Rin-Wendy has 21 Reviews
Below are the reviews left by other members on Rin-Wendy. Jump to review form?
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Jamie.jpg)
Jamie gave it




on 23rd Apr 2010 and said:Hi I'm Jamie I will be reviewing your site using Google Crome.
I love the concept of your blog, it's great. It's pretty obvious that this is a site with two separate bloggers, And Thats awesome.
I love your layout I like how its easy to identify witch side is Rin's and witch side is Wendy's. you don't even need a big header thing that says witch side is witch everyone knows blue means boy and pink means girl! :P
I just say your About page :) Its so cute! Its looks just like the homepage accept instead of separate sides it has separate block things. (but seeing that its your blog you already knew what it looked like.) :P But none the less, I like it :)
Your gallery is nice, I expected a few pictures, but theres like...so many! XD
The guestbook is cute...theres nothing wrong with it from what I can see :P Do you use bellabooks script? or something else? (just out of curiosity. Not using bellabooks is not a crime...)
wow...So many links...So little time! :P I might wait a while before I'm able to get all of these links checked out! :P
Overall I love your site! Not many complaints...! :)
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![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Samerina.jpg)
Samerina gave it




on 20th Nov 2009 and said:Oh hi there! I found your site a while back from another of these types of sites. Of course I must tell you I love the double blog. It's great to have them both going on at the same time and the design presents both well. I have only read your blogs here and there, but most of those times I expected each blog to match the other, just giving the opposing viewpoint. You both have done a fine job of that in the past, I think it's a good gimmick to continue. I know this probably sounds more like a message than a review, but I do love everything about your site, from the colors to the chalkboard look of the drawings to the completely innovative idea of 2 blogs at a time.
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![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Josh.jpg)
Josh gave it




on 9th Dec 2008 and said:When I first saw your blog on Snark, I thought (like everyone else), "Hey this is a really cool idea!" And, well, it is. Another word that seems to come up a lot is "cute." And once again, I agree! Your site really is cute. I'm normally not a huge fan of 3-column layouts because they always look like there's too much going on; yours is nice though.
Your tug-o-war posts are really neat. Oh! and I forgot to mention that I LOVE how the layout changes depending on what part of the site you're visiting. Another really cool idea you guys implemented (when will you stop?!).
And your about page is by far the most entertaining I've ever read. It has a light, playful tone, but it's still informative. Well done!
So, overall there's not much to say besides, your site is really well-done, really original and really cute! :P I look forward to seeing what else you two can cook up.
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worldangel's Response:
Thanks Josh :)
We are definitely going to come up with more stuff soon, so do keep a lookout! :P
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/teddyrised.jpg)
teddyrised gave it




on 30th Nov 2008 and said:Hey Wendy! This is my first review so it's a little imperfect, and sorry for being a little late!
First impression: This is a really unique idea - a dual blog. We don't get to see blogs in the blogosphere all the time because I can understand that it's not easy for two person to maintain the same blog at one time while both writers have different identities. I guess your partnership with Rin is the best ever - happy marriage by the way. Regarding the layout, since I've stumbled upon dual blogs before, I immediately know it was one - being hinted by the kissing drawn avatars in the top (which reduces a lot of confusion, nice work!) and the distinct colour scheme between the two columns. It is quite clear to me upon arriving at first that the blog is penned by two different authors. The 'Rin' and 'Wendy' texts on the header is also clear and distinct to avoid any further confusion.
Layout: The layout is an unusual middle bar with two content containers flanking it. Seriously speaking, making this layout is not easy as conventional layouts do not actually have a middle bar. A lot of effort must have been invested to getting things work. Kudos for not using table-based layout as that violates the semantics and presentation rule set by W3C, and tables are only used for data presentation/tabulation and nothing else. It's just a huge relief that you've avoided the table-based layout, although it will make life a lot easier for the designer.
Colour scheme: Sky blue and pink - I never thought these two colours will go along well but obviously they do in your blog! However, the header section lacks dynamism because it's just a solid grey colour with no gradients. Luckily there is the header illustration to break up the monotonous background, although a gradient background will add more dimenstion and dynamism to the style.
Validation: The site validates perfectly with XHTML 1.0 Transitional as well as CSS2.1. Great work there!
Content: I enjoy reading your posts, since you usually blog about debatable topics like education and religion. And for some posts, like the MRT crowding one, thanks for going the lenghts of explaining the situation to readers that may not be familiar with Singapore. A lot of authors leave out this point, causing readers to be completely clueless about what is being discussed like a bunny caught in the headlights.
For the About page, I enjoy the conversation way of introducing yourselves as well as how did you and Rin met before getting engaged. It's refreshing regarding the way how this page's content is written because usually About pages are usually just a whole chunk of text that people get tired of reading. Plus, there's compartmentalisation of the page, divided by questions while you and Rin respond to the questions. It just places the reader at the position of bieng a curious questioner while you respond to his/her question - I like this interactivity!
For the Gallery page, I think the conversations at the top can be smaller or just compressed into a short introductory paragraph because due to the similarity with how information is presented in the About page, visitors might be a little confused (usually people will arrive at the About page before moving on to other pages).
For the Guestbook, the alternating left and right commentators' name placement is a little disorienting and I got a little dizzy as I scroll to the bottom. In addition, the greys of the speech bubble are a little too dark (they're even darker than the background) and it will be better if you can change it to a lighter shade of grey. Plus, it will be nice if you can provide a link at the top of the page that will bring visitors to the form area - this minimizes the scrolling needed.
For the Links page, the conversational introduciton can be avoided too, with just a short introductoary paragraph. The presentation is pretty clear and concise, great work!
Flash text replacement: I like the idea of replacing the blog headers as well as the commentators' names with a Flash plugin. It allows you to display font styles and families that are not supported across different browsers and different operating platforms - and it degrades gracefully when it's not supported. However, one problem with the text replacement is it interferes with tabbed browsing. It's quite a personal thing - usually I open links in new tabs to keep the current page intact and it's a little frustrating at first to browse without any tabbing.
In addition, usually designers will let external links to open in a new window but this is not the case for the commentators' names - clicking on their names will open their linked sites in the same window. Although it isn't much a problem but it breaks the flow of navigation through your site.
Extras: I've never expect sites with designs that are Internet Explorer 6 compatible - even being a designer myself I choose to forgo IE6 compatibility due to the complicated fixes involved. Out of curiousity, I checked your blog using IE6 and everything looks perfectly in place! That's definitely a bonus point for users that are still stuck with IE6.
I also like the tug-of-war feature, and the large and noticable banner in posts that are challenged by the other author. It's interested to see how people have different opinions and how they debate their way around the topic. This is what that makes your blog unique - many blogs out there have two authors but they rarely do duals or showdowns and usually blog their separate ways, making people think that it's just two different blogs forcibly merged into one. Your's is differnet - both you and Rin post in unison and that's what truly defines a dual / twin blog.
I foresee a small problem that might arise in the future - the longer the time your blog, the longer the archives list will grow. Given that it's situated in the middle bar, a very long archive list will forcibly expand the entire height of the page. You might want to look into that before it happens. A good alternative is to place the archives in a separate page ;)
I couldn't find the Contact page, and I suppose that you want visitors to contact you through the Guestbook. But a problem with the guestbook is that it lacks privacy and it will be better if you have a separate page for the private contact with you or Rin.
p/s: Just like what joshehsaurus pointed out, you seem to get more comments for your posts that your hubby! :D haha!
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worldangel's Response:
Thanks for the review, Teddy :)
We will keep what you say in mind when we are making changes to our site, I think Rin will get to it when he is less busy lol. Thanks for mentioning the problem that might occur with the archives, we will have to think of a place to move it to.
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Naco.jpg)
Naco gave it




