Let's try again....

[xerubus]

Hello all...

Previously I asked people to critique my new website which I had posted... however due to my designer breaking copyright rules, I had to pull the site of very quickly... and now have the fun of chasing him down, getting my money back, and "making him an offer he cannot refuse"...

well... i now have a new website up which I designed myself this time, which I should have done in the first place ...

I would love to hear your comments, thoughts, critique, etc....

To those that had valuable comments about the previous site, I do thank you for taking the time and apologise for wasting your time...

http://www.markcrossphotography.com

cheers and thanks in advance...

[sirhc55]

Very nice site Mark - clean and to the point.

I design sites and had to chase a client down once a few years back when she would not pay me and got someone else to use my designs. I hope you get the b@stard - they give our profession a bad name

[xerubus]

thanks Chris... that is exactly what I was aiming for in the site... it may not be as good as a designers, but I don't want to go through the 'crap' again until i get the issue sorted.

I will get him/them... don't you worry about that...

[phillipb]

Hi Mark,
I agree with Chris, the only point I would like to make - and this is coming from someone who knows nothing about the technical side of web designing - is that the thumbnails are not really thumbnails, as they only show a small part of the photo and in some of them you only see part of a brick wall or other undeciferable item. It doesn't really make you want to click on them. Don't know if or how you could fix that though.

[xerubus]

Thanks phillip.... i didn't like the full thumbnails, so decided i'd try and be a little arty and only select a small 50x50 part of the shot... i figured that if someone was looking at it from an point that they wanted to book me for a wedding that they may click on the different links as it's a bit of a mystery as to what the shot will be?

appreciate your feedback....

cheers

[atencati]

thanks Chris... that is exactly what I was aiming for in the site... it may not be as good as a designers

apparently his wasn't that good either....

I was accused once of "copying" someones site. Pretty funny because I was learning HTML at the time and my brother helped me with most of it. In fact, he included hi name in a few scripts he wrote just for kickks. Gee, imagine checking their source code and finding his name in it...hmmmm. There is no honesty anymore...

Andy. BTW, new site looks great mark

[xerubus]

thanks atencati....

i don't know why a designer would even try to be dodgy.... it wouldn't be worth the problems surely....

cheers

[sirhc55]

thanks atencati....

i don't know why a designer would even try to be dodgy.... it wouldn't be worth the problems surely....

cheers

Hi xerubus

I have been a designer for the past 30 years and unfortunately a high percentage of design is plagarism.

A classic example is a well known Australian bank who wanted a new logo. The designer who won the contract was one of Australia’s top designers. He was paid over $1 million and it was not until a year after completion was it discovered that his design was virtually identical to an American bank!!!

[Killakoala]

A classic example is a well known Australian bank who wanted a new logo. The designer who won the contract was one of Australia’s top designers. He was paid over $1 million and it was not until a year after completion was it discovered that his design was virtually identical to an American bank!!!

Oh, a bank....which bank?

[xerubus]

I still don't understand why people would do this? Surely they can get into a lot of trouble, and their name and perhaps their business would be dragged through mud?

[sirhc55]

I still don't understand why people would do this? Surely they can get into a lot of trouble, and their name and perhaps their business would be dragged through mud?

I agree 100% - the big problem with design is this: you are asked to produce some artwork and you put the brain into gear and away you go. The final result is submitted to the client who accepts it and you get paid. Down the track someone contests your design as being theirs.

The answer goes 2 ways - there are those who will copy others work and call it their own - crooks. But there is the other side of the coin where you may have seen something and it has been placed in your brain as a memory. When you start the design this memory is unlocked but has no reference to the past and you believe it to be unique, i.e. your own idea.

A question about your original design - was it a direct pinch of an existing design from someone else?

[xerubus]

it was a direct pinch from someone else's.... which is why i'm quite unimpressed for want of a better word. check your pm chris...

[Greg B]

Mark, the new site looks great.

One comment I would make is that, on the page headed "prices", there are no prices for the packages. You have detailed the various packages, and given details of the retainer and some print prices, but nothing about the actual price of the packages.

One more comment, I love the shot of the kid on the home page (great expression), but it looks a bit flat next to the fantastic photo of your wife which is fairly contrasty.

cheers

[JordanP]

out of interest how did you find out it was a direct copy?

[xerubus]

Mark, the new site looks great.

Thankyou Greg.. much appreciated.

One comment I would make is that, on the page headed "prices", there are no prices for the packages. You have detailed the various packages, and given details of the retainer and some print prices, but nothing about the actual price of the packages.

this is something that i have been grappling with for a while. i still have not made up my mind as to whether i will list prices or not... if i don't, perhaps removing retainer fees etc may be a plan?

One more comment, I love the shot of the kid on the home page (great expression), but it looks a bit flat next to the fantastic photo of your wife which is fairly contrasty.

cheers

hmmm... you're right! i might up the contrast a little and see if i like the result or not....

cheers and thankyou for the feedback... much appreciated.

[xerubus]

out of interest how did you find out it was a direct copy?

A friend/collegue of the person was looking at my site and politely let me know... which is very lucky. In a way I am glad as the design I did is growing on me...

[Greg B]

Mark,

My only thought would be that if you don't want to detail the prices, change the name of that page to Packages or something similar.

I don't think it matters if the prices aren't shown, that would probably be fairly standard I guess, I just wouldn't call that page "prices"

cheers

[xerubus]

Thanks Greg and you are spot on... i'll change it when i get home...

thanks..

[Glen]

Mark, I think Greg's comment is very accurate.

ps question I was going to ask the other day you capture images in an organic way? No insecticides used?

[xerubus]

Mark, I think Greg's comment is very accurate.

ps question I was going to ask the other day you capture images in an organic way? No insecticides used?

hahahah... definitely nature friendly...