My newest design and an oops... - GoFuckYourself.com

gothweb · 09-15-2002, 05:03 PM

A while back, I contracted a guy to do a design for a site for me. A solo amateur site for one of my models, as a spin-off of Blood Dolls. The deal was for a percentage, so I didn't expect him to hurry or anything.

Tonight, he showed me the sample he had done to see if we should go forward. It was a splash page for the site. The design was good, but didn't have the right feel for the site I had in mind. There were some good features, and most of the fixes would have been easy. We agreed that I would send an email, letting him know what needed to change.

Then I started-up Photoshop, to play with some ideas. Then came the flub on my part.. I built my own splash page, and I like it a lot more than his. I feel bad because I was working with him. On the other hand, his design wasn't great for the site, and we had agreed that I'd have a chance to opt-out after seeing the splash.

Anyhow, that's the story. Mostly, I thought I would pass on the splash page design I made, to see what people think. Any major problems with this design? Is it ugly in ways I'm not noticing?

http://www.gothicundine.com

Amputate Your Head · 09-15-2002, 05:10 PM

I think if you made a deal with the guy, and didn't like the first run, you should provide some feedback and guidelines to refine the development of the site so it better matches what you had in mind (this is what most people do).... instead of doing something yourself in Photoshop..... if you were going to do that, why bother bringing him into the loop in the first place other than to waste his time.

however, respecting the fact that you said you did have the option to back out after seeing the splash and no money has been transferred, that's up to you.

gothweb · 09-15-2002, 05:18 PM

You basically encapsulated just what I was feeling. Our deal makes what I did okay, but I still feel bad about backing out so quickly.

I guess what happened was that I realized his site needed so many changes it would basically require him to start over. Having all of the changes in mind, it didn't take me much longer to build a splash page than it would have to explain it all to him.

The real problem is that now, I haven't got much use for his design. I have one that I consider to be better, and no obligation to use his. Still, though, I don't like to just back off from a deal, even when it is allowed by the terms agreed on.

Amputate Your Head · 09-15-2002, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gothweb
You basically encapsulated just what I was feeling. Our deal makes what I did okay, but I still feel bad about backing out so quickly.

I guess what happened was that I realized his site needed so many changes it would basically require him to start over. Having all of the changes in mind, it didn't take me much longer to build a splash page than it would have to explain it all to him.

The real problem is that now, I haven't got much use for his design. I have one that I consider to be better, and no obligation to use his. Still, though, I don't like to just back off from a deal, even when it is allowed by the terms agreed on.

well, since you didn't post his version, there isn't anything for us to compare yours to, but with that in mind, the version you have there really ain't all that special. It's kinda boring. I find it hard to believe that a designer can't come up with something more interesting than that.... and if his version really was worse, then by all means, use your opt-out and run.

jammyjenkins · 09-15-2002, 05:23 PM

Why not back out but send a little money to say 'thanks for the effort'?

Just to avoid any bad feeling ... in case you might want to work with him in the future.

EscortBiz · 09-15-2002, 05:23 PM

the pic on the left needs to be fixed

gothweb · 09-15-2002, 05:26 PM

What do you think is wrong with my design? It is relatively simple, but that's the idea. Mostly, I was working to avoid the damned "700 x 400 box with outline" stereotype. I had steered him away from that, and that is what he delivered.

His design wasn't bad, just too traditional for me. I would rather not show it here without his permission. I mostly was looking for feedback on how to improve my design, and on the whole backing-out thing. Nothing against his design skills.

cherrylula · 09-15-2002, 05:29 PM

Very pretty, I dig the feel. Undine has cool hair.

dasexi1 · 09-15-2002, 05:30 PM

My personal opinion as an artist...what your thinking of doing is shity. This guy has spent a fair amount of time designing a splash for you. If you are going to opt out at least give the guy a little cash for the time and effort he put into the design, doesn't have to be a lot but at least make the offer. Then again he was stupid to contract like that, perhaps next time he'll think twice before making a deal like that.

Your design is nice I like it. Only suggestion I'd make is to clean up the edges on model on the left, the cut is a bit jagged especailly along the legs and her left arm/shoulder looks a bit strange/out of porportion, which may have just been the way the pic was, but there are ways to fix that.

gothweb · 09-15-2002, 05:35 PM

CherryLula- I love *both* of Undine's hairstyles... Her real hair is incredibly long and almost black. She is 5' 10", and it goes past her ass. Impressively long. On the other hand, the gothy purple dreads she wears are stunning. Glad you like.