on 22nd Nov 2008 and said:First Look:
I loveee the layout, and the concept of the blog is an amazing one :) Loaded quickly and looks great. The colors are very easy on the eyes and go well together, and definitely right off the bat shows you two are a couple by just looking at the header.Design/Coding:
As I said, I love the layout. I love that for each of your blogs there are two different sides, the girl side and the boy side. Makes it easy to read and easy to tell who is saying what. Of course using pink for Wendy and blue for Rin is cute as well (I am becoming one of those people that says cute and adorable a lot!) and makes it easy to tell who is saying what. The drawing at the top of the two (I assume the two of you :P) is simply adorable. Coding is valid and very clean. I like how the sidebar is in the middle of both of the blogs and than shifts to the side when a page is visited.Content:
Content is also unique, once again things are broken up by the both of you which makes it easier for the reader to tell who is saying what. I noticed the drawings at the top change with each page I visit, it was very unexpected but in a good way! I love the one that is shown for the gallery page the most. Speaking of the gallery page, cutteee shows more of you two as a couple and what not. I personally like the idea of a guestbook, gives visitors a chance to give feedback without having to directly contact the owner.Conclusion:
Overall I love the website. The design is very unqiue and very creative. Easy to navigate content with changing headers is also a great addition. Will definitely visit you guys again, and bookmarks you two :DUsing Firefox on Windows | Report This?
worldangel's Response:
Thanks, Naco for your review :) Do drop by often!
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/joshehsaurus.png)
joshehsaurus gave it




on 19th Nov 2008 and said:Wow, this site is gorgeous. It is really good place to look at on a cold winters with a cup of cocoa. I really love the colours used, because its male and female owned, and the cute lineart at the top reallt sets the page alight. I love the concept of a split blog, one for him, one for her. The footer is actually really cute! It prefer it to the top. I see that Wendy tends to get a few more blog comments that Rin. But apart from that, everything is just spiffy. 5 stars from a very happy reviewer!
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worldangel's Response:
I think I get more comments because generally I tend to go all around visiting and commenting on other blogs as compared to Rin! Female nature I guess, I tend to be more chatty and spend more time "advertising" the blog lol.
Thanks for the review though, we are glad that you have enjoyed your stay there :)
Allee gave it




