Figure 11

Figure 11

***-- (Rated by 7 people, viewed by 145 people)

The blog of an overactive 16 year-old Asian boy.

Edit: I kind of made a "major" fix on my layout after 3 helpful reviews. Care to give me more suggestions?

[b]Please don't review my comments section first since I'm still editing it :P[/b]

Added by Yos in Personal

Figure 11 has 7 Reviews

Below are the reviews left by other members on Figure 11. Jump to review form?

  1. [img: avatar]
    Mimi gave it ****- on 20th Dec 2008 and said:

    Reviewed with:
    Mozilla Firefox 3.0.4 | 1440 x 900 Resolution| Windows Vista
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    HI YOS!!!!!!1 I was trying to do your review yesterday but I couldn't get your site to load. :( I was a sad panda. Anywho, here we goo!

    First Impression:

    Well, it's going to be a first impression for the say since I've been to your site many times. I think that it looks simple without being boring and I love a couple of the indications of your good humor hidden in the layout (IE the footer and the 'LOL' in the header). It makes me miss the bird poop in my old layout.. *sniff sniff*

    The load time was not outrageous or anything but it took a little longer (and continues to every time I click on a new page) than I would have liked to wait. :(

    Coding:

    I check for standards compliance coding and yours, of course, passes with both XHTML and CSS. I did notice here and there a few things that could be removed from your CSS, though. For example your h2 headers, you have the font size set at 12pt for h2. You then have the font size stated again in h2 a and h2 a:hover. You don't have to tell it the font size 3 times in that instance. Also in a few other places I noticed this, too.

    Also, might I suggest the use of CSS Sprites? (Thanks goes to Vasili for that URL. :P ) I use them in my current layout for my navigation. It will make the hover over in your navigation quicker. :D

    This isn't really a problem but I was wondering why the top parts of your CSS use em for the font size but the rest of it uses pt? I am a fan of consistency so that's the only reason why I said anything, plus it doesn't matter either way as long as you aren't using px. :P

    Ok, boring stuff.. I know! One more thing, I has confusion. Why is this in your coding:

    ? I thought you coded it yourself but why would you have to tell yourself that in your own coding?

    Well anyway, let's move on! :)

    Design:

    Since there isn't a lot that needs improvement here (no ass-kissing intended :P ) I hope you don't mind if I just make a sort of "bulleted" list with my suggestions.. Here goes:

    - I don't like how the bottom and tops of the photos in your header seem to fade into a blue color.. It looks like you accidentally used the erase tool on them and forgot to change it. :S I mean normal Polaroids would not have fading like that, right?

    - I love the title image but I think a couple of color changes would look fantastic. First the word 'eleven' would look better if it was also white, in my opinion. Second the 11 looks too close to black to really tell it is supposed to be blue. You know the blue color that your navigation links change to when you hover over them? I think that light blue would look perfect on your 11. :)

    - I would like it if the blog title headers has slightly bigger text (just because I am old!) and if they were a prettier shade of blue.. I think that one is just too dark since the page background color is black.. just needs a little light blue to make it look happier!

    - Your comment link.. Well, first I think the cute little speech bubble icon should come before the link because it looks funny sticking out on the end and also the name for comments, "Awesomeness", is cute but at first I was confused because I would never have thought that was your comment link if I hadn't happen to notice the speech bubble. :S So while it does add some flavor it might confuse some people and result in less comments. You never know, of course, but that would be my guess.

    - Oh I almost forgot, with your menu navigation, I think it would look cool if you changed the background color as well as the font's color when you hover over it. Maybe not a BIG change, just a slightly lighter or darker shade of the blue the background already is set at.

    That's really it as far as design goes! I think it's overall a very nice design. :)

    Content:

    I just love how people have been making their 'About' pages half about the site and half about the owner like this. I really want to use that idea but it doesn't really fit in with my set up. Blah!

