Mulletized

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October 14th, 2009 Category: CSS

51 comments to “Mulletized”

Rich Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 12:48 am

Interesting… don’t quite understand the theme though. Search button seems out of place, not sure if it’s a real necessity. Do like the typography
dudeydudeydude Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 2:09 am

Points for trying something new, but the spacing (white space, padding, et al) needs considerable fixing.
Brendon Grobler Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 2:29 am

Thank you for the feature. @dude care to elaborate on your point about spacing?
Chris M Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 3:28 am

I’ve said this elsewhere before - I think this sort of design is going to become incredibly popular amongst designers - The abillity to seperate content with using clicks of the mouse increases the ability to keep visitors locked in as well as being able to showcase more information/content/photography than usual.

Well done!
Jack Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 4:34 am

Great looking website.

Few gripes though, I think it would flow much better if the heading type for each section was similar, also if it followed a kind of light - dark - light pattern as you scroll down the page.

You threw a curve ball at me with the navigation, I was expecting there to be some soft-scrolling, but it took me to a new page. I liked it.

The photo for the about portion of the homepage, doesn’t sit right for me. It’s a very clean cut design and the photo seems a bit too gritty.

One last thing, I keep wanting to click the giant header text to go home.

That said, It’ a unique template. And I like it. :)
Carl Rosekilly Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 5:23 am

Am I looking at the same website as you guys?

Sorry to be so damning with my incoming critique but there’s a few points that need to be made.

Firstly why is so much space given to the header area? For me it’s an unnecessary use of space and the typography over powers the identity that you have given yourself ‘mulletized’. This area feels clumsy and doesn’t have any appealing aesthetics.

Secondly, why all the type faces it goes against all the rules of typography, where’s the cohesion?? I know rules are there to be broken but for me there’s just too many going on. Are you serif or sans serif?

I also agree with (Jack) about the image of yourself, it doesn’t fit with the over all style of the site.

I don’t want to be too critical of this site as I appreciate the fact that you will have spent plenty of time considering this approach and it’s obviously a reflection of you (the designer) but forgive me for saying this but it all just feels a little amateur. Which is surprising because within your portfolio you have some lovely designs and some fantastic photography considering your aspiring to be one.

Sorry for the negative feedback I just think it needs to be said.
Brendon Grobler Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 6:24 am

Some interesting comments here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback.

Yes, it is a personal reflection of my design aesthetic, and I realize it might not be to everyone’s taste. There is a mix of styles in typography and overall feel. Some twisting and about turns on design conventions I see too often. It is a deliberate choice.

Carl, if you don’t think it works then I’m absolutely cool with that. But it is my personal site, so without client input I get to be creative. Which has always been the big draw card for me in this profession.
Carl Rosekilly Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 6:30 am

@brendon much appreciated, as you say it’s a personal reflection and amongst my negative feedback, it’s nice to see your stance as we can’t please everyone in this world and if you’re happy with your site then that’s all that matters, i’m due to start drumming up some ideas for my personal portfolio because as you say it’s nice to create a site for yourself without client input.
Sue Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 6:35 am

As someone who knows you personally, I totally appreciate just how “you” this design is.

I love the fact that you’ve created 3 separate areas to keep the categories interesting, instead of churning out the same LAF for each - a bold move.

I think a lot more design blogs will be taking this route in the future.
Carl Rosekilly Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 6:40 am

@sue

design is very personal and objective, it usually means more to the designer and the design community, unfortunately US designers can be very critical and over judge mental, as we each have our own style and sometimes if what we see doesn’t fit within that, we object.

Knowing Brendon personally obviously gives you a better insight to the approach than me.
Sue Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 7:07 am

@Carl

Of course :-)

It’s highly subjective, especially in this context when it’s purely for personal pleasure.

But there’s nothing wrong with constructive criticism at all. Ignoring all negative comments about our work would be terribly arrogant methinks.
Chris M Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 9:20 am

@Carl - You refer to his design as a “little amateur” - Please would you elaborate on this term and I think it’s rather offensive and perhaps I’ve misunderstood the context in which you’re using it?
Jamie C Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 9:55 am

I agree with Carl on this one. There isn’t much cohesion among the pages. Additionally, there are plenty of spacing and kerning issues.