on 19th Nov 2008 and said:First Impressions:
The first thought that came to my mind as soon as your site loaded was, "Whoa. Where on earth do I look first?" That's not exactly a great first reaction most of the time, but in your case, that "Whoa" was definitely leaning more towards the positive :). Your design is, indeed, full of shiny things to look at, but unlike other designs similar to this, you avoided the risk of having your site look too cluttered by keeping your middle bar neat and organized.Layout:
First, I must say, I am incredibly impressed by Rin's design. There's really nothing I can critique about the mark up and the stylesheet, because I wouldn't even know where to begin, if I were tasked to code something like this. Great job! I love the text and link colours you guys used. I wouldn't have thought that pink, blue, and orange would complement each other so well, but they do. I'm not really a fan of the text line-height, though. I mean, I understand why it's implemented that way on the index page (with the assumption that you guys want to conserve space), but perhaps the line-height can be increased on the individual post pages just a tad bit? I like how the individual pages and the comments were styled. Oh, and the doodles! The doodles
are super great :). Very unique and creative. Fun, too! I just noticed the "Settling Our Differences" image on your Tug-O-War page, and I'm not really liking it, to be honest, as I don't think it matches with the rest of your design. Before I forget, I recommend that you guys implement Anchor links, especially a "Back to Top" one, as your entries and other page text tend to run on the long side. It's truly a godsend for the lazy (like me :P).Blog:
Both of your blog posts are so much fun. I enjoyed reading through both yours and Rin's entries. It was interesting to see the difference between yours and your husband's writing styles, as well as your topic choices. I can't really pick a favourite "side", since I've thoroughly enjoyed both. The Tug-O-War section was an especially fun read. I agree with your stance on gaming more, but I'm not going to lie - Rin made a convincing argument for his side, as well :P.About Us:
What a unique take on something that's normally tritely done (uhh, something that I'm guilty of myself). I love how it flows as a conversation, as opposed to just stating down facts. It gives the reader a great glimpse of both of your personalities, I think. I'm not much of a fan of the writing style (Singaporean slang, I think you said?), but since it's more of a "conversation" more than anything else, I can overlook the odd grammar usage ;). By the way, I think it's awesome that you and your husband met on a forum. What a great story to tell your grandchildren later on :P.Gallery:
I really like the way the gallery is styled. The photos you have up there are great, too. Hmm...dimsum...Guestbook:
It's a bit old school to have guestbooks these days, but I guess it's still down to personal preference. I don't really like the darker colours used on the thought clouds, though. It just doesn't gel well with the rest of the layout, I think.Links:
I like how the links are organised - everything looks neat and tidy. I'm not really crazy about the hover colour, though. It's an odd shade of pink/red. Maybe pick a pink from the pink gradient up top instead?Overall:
I love your blog a lot, and I can't believe I haven't visited it extensively until now. Your impressive design, coupled with great, fun reads have made my visit an enjoyable one. Great job, both of you!Using Firefox on Windows | Report This?
worldangel's Response:
Thanks Allee, for your review =) Great observation you have made, some of them I agreed with myself.
For the "Settling the Differences" image, if you have gone back to my site again, you would notice that Rin has already taken it out. I did mention it to him before that the image portrays a more "grungy" look, which doesn't really suit our current design. So we have taken it out and settled for something simpler.
For the anchor links, it is something that I have feedback to him as well. I can get a tad lazy also at times :P
For the language in the Abous Us page, there has been great debate about the "Singlish" way of writing, or as you put it, the Singapore Slang. I am supposed to be against Singlish seeing that I am a teacher myself, but we just thought we would write it in that way since that's the way we normally converse with one another. I understand how it would sound awkward to visitors who are unfamiliar with it though.
And I hope our gallery pics have convinced you to go and enjoy dim sum and seafood. :D
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/afscom.jpg)
afscom gave it




on 18th Nov 2008 and said:I love the concept of your blog, it's great. It's pretty obvious that this is a site with two separate bloggers and the way that you've split the two blogs up is awesome. I really, really like it!
I really like your design, it's very well done and especially like the little RSS man at the bottom, he's so cute!
The 'about us' page is genius, it really is. It's such a fresh change from all the other about me pages that I've read over my time online.
There's not much that I can say against your site to be honest, it's brilliantly designs, brilliantly written and makes such a lovely change from all the other blogs that I visit that are carbon copies of each other.
Well done!
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worldangel's Response:
Thanks, afscom for the review :) The RSS man is not created by us though, it is a free icon :)
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Terri.jpg)
Terri gave it




on 17th Nov 2008 and said:Very cute layout! I, unlike some of the other reviewers, noticed straight away that it was two blogs, since it appeared to me to be pretty separate. I think it's just a cute, original idea.
The graphic at the top is really sweet, and the fonts that you've used are stylish and readable at the same time. I LOVE the little RSS man at the bottom of the page, a really cute addition!
The 'Tug-O-War' is super cute!The 'About Us' section is similarly sweet, and I love the 'sectioning' you've done, so show the quotes from each of you.
Your Guestbook is really unique as well, and a nice alternative to straight out commenting.All in all, a really sweet site by two people who obviously love each other very much. Nice work :D
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worldangel's Response:
Thanks Terri, for the review :)
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Anna_Kirstin gave it




