New HiHowAreYou.com Website Redesign

[drewjoh]

Hey Everyone!

I've had someone do a redesign of Daniel's Official website and I would like any and all feedback about it!

You can check it out at: http://dev.hihowareyou.com/

Let me know what you love, like, don't like or hate!

I have lots of exciting new things in store for the websites (especially rejectedunknown.com), and this is just one wave of many re-workings.

Thanks!

[Henry Long]

I love it. Very clean, very intuitive, no nonsense, and the eye flows nicely
left to right and down the page, which is as it should be. Bravo!

[Green Monkey]

Very nice!

Just one suggestion, there is nothing on the sides of the page. Maybe some pieces of Daniel's artwork in a collage like the inside of Discovered Covered?

[OhJoy]

Thanks for letting us have a peek.

I like the colors and I like the noise added to the boxes.
It looks like a spot I'd like to visit. This forms a nice backdrop for Daniel Johnston.

I like what was done with the masthead with Jeremiah (image) being larger and HI HOW ARE YOU STANDS OUT. The feathered edge on the home/about/music/media bar touches on the gritty feeling and uneasiness that is so a part of Daniel and his art. It doesn't push it but sits back and is a gentle reminder of the chaos.

The layout is pleasing with the 1/3 space going to the tour schedule
and the remaining 2/3 space leaves line lengths manageable.
The whole thing is clean, professional and a great design. I Do really like it.
The artwork for the buttons: The mouse stands out but the art next to forums needs
something done to it. It's soft and mushes into the background color.

I'm not sure what the designer has going with the fonts...maybe this is for a quick review,
but I'd be a bit more consistent. The links at the top Store/Digital Store/Forums...look different than the feathered edge bar. It's either a different font, or size or the kerning and or tracking is different. I don't mind the all lc type for things like this when it's part of the design (it's loose and casual) but it should be done at the top links too. The type under HI HOW ARE YOU looks like it was taken from the CD cover and it matches what's been pulled in the box highlighting Welcome to my world. It looks good. But what happens when a new album replaces it? One last comment on the type and I'll quiet down. I like the typestyle for HI HOW ARE YOU better than what is used on the tour schedule/forums and fan site. Maybe they could match HI HOW ARE YOU?

i think there are a couple ways to run with the redesign of the website.
This one is a slick, clean and professional backdrop for Daniel Johnston.
My first reaction was we missed the cluttered, jumbled, uneasy world we think of
when we think Daniel Johnston. We missed the bold colors and almost unprofessional carefree style.

I'm fine with going this direction and really think it was nice of you to give the friends a chance to speak up. Just make sure all the information we need and are use to getting at are included in the redesign. And maybe you would want to consider including somewhere that this is the official site.

[drewjoh]

Thanks guys!

Great idea on some artwork extending out the sides!  (Maybe this will help add a "cluttered" feeling to it, ohjoy?)

Thanks OhJoy for all your input!  (It really is great!)

You're very right about the fonts at the top.  I'll have to check into why it's doing that (different font or maybe it's just the size that makes it look that way).

The type style for the HI HOW ARE YOU at the top is actually not type at all, it's Daniel's handwriting!  So it makes it hard to match it when trying to create words with similar style.  I will definitely look into finding something more resembling or maybe have daniel write the words out and we'll scan them in.

The cluttered, uneasy style is something we know resembles Daniel well, but I've also wanted new visitors to feel warm, welcomed and not confused!  So there is a trade off.  The reason for the current website being like it is, is not intentional actually!  It's just what happens when you loosely use FrontPage for updates over a period of years.

I'm really exciting about moving news and tour updates to an actual database, and providing RSS feeds and Twitter updates to make it easier for the internet savvy to keep up without having to try.

I'm going to keep going over your feedback and try organizing another modified rendition.

Thanks so much!

[justin89]

cool!

[GregPolard]

Very nice!