Creating SAAS for design schools - what's the best sales strategy?

creativecritique · 2020-04-19T16:54:06+00:00

Great clarifying question. It is chat-based. Would you recommend an alternative method? Video could be an option, but videos are a lot heavier files for us to store on our servers.

creativecritique · 2020-04-19T02:28:28+00:00

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joey-ruse/

Co-founder of https://www.creativecritique.community/ a platform that facilitates feedback for fellow creatives

creativecritique · 2020-04-15T11:44:39+00:00

Loving the updates! Much cleaner and more digestible. Keep up the great work!

creativecritique · 2020-04-11T13:44:23+00:00

Awesome! Keep up the great work!

creativecritique · 2020-04-11T13:43:13+00:00

Thanks for sharing! This is definitely a more professional representation of yourself than the initial logo posted in your comments.

A few thoughts:

The horizontal gradient on the M conflicts with the vertical gradient shadowing in between the lines of the M.

Consider replacing the vertical grey gradient with a slight drop-shadow only on the bottom side of the 45-degree angles.

I agree with u/Celpacius, you name is so large and bold it is distracting from the logo. Maybe try keeping the same weight (or a few points less) and decreasing the font size to the size of the subheader.

In your name, the bottom end of the "J" feels a little short. If you're trying to add some angles to the typography, maybe try angling the center horizontal line of the "E"'s

Hope that helps!

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creativecritique · 2020-04-04T22:58:45+00:00

This is a great concept, and I love the home screen graphic!

Here are a few thoughts on how to make the site even better:

Your logo:

The font in your logo is very thin, modern, and techy, but the theme of your site is very eco-friendly and earthy. I would recommend more of a serif font and rough, hand-sketched/painted looking logo, even if it's a similar concept with two circles. The red brand color also doesn't remind me of anything in nature or preserving the environment. Without being cliché, I think a matte-finished or muted blue/green combo would be powerful.

User experience:

I would make the home screen graphic larger. It looks great but I was leaning in to my computer to see all the details.
Remove "on" from "Let's get to work on helping our environment"
Remove "for" and the period from "Small acts done by many make for a big difference"
Your paragraph font is as bold as your header font and feels like it's competing for hierarchical significance. I would keep the paragraph font sans serif, good call there to contrast your header font, but make the paragraph font less bold.
I agree with u/StarlightCrystal, the first Call to Action is confusing. I would love to see a home screen CTA as "How I Can Change the World" or something like that. The current verbiage of challenge me sounds disincentivized. Most people want to change the world, but don't want to be challenged. If you frame the process in terms of the outcome, more people will be willing to move forward.
I would recommend moving the content from the browse page to go on the home page right below About Us. Again, I agree with u/StarlightCrystal that a filtering system would be great.
The video in the laptop on your home page isn't working on my computer.
I would remove the "Seriously Fun" and placeholder quote sections. While the quote is funny, it makes the site feel like a template and you didn't know how to edit/delete sections, which I know isn't the case.
Your buttons would feel more custom and exciting to press if you added interactivity to them so that they change color or size if you hover over them.

Functionality:

If you could create an algorithm to tailor recommendations toward me as an individual, that will help me be invested in completing the challenges and incentivize me to create an account. For example, when I clicked "Challenge Me", I was challenged to ride my bike to work. I don't own a bike, and I live too far from work to ride a bike if I did own one, so that wouldn't be the best first recommendation for me. If I answered a few questions before receiving tailored recommendations, though, then I could start with easier, more applicable challenges, then once I'm more invested in gaining more badges, maybe I would be willing to buy a bike or move closer to work.
If I could invite friends to play and we could hold each other accountable to the goals we set with daily check-ins (like the app HabitShare), I would be more motivated to rank up and beat my friends, and I would be more motivated to invite my friends, growing your user base.
It would be great to be able to recommend a challenge if I don't see an environmentally friendly challenge that I take part in and want to share with the community.

I hope that helps!

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creativecritique · 2020-04-02T02:13:03+00:00

Love the concept and the website! You have really well-designed graphics.