on 17th Nov 2008 and said:First Impression: I actually read that this was a duel blog before I ever entered the site, so I was spared the initial confusion I think I would have felt other wise. The first time I clicked the link and actually entered the site, my eyes went back and forth, not knowing where to start until they centered in on the white space in the center. I think this is the first impression most new visitors come to - focusing on the center.
Currently you have "Detailing the day-to-day happenings of the two. (Arguments not included.)" I think for this being the index page and the page that most visitors will enter through, you could cut down on some of the confusion they may initially feel in where to start by plainly stating that this is a duel blog by a husband and wife. The phrase you currently have (while short and cute) assumes that the visitors already know it's a duel blog between two people. Duel blogs are so rare that most people will automatically assume this is one person's blog until they are told otherwise or figure it out. That would be the perfect place to do it.
Overall Layout: I love the use of the duel colors. (It reminds me of a the opening credits of a really old movie (like 1940-50's) called Pillow Talk.) Once you discover that this is a duel blog, the use of the traditional male / female colors become blatantly obvious who's talking. The shades that you've chosen go very well with each other - one doesn't over-power the other. It's a very balanced look.
I'm going to start at the top and work my way down.
-------- Middle Bar ---------
The little drawing is super-cute, but somehow the hand-drawn look just doesn't seem to flow with the sleek, rounded, shaded flow of the rest of the layout. At the same time, it's one of the things that pulls the layout together and helps it to make sense. It's quite the conundrum.The blue and the pink behind the heading of center divider are really more distracting that beneficial. I think it's that the shade of the colors strike me as different from the types of shades used on the blogs. I think a simple border under the heading would have just as a dramatic effect without being over-whelming.
Because of the two sides with the blogs, you have to remember that the site already feels like it has a lot going on - even though it may not really look that way. For a first time visitor, a lot going on can be over-whelming. They will tend to focus in on the simplest things first and then will go from there. That's why I feel it would be beneficial to make your middle bar as simple as possible.
I think you could use a little more padding between the top of your headings and the bottom of the above sections - not much, but a little bit more would give everything a little more distinction. Your links in this section are nice and spaced out. I love that.
Is there another section or another place that you could put all the places you are a member of. I know you want to display them, but I just feel that the middle bar would serve its purpose better the less that it has going on.
----- Blogs ------
Your blogs are wonderful. I especially enjoy the tug-of-war. :)------ About Us ------
I like how the whole layout changes, but then it doesn't. The middle-bar (I keep wanting to type side-bar. ^^;) remains the same - new, but familiar all at once.The Rin&Wendy.com sketch in the top left-hand corner just feels out of place with the rest of the layout. First off, it doesn't strike me as being very obvious. The text is very thin and jagged which is typical of the hand-drawn look. It's not linking back to your site, so it could probably be removed and not missed.
I love how this flows almost as a conversation between three people. It's really cool how the background keeps changing colors and sides with the person who's talking. It's definitely like looking back and forth between two people. It makes me as a visitor feel like you're very friendly and, strangely, like you want to get to know me too. :)
Rin: "Never self intro somemore." should be "Never self intro anymore."
Rin: "Our first point of contact was in a music thread over"Wow, 1000 cranes? That's so romantic. Hang on to him. ;)
------ Gallery -------
Again I love how you go back and forth like a conversation. The backgrounds really do help with that.It just occurred to me that from an accessibility standpoint anyone who had images disabled on their site would be unable to tell who was saying what. This problem could be solved by specifying a background color for your text in the case that images are disabled or if for some off-chance reason they don't show up your text would still be readable.
I'm not sure how I feel about the backgrounds for the gallery links. The color just strikes me as off against that shade of yellow and in comparison with the previously used colors.
Your wedding looks like it was beautiful.
------ Guestbook ----
I really like how you've done your guest book. The little comment bubbles are really neat and tidy. I think it really adds to the whole conversational feel of the site. However, the black and gray seem too dark too me when I think back to the shades of blue and pink used on the main page. The darker burgundy color also took me by surprise when I'm so used to seeing Wendy type with a pink shade.Overall: I would love to see a domain section on your site. I didn't really find one. It would be another way for Rin to bring Littlevault another mention on the site and visitors could find out all the technical information like - do you use plugins, who hosts you, etc. When people find a site they like (like this one) they want to know how they did it so they can improve their own sites. A section listing all of that is commonly found and I guess I just go used to it. (It may be mentioned on the site already, but I didn't see it.)
I love how this site goes back and forth. It really is like a blog with a duel personality. You two definitely seem to have great personalities separately and together you are highly entertaining and amusing.
I really like your site. :)
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worldangel's Response:
Thanks for the wonderful review :) We do get more ideas on how to improve on our site.
The language inside the About Us page might sound a bit awkward, probably because both of us are currently staying in Singapore and the people here have a unique way of speaking English. It is called Singlish and some of it can be seen inside our About Us page lolz. Yea, I admit the language can sound a bit broken and grammatically incorrect at times.
I agree with you the sketchy text on Rin-Wendy.com does look thin and scratchy..I have been wanting to change it to something more substantial or just take it out altogether. Will see what Rin does about it..
Yup, the idea about the domain section is a really good one. I want this site to be able to help promote Rin's work as well, because I think he is really talented (I'm not saying this just bcos he is my husband! :p ) but he needs more exposure and more people to come to know about his portfolio. Will think of a way to incorporate it in, maybe a separate page on that as you have suggested.
And yes, I will definitely cling on to him plus you are right on the feeling that you get, we love and welcome visitors into our little site! Great to know that you feel welcomed, do drop us a note every now and then! =)
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Petey.png)
Petey gave it




on 16th Nov 2008 and said:Layout - I really love the way you have got each persons blogs on each side of the sidebar, I think this is a really good way to display your site. Very unique and I really love it :)
About Us - I really like the way you have a little conversation throughout this page. It gives the site a very warm comfortable feeling and its really sweet :) I think the way you have explained this in this way is a break from the norm, and I love it personally.
Gallery - Hehe, another little conversation at the top here, very cute! There are some really nice photos here, especially the cat ones :D
Guestbook - A good idea here, for your visitors to leave a little comment :)
Links - I really like the way you have set this up, with the two columns. The CSS of these links looks really nice as well :D
Tug-o-war - This page initially really confused me, though I think its something to do with blogs with each side of the argument. When I viewed this page, its a really nice way to show the two sides to your relationship.
I really like your site, its got a really nice setup and I love the little conversations. 4 Stars :D
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worldangel's Response:
Hi Petey,
Thanks for taking the time to drop us a review :)
Glad that you like the cat photos! He is a very cute cat, quite difficult to capture good pictures of him though.
The tug-o-war is a new feature, though since we got many raves about it, we will continue on with it from now on! Look out for at least a topic a week ;)
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Mimi.jpg)
Mimi gave it




