layout

Review of Associated Press (www.ap.org) site

Whilst looking for some news story providers, I decided to check out the AP (Associated Press) site, www.ap.org. I was after some quick info about news story feeds/aggregation, and possibly some stock imagery.

What happened on my thrilling journey? What was their site like? I know you can’t wait to find out, really. It’s the only thing that’s keeping you going, isn’t it? Admit it. It’s fine.

Read my (admittedly brief) review here!

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This month’s Web Designer Magazine

It’s self-indulgent, but here you go: I’m in this month’s Web Designer Magazine (issue 163), delivering 100 words of carefully-crafted guff about my favourite worst website.

Web Designer Mag, Issue 163

Web Designer Mag, Issue 163

Can you guess who’s it was?

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Similarities? clothingattesco.com vs schuh.co.uk

A short blog post for you this evening because I’m about to enjoy a cubic foot of brioche and custard.

Sites do occasionally end up looking like each other out of chance: this I accept. However, is it just me, or can anyone else see a similarity between the homepage designs of www.clothingattesco.com & www.schuh.co.uk ? Bar the colours, they look…familiar:

  • The header is virtually identical in terms of logo placement and spacing
  • Baskets & associated tools in the same place
  • Top nav disturbingly similar in layout
  • Right navs identical in size
  • Email address signup in bottom right

Here’s some helpful comparison graphics for those of you who’re still unsure.

I dunno: call me cynical – or maybe my judgement is clouded with thoughts of brioche. What do you think?

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Image(factory) isn’t everything

In order to prove that I’m not obsessed with online shoe e-tailers, I’ve been on the lookout for other sites that are really crying out for a review…and I’ve been pointed toward Image Factory‘s site, a UK-based printing company owned by US print giant Quarto. So what follows, predictably, is…

A critique of www.imagefactoryuk.com

Perhaps naively, I thought a printworks would be chock-full of creative people who’d not let their company website look like the pavement outside an all-night takeaway. Was I right? Was I wrong? Read on and find out. I know you just can’t wait

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Teamhell UK: Layout, design and customer service

Just a quick site review, since I’m off out in a moment! Yes, I do actually see daylight occasionally.

So, after my recent raft of shoe e-Tailer site reviews, I thought “Why break the habit?”. After unsuccessfully trying to find some specific trainers in the Schuh site, and subsequently finding further frustration on the Raw Shoe site, I found success on the Team Hell UK site.

I may as well call this The Unashamed Shoe Fetish Critique Centre, quite frankly.

A critique of www.teamhelluk.com

After a relatively choppy and truly tumultuous journey trying to find somewhere that sold what I wanted, I stumbled across what was an all-round good e-tail experience. Read on!

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