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Site Name: Neogrotesque.net
Owner: Yui
Reviewed by: Georgina
Reviewed on: 18th-21st August 2010

Site Name

The name is quite unique; no problems here.

Coding and Validation

According to the HTML validator your HTML is valid, and your CSS is validated.

I just spotted a small error on your credits page; you’re missing the <ul> to begin one of your lists.

I see no problems with your code overall; it’s very clean, orderly and everything has its place. You’ve done a great job!

Browser Compatibility & Usability

Your website is looking consistent in Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome.

I understand that your site focuses on graphics and layouts, which is why a link to the “site” page is not present in the navigation under the header image. I still think it would have been a good idea to include it there.

The links in the sidebar with the newest additions are superfluous as these are the same links as are under the header image. The sidebar is nicely organised otherwise, and the site is easy to navigate.

Layout

This layout is really clean and professional-looking. I really like the fact that though the layout is slightly large in width, the accented edges and medium-sized text make it look well spaced and balanced. You’ve used a nice range of fonts throughout the layout, from the header image right through to the styling of various headings, which keeps the layout interesting.

I like the small panel in your recent updates that shows your latest additions; that’s a nice touch. The colour scheme has many colours but it’s good to see that you’ve stuck to a select few bold colours for the main parts of the layout.

Content

Layouts

I looked through most of your content before starting this review. I really like the way your site is organised. Your designs aren’t really the style I like but I think they’ve been done well. I would personally like to see a lot more variety since the colours all tend to be on the dark side.

Right now I also don’t see the use in the “newest” links on the right side bar, because they are essentially the same links as the large links under the site header image.

I like that you’ve put in space for a site name in some of the layouts. That is a good feature.

I don’t notice any huge problems with any of the layouts but regarding user-friendliness, the text on Enchanted… and Checkerboard could be made larger because it’s rather small. Both layouts are bold in their own way and to create balance, the text should be at least spaced out with greater line-height or made bigger.

The balance in Picturesque is nice, but I think it would be much better if the stripy background behind the text was removed, which would make it easier to read.

I’d just like to point out that I think Broken is really well done in terms of graphic editing and styling. I find that in comparison, some of your other layouts have images that are a little too saturated. Cam-Whore, Love Letter and Winged are three such examples. Don’t get me wrong, I like red, and the designs are just fantastic, but the colours aren’t to my liking and tend to be a bit blinding. That said, “Broken” is an example of a good layout with softer colours where the graphics don’t appear that harsh. The colour scheme is a good one as well.

Graffiti and Genesis follow the same sort of balance between light and dark colours, which actually brings more attention to the details in the layout. I find the three layouts I mentioned earlier to be a bit “in your face” for want of a better description.

I really like Beautifully Tainted because of the splash of white that detracts from the noisy background – but having said that, the noisy background is a little too noisy. There is some noise in the image already, and having it in the background of the text makes it difficult to read and a little distracting.

WordPress

I think you’ve done a fantastic job with these themes. They look very professional and I like the test posts to show how the theme will look with certain types of posts.

Most designers now code their own WordPress themes, so maybe a few simple templates/themes would be useful for these budding artists. Something simple, with editing allowed, could benefit some of the newer designers out there.

Avatars

These aren’t bad – again these are very well organised. However, I feel like some of them could be improved. This one doesn’t have the best of colours, and I can’t make out the subject of the avatar itself.

Wallpapers

The comments from your layouts also apply here. Since most of these are based off your layout images, I don’t feel like I should point them all out again. However, I think you’ve done a good job including more than just one size for these.

Site

I’ve got no problems with this section.

Originality & Creativity

I think your designs are very creative. I like how you try slightly different styles over your collection as well. Well done for crediting all image sources and programs you’ve used.

Organisation & Errors

Very well organised, no problems here.

Overall Comment

I don’t have much to say overall. I probably made it obvious that your graphics aren’t my style but I found them really impressive. There is a lot of detail in your graphics and they reflect your website’s name and theme very well. I suggest you try softer colours or less harsh colours – your current layout is a great example. As I pointed out with the saturated images, you could use other colours or reduce some of the effects.

I feel that you have great skills with your graphics but that you should try some cleaner styles and layouts a little like your current layout and some of the ones you’ve used for WordPress themes. Those kinds of layouts are the best ones you’ve created that follow general usability guidelines according to colour, font size and so on. Another thing to look into would be access keys and mobile themes. Keep up the great work.

Rating

(out of 5)