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smcfarland
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Any ideas to 'make it pop'? - 9/20/2009 13:41:26
I am revamping a site which sells products that need to be sold, e.g., sometimes people need to be sold on the product, so it isn't as simple as offering a good widget at a good price.
I am trying to fill the pre-reqs of:
quote:
picture testimonials, several featured items (via the tabs in the middle), area for videos, specials and coupons (shaded right), featured colors in the logo, tagline (at bottom), inform of international shipping, convey "professional, caring, clean and nurturing"
And the response is:
quote:
I like some of the features, but it doesn't seem to "pop". I do like the little boy.
I attached a pretty lossy gif, due to the size, but I am sure you get the picture. Most of the products cost $125, so making people feel secure is a big thing, but I also want to do what the client wants.
Any "popping" input?
 Attachment (1)
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caz
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RE: Any ideas to 'make it pop'? - 9/21/2009 5:24:46
Difficult guessing what the client means by 'popping' but viewing your screenshot I guess that the client would like a touch of contrast colour somewhere, maybe red for the menu headings?
Rather than second guessing such a woolly concept I would go back and ask for clarification; heaven forbid that s/he wants 3D, rollovers and a touch of flash.
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womble
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RE: Any ideas to 'make it pop'? - 9/21/2009 20:23:08
I'd agree with Caz.
From my point of view though, that colour scheme says "corporate dull and boring" (sorry to be blunt).
From the bits of the page that are visible, it seems it's a site for health/nutritional supplements? I take it from your comment that "people need to be sold on the product" that you mean that people need to be dissuaded from their cynicism of such products, which for me that look just doesn't do. Obviously you have no/little control over the actual content of the site, but a few things from your screenshot stand out for me:
- the logo isn't very prominent at all and just seems to blend into the background
- the company seems to sell health/medical/beauty products made from natural products, but there's only the "where science meets nature..." bit at the bottom. I take it from your post that the client wanted the tagline at the bottom of the page? Personally I'd think that the tagline needs to be somewhere a lot more prominent - nobody's going to see it where it is until they get to the bottom of the page - maybe an idea to remind your client of the "above the fold" rule?
- the colour scheme seems rather bland - more a corporate look
People are often naturally sceptical of "untried" alternative/complementary products and tend to naturally trust conventional medical solutions. I'd think there's two ways to go design-wise - either focus on the natural side of the products and use a much more muted/natural colour scheme, or for a more modern "scientific look."
Again, I know content's out of your hands really, but my natural inclination, as someone's whose prescription list reads like a shopping list, if I was shopping for such products (especially expensive ones) is to want scientific proof (which may be there on the site, but if it is it's not obvious) - studies and research, facts and figures, and for it (or a link to it) to be featured prominently. Photos in medical settings, people in white coats etc. may be a bit of a cliche, but done carefully and not overdone can effectively give a medical feel. If there's one thing I hate on health related sites, it's very prominently featured 'testimonials' from supposed happy customers. I really don't care if Dorothy from Kansas thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread. I doubt whether Dorothy has any medical training, and could well be a stock photo with a few words from an ad man. Bit off topic there  but you know what I mean.
It's a bit hard to judge the page overall with the bits blotted out, but generally I'd say, as Caz said, that more contrast's needed.,
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smcfarland
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From: US
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RE: Any ideas to 'make it pop'? - 9/21/2009 22:48:36
Well, usually, I *do* use some bland colors, but I make the product photos and illustrative photos really good so that there is a good mix.
Specifically, what colors would you like to see? The sample links that I got had VERY busy websites where you didn't know what you needed or wanted to to buy, just lots of links and the problem I have found is giving too much info right off the bat and overwhelming the customer.
I will see if I can get a better rendering in the morning. :)
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d a v e
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RE: Any ideas to 'make it pop'? - 9/22/2009 14:42:44
are you essentially locked into those logo colours of the inky blue and beigey gold?
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womble
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RE: Any ideas to 'make it pop'? - 9/23/2009 15:39:20
Hmmm, I see what you mean. With the rest of the page visible on that second rendering I can see that with the photos etc. it does balance it out more. That darkish (or as Dave put it, 'inky' - kinda reminds me off the ink cartridges for fountain pens I remember using at school blue still seems very "corporate" to me though. As Dave said, are you locked into that blue and yellow?
Personally for the "caring, clean and nurturing" I'd go for more subtle colours and maybe use the two blues on the page (the one in the middle behind "Turbosonic" and the blue border on the right sidebar items) and a shade or two darker in a few areas for contrast, and take the yellow down a few notches. You could then still use the images and photos to add splashes of colour.
Personally, for me, the dark blue and yellow scheme as it is fulfils the "professional" pre-requisite, but is too harsh for the softer "caring" side of the pre-reqs.
One thing that's just occurred to me (feel free to throw fruit at me etc. - my head's not working very well today ) is the tagline "where science meets nature to create the most technologically advanced nutraceutics on earth." I'm thinking that somehow it might be possible to merge a more corporate/scientific look with a softer, more natural look. I'm not sure quite how it'd be possible to accomplish that visually, The image I've got in my head is (using the words in the tagline), a globe/the earth in the middle of the page, with the two sides of the company's image represented - on one side a bolder scheme (as you've got) and on the other a more muted version of the same scheme, maybe with a fading from one into the other. Maybe to take it further the globe/earth could have two sides to it? The stock photography sites always have a variety of globes/images of the earth with different themes - for example using the search term "the earth" on dreamstime.com, there's everything from quite hi-tech versions of the earth, to the earth with trees and leaves growing out of it, and everything inbetween. I'm not entirely sure how it would work in practice, but that would be my suggestion.
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d a v e
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RE: Any ideas to 'make it pop'? - 9/23/2009 16:13:45
if you are stuck with those colours and that crap logo - lol - then how about something a bit more like this (it's pretty rough and there may well be too many web 2.0 bits ;) taking the blue down a bit makes it a little warmer too.
http://pp.kpnet.fi/prescott/stuff/max-site-pop7DAVE.png
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smcfarland
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From: US
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RE: Any ideas to 'make it pop'? - 9/26/2009 1:48:24
All such wonderful ideas and suggestions, not that I expected any less from y'all.
I am working on it and will try to incorporate as much as I can. :)
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Summer McFarland
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the very best invoicing and time tracking app ever
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