I’m also not feeling the stylized headshot. It feels extremely cheap - as does the typeface used for “Photography.”
Jack Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 10:07 am

@Chris M. I think Carl put accross his reasons for why it could seem a little amateurish. Mainly due to the incoherence of the typography, and the headshot.

@Brendon. I completely agree that your personal site should reflect your own idea on design and should put your personality accross. However if the website is acting as a portfolio then in my opinion there needs to be a balance between personal idendity and maybe some stricter design principles.

Is the aim of this website to attract people to your own or an experiment? Ultimately that decides on how successful the design is.
Brendon Grobler Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:05 am

@Jack It’s not a portfolio, and I believe that most good design is an experiment. The websites that personally interest and excite me are the ones that take risks, that don’t always adhere to rules.

If this was a client site with a goal for conversions or whatever, then I could see the need for a stricter format.

However, this was the creation of a completely personal site - not primarily created to sell myself or my product - merely a playground for me to experiment, to imprint myself on it, to do what I wanted to do - to put my own art in the function.

The fact that its listed on this gallery means that people that view it tend to put it on the dissection table. Which is perfectly fine and understandable. I appreciate the input, however its easy to go overboard and miss the point.

This site was a rare opportunity where the normally ever present value of function and conversions could be eased up to create more space for a more personal design aesthetic. It’s a good place to be in and I recommend all designers should embrace it when given the opportunity.

I couldn’t made the site more uniform, trimmed down the whitespace, etc. It would’ve possibly had broader appeal to the small cross section of people who commented here. But the point is that it then wouldntve appealed to me anymore.
Rich Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:06 am

It’s a personal site, there are going to be different points of view about it no matter what.

Jack does have a point, but then again when you go to his website it’s just a splash page with a free font from dafont.com, so what does he know?

Overall I agree with the comments about the header text, I keep wanting to click to go home, typography could perform a bit better, overall though I think everyone agrees it’s new layout is what drives it, it’s fresh and we like that. Could do without the photo though, doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the site with the overdone effects, imo =)
Chris M Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:08 am

@Jack - That’s the thing, I don’t think those two reasons make it amateurish in any manner. What I worry about here is that these negative comments come from people who live inside the box and conform to standards and the minute someone steps outside the box and goes left-field, then they’re somewhat criticized?

My aim here is not to start an argument at all, I just think that instead of throwing negative comments at the designer, to rather balance them with positive ones; What bugs me more is that the commentors don’t show their websites - which I guess is fair, but a bit meh.

At the end of the day, I think the fact that his typography is incoherent leads it to its uniqueness.

Just my opinion :)

<3 you all.
Brendon Grobler Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:17 am

Thanks Rich. Nice valid and constructive comment. I actually also caught myself clicking the text at the top once :)
Carl Rosekilly Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:21 am

@chris

You seem to be seeking an argument even though you state that “My aim here is not to start an argument at all” this suggests you do.

I thought my critique was a fair assessment of what came before my eyes and I did balance my argument with positive comments.

If you see the comments that I made @sue you’ll see that I made the comment about design being ’subjective’ and everyone has an opinion, especially US designers, on this occasion mine was negative, I’m not here to bash people, just to give my honest assessment, I assume that’s what these comment fields are for and not to just blow smoke up people’s back sides.

I will gladly post my website once that I have my own!

I don’t have to justify myself visually, anyway, to warrant if I can comment or not, I have 10 years experience in the design industry and that’s worthy enough of making a comment.
Chris M Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:38 am

@Carl - You sound uptight all of a sudden. I do agree, these threads are for constructive critism, I just think you were somewhat unfair :)

I’ll raise your ten years of experience with my 14 :D
Carl Rosekilly Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:48 am

@chris, i’m not getting involved, I may appear a little uptight as that is what you have made me.