EscortBiz- What did you have in mind as wrong with that pic? The stuff that dasexi1 mentioned?

dasexi1- I see what you mean about the pic... Its the resize, not the cut, as it was on a black background. I should be able to fix that. Her arm looked weird to me too, but that was how it looked. I will look into fixing up thosethings.

As for the rest... I don't want to be a dick to the guy. That's part of why I posted here, for feedback like this on what I should do. (Since the deal was for a %, I'm not sure what would be fair, but I will think about it.)

Amputate Your Head · 09-15-2002, 05:51 PM

don't offer the guy guilt money..... just use your opt-out and be done with it. He made the deal same as you. It didn't work out, and you opted out. It's over. No point dragging it around and feeling bad about it. Shit happens. You know it, we know it, and he knows it.

Your site isn't necessarily bad.... I just think it's rather boring. But then, I don't really have my finger on the goth world pulse either. Maybe it's supposed to be that way.... I don't know. While you avoided the 700 x 400 box, you basically got two chicks and a logo with some badly rendered text on top. Yes, it's simple like you said.... but it also lacks flavor of any kind. Is this a paysite?

My opinion for what it's worth, the logo is okay.... but the rest needs help.

gothweb · 09-15-2002, 05:59 PM

You're a great designer, so I appreciate the feedback on the design. I cleaned it up a bit, though I know it still needs work. The design is for a small paysite, yes.

gothweb · 09-16-2002, 08:33 AM

Update on the situation:

As I worried, the designer was indeed upset. I am hoping to work things out with him. I don't like to screw with people, so hopefully we can find a solution that makes everyone happy.

Update on the design:

The main tour pages are done-- well, drafts of them are done. There is now an entry page, a samples page, and an info page. Just need to do a join page and get the members area ready. Looks like about a day and a half of work to build this site...

The URL again, is: http://www.gothicundine.com

09-15-2002, 05:03 PM	#1
gothweb Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Back in the USSA Posts: 8,849	My newest design and an oops... A while back, I contracted a guy to do a design for a site for me. A solo amateur site for one of my models, as a spin-off of Blood Dolls. The deal was for a percentage, so I didn't expect him to hurry or anything. Tonight, he showed me the sample he had done to see if we should go forward. It was a splash page for the site. The design was good, but didn't have the right feel for the site I had in mind. There were some good features, and most of the fixes would have been easy. We agreed that I would send an email, letting him know what needed to change. Then I started-up Photoshop, to play with some ideas. Then came the flub on my part.. I built my own splash page, and I like it a lot more than his. I feel bad because I was working with him. On the other hand, his design wasn't great for the site, and we had agreed that I'd have a chance to opt-out after seeing the splash. Anyhow, that's the story. Mostly, I thought I would pass on the splash page design I made, to see what people think. Any major problems with this design? Is it ugly in ways I'm not noticing? http://www.gothicundine.com __________________ Photos by Ian X.: Distinctive photos of goth babes. Blood Money:Your traffic, my sites, our money. MojoHost: Still the best.

09-15-2002, 05:10 PM	#2
Amputate Your Head There can be only one Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Somewhere else Posts: 39,075	I think if you made a deal with the guy, and didn't like the first run, you should provide some feedback and guidelines to refine the development of the site so it better matches what you had in mind (this is what most people do).... instead of doing something yourself in Photoshop..... if you were going to do that, why bother bringing him into the loop in the first place other than to waste his time. however, respecting the fact that you said you did have the option to back out after seeing the splash and no money has been transferred, that's up to you. __________________ SIG TOO BIG

09-15-2002, 05:18 PM	#3
gothweb Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Back in the USSA Posts: 8,849	You basically encapsulated just what I was feeling. Our deal makes what I did okay, but I still feel bad about backing out so quickly. I guess what happened was that I realized his site needed so many changes it would basically require him to start over. Having all of the changes in mind, it didn't take me much longer to build a splash page than it would have to explain it all to him. The real problem is that now, I haven't got much use for his design. I have one that I consider to be better, and no obligation to use his. Still, though, I don't like to just back off from a deal, even when it is allowed by the terms agreed on. __________________ Photos by Ian X.: Distinctive photos of goth babes. Blood Money:Your traffic, my sites, our money. MojoHost: Still the best.

09-15-2002, 05:23 PM	#5
jammyjenkins So Fucking Banned Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,371	Why not back out but send a little money to say 'thanks for the effort'? Just to avoid any bad feeling ... in case you might want to work with him in the future. Last edited by jammyjenkins; 09-15-2002 at 05:24 PM..

