Design Critiques - Example Travel Site

[jkinz]

Hi all,

Well I was bored and made this website for a travel (or any sort of company I suppose, artist or photographer maybe).

Anyways, it isn't coded at all, so I'm just looking purely for design critiques.

[LeadMagnet]

I like the idea of a website looking like pieces of paper. I'm sure i've seen some before that looked as though they were made of scraps of paper and photographs and things thrown down on a table and it looked great to me.

This one looks to neat and rigid though, like a travel agency for a nun's convent or something. Jazz it up a bit. Also, brighten up that main piece of paper or darken the photo border (and the login fields) so they look like they're together on the design.

[jkinz]

Originally Posted by LeadMagnet

I like the idea of a website looking like pieces of paper. I'm sure i've seen some before that looked as though they were made of scraps of paper and photographs and things thrown down on a table and it looked great to me.

This one looks to neat and rigid though, like a travel agency for a nun's convent or something. Jazz it up a bit. Also, brighten up that main piece of paper or darken the photo border (and the login fields) so they look like they're together on the design.

Thanks for the input, I took your suggestions (I originally had the paper lighter, but wasn' sure about it, same with the login section).

Here is a revised version and the changes:

- Took out the "string" on the top

- Lightened paper background

- Darkened polaroid photo and added a slight shading detail to match light source

- Darkened login fields.

[D856C]

It's not really the look, it's the one-dimensionality of the example. Very strong copy should work with the graphic layout. Especially travel, which is under pressure from a number of sources, including self-service.

It's a very real question: Why Should I Hire a Travel Agent Anymore? I get the lowest fares (or what I think are the lowest). I can book a room, events, get tickets to attractions, even restaurant reservations.

Sure the layout is going to look nice. You can go to Template Monster for $25 and get that. What's missing is the ability to work with a client. And that means no content irrelevant designs.

Just say "No" to Lorem Ipsum

[jkinz]

Originally Posted by D856C

It's not really the look, it's the one-dimensionality of the example. Very strong copy should work with the graphic layout. Especially travel, which is under pressure from a number of sources, including self-service.

It's a very real question: Why Should I Hire a Travel Agent Anymore? I get the lowest fares (or what I think are the lowest). I can book a room, events, get tickets to attractions, even restaurant reservations.

Sure the layout is going to look nice. You can go to Template Monster for $25 and get that. What's missing is the ability to work with a client. And that means no content irrelevant designs.

Just say "No" to Lorem Ipsum

Hmm, well its just an example, not created for any company so I didn't want to use an actual company name or anything (as to no infringe upon anyone's rights). I see the point about the paragraphs, etc. and I agree with that. Again this isn't for a client or anyone in particular. Of course when a client requests something I would put real text in there.

As for the "Why should I hire a travel agent?" question, I think that would be better suited to ask a travel agent. I'm just a designer.

[petra]

I like the style of the site but I really can't stand that curly text, it's not solid enough for the headers