PROJECT 03 PRELIMINARY ROUGHS - Zach Andrews

[zandrews]

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I am late with these - I was playing catchup all weekend from the crazy week back from Spring Break. Below are my two sets of desktop/mobile mockups for some website redesigns I did for T's Rotisserie up at Incline Village in Tahoe. Being one of my favorite hotspots up there when I go to the lake, I was shocked to find just how rough their website is - you can check it out here: https://www.tsrotisserie.com/

When you guys have a moment, please look through both sets below and let me know your thoughts on which design appeals to you more as well as any ideas/thoughts of how I can improve on it and/or expand on the preferred concept. Ultimately, I wanted to modernize their site and brand (I even did a logo redesign which is true to the logo sign on the restaurant but just refined for a more modern look) yet I wanted both concepts to stay true to T's hole in the wall, mountain bbq/mexican fusion aesthetic. Also, for my additional website content page, I just did a template for the Restaurant's about page as I felt laying out the menu page would take a long time considering this preliminary is just to narrow down a creative direction. For ease as well, I included a poll at the bottom for both sets of what people are more drawn to.

SET ONE:

SET TWO:

Looking forward to finally getting a chance to look at your guy's website makeovers and getting some more inspiration! Hope you all had a great Spring Break and let the countdown to Summer begin! Meanwhile.... lots of work ahead. Oi.

Best,
Zach

[kpargs]

Hi Zach,

Both of these are so crisp and clean, I like the first set only because I feel like it ties into their original color theme.

[Fatkid53]

Dammit you always make it hard to choose, lol, but I would say the first set of roughs with the wooden texture is my favorite. The second screams more bbq joint exclusively as opposed to a balanced menu selection. The only thing I might tinker with is the nav in the first design and how to make it present itself a bit more. Outside of that I am having difficulty finding anything I could change. Nicely done as always.

[Elle Barre]

I like Set 2, and I was hoping I did because I wasn't enjoying Set 1 as I looked at it because that table top looks so rough: like a lot of possible slivers in my fingertips, snagging on clothes. It's also a difficult background for all of the "about me" copy which I couldn't read easily. Set 2 is easy, simple to comprehend, cool black background. Not distracting, not pretentious: just 'here's the menu'. I don't LOVE the pic of super-red, barbecue sauce-covered meat, just aesthetically, the slimy look of it... The other slice of meat looks great. Well done, no pun intended.

[Instructor]

Zach, you've made me betray all of my contrast principles. What am I going to do now?

I should be all about the second design (and it is good), but I'm an even deeper sucker for good skeuomorphism. And your set ONE is very good skeuomorphism indeed. I say go with it!

It's the weathering that stands out to me most. You tiptoe right up to the edge of over-weathering your logo and big type and then take a half step back. Everything looks old, which fits well with the "old market" bit you're going for here. And yet, I can still see and read your navigation, your logo, your schedule, just about everything except for the bodycopy. It's such a warm and friendly background, with all the food makings providing a great accent off to the right. A good counterbalance for your content. I especially like your social media links in the chip shadow. That brings a smile to my face. A great little touch. Your serif type really helps complete the antique look you're going for here. It's warm and old looking. I like the photos as well. Showing the benefits of their Tahoe-adjacent location as well as some of the delicious food they make. And I always enjoy. a good faux-Polaroid photo pile.

Unfortunately, the big flaw with this design is that I COMPLETELY lose your bodycopy against the wood texture on both the mobile and computer versions. I have a cheeky suggestion, though. Why don't you stick a tiny slate in the text area? You've already got the skeuomorphism down, so why not a tiny blackboard for your type? You've proven the blackboard design can work with your set TWO and it'd give a nice dark surface to pop your type out of. I'd also probably take out the sans-serif type on the home page address and do it in a serif-type.

Nice work!

BTW, if you haven't eaten at this place, I highly recommend it. Their food is every bit as good as it looks in that pic.

[Samantha_Thomas]

heya
I like the first set of designs because it still ties into the friendly, calm coffee shop feeling that this place has.
Compared to the second one, that feels like it's some supreme awesome mega restaurant with lots of tang and spice. completely the opposite to what the coffee shop is.

[lilykmitch]

Hi Zach
I love your first concept the colors match the theme and vibe of a restaurant so well and the layout is amazing i think everything is perfect i don't have anything i would change!

[squidgola33]

I really like the aesthetic of your first roughs, I get brewers cabinet or Great Basin vibes. I think it looks really nice and the colors are soothing to look at. also the navigation does not seem to be difficult at all, which some restaurant sites seem to ignore. It is very simple but looks very professional and eye catching.

[James Hill]

Hey Zach,
I voted for set 1. I like the background and how it works with the text. My main concern is on your inside page, it has alot of text and its way to tiny and it looks like you are pushing it way to far to the side. Good job.

[Meghna_Misson]

Hey Zach,
I really enjoy the first design the best out of the two--the colors, image, and layout just pops off to me and I'm sure that it will the same affect on whoever visits the website as well. However, it is difficult to read the white text--especially on the inner sample page where the body type is super tiny to view--I think the wood effect could be removed from these for better legibility but kept on the logo. I also think that the frame for the body type (again, on the sample page) could be improved on where it wouldn't be almost touching the photographs. But other than that, these are really great designs and very professionally done! Great work!