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Artwork for web design assistance

doubleM
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doubleM Newbie

doubleM

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Posted

I was wondering if anyone out there w/ web design skills might be interested in doing a trade. The problem w/ my website (jazzdrawings.com) is that it is very low concept. I'm trying to generate some web sales and thought that maybe if I proposed a trade here that someone might be interested. I could take on a commission (your jazz hero, you playing, your wife, mistress, kids, pet, whatever), or use my existing work as trade bait. I can frame and mat it, too! If anyone is remotely interested, my work is up at the site...except for my latest one (a Bud Powell). Suggestions would be more than welcome, too. Thanks

Noj Newbie

Noj

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Nice drawings Matt. I also draw and paint so I share your interest, but you obviously know more about webdesign than I do based on what I saw at your site. Wish I could help you out.

Rooster_Ties Proficient

Rooster_Ties

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just a long-shot, but you might pitch your idea to Ben Azzara. He did the original development work for a TON of jazz sites (for specific artists), and he's a big fan of the music too (and a musician too, if I remember right).

Great guy too, it would seen - I traded some discs with him about 3 years back. (Seemed very much like the kinda guy we all like to have around these parts (in Organissimo-land), come to think of it.)

His list of jazz artists, for whom he's done their official "personal" sites, includes...

Andrew Hill

Chris Dingman

Edward Simon

Greg Osby

Helen Sung

Imani Records — Orrin Evans

Jason Moran

Jeremy Pelt

Jimmy Greene

John Sullivan

Kenny Davis

Lonnie Plaxico

Marcus Strickland

Mike Moreno

Rick Germanson

Steve Lehman

CLICK HERE for links to all of the sites he's developed, and for more info on Ben (including his contact info).

And be sure let me/us know if he turns out to be interested, by any chance.

Good luck!!!

(He's done a bunch of other sites too, and the complete list is at the link above.)

Edited by Rooster_Ties
doubleM Newbie

doubleM

Posted
  • Author
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Thanks, fellas. Brass, I PM'd you. And Rooster, I checked out and like Azarra's stuff. I might try to contact him. Thanks Noj, and nope...I know zero about web design, actually. My site was put together by my neighbor, but he doesn't like doing the work, so I try not to involve him w/ it. Do you paint/draw jazzers, too?

  • 4 weeks later...
AfricaBrass Newbie

AfricaBrass

Posted
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that looks cool. but isn't it awfully big? not that I care as my connection is fast and so is my machine, but... you know.

Actually, the file sizes are quite small. The main page is 60KB, while the individual pages are each around 25KB. That's one of the cool features of Flash, the really small files sizes.

Here's a capture of the folder containing the various movies, and their size:

couw Newbie

couw

Posted
Posted

that looks cool. but isn't it awfully big? not that I care as my connection is fast and so is my machine, but... you know.

Actually, the file sizes are quite small. The main page is 60KB, while the individual pages are each around 25KB. That's one of the cool features of Flash, the really small files sizes.

Here's a capture of the folder containing the various movies, and their size:

that makes it even more cool! :tup

(using some webpages ONLY to distribute information in its purest form myself, I have learned to keep it all small so that folks on slow connections also get a chance to share. Hence my concern.)

AfricaBrass Newbie

AfricaBrass

Posted
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(using some webpages ONLY to distribute information in its purest form myself, I have learned to keep it all small so that folks on slow connections also get a chance to share. Hence my concern.)

Thanks John!

I'm also concerned about slow connections. I hate going over 100KB for a page.

Eventually, we're going to build a shopping cart, or use a paypal shopping cart.

I love doing this stuff, and I dig Matt's work. :g

wesbed Newbie

wesbed

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I'm familiar with only very basic HTML coding. I don't know how you do it. But, yes, this page looks very nice. I like the Flash activity. Very eye-catching. :tup

Rooster_Ties Proficient

Rooster_Ties

Posted
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Tiny suggestion, and then a reminder that probably doesn't need to even be said...