on 16th Nov 2008 and said:Reviewed with:
Mozilla Firefox | 1440 x 900 Resolution| Windows Vista
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------First Impression:
I have to be honest, I was so confused! I thought, "There are so many blog entries that there must be duel sides?" Then I thought, "Oh.. two blogs? Why would she have two blogs?" and then I finally got it. I think, though, that it should have been a little more obvious to me but I can be so oblivious. I think it's kind of hard for me to focus with so much information presented to me up front like that.
Originality:
This will be the first time I say this on this site or any other review site: Your site is SUPER original and just a really neat idea in general. This is one of those sites that you envy because they have such a great idea. Then later in the day, you might think "If I had a time machine... I could go back in time and I could create that kind of site first!!". Oh, you don't do that? XD Ok I admit, sometimes when I hear or see really cool things, I have that exact fantasy when I get bored.
*cough*
Coding:
Well, I checked out your CSS and XHTML on the W3C validators and they both passed! Sometimes I wish sites wouldn't pass so I could feel important. :( But that's ok, it just means you take care of it. It is also HTML tidy, in case that's of interest to you. As a side note there are 35 warnings for your CSS, if you want to check those out. They are all for colors except one which you might want to change. The error is saying that in your CSS, this:
blockquote, blockquote p {
font-size: 18px;
font-weight: bolder;
font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman, Times, serif;
}
Should be changed to this:
blockquote, blockquote p {
font-size: 18px;
font-weight: bolder;
font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;
}
Also, you might want to look into some CSS shorthand. I am currently trying to remember to do this, too. It saves a lot of space/time in your CSS files and in turn makes your load time faster! :) It's fairly easy with the correct guide. Jenny (a member here, even) had posted this URL in her review to Nellie (member, teehee) and I found it to be quite good, too! So I shall share it with you: http://www.dustindiaz.com/css-shorthand
Other than that, peachy keen! :D
Design:
One of the first things I noticed was that the quality of the header imagery was kind of low. I can see grainy spots in the outer glow and the RIN and WENDY images look like they lost a lot of their original formatting in the save. I think the chalk characters are cute, but I don't think it matches. I guess I feel that way because the rest of it is very Web 2.0 (Thanks to Aisling, I now know what that is called!!) and that looks kind of like something you would see on a site targeted for a younger audience or with a different style of layouts.
Another thing about the images, I can see where the image cuts off and the web coloring begins. To make more sense of it, here is a screencap with some editing I did for ya!:
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/iategijoe/rinwendy.gifI think it's really adorable how you styled the site name. I didn't get it all at first but upon further inspection, I see that it obviously says RIN_____WENDY (ignore the underscores) but then there is the dash on the, er, middle bar (so used to saying sidebar. More originality points for you!) with the dot come hanging from it. So essentially it's: RIN___-___WENDY, with the dot com there below it. CUTE! "Arguments not included." Love that, too. Made me giggle!
I think the the idea of your h3 pagetitle but I think the fuzzy-fading doesn't match the polished look of the rest of the layout.
I think the page is a bit long, also. I think maybe if there were less posts being shown on the main page, it might be easier to read as well! Maybe 5 posts per page? I think that would look nice.
One more little thing, I was kind of wondering where the red came from when you hover over links? I didn't see any red anywhere else... I think a darker color on hover would be nice. It would be really cool if you would make the Rin side hovers be a darker blue and the Wendy side a darker pink. Of course, the middle bar could be fair game! ;)
I like those chunky 'lil date blocks, I think they integrate well with the rest of it. OH I just had a thought, what if the Wendy side had the date block on the left side instead of the right? Then it would look like a reflection sort of! :D
Content:
Oh wow, the page changes completely. It confused me again, just when I got used to it! XD I was wondering why Rin says "lolx" so much? O.o I counted seven instances on the 'About Us' page! Crazy, man! Not too sure about all the yellow, maybe it's the tint? Perhaps more red in the yellow would make it match to the blues and pinks better? Ah, you can probably tell by now that I am a big obsessor of colors!
The entire 'About Us' page has got to be the most creative and fun 'About' pages I have ever read. Seriously! Did you guys script it and edit it or just kinda go with the flow?
Ok, usually I am a structure type of gal but that Guestbook page makes me squeal some more. It is SO CUTE! Your gallery has some really nice photos, I like the commentary on the top. It's so cute how you two both get to say something.
Final Thoughts:
There isn't much extra content but the blogs and commentary are so entertaining that really it doesn't seem necessary.
The design would look better (well, just in my opinion of course) with just a few little tweaks and a whole lotta CSS shorthand! It will cut down your load time, which isn't too bad but a little slow.
I give you a 4/5. I think the review pretty much explains why! :)
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worldangel's Response:
Hi Mimi,
First of all, thanks for the lengthy and really useful reviews! Some of the things that you mentioned there are spot-on and we are looking into it :)
Hubby mentioned about the chalk figures not fitting into the layout as well, but I refused to let him take them out cos I like it too much haha. I think we are going to reduce the number of posts per page as well, cos I do find it a bit harder to scroll all the way down.
As for the habit of writing lolx, it is his way of online speaking. Just like how I like to keep saying "haha". Anyway for the About Us page, we just sort of imagine someone asking us those questions and how we would answer in real life and typed in the answers straight away.
My hubby happened to be beside me while I was reading your review, so this is what he has to say:
Thanks for your comments, I appreciate them. I am working to reduce the amount of lines on my CSS, I too find that nearing 1k lines of CSS is too cumbersome and bulky to load. The CSS shorthand page is awesome, thanks for the link.
Hmm you are the 2nd person to told me that there is some color difference in the background and the image cuts. (The other being my designer friend who showed me on his monitor) Guess I will need to invest in a better monitor with higher color contrast ratio as I cannot see the break off lines on mine. I will into the image quality of the header images, guess I saved them at too low of a quality.
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Nnie.jpg)
Nnie gave it




