray, then used green everywhere. and its all very tight with a slow moving, uneeded flash screen. i have nothing to compare it to though as i don't use those sites.

i guess it gets the job done, but eh.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I like it when the cats are hunting mice and catching them....

...and then.....

...and then...

Ally my popcorn is buttered....;P

Dave