09-15-2002, 05:23 PM	#6
EscortBiz Fuck Checks, CASH only! Join Date: May 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 19,422	the pic on the left needs to be fixed __________________ Spanking, Medical Fetish, Sleeping, Strap-on Anal Lesbians, Girls Fucking Guys, Handjob site REAL HOT, Shemales, Anal and Ass Licking sites 100% Real EXCLUSIVE with amazing retention, ccbill payouts, lots of content FREE FTP HOSTING Promote the largest and oldest member paid escort site, Converts 10 times better then any dating site, CCBill payouts ICQ# 158802076

09-15-2002, 05:26 PM	#7
gothweb Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Back in the USSA Posts: 8,849	What do you think is wrong with my design? It is relatively simple, but that's the idea. Mostly, I was working to avoid the damned "700 x 400 box with outline" stereotype. I had steered him away from that, and that is what he delivered. His design wasn't bad, just too traditional for me. I would rather not show it here without his permission. I mostly was looking for feedback on how to improve my design, and on the whole backing-out thing. Nothing against his design skills. __________________ Photos by Ian X.: Distinctive photos of goth babes. Blood Money:Your traffic, my sites, our money. MojoHost: Still the best.

09-15-2002, 05:29 PM	#8
cherrylula lol Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 15,969	Very pretty, I dig the feel. Undine has cool hair.

09-15-2002, 05:30 PM	#9
dasexi1 Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: if i told you, then THEY'D know Posts: 934	My personal opinion as an artist...what your thinking of doing is shity. This guy has spent a fair amount of time designing a splash for you. If you are going to opt out at least give the guy a little cash for the time and effort he put into the design, doesn't have to be a lot but at least make the offer. Then again he was stupid to contract like that, perhaps next time he'll think twice before making a deal like that. Your design is nice I like it. Only suggestion I'd make is to clean up the edges on model on the left, the cut is a bit jagged especailly along the legs and her left arm/shoulder looks a bit strange/out of porportion, which may have just been the way the pic was, but there are ways to fix that.

09-15-2002, 05:35 PM	#10
gothweb Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Back in the USSA Posts: 8,849	CherryLula- I love both of Undine's hairstyles... Her real hair is incredibly long and almost black. She is 5' 10", and it goes past her ass. Impressively long. On the other hand, the gothy purple dreads she wears are stunning. Glad you like. EscortBiz- What did you have in mind as wrong with that pic? The stuff that dasexi1 mentioned? dasexi1- I see what you mean about the pic... Its the resize, not the cut, as it was on a black background. I should be able to fix that. Her arm looked weird to me too, but that was how it looked. I will look into fixing up thosethings. As for the rest... I don't want to be a dick to the guy. That's part of why I posted here, for feedback like this on what I should do. (Since the deal was for a %, I'm not sure what would be fair, but I will think about it.) __________________ Photos by Ian X.: Distinctive photos of goth babes. Blood Money:Your traffic, my sites, our money. MojoHost: Still the best.

09-15-2002, 05:51 PM	#11
Amputate Your Head There can be only one Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Somewhere else Posts: 39,075	don't offer the guy guilt money..... just use your opt-out and be done with it. He made the deal same as you. It didn't work out, and you opted out. It's over. No point dragging it around and feeling bad about it. Shit happens. You know it, we know it, and he knows it. Your site isn't necessarily bad.... I just think it's rather boring. But then, I don't really have my finger on the goth world pulse either. Maybe it's supposed to be that way.... I don't know. While you avoided the 700 x 400 box, you basically got two chicks and a logo with some badly rendered text on top. Yes, it's simple like you said.... but it also lacks flavor of any kind. Is this a paysite? My opinion for what it's worth, the logo is okay.... but the rest needs help. __________________ SIG TOO BIG

09-15-2002, 05:59 PM	#12
gothweb Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Back in the USSA Posts: 8,849	You're a great designer, so I appreciate the feedback on the design. I cleaned it up a bit, though I know it still needs work. The design is for a small paysite, yes. __________________ Photos by Ian X.: Distinctive photos of goth babes. Blood Money:Your traffic, my sites, our money. MojoHost: Still the best.

09-16-2002, 08:33 AM	#13
gothweb Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Back in the USSA Posts: 8,849	Update on the situation: As I worried, the designer was indeed upset. I am hoping to work things out with him. I don't like to screw with people, so hopefully we can find a solution that makes everyone happy. Update on the design: The main tour pages are done-- well, drafts of them are done. There is now an entry page, a samples page, and an info page. Just need to do a join page and get the members area ready. Looks like about a day and a half of work to build this site... The URL again, is: http://www.gothicundine.com __________________ Photos by Ian X.: Distinctive photos of goth babes. Blood Money:Your traffic, my sites, our money. MojoHost: Still the best.