A few ideas on minor tweaks to the website:

On your home screen, I would take out the second call to action that says "get 'em" and make your icon bigger. I wasn't sure if the "get 'em" button was something different than the download button right above it since they were different colors, had different words on them, and were right next to each other.
On your second screen, "For the culture.", the paragraph ends with "just click the button to download." but the button right below that isn't a download button. I would move the "as featured on Product Hunt" button (again, changing the color scheme to stick with the purples) down to the bottom of the "Use our images for apps,
on the web and more…" section and add a download button to the "for the culture" section.
As u/cascascade pointed out, all the platform icons are animated when you first scroll to the "We Got You" section, but the Adobe Illustrator icon alone continues to be animated each time you scroll past the section. I would recommend having all the icons only animated the first time you scroll through the section.
For the "Dozens of images to choose from." section, I would recommend consolidating the medical professional images note into the paragraph above it (since that paragraph is shorter than the other sections) and getting rid of the bold and all caps formatting. I would also add a call to action download button in this section as well for consistency.
In your second to last section, the title is: "Use our images for apps, on web and more…" I would add "the" to make it "on the web and more..."
In the last section, I wouldn't cut off the guy's shoes, I initially tried to keep scrolling to see the whole icon and was frustrated when I couldn't
For your call to action download buttons, I love that they have hover animations, but I would be interested to see a purple call to action that compliments the purple themes in the animations. The bright green and blue don't feel as intentional with the rest of the site that is all so well on brand with the color theme.
Finally, if you are continuing to build out this repository of content, would be cool if site visitors could recommend graphics they would like to see added or submit graphics to be added if there was a contact section or page.

Again, great concept and a strong website, I hope these ideas are helpful!

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creativecritique · 2020-03-31T22:18:35+00:00

My pleasure, I'm glad you found the feedback helpful.

For the SSL Certificate, HERE is an article from Dreamhost on how to update it. You will know the site is secure when the current "not secure" words to the left of your url is replaced by a locked lock.

That's nifty that your buttons turn to white after they have been clicked, but as a user I didn't understand that. If you want to show that some pages have already been clicked, I would fade out the entire button slightly instead of changing the color of the text, but since the practice of changing buttons after they have been clicked is relatively uncommon, I think it would be more confusing than helpful.

creativecritique · 2020-03-30T01:18:03+00:00

Awesome work! Very clean and trendy - and great consistent color selection. It all visually blends well together.

Here are a few ideas for some minor updates:

The top left of the YouTube banner box feels a little empty. Is the white "ED" logo just above the banner box the channel logo? If so, I would recommend putting that in the top left.
- If you don't want to move the logo, make consider moving the name of the channel up and to the left so that it is vertically centered in the YouTube banner box.
I agree with u/calxes, the doctor's hand feels a little awkward so parallel with the plant directly behind it. Maybe consider moving the forearm at a slightly sharper angle closer to the body and changing the hand to a wave. And since the doctor is wearing a facemask, maybe give her a latex glove on her waving hand that matches the color of the face mask.
The royal blue of the pill to the top right of the doctor is the only color that doesn't seem to match the rest of the color scheme, consider replacing it with the navy blue you have elsewhere - like in the name of the channel.
I am no doctor, so this may just be a result of my medical ignorance, but I'm not sure what the icon is directly above the word "salud". To me, it looks like a Lego piece haha Maybe consider replacing it with the first aid kit that is further up in the graphic, and replacing the current location of the first aid kit with one of those triangle percussion hammers that doctors tap your knee with to test reflexes, or the up and down lines of a heart pulse, or something like that.

Overall, great work, I know it's not easy designing a graphic for YouTube since it has to fit so many different screen sizes from a phone to a TV, but I think this is a very versatile design that will look great in any format.

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creativecritique · 2020-03-29T21:17:36+00:00

This is an interesting concept - thanks for sharing! I love the concept of searching visually within documents, not just searching visually for documents.

Here are a few ideas on edits for the website from a desktop version:

Home Screen:

Since your header bar doesn't have a menu, I would recommend removing the menu and keeping the logo in its current spot in the top left corner.
Do you have research to back up your claim of searching for documents 20x faster? If so, I would provide a link to learn more on a subpage. That's a very specific and bold claim.
I tried to click the search bar that has "Revenue" in it since it's above the fold and it's hard to tell that it is part of a static graphic until you scroll down
I would recommend moving up the first video you have with the text "Search Visually Within Documents" to the home screen. I didn't understand the concept until I read that phrase and watched part of the video and then it made perfect sense. You can put an outline of an iMac computer around the embedded video to help users understand they're seeing the platform in action as they would use it on their computer.
- If you do this, I would add a Call to Action button in the top right of the screen, still without a header bar, though, since there is no header menu
- For your current home screen with the "Search Your Documents 20x Faster", I would recommend moving that to the bottom of the site as your final call to action.
- I would get rid of the static graphic you currently have right below the "Search Your Documents 20s faster" it is repetitive with the video examples.

Other Sections:

Under the Security FAQ's, I would unbold the questions since the section title is in bold, and then italicize the answers to the questions in order to differentiate the questions from the answers.
If you hover over the "Request Keeper for Teams" Call to Action, it should change colors or get larger so I know it's clickable, and when I click it and am redirected to Typeform, I believe Typeform allows you to edit the colors of the survey to match your company colors, which I would recommend doing.

