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Matt

Well-Known Member
Hi folks,

I've been working for some time on a new website, which Ray asked me to design in return for the lovely razors that he got me.

So now, as a target group, you are kindly asked too see the beta version and feedback will be much appreciated.

The top still lacks some graphics, I need a nice photo of a shaving setup, unless Rays comes up with some other idea maybe.

In general, I designed the website to mimic the look of old papers, from times when shaving with a straight was natural. I'm a big sucker for this aesthetics, as well as for old prints and printing in general. So it is made to look like printed on an old, battered press.

It wasn't intended to look like a modern website. However, maybe I got too carried away with the concept? Is readability OK? Doesn't it look too gloomy with all the shades of gray and brown? As Einstein once said, 'Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.' This applies to design suprisingly well. Maybe it's too plain?

Here are the pics (I don't embed them this time, watch them at 100%, so click this tiny "+" sign):

1
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best regards,
Matt
 
Very interesting. I like the look, but now with all of us viewing on mobiles, how does it look via mobile view?
I find it very readable and I feel that you hit your goal of looking vintage.
 
Oh crap, now you got me. I've absolutely no experience with making things mobile-friendly. :thumbdown:

We'll have to discuss it with Ray, apparently.

thanks,
Matt
 
I think that mobile devices are generally overrated. The old generation that could not handle regular sites is dying out, and next generations will handle basic sites like yours fine.

Shopping and payment are a different story, of course... ;)
 
Hi Matt,

I like the "old copper plate" look. I think you hit what you where aiming for. As someone who is pretty heavily involved in engraving / printing I obviously see that it is mainly computerized work and "not the real deal" - but of course this is of no consequence since it is mainly the "look" of a site rather than an actual gravure. Certainly legible, and to my taste not at all dark and gloomy, but rather, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a time when high end products where still, for the most part, created by hand. If anything, I would give it a slightly higher sepia tone over the black, but as a whole - Good show!
 
Nice! Looks very well done. The theme is very much in keeping with our hobby.

If i may offer one word? I think the coffee stain on the background, though lending an air of verisimilitude, is too attention grabbing and distracting. And disconnected. It should be anchored, either by the presence of the offending coffee cup, or other clutter to give it balance. Just my very humble opinion, and very presumptuous of me it is, as I've never had the skills to design a web page.
Otherwise, I think it's very top-class.

Kind regards,
-Chris
 
Excelent… I do find the page attractive… the “atmosphere” is like stepping into a time capsule.
I also like that the background is “toned down”… but the product is in bright full color… as it should be… so the eyes are attracted to the product.

Not sure if this is the final layout but for those of us who are “at that age” and cannot read the fine print… you may want to zoom-in a bit to show just a bit less of the table and more of the “newspaper”… hopefully the text will be a bit bigger.

Just my imagination running wild… as Chris mentioned, you could place a shaving mug near the “coffee stain”… after all the stain could be from the shaving mug… doesn’t have to cover the stain… more like the mug was slightly shifted (as will happen when shaving)… and it don’t have to show the whole mug, just a small part of it… OR you could place an actual cup of steaming hot coffee... (... morning shave with Folgers in your Cup :lol: )
 
Thank you all for your valuable input.

wdwrx said:
If i may offer one word? I think the coffee stain on the background, though lending an air of verisimilitude, is too attention grabbing and distracting. And disconnected. It should be anchored, either by the presence of the offending coffee cup, or other clutter to give it balance.
I'll check it. Maybe indeed it's too strong, though there are more stains which are hardly visible on a regular monitor. Actually the top looks like fading to black, while in fact it is deep brown on my workstation... I'm not sure, though, if adding more things like mugs, ashtray and so on wouldn't add even more distraction :), but maybe it will work? I'll see.

Smythe said:
Not sure if this is the final layout but for those of us who are “at that age” and cannot read the fine print… you may want to zoom-in a bit to show just a bit less of the table and more of the “newspaper”… hopefully the text will be a bit bigger.
That's a question of whether Ray wants it to be width-variable or constant. I wouldn't like to make the default text larger, but thanks for that, I'll add increase/decrease font buttons.

Tcensor said:
As someone who is pretty heavily involved in engraving / printing (...)
That's interesting. What do you actually do?

thank you all, again, regards
Matt
 
Matt said:
That's interesting. What do you actually do?

The short answer is "Artist" I guess. I do many things. I make my living forging knives, mainly. However, I specialize in metal engraving, and intaglio print making which I teach in my studio after hours.

How about you? :)
 
Intaglio, nice. :) My former gf was doing them, I love both the look of the etched plates and the print themselves. :)

Well it takes blood and guts to call oneself an artist, I dare not to apply this to myself. I'm nearly a self-taught graphic designer with quite a lean towards designing for printing (hence the interest), I'm also proficient in DTP. I shoot photos mainly as a hobby (been paid for a few assignments, though). However, I'm planning to leave design and rather switch to motion graphics and video stuff.

Maybe it's high time to write the next part in "Now then you guys" thread. :)

cheers,
Matt
 
Well, like I said - "Artist" is the short answer. I guess in olden times I would be called an artisan or a craftsman - but "what I do" is a bit more wide-scope than the rather specialized nature of arts and crafts as they are usually precieved so I'm stuck with "Artist". Whats in a name right? I don't think it takes "Blood and Guts" to call one self an artist - There are tons of people out there who do. What does take blood and guts is giving up ones day job in order to engage in ones art completely - and make a living at it. But this is all semantics, well, at least until the post man drops those bills in the mailbox right?

Re: "Now then you guys" - Perhaps a "show us your works area" or "show us your tools" is more interesting than a mug shot thread? :)
 
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