on 16th Nov 2008 and said:Hi! Thank you for asking me to review your site :) well, let's start!
FIRST IMPRESSION
All I can say is "Oh My God". This layout is really cute! Lovely, original and unique. No copyrighted images. :]LAYOUT
The layout is really unique and original, like what I said before, and quick to load. And when I click "Read More..." the other layout appears, and it's really creative. And the color schemes--boys and girls, pink and blue--works well. Well done :)ABOUT US
Very unique--and...original! I never seen an "About Us" page like this before. And your story--you told visitors about your story, that's very well-written and...interesting story! You write it as well so people will not get bored. But I think this "quotes" thingy makes your site a bit messy :(GALLERY
I just realize that you have different layout for each page :D these photos are very organized, complete with th description for each category, and your opinion about each category. And the quotes thingy a bit annoying me.GUESTBOOK
Nothing wrong in here. :)LINKS
The introduction text isn't really necessary, you should tell visitors about these links, or say "These are lists of awesome blog/sites, I recommend you to visit them!".BLOG
Because this is a personal/journal blog, blog is the main content of your site. And when I read your blog--you told visitors about your thought honestly, and your life, which is really good.CONCLUSION
Overall, your site is awesome, though there's somethings you need to fix, but your site is well-organized, unique and original--three things that really rare in other sites (include my site).Keep up the great work!
-nnie . http://brilliantmistakes.co.nrUsing Firefox on Windows | Report This?
worldangel's Response:
Hi Nnie,
We are going to change the introductory text in the Links section soon, thanks for reminding us :)
Seems like visitors have different viewpoints about the quotes inside the gallery...we will see how we can keep those conversations intact in a more orderly fashion.
Thanks so much for your comment, really appreciate it! :D
Kellaigh gave it




on 15th Nov 2008 and said:I just absolutely love this blog.
First impression:
How cute. I wish I came up with an idea like this.
I love the boy/girl idea, the layout just makes it complete.Layout:
We have this program in holland, it is about a married couple, and they have this kind of diary thing too. I love this program, and the layout makes me think of it, (actually the whole blog does) I like the cute little drawing (Did you make that yourself?) and it is very organised.
A quote by you (worldangel);...hence it will let people know immediately that this is a dual blog with two authors.
I totally agree with that. The middle part just belongs there.
Content:
I love the about us part. I have laughed a lot.
The gallery is nice too, the eatouting part is funny. Some of those things do not even look eatable... ...
I love the "rin says, wendy says" backgrounds.
The subjects and categories are very interesting.
I love the all-day subjects, (I hope thats a correct english thingy, I am dutch, so my english is not perfect.) they make you think about your own life.
I don't really like to read about mature people, that would say, blogs that are not about teens, but I really love this one.
I do not really like the tag cloud. It makes me kind of dizzy when I look at it.
The guestbook looks nice, it looks very organised.
The link page is very organised too.
There is a dead image in the social links part by the way..Well, I do not think I have anything left to say.
I just absolutely love it.
It is original, cute, I love the colors, and the coding seems to be right. ^^
I hope you liked my review, it is my first. :D
(Tips are welcome!)
And I am sorry I do not have any tips for you, I think there is no improvement needed.Using MSIE on Windows | Report This?
worldangel's Response:
Yes, the drawing is done by Rin himself. When he first showed it to me, I know that this is IT: this is the website that we have always wanted and is going to use for a long time. It just gives us a "right" sort of feeling, if you know what I mean.
Thanks for your review, you are doing great for your first one! ^_^
adreams gave it




on 14th Nov 2008 and said:One of the most unique concepts and layouts i've seen in a long time. I've loving the double blog idea, everything is just so cute. I feel I don't need to write a long review as everything is perfect i'll just write the things that could be improved on!
Oh found it, your content layout, the idea is great again but the design of the pages just looks 'fat' and messy. Not liking that yellow tin either.
4/10
UPDATED 14 Nov 08:
the background of 'about us' and the whole layout of the about us page looks ugly to me the only thing i like about that is the idea, the main blog as the index is good though because it's the most appealingUsing MSIE on Windows | Report This?
worldangel's Response:
Hmm...can you elaborate more on which page do you mean?
And where did you see the yellow tint? Do you mean the middle bar?
MelissaSue24 gave it