    UM YOS, CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME HOW YOU DID YOUR ARCHIVES LIKE THAT?? Seriously, I need an archive set up and if you wouldn't mind, that is the one I would like to use. O.O

    I don't think it's really necessary to link that other domain you own especially since someone else is "using" it. In my opinion that means s/he pretty much owns it.

    Well, since yours is a blog site there isn't really much there.. Perhaps more insight on you since the site is pretty much all about you? You know something I love to see is a "cast", you know a list explaining who the people are that you talk about on your blog frequently. That's just one idea of course. I really think you should come up with a clever way of presenting more information about yourself.

    Final Thoughts:

    I can see why a lot of people are fans of you, Yos. You are kind and have a very nice website. Really the only things I could suggest were minor color changes. Oh and maybe make your next layout PINK! Bwuaha! I absolutely love pink but of course I am just kidding. ;) I think you have the ability to be a little more creative with your designs, though. I am not saying yours now is bad but it lacks a special creative spark in it. I think you are fully capable of doing that.

    I shall give you 4/5 simply because there isn't much content about YOU and the design could use a more personal touch to it. ;) I love Yos!!

    Using Firefox on Windows | Report This?

    Yos's Response:

    AWWW MIMI! I LOVE YOU! <3<3
    Thanks for the awesome review, I'm definetly going to make some changes based on your review.

    Btw, the archive is using a plugin called "Clean Archive"

    oh yeah, my site wasn't loading because my host moved server :X

  2. [img: avatar]
    rintakase gave it ****- on 26th Nov 2008 and said:

    Reviewed With:
    Opera 9.6 l Windows XP l Time taken: approximately 40 minutes l

    My First Impression:
    Hmm, your site take quite some time to load.. my browser has not display anything yet.. *waiting* Ah, finally it loaded. But wait, it has not finish loading yet.. hmm.. Ah, done! Your site took around 20 seconds to load completely. How about reducing the usage of JavaScript or deactive some inactive wordpress plugins? These can improve on the loading time.

    Coding:
    Yay, You have validated both XHTML and CSS! Congratulations (:

    Layout:
    The first thing which caught my sight is the photos. I like them and the way you 'publish' them. So, I resized my browser and your layout is broken. Try resizing your browser to a smaller width and you'll understand what I mean by 'your layout is broken'. It's not broken in larger view, but it is in smaller view. This is because the content's background is not the same size as the header image. As for your blog content area, I personally like large font, haha. Everything is pretty neat here. The link of Valid .... XHTML should be changed to http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=referer because this link will automatically check for validation of a page referred to it.

    Content- About:
    I think you should increase the size of the content because it's too 'short' and your footer 'runs' up to it. I would suggest you to increase the length of the short description before placing a [Read more] link.
    -No errors found-

    Content - Contact:
    No comments.
    -No errors found-

    Content - Links:
    Neat and nice. Nothing much to say about them.
    -No errors found-

    Overall Comment:
    For me, everything is looking good and nice in your website. I can hardly find any mistakes in either your coding or content. Good job (: I will give you 4 stars because of the 'broken' layout in smaller monitor and the footer XHTML's link.

    Using Opera on Windows | Report This?

  3. [img: avatar]
    Sewwy gave it **--- on 10th Nov 2008 and said:

    I think the design, overall, works quite well. It's simple, and not cluttered. It is a little boring, but that is okay. The header seams a little bit too dark, though. The photos are a little simple and rather underexposed and dark. Some minor editing could have made them a lot more affective and aesthetic. There is a rather lot of "white space" with my higher resolution, which isn't too much of a problem, but it does continue with the boring side of things.

    Your blog entries are relatively interesting. They are easy to follow, and your grammar is quite good, so I suppose that's a plus. It might be worthwhile to encourage your reader to respond somehow, for instance, ask them a question to answer specifically relating to your blog entry. You could also introduce personal ideas and thoughts to your blog, rather than just daily happenings. It's important that the viewer can relate to your entries.