1) Maybe make the "next" and "back" arrows blink (slowly) off and on, so they catch the eye a little bit more?? First time I looked at the page, I didn't notice the "next" button, and almost thought that the first 5 jazz drawings were all that there were. Or maybe make them a color that's a little more eye-catching (when you aren't hovering the pointer over them). Just a minor suggestion.

2) Be sure to hide all kinds of good search keys in the opening page of the site, so it gets lots of good hits when doing Google searches and the like. Also, if there was some way to have a set of images (even on a page that you don't ever directly link to), with the names of all the painting subjects as part of the file name of the .jpg of each painting (maybe just a thumbnail, even). I'm thinking that this might be handy for when somebody was doing a Google Image Search on, say, "Joe Henderson" -- and then one of DoubleM's drawings would maybe come up in the list. Kind of a "behind the scenes" page with all the drawings, with a simple link to the front-door of the site. Just something that Google searches (and Google Image Searches, in particular), might pick up on. Just an idea.

By the way, before sticking my nose where it maybe didn't belong (offering advice that wasn't asked for!!), let me say a big WOW!!!! -- the site looks GREAT!!!! INCREDIBLE JOB!!! WAY TO GO!!! :party::party:

(Probably what I should have said in the first place, and maybe left it at that. :unsure: )

7/4 Newbie

7/4

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Why is it so tiny?  :eye:  :eye:

I'm using Mozilla 1.7b BTW.

It automatically scales to the size of your browser window.

Not for me. 1024 x 756

doubleM Newbie

doubleM

Posted
  • Author
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Yes, Jeff did a "bang-up" job. The hardest part of dealing w/ him is that he's reluctant to accept any compensation! :lol: Thanks again, Jeff...and to all else w/ their suggestions and feedback.

Rooster_Ties Proficient

Rooster_Ties

Posted
Posted (edited)

2)  Be sure to hide all kinds of good search keys in the opening page of the site, so it gets lots of good hits when doing Google searches and the like.  Also, if there was some way to have a set of images (even on a page that you don't ever directly link to), with the names of all the painting subjects as part of the file name of the .jpg of each painting (maybe just a thumbnail, even).  I'm thinking that this might be handy for when somebody was doing a Google Image Search on, say, "Joe Henderson" -- and then one of DoubleM's drawings would maybe come up in the list.  Kind of a "behind the scenes" page with all the drawings, with a simple link to the front-door of the site.  Just something that Google searches (and Google Image Searches, in particular), might pick up on.  Just an idea.

Case in point: there's a great Thai restaurant here in Kansas City (I just placed a to-go order with them for lunch, minutes ago), and they have a website. Now logically, I thought I'd just go to Google and type in the name of the restaurant plus "kansas city" -- and one of the first hits ought to be the website of the restaurant, right???

WRONG.

Here, try for yourself.

>> See if you can find the website for "Lulu's Noodles" in Kansas City...

>> Or see if you can get any hits with the Google Image Search for "Lulu's Noodles".

>> Or try searching on "Lulus Noodles" (without the apostrophe)

I mean, their website is just http://www.lulusnoodles.com. You'd think that a search on "lulu's noddles" or "lulus noodles" would turn up at least one good hit to their site, right?? But no, Google turns up nothing. :(

Don't let this happen with DoubleM's site. And, just for the hell of it, I'd bury "DoubleM" somewhere in the hidden tags too. You never know when somebody is going to remember seeing this thread, and then months later not be able to find it on this board, but somehow they'll remember "DoubleM Jazz Drawings" - and try to do a search on that, or some other "DoubleM Jazz" wording.

Just some more unsolicited advice, from somebody who only knows anything about web design in a purely theoretical way (but who wishes he could actually do web design).

EDIT: By the way, Lulu's website is all Macromedia Flash, so perhaps that has something to do with there being not a single hit coming up for them from Google. I mean, it's not that you can't add search tags to Macromedia Flash sites. But you probably have to explicitly add them manually to the site, rather than search engines picking up on the content of the site itself (since all of their content is in Flash). Same might be true of DoubleM's site -- hence my suggestion for some "behind the scenes" pages with text that search engines can see, with the names of all of the subjects of DoubleM's drawings, and other text info.

Edited by Rooster_Ties

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