Web site test run

[Steven Ragatz]

Everyone,

Please take a look at:

Tomfollery's Cyrk Voila (http://www.stevenragatz.com/tomfoolery/cyrk/index.htm)

Give me some feedback on what you see. I'll give it a couple of days for comments. Thanks in advance.

Steven Ragatz

[Peter]

Steve, GREAT site. Well laid out and eye catching. Truthfully as a potential customer with all the acts I would be a lot concerned on the cost of the act, might be too high.

Otherwise great act I would love to see them in person.

Peter

[Drew Richardson]

Steven:
Splash page: It would be nice if I didn't have to click to enter the site (while still retaining the option to do so).

Main site: The text is huge, especially on a smaller monitor. This forces me to scroll more than I would like and overwhelms the graphic impression of the page.
The menu links at the bottom of the pages do not contrast enough with the background color.

Video: I only watched ther real player file, and although I realize you are trying to compress a long video so that it can be quickly downloaded, I found the frame rate and compression artifacts very distracting of the visuals, especially when there is a lot of movement. This is a visually based show and I hate to see it made less beautiful.

Overall though, the site is simple to use, easy to navigate and looks good.
Foolishly,
Drew
http://www.dramaticfool.com

[Steven Ragatz]

Drew,

Yeah, I guess that the text is a bit big. These days, I assume that the low-end user will be using 800/600 and that the majority of users will be using a higher resolution, particularly ones who could afford this show, but a quick change in the style sheet will fix that. I always have problems with fonts and colors...

I will also change the style of the links at the bottom...

The video is bad (I didn't do that part). It is too long and over compressed. If they really want to use that much footage, it should be streamed using a server-side streaming technology. My suggestions to Brian will be to re-edit the source (which I don't have) and make a two-minute trailer, then improve the compression so that the quality is better.

Peter,

Hmmm, making the acts look too good so you can't afford them? That's a new problem I haven't had before!

Thanks for the suggestions.

Steven Ragatz

[Drew Richardson]

Another possibility for the video is to make the 2 minute trailer as you suggested and then to have individual clips for the different acts.

[Stephon]

Hey Steven-

Brian didn't tell us you were doing the Cyrk website. It looks great; I especially like the top menu and the spotlights.

The text is big, but at 1024 x 768 resolution I like being able to read without squinting.

The video--well, what can you do. Maybe if Brian split it into 2 videos, short promo and long act samples, and then put less compression on it, it would be easier to watch.

I look forward to seeing how it develops.

~Stephon

[Peter]

Originally posted by Steven Ragatz
Peter,

Hmmm, making the acts look too good so you can't afford them? That's a new problem I haven't had before!

Thanks for the suggestions.

Steven Ragatz

Not making acts look too good, not the problem. Looks like there are a hell of a lot of acts there. Maybe because the video is long.

Peter

[scot]

splash page: bad font, and black around the spotlight should be pure black.

menu: the lightbeam from the pars isn't straight. Hard light makes hard shadows.
if you click on a link and the page fails to load (shoddy connection) the menu link is still yellow

first page: poor font choice for the welcome note. poor layout of text on note. (nice shadows there) main page center is a white background. Doesn't blend with menu. The names are confusing. Am I at tomfoolery, Brian McNellis's site, or Cyrk Voila (if you keep it at sr.com, will add to the confusion)?
cyrk voila rectangle looks like a button but it isn't. ;

the show: take the embossing off "cyrk voila!" I don't care if it's their logo. Do it as a favor to them.
more confusion - Cyrk Voila presents? I thought tomfoolery presents.
too many big words makes reading choppy and not so pleasant. I needed a dictionary for sinuous. Who are you trying to speak to? Instead of telling the features tell the benefits (e.g. "this car will show people you have style" instead of "this car is expensive, and beautiful")

the story: not a story. an overly long paragraph constructed perfectly to garner comments like, "I don't know what it's about, but it sounds arty or something." saying that they don't have an act is a nice suprise.

the wow: I have never seen such bad writing in my life. Do you really expect to make money?

Side note: your Quotes from happy past clients are lowlighted. They're the best writing on your site.

The details: Again, you change the theme a few times here don't try to sell tomfoolery on this site. in the last paragraph, you change to first person.
"no lying" is a double negative statement. Try "We only tell the truth"

I'm tired. I can give you more harsh critz that you won't listen to. Just email me. scot@juggle.com

Scot

[Steven Ragatz]

Scott,

Thank-you for you time in writing comments.

I will work on the graphics, though to my eye, the light on the pars is straight, though I guess I am taking a bit of artistic license with the shadows.

I will take out the bevel on the Cyrk logo.

Fonts are not my strong suit, but I will look into some alternatives. Any specific suggestions?

The site will not be living at sr.com, but will be placed within the Tomfoolery site.

I didn't write any of the copy - that all came straight from the horses, um..., mouth. I will pass on your comments to the head horse.

Steven Ragatz

[Stephon]

Originally posted by scot
take the embossing off "cyrk voila!" I don't care if it's their logo. Do it as a favor to them. Originally posted by Steven Ragatz I will take out the bevel on the Cyrk logo. Um...why?

[scot]

for a casual note, A.C.M.E. Secret agent might be nice. http://www.1001freefonts.com

please note how I stripped down the text a little.

sorry my last post was so hard-core. Pat McGuire says hi from Japan.

[scot]

on second look, maybe the first line should be in black or bold too.

[Steven Ragatz]

Scott,

I like the idea, but the look and feel isn't what I am going for. I don't think Brian and his company falls into the hip-n-cool-edge bin. I expect corporate clients with budgets large enough to afford the show are looking for something a little more in keeping with the norm of a smooth business look. Thanks for taking the time to illustrate a suggestion. I like the arrows to emphasize the adjectives.

Say "Hi" to Pat for me. If he doesn't already know about Sean's death, point him online or he can contact me. I know that the two of them were good friends.

Stephen,

I think that Scott is right because the Cyrk logo has a rough and tattered sort of edge to it. As such, I don't think it lends itself to having a bevel as well. If I keep the use of bevels to buttons then I think I can try to avoid saturating the site with an already overused effect.

Everyone,

Thanks for the suggestions - I'm sending this one off. It was a project that got stalled way too many times, so I am taking an initiative and getting something out there even though it wasn't what was initially spec-ed. Keep your eyes on the Tomfoolery (http://tomfooleryent.com) site to see where this stuff ends up.

Steven Ragatz