    Your about page is rather simple, but it gets the point across. It would have been nice to learn a little more about you, however. Why not talk a little more about yourself, where you live, your hobbies, what you enjoy getting up to? It's always a good and simple way to introduce yourself to your bloggers, allowing them to figure out whether they are able to relate to your blog in any means.

    I don't think it's entirely necessary to have a navigation button specifically to link to your flickr. A text link somewhere on your page would have been suffice.

    Your site overall shows some potential but could use some work here and there. I would suggest a more lively design, some modifications to your current pages and perhaps some more blogs covering interesting topics. I understand that these things do take time, however, so improvements will come eventually.

    Feel free to contact me if you'd like me to re-review you in the future.

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    Yos's Response:

    Thanks for the lovely review, I fixed the header and made it lighter.
    I really like minimalistic layouts so that's kind of my style, kind of boring I know but I love it :)

    thanks for the blog entry suggestions, I'll try to include my readers on the post, that's a great suggestion as I've never thought about it before.

    I'll rewrite my about me page anytime soon (this weekend?)

    I changed the "photo" button into a "flickr" button until I have my photo page up and my plugin setup.

    Thanks a lot for the review, I really appreciate it :)

  4. [img: avatar]
    Lilian gave it ****- on 9th Nov 2008 and said:

    Ack! Too much type. This layout would work much better if you cut down on the amount of fonts. I counted five at a glance, and they are all completely different. I see a serif, sans-serif, TWO scripts...

    In order to achieve a balance use two or three fonts at the most, and ensure they compliment each other instead of clash. I recommend visiting this link: http://www.typophile.com/node/43129 The posters there have some very good suggestions and tips.

    Using more than one script font (handwritten, calligraphic) is very difficult. Stick to basics. It doesn't necessarily mean creating boring layouts. Being selective contributes to beautiful design.

    On my high resolution your layout looks rather bare. Fill it out by displaying more than one entry per page. From the looks of your past entries, I'd say three would be optimum.

    The Polaroid idea never gets old for personal blog sites - it's always a nice touch. The shadow underneath them is a little odd though. There seems to be a white glow in the bottom corners. Is this intentional?

    The navigation is in the right place, but to match the rest of your content it should be centered. The way it blends into the header is awkward. Why not add a border like the ones for the content area?

    UPDATED 09 Nov 08:
    I'm not too sure about the multi-coloured title, but it's certainly an improvement. The white of the 'eleven' is brightest and therefore read first. It may be worth experimenting with colour to see how you can change the way the title is read. You may also need some padding between entries. Otherwise that, the changes you've implemented look fantastic!

    Using Firefox on Mac | Report This?

    Yos's Response:

    yea, the font thing is quite hard to do isn't it o.o
    I fixed the polaroid and the menu btw ;D

    Update: w00t! Thanks Lilian, where have you been all my life!?!? LOL

  5. [img: avatar]
    Tiffany gave it ***-- on 9th Nov 2008 and said:

    Layout
    On a first impression basis, it's boring and plain. There are three non-screen fonts used in this layout, and none of them get along. I'm probably going to be hypocritical while I say this, but I don't like rounded corners very much, and your layout doesn't make me want to change my mind. They are certainly everywhere, and very easy to make, but it doesn't do anything for the layout.

    I wish there were more colors, something that highlights the whole page.

    Organization
    The comments section lacks a certain originality. I prefer them to be more bold have some personality. lifeasrose.ca and bubblessoc.net are really good examples. I also think your meta data looks out of place, random.

    + Your photo link should be somewhere else, or displayed as a feed.

    Pages
    The first thing I notice is that your links (on your about page) are in brackets. They look like bb code. Your about me page is creative, but its missing the you par. I don't know why, but from reading your about page, I still don't know very much about you.

    I've learned that you have two sisters, you like watching television, eating good food, and you have a job as an illustrator for a newspaper in Indonesia.