I’m going to leave now as I have made my comments and that’s it, I don’t need to clarify or justify myself or be roped in to regional protection.
Chris M Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 11:51 am

@Carl - Who said anything about regional protection?
Rich Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 1:33 pm

Years in the field doesn’t matter if you do s**t work… who cares??
Ryan Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 1:54 pm

I really like your design and can tell it’s a true reflection of who you are. The only thing I would consider changing is making the header text clickable.
Roger Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

@Rich: Everyone knows that you never have any good ideas until your 8th year in the field lol
Rich Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 6:43 pm

Haha maybe so… My point is who cares if you’ve worked for 15 years in interactive design, marketing, what have you when your work looks like something from 1999, and performs like such. = )
Thanh Says:
October 14th, 2009 at 8:58 pm

i guess it’s not to my taste either, but this site seems to take the ‘huge type’ trend to the extreme and feels a little forceful/clunky because of it.

the changes in typeface, the arbitrary bolding of lines of text in the header, the different line weights, the posterised graphic all feel very awkward even if it’s intentional. but then, this style of design is coming back into fashion with all the 80s revivals we’re seeing lately
Jack Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 5:02 am

@Chris M: As designers we have to conform to standards and principles, that’s ultimately what makes a website useable and accessible. That’s why I wanted to know if Brendon made this as a personal experiment or a portfolio. His website is here to be criticised. And of course those two points can make it seem amateurish. Inconsistency is amateurish. But that doesn’t matter, since it’s just an experiment.

No-one is trying to start an argument, I understand your trying to back-up your friend here, but I wouldn’t take it all personally.

@RIch: That hurts. Haha. Actually the font is hand drawn. But whats so bad about stock fonts anyway?
David Perel Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 5:47 am

Dudes, Chris M just likes to cause an argument ;)
Brendon Grobler Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:07 am

@Jack: Stock fonts? They’re amateurish :)

Seriously though, designers should be more open to change. It’s actually a little gripe of mine.

I’ve told myself I wouldn’t comment on here again, but here I am.

When you say standards and principles, try to look beyond whats been done before and been imprinted onto your design ideals - been replicated again and again, and what you are comfortable with. Galleries like this one are great, but ultimately what I see is alot of people blindly replicating in the name of design aesthetic “standards”. Which aside from usability concerns are just a subjective preference.

It’s not a knee jerk reaction. Criticism is valuable, and I welcome it if I respect the source. Some of the usability criticisms are of the most value to be, although this site was never meant to act as a usability yardstick. Some of the other unconstructive and blanket ones loaded with self importance less so.

To me, some of the inconsistency is what makes it interesting. I know what the design textbook may say, and I understand those that echo those sentiments and rules, but that’s precisely why I chose to subvert some of them.

And I know Chris wasn’t blindly backing me up. He’s a very bright boy with his own thoughts.
Chris M Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:14 am

@Jack - I don’t agree that a person needs to “conform to standards and principles” in order to “make a website useable and accessible” - If that’s the case, how on earth will we ever come up with anything new? That said, your question about Brendon using it as an experiement is very valid.

Question - Did you struggle to navigate around the website, honestly?

Lastly, I have no reason to back Brendon up, he’s a friend, but he’s also a big boy who can handle constructive critism and doesn’t need someone like me spending my time defending him.

@David - I like to school noobs or people who live inside the box of corporate conformity :D
David Perel Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:57 am

@Chris - Actually bru these are hardly noobs. I still struggle to see where your arguments come from, the same situation with Incredible Connection…
Jack Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:18 am

@Chris: Well accessibility has some strict standards and guidelines. If you ever design a governmental website then chances are you’d HAVE to follow those guidelines. Design isn’t always about coming up with something new, but using the old text-book in an innovative way.

However that’s just for certain client work, I’ve had clients that couldn’t give a rats about it, they’re the fun ones.

It’s not much to do with the ease of navigation. Like I said in my first post, there was a few curveballs, but that was a good thing.