on 12th Nov 2008 and said:Oh, this is so fabulous! Not only is it an excellent concept, but the execution is completely flawless. I love that the blogs are side by side, because it really just makes me giggle to read them. The entire design is adorable!
And just when I didn't think it could get better, the single pages continue the theme in their own way. I'm so jealous of your about page! I can tell a lot of a time went into this design, and that it went much further than just the initial concept.
I'm trying to think of something to suggest to you, so this review isn't just gushing, lol, but sincerely, it's one of the most adorable sites I've ever come across and the happiness you guys have just oozes from the pages. I'm so jealous ;)
Absolutely gorgeous.
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worldangel's Response:
Haha, thanks..we are very proud of our About Us page as well. The dialogue was actually typed in when we were both conversing...we tried to imagine someone interviewing us and asking us those questions and came up with those answers on spot. We are glad it manages to achieve the effect we had wanted it to achieve: informative yet interesting and playful at the same time :D
Yup, a lot of time went into designing this site, even until now my hubby will still make modifications and additions every now and then.
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Shadow.jpg)
Shadow gave it




on 12th Nov 2008 and said:First Impression
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Seriously, did I mention, ooh! This is one of the cutest layouts I have seen in a while. The color scheme's perfect, and I actually don't mind the centered navigation. It's different. Different's good. I absolutely love the header.The other pages...
I normally don't skip the blog page, but seriously, I can't think of anything that's wrong. The spacing's great, and I seriously would love to know how in the world does one separate the posts like that. It might be easier than it looks, but still.About: The layout of this page completely changes from a three-column, to a two-column and some playful dialogue. I love that. Not only that, but the header itself is slightly different. Wicked! The only thing I noticed (which is minor) is that the question images take a little longer to load. However, it's minor. It complements the layout very well, and it's worth the wait.
Gallery: The header changed again! Awww! Once again, some dialogue and some pictures. It was very well done, and I wish I hadn't opened the food gallery since it made me hungry!
Guestbook: I always found guestbooks useless (well, for the past few years anyway). But this was well coded and it doesn't go off the actual layout--something that a lot of guestbooks don't do.
All in all...
I am capable of longer reviews, but I really can't find anything wrong. I loved the layout as a whole, and the fact that it changes from main page to the other pages is a great plus. The dialogue between husband and wife is fun and sweet at the same time (very original proposal by the way). Tell your husband that he did an excellent job at this design.PS: Congrats on the welovewp.com feature. :)
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worldangel's Response:
Thanks for all the compliments, we are flying through the clouds now haha...XD
I have told my hubby a lot of times that his design rox, he refused to acknowledge it lolz. He thinks he still has a lot of room for improvement, which is something that led me to submit this site over here for review so that he can get all the constructive criticism he will need on how to improve on the site :)
We are thinking of maybe including more different types of headers...I would love to draw some but my drawing sucks plus it would look a bit off if it is drawn by another person sigh.
As for the gallery, we will be adding more pictures soon so do check back ^_^
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Roxy.jpg)
Roxy gave it




on 12th Nov 2008 and said:At first, my focus goes straight to your navigation, as it's in the middle and white. Then I my eyes travel from the header to the dual blog posts, which is a little confusing on who to start with. While this is original, I'm used to and pretty much disciplined to have one main focal point upon entering a site, so I'm not too fond of the main page.
Your color scheme is perfect! I like how you have a variation of colors and that they all blend well with each other. Well done!
Your header image is really cute, I only wish it were more cleaner to view it properly. On some of the pages, it took me a while to actually figure out what the character was doing, but I suppose this isn't a main focus...in the end, I do admire the originality of it!
My only comment about the navigation is the Tag Cloud portion. If its not shown on that page, what's the point of having it?
Now onto content!
About Us: Wow, this page is too cool and I've never seen anyone actually create an 'about me' page like this before. Well done. I especially like how each section is almost like an interview. The responses are too cute! Side-note: I'm glad the navigation moves to the side, helps me focus on the content more! ;)
Gallery: I think its adorable that you guys both comment on each page. It's good to see a dual blog and the both of you actually working together rather then one more so then the other. Great images by the way! Very organized.
Guestbook: I'm not a huge fan of this page, while your whole comment setup is really neat in the "thought bubble", I think you could have sacrificed it in the guestbook page. While you only have 4 entries now, what about when you have 100! I'm sure the scrolling on that page will not be so fun. And to keep it still attractive, I'm sure you'd set it up so a certain amount of entries are shown on each page. In the end, I feel it would take away for the page, just my personal opinion. =/
Links: Very simple and to the point. I like it!
Overall: Upon first entering your site, I was really confused on where to start, but after I got the gist of things, I really found your site to be cool and unique! Your design and coding skills are amazing and I wish you, Rin, good luck on your freelance work. Also good luck to you and your wife, Wendy! You guys are awesome! =D
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worldangel's Response:
Haha, you said exactly the same thing as my hubby regarding the navigation and the middle bar. It seems like I am one of the few who actually like the "concrete divider" in the middle.
As for the tag cloud, Rin said he had wanted for it to be seen, but without making it pop up in a separate window, it will clutter the middle bar even more. He also said he will find a better way to incorporate it to the site :)
Thanks again for your well wishes and comment, we will take them into account :)
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Aisling.jpg)
Aisling gave it