    + Proofread "About Figure 11"
    + Spiffy up your links and contact page.

    Using Safari on Mac | Report This?

    Yos's Response:

    Thank you for the review :D So you think I should just remove the rounded corners? I'll try to combine the content area with the header and footer instead and then see how I'll like it.

    I'm still working on the header, the one right now is just temporarily up.

    Thanks for the comment suggestion btw. I was thinking about revamping it but haven't got around in doing so.

    I'll make sure to fix all the stuff you suggested, thanks again for your time :D

  6. [img: avatar]
    Aisling gave it **--- on 8th Nov 2008 and said:

    Okay, so, let's see...

    I think this design has a lot of potential, but hasn't quite reached it yet. Firstly, the off-centre navigation is just odd. I have no idea why you chose to do it, but it just looks wrong, like you may have made an error with your margins or something, that made it pop over to the side.

    There is no reason to have the envelope icon next to Contact, if there are no other icons present. I'm sure your visitors are smart enough to know what Contact may entail. ;) If you like icons, then *use* them. Don't just use one, it looks like a mistake.

    The photo quality of the polaroids is very low. And once again, it looks sloppy. You have some pretty neat ideas, but you seem to give up on the way to achieving them. Your content container could definitely use some more padding. Space is nice. :)

    Your about pages are well written and you come off as friendly. Photo page just leads to your Flickr, and as such, I'm not sure it deserves a heading on your site. A link on your about or links page could probably work, unless you are planning on integrating your photos into your site at some time?

    Your contact page is pretty nice, and there's nothing wrong with your links list. :)

    Overall, I think your site is nice, but could still use a bit more work. You're getting there, but you need to follow-through a bit more with your good ideas, and ensure that utmost quality is maintained.

    Using Firefox on Windows | Report This?

    Yos's Response:

    yep, I'm planning to integrate flickr with my website, and the plugin that I'm using still needs tweaking.
    hmm, ok, for now, I think the polaroids should go.
    I tried to center the navigation bar, but it won't center. Any idea on how to go about in doing so?

    Edit: centered! Padded!

  7. [img: avatar]
    Annen gave it **--- on 8th Nov 2008 and said:

    First impression: Your layout is plain, which I like. I'm no too fond of the text in the header, though.

    Layout: I like the idea, but I've seen it before. The pictures in it are ok: They're not stunningly proffesional looking, but since it's a blog, I suupose it's good enough - not very interesting though. You could at least find some smiles next times ;D The shadow used on the images is slightly overdone, as I see it. Less would still give the idea of them lying on top of the layout.

    Content:
    Home (Blog): It's ok (: It's nice to learn a little about you this way.
    About: Very informative, I really like how you display some of your story, and for those who care, the rest is available. Make the past layouts easier to find for the visitor. It's fun to know what the site has looked like previously ;)
    Etc.: I don't get it. Why bother putting up a submenu with only one link that leads to a page with no content but a table saying you didn't bother make any yet? It's sort of wasted ;) Save the extra spot in the menu until you have something to display, please. I know a lot of visitors will feel a little let down by a site that shows unfinished pages, some will hit the X in the corner.
    Photo: This led me here: http://koganetchi.com/, I suppose you called call this another dead end. No need to explain further, I blieve (: I had been looking forward to this part, though.. Maybe another time :b

    Contact: This works nice, it's appropriate for the visitors, and the contact form is looking good ;D
    Links: Perfectly fine :)

    Final words: Fix those sites and you'll be on your way ;D It's actually the only thing that's actually wrong with your site.

    Using MSIE on Windows | Report This?

    Yos's Response:

    I absolutely love your review Annen! Ok, I'll take those pages down first until I have some contents in it! The photo page actually existed... But I forgot to change the link since I changed my domain :P

    One lighter dropdown shadow comin right up!

    btw. I chose those pictures because I was wearing blue, which I though will fit the whole color scheme :P OK! I'll smile next time hahaha!

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