hey Tony, i asked for it

much appreciated on all the advice. one thing...

quote:

Start out by doing several very simple thumbnail sketches. That's to say DESIGN your page FIRST, and then build that page on screen. You simply must do it this way if you want to have a good looking product.

i did and i have the sketches to prove it. so, after drawing it out i decided to go ahead and design it. not sure if that makes me even thicker than we thought :jeje:

the only flaw that your advice has is summed up with the spanish phrase "para gustos, colores". basically, there are so many different tastes of internet users out there. for example, the majority of those who posted here liked the design.

love all the feedback but i'm pretty sure the current design weill be the end design (at least to start).

saludos,
jer...

Fair enough, my brotha.

then, what I meant to say was...
err, I like it.

In anycase, I'm still way on board for helping with the back end design (but mostly for the beer drinking)

Keep me posted as to when Modigy gets in town.

Later, Gator

TL

This might be getting into off-topic territory (Jer, feel free to delete) but I wanted to comment a bit on some of the points raised by Liberty about web design.

---- Paper Pencil vs Digital sketching ---
It's important to flesh out a design in the best way for the individual. For me, it's with Photoshop/Fireworks/Illustrator. I almost never use paper and pencil. For others it may very well be paper and pencil since that is the simplest method. I've met plenty of less than experienced designers do great stuff using digital sketching tools and professional animators who jot down designs on paper when they are away from a computer.

Most graphic designers/artists I've worked with over the last 15 years used their computers as initial sketching systems many with graphic tablets for the more animated, less photographic layouts.

Once you have learned to use a good illustration or photo-editing package, sketching with paper and pencil is not that essential to a good design.

--- Javasript vs Flash ---
Don't use Flash when Javascript will suffice. 400 lines of Javascript rollover code is not a big deal compared to using Flash just for a rollover. Jer's code though is more like 50 lines of code (once the extraneous stuff is removed). Flash components require the Flash plug-in which, although fairly ubiquitous, is not always activated or installed. When it is activated it requires more computing power than the equivalent Javascript. It may not seem like a big deal to some but for others it can annoying. For something as simple as the wireless page, Flash is massive overkill.

-- Design ---
Business sites usually have lots of information and multiple levels of structure. For a page like Jer's, a much less structured design can work quite nicely. Following conventional menu structures can be mind-numbing and a little departure from the business model shouldn't be something to worry about.

I also disagree with the "small groups" theory of design. You need to make the design fit the page and if the page is overloaded with "small groups" it overburdens the reader. A few menu options all clustered together with the rest of the screen an interactive wasteland makes it difficult for users with low precision mouse skills (head trackers, elderly, etc.) This doesn't mean I approve of them spread all over the page but a good balance can be found around where it is integrated nicely into the whole page.

You have a point about popups since a lot of people associate them with ads. Luckily my browser allows me to suppress ad popups while still viewing Jer style popups so it's not a big deal to me. If Jer had more time on his hand he could just make the popup a content layer that is shown and hidden when an item is selected. Visibly more pleasing but a whole lot more work.

Anyway, blah blah blah. You can tell I'm deprived of multimedia work when I start pontificating on design dogma.

- Roland

ok, i launched the site at www.plazawifi.com.

hope you all like the final design.

anxious to read your opinions of the other pages (aside from the home page which has been discussed).

saludos,
jer...

Like it jer.......now all I need is a laptop!!!!

What sort of feedback do you want? I found a couple of spelling mistakes. And on the "donations" page, it took a long time to load and then I couldn�t scroll down. Tried a few times before I could get to it. Everything else was really quick to load.

Oh yes, and I liked how "friendly" it all sounded, if that makes sense!!!!!

thanks sue!!!

yes, any feedback will do, impressions, advice, etc...

and please do post those typos so i can fix them.

saludos,
jer...

Not sure if some are typos or just the difference between US spelling and UK spelling!! But under "cool spain links" and "disclaimer" should it not be spelled "navigation"? Also under "disclaimer" I would write "responsible". One I am sure of is under the "coverage map" it should be "your tan" not "yoru tan"!!!!!!

thanks again madsue!!!

i fixed em all.

the "e" in navigation instead of an "i" was due to my fluency in spanish --> "navegar"/"navegaci�n".

saludos,
jer...

wish I had that type of fluency in Spanish.. I�d willingly spell everything wrong !! So is it responsable in US and responsible in UK then?

hey sue, nah, thankfully i never learned to speak uk english

was lucky enough to leave uk for ny when i was about a month old.

saludos,
jer...

:jeje: :jeje: I had to wait till I was 27 to leave UK, but thankfully have never had to live there fulltime since then

(oooohh, how much abuse is this post going to get now!!!!!!!) And I do realise I have gone off subject.......but with jer�s help!!!!

quote:

I had to wait till I was 27 to leave UK

Wow, what a coincidence madsue!!

I too left England at 27. I am also called Su(e)...zy and am considered by the Spanish to be like a "goat". :lo:

So tell me. What�s in store for me on these Spanish adventures? Will I meet a hunky Spaniard :s: , win El Gordo :cheers: and retire early to a white washed villa in southern Spain? :ks:


Sorry for the diversion jer. If you are still looking for feedback on your website here�s my two-pennies worth.

I don�t like the white background, it�s too clinical. I also think the links should be a darker grey as I needed to put my glasses on to read them. Maybe that�s just my problem....

On a positive note, I like the layout and the radar that�s beamed each time you hover over a link.

A job well done :cheers:

thanks all.

gonna correct all those typos as soon as possible booklady, thanks a ton!!! :cheers:

saludos,
jer...

hi jer,

very easy to navigate and, more importantly, easy to understand.

A few extra typos I saw,

1. On the coverage page. approximately half down the first paragraph, West sid, should be West side.

2. On the Other Hotspots page, Here we jave put together, should be Here he have put....

Other than that, a job well done.

Irene

Jer,

One last typo....in your signature line, add another "N" to "CONECTED".


www.plazawifi.com - GET CONECTED!!!