on 12th Nov 2008 and said:Your site is far too adorable. And I love adorable. I actually really like the way the sidebar divides the two blogs. It's rare to find a 3 column layout that doesn't feel cramped. But yours is nicely spaced, and well-defined. I love it.
Your About page is adorable, and original, and probably the most entertaining one I've read in my reviewing-life. The fact that you met over the Internet is so cute. The Internet is great, because, well... who's to say the person you're supposed to end up with lives in the same city/country as you? Hehehe, you guys are so cute.
Your site is cute, the conversational tone of your site is cute. I love your gallery, how did you do it?
I really have very little to say that involves criticism. Usually my reviews are 300-700 words long. I could sit here and gush more, but, I won't. I just think your site is cute, well-done, organized, and generally awesome. And I am adding you to my feed reader. Keep it up. :D
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worldangel's Response:
haha, I notice that the word "cute" and "adorable" keep coming up. But we do get that from quite a number of our visitors. Yea, I admit that was also my first impression when my hubby showed me the design of the website for the very first time. And that's the reason why I like it a lot too :)
As for the gallery, I have asked Rin, he said he did it by using NextGEN and shadowbox plugin.
Thanks for adding us to your feed, I have seen your site and might be dropping a comment there soon :)
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/Tracy.jpg)
Tracy gave it




on 12th Nov 2008 and said:Reviewed from: Windows XP, 1680 x 1050 resolution
The review is simply my personal opinion.
It's no attack, it's just the way I see your site through my eyes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------First of all: What a lovely idea! So cute :) I first thought "well, it's designed by someone else" before I saw it's Rin who's the designer.
FIRST IMPRESSION: A little confusing the first few seconds, but you get the hint that it's a dual blog after looking at the colors, the names and the little sketch of a boy and a girl. Other than that, as noted above, lovely!
DESIGN: I think you found a good solution for a design for a dual blog. The sidebar in the middle suits the design well. You noticed immediately that that blog entries are on the side and the sidebar in the middle. The colors are nice, even the orange doesn't look too bad and has a nice touch.
I'm not too fond of the background color - the mixture of brown and gray.I really like, that when you click "read more", a whole new site design shows up and the blog entry fills the screen, the sidebad yet moves away to the side. The changing blog headers are cute too. Very creative.
The displayed comments are a little confusing. I wasn't sure which one to read first. I'd leave all comments directed to one side and only flip them horizontally when it's a comment from you or Wendy. I like how you two have different colors in the comment bubbles. Yet it makes the comments area look a bit messy, such as here: http://rin-wendy.com/coolest-wp-blog-design-competition
What I find a bit distracting are the red hover links in your footer area. They don't fit (red doesn't fit), I think.
PAGES:
About Us: I'd skip the "Rin says, Wendy says" backgrounds. It's a nice concept, but I think it makes the site look messy. I'd keep the page more general. Maybe an "about Rin" section and "about Wendy" section. I'd keep the "abtustitle"s the way they are, but without the "Weny/Rin says" background. Keep it general... "we met..."Gallery: I'd skip the first four paragraphs. They're not necessary. When I click on a gallery I'm there to view photos and not to read a conversation between the two of you. It's cute for sure though.
Same with the actual Gallery pages. You have a description of the album on your main gallery page, so you don't really need one on every album page.
I like how you have a "back to gallery main" link on the footer of each album.
I like the header image :)
The Guestbook is straightforward, same with the links. Also on the links page, I'd skip the "Rin says". That Rin says box was good on the guestbook page, seeing you were actually telling people what they can do on that page. But saying that the links page is finally up and running Wootz isn't too informative.
ARCHIVES: Nice
TAG CLOUD: Nice animation, I prefer the good old tag could though. I don't like that it "pops up" in a new little window.
All in all it's a great site. Nice concept, nice design. It seems a bit cluttered at times though. A lot of different backgrounds, the comments all over, different color for everything... this may lead to my confusion at times.
Four stars from me, due to great creativity, and individual design and a great concept. Only four stars because of too much at times, which makes the site seems cluttered.
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worldangel's Response:
Haha yea, I tried to edit the description about this site after I have posted it to say that Rin is the designer, but I can't seem to be able to change the description :(
For the background, it has always come up as black over here. Hmm.
For the About Us page, we figured it would be creative to have it in a conversation manner rather than the paragraph manner....but yea, it can get a bit confusing at times.
Thanks for the comments, we will keep them in mind to improve on the site further :)
![[img: avatar]](/avatars/jules.jpg)
jules gave it




on 12th Nov 2008 and said:First Impression: I don't know where to start reading as your sidebar is in the middle and there are two sides of your site. The header image you've used is great & is pretty quick to load.
Navigation: Very good, I don't have to look around too much to find it.
Layout: I'm not so keen on the sidebar in the middle & content outside of it. People will get confused about which side to read, but they will most likely read the left side as we read left to right. I like the colour scheme you've used, its not too bright or too dull.
Validation: Well done! Your site is valid in CSS and XHTML.
Overall: You can improve your site by making the sidebar on the side and making a section for Rin & a different one for Wendy. You could use a JavaScript to open Rin's blog while Wendy's is closed and click a button so that Wendy's blog is open and Rin's blog is closed.
Your doing great so far with your site, a few more improvements & it will be perfect!
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worldangel's Response:
Thanks for your response :)
First of all, would like to clarify that I am not the designer of this blog, my hubby (Rin) did all of it. I am just co-authoring in terms of the blogs haha.
But he knows about this site and has been reading the reviews that have been posted up. We are both grateful for the constructive criticism that has been coming in so far ^_^
I actually like the middle part of the site lolz. When Rin showed the design of the website to me for the first time, I like having the middle part there because it separates the two blogs very concretely..hence it will let people know immediately that this is a dual blog with two authors.
But thanks for your opinion, we will see what we can do about it :)
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(Rated by 21 people, viewed by 469 people)