@Brendon: I’m not arguing by the way, just discussing. Don’t get me wrong here, I think pushing the mark is what keeps our industry fresh and alive. But you can’t always work out of the box in the real world, it’s a matter of pushing the walls of said box to incorporate what you are aiming for.

But I’m only talking from a client based point of view.

Also there are some really good stock fonts floating around. :)
Chris M Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:20 am

@David - I didn’t call anyone a noob?

Lol, you didn’t read the comments did you? I didn’t argue anything, I just said that I felt the one comment was uncalled for and that anyone can read a textbook and spit out critism of this nature. I also alluded to stunting the design growth of the Internet if everyone just conforms to boring old standards.
Chris M Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:22 am

@Jack - Totally agree with you on that one mate. I guess looking at this thread, we need to note that it’s a personal blog and not a government website, so the ability not to conform is there, which voids most of the comments in this discussion, because it’s about _this_ blog and not blogs/websites in general.

Who steered this conversation off topic? I blame BIGHAIR Carl ;)
Carl Rosekilly Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:39 am

@chirs

you just want a response don’t you! ;-)
Chris M Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:41 am

@Carl - Aaah, there you are! How are you today? Can you believe it, we both hold a similar opinion on that medical site! :)
Brendon Grobler Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 7:48 am

Haha… digging the banter between Chris and Carl :)

@Jack: For client work, I 100% agree with you. But that obviously doesn’t apply here.

And I don’t take anything too personally. Don’t worry :) Discussions are awesome, and I think comments should promote that by being respectful and constructive. That should be the aim. Thanks to all who gave valid input.

People that visit here most likely have a love for design, unfortunately in not only this post but all over this site, the feeling that’s created by alot of the comments is rather a hatred for what they consider to be imperfect design in their subjective eyes - which isn’t really the ideal setting for discussion - but more tussling of offensive / defensive positions. Which is unfortunate, but understandable.

Anyone can be a critic and sound important, but few are actually creating shit. And that wasn’t a dig at those that don’t have links to their own work :)

Oh, and you’re right, there are some cool stock fonts :)
Carl Rosekilly Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 8:34 am

@chris

well, as I’ve already stated, i’m not here to bash people just to give my honest opinion, just a shame it’s a little blunt at times hey! ;-)
Chris M Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 9:01 am

@Carl - For sure, I guess blunt can be good at times - Just as long as you’re not uptight with me anymore ;)
Carl Rosekilly Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 9:08 am

@chris

never had a problem with you anyway, just responded to your comments. BTW - the medical site is very impressive! Glad we both agree ;-)
Chris M Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 9:16 am

@Carl - Totally! I must admit, I do like some good bantar in threads, adds to the whole critique :)

Keep tight and I’ll spot you on the other threads!
dudeydudeydude Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 10:01 am

@Brandon - I’d love to answer your question, but I would have to literally “go to school” with the explanation (which I really don’t have time to do). However, Carl Rosekilly covered a number of things.
RIch Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 10:06 am

All I have to say is ‘43 comments, really?’ Half of it isn’t even about this site. @ChrisM you talk about schooling noobs, yet… you are a noob yourself… Or at the very least, do noobs work. Which one is it mate? Haha
Chris M Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 10:23 am

@Rich - Justify how you come to the conclusion that I’m a noob?
Chris M Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 10:26 am

@Rich - What do you know about creating transparent PNGs? ;)
DanC Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 11:25 am

This site kept me interested throughout and was one of only a few on this site that I visited every page on. Well done, an achievement of design and inspiration.

Also one of a very few sites that have made me feel like I’m looking at something NEW, this is important and thank you for sharing!
Chris M Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 4:14 pm

@DanC - I completely agree mate, it’s darn interesting and very easy to navigate and the joy is that you don’t need to navigate until you’ve had a nice overview of the whole website.
csscoffee Says:
October 16th, 2009 at 11:58 am

It’s an awesome design
Chris M Says:
October 26th, 2009 at 4:44 pm

Agreed =)
RurualBwoy Says:
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:00 am

Grobler…..local is “lekker” dem bro…dig your work in a big way home boy.

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