I need a critique

So, I've been working on this site for a family practice office. They are sometimes slow on the content, but I need a critique on the design.

http://www.vistafamilyhealth.org

Thanks!

I think it looks pretty dull:p because of the colours you've used. Also the menu at the top will look better if the text size was reduced, and not in italics.

Just my 2 cents.

I agree with the menu text being too large, I think the text in general should be 2 points smaller, and link text bolded, to distinguish it from regular text. The background doesnt flow with the rest of the colours, pastel green would set off the colours better I would think, and perhaps a light shade of blue for the header, if I visit a health site, I'd want it to be more "cheery", brighter, it just reflects more positively on most people.

well, as far as the text being too big, that's an IE vs Firefox issue. In Firefox it looks fine, and the texts isn't as big but for some reason in IE it "grows." Who knows why.

As for the colors, I can't really change them but I do appreciate the comment about how it maybe needs to look more "cheery." The problem is all of the colors are different shades of the same blue and green.

I'll see what I can do to fix it. Any advice?

It looks HP - just my impression at a first glance.

I like it nice and simple. I wouldn't make the text on the bottom right (in flash) selectable...seems kind of wierd. Also the big text that shows up for each section doesn't look too pleasent. When they are on a certain section, maybe just highlight that in the menu. One last thing, I wouldn't have the rollover as making the text bold, just jumps out, doesn't smooth well. I would reccomend a simple color change instead of making it bold. Good luck

Okay, you cant change the colors. Understood. To liven it up a bit though, do something in the header. Maybe add some medical or family oriented photos in a way.

Try fading the photos on one side into the color on the other side. (does that make sense). Here is a header that can provide some inspiration - http://www.bodyscan.md/

Move the address and contact info into the footer of the site or in text just below where the site ends, in the white area underneath.

The content layout could be a little 'tigher'. i know you said that they are slow on delivery of that, but browse other sites and see how 'tight' the content is. Yours contains a great deal of negative space around it and it seems to float there.

Great start to the site though! I am not the best at putting critiques into words...

I agree that the header could use something more creative, but the contact info could remain somewhere prominent. Afterall, that is an important aspect of this site (many patients will be looking for the address to see if they live nearby before they even begin reading the rest of the site).

A couple of other things caught my attention: the cut-out fo your doctor seems very pixelated and jagged. Could you smooth the edges a bit more?

Also, the italic text is hard on the eyes. The only thing that should be italicized are small blocks of text you want to call out from normal text.

Also, the logo up in the masthead seems to have a faint line within the glow.

Hope this helps some!

Jess

Yes, I appreciate all of the comments. I am going to see what I can do. Maybe I'll put up a test page in a bit that will incorporate the changes (because I don't want to mess around with the actual page, you know?) and then once all the tweaking is done I'll move it back over.

Thanks guys, this forum is great! I am only an aspiring designer and I've never had much formal training though I fear my artistic ability is mediocre at best so I am glad to get advice from people.

i think the website suits the subject. good job!

the site looks very good. The flash elements fit in well. Color scheme is nicely done. My only comment would be the green gradient treatment you gave to the top banner. Green doesn't transition well with a blue, and makes the text towards the end of the banner look kinda muddy. May i suggest leaving it a solid blue? It would contrast better. But Other than that, site is seriously awesome. very good job =)

Hi! The gradient background color on the top doesn't blend well. If I were to do this, I will just remove the green gradient on the right and use a solid blue color. The image in the flash looks low in quality. It also looks jagged. I don't like the page title on the left side to be italized. Hope that helps.

It's slightly basic and too "normal". It just doesn't stand out and grab you like a good site design should do !

I, myself, don't have any problems with the font size, I think its fine. The picture of the person on the homepage is slightly pixellated around the edges though

A Graphical Navigation might bring up the look of the site instead of just the text links you have now.