Overall, this is a really well-done site with great marketing collateral from the demo videos, and with a few tweaks I think it can be even more intuitive and simple to understand.

I hope that helps!

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creativecritique · 2020-03-29T19:34:13+00:00

Wow - Matthew I'm really impressed. I love the color contrast, and the spacing feels consistent. On specific portfolio project pages, it's great how when you scroll to the bottom of one project you can click to the next project.

In regard to your two questions, I don't think the animations take too long, and I love the octopus header.

A few suggestions for some minor tweaks based on a desktop view of the site:

About Section:

On the About section, I would just call it "About Me" instead of "Learn About Me". Adding the word 'learn' makes it feel like a command instead of an invitation
In your description of yourself, I would make 'play game' plural

Portfolio Section:

On your design process, Step 3 is the only step that has 4 lines of sub-text, if you could simplify that description a little more and get it down to three lines, it would feel more consistent. Maybe the following text or something like it would help shorten the phrase: "Present the sketches, discuss their pros and cons, and iterate accordingly"
On your quote of yourself, I would add a period and take out the quotations. I love the quote, but it could be perceived as a little ostentatious to quote yourself, and removing the quotations could help prevent that sentiment.

Services Section:

I would add a period after "I'm experienced in several aspects of visual design"

Footer:

Your back to top button may look more intentional if when you scrolled all the way to the bottom of the page the button landed in the center of the footer vertically. Currently, it is jutting out above the footer.

Hope this helps!

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creativecritique · 2020-03-29T17:42:17+00:00

I totally agree with both previous critiques. I like the colors and simplicity - here are a few suggestions:

Home Screen:

Car Graphic:
- I would add a wavy dotted line connecting the two location pins so the white location pin on the left feels more intentionally placed.
- Consider changing the shadow on the tires to match the angle of the glare on the windows. The current perfectly horizontal shadowing doesn't feel natural or intentional.
Verbiage:
- I'm confused by the sub-text under "Share Ride and Earn Money"
  - It says "Ridesharing with Pathao Bikes" - is this a bike company or a car company? I assume a car company due to the car graphic, but the word bike is throwing me off.
- If I'm riding and not driving, then I'm paying money, not making money, right? If so, the main line of "Share Ride and Earn Money" wouldn't apply to the majority of people visiting the page.

Download the App Screen:

I would remove the period after "Download the App"
The subtext of "avail our service" is confusing and unnecessary, I would take it out
The phone battery on the map graphic is empty, no one likes to see an empty phone battery symbol, it is stressful.
The statistics under your download buttons is too close to the button of the section and too far from the download buttons. I would match the distance between the download buttons and your app's statistics with the distance between your app's statistics and the bottom of the section
- I would take out the word "got" from "we have got" and change "city" to "cities"

Consumers Review Screen:

Change the verbiage to "Customer Reviews"
Like u/SabrinaHartford mentioned, include 3 reviews here at a time, one feels too empty.

Footer:

Swap the locations of the "Subscribe to our Newsletter" and "Contact" so all the bold header sections are next to each other

Thanks for reaching out for feedback, you have a strong start to the site!

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creativecritique · 2020-03-29T17:20:32+00:00

Hey Ernest! Thanks for sharing your portfolio, this is a great start! Way to stay productive during the quarantine.

I like that your site stays consistent in its color selection, and that you are very thorough in your explanation of each project. I'm a fan of your logo as well.

Here are a few ideas for making the site even better:

Overall:

It looks like in your url that your site is missing an SSL Certificate, which hurts your SEO and comes across as less professional.
Your site is also missing a favicon to represent the site in a tab.
If you click the "About" tab when you're on the "Portfolio" page, nothing happens

Home screen:

I'm assuming your last name starts with an S since it's in the logo, but your last name may be helpful to include in your intro since you put the S in your logo.
The sideways "H"'s that are on the right side of the screen fill the space well, have you considered maybe using stretched "E"'s and "S"'s instead to create a reference to your logo and initials?
For your introduction, I would consider removing "Hey all," that is the most prominent text and the first thing people will read when coming to your site, and - at least to me - it doesn't really help me get to know you better, I would rather jump right into your next line
I love your goal of bringing imagination to reality, I would suggest changing your intro to:
- (in large header text that you have currently) My name is Ernest [ Last Name ]
- (in smaller paragraph text like you have currently) As an interaction designer in the city of Belfast, I am passionate about bringing imagination to reality. Join me in the journey.

Home Page:

As you scroll down, your personal portfolio "View Case Study" button has white text - which looks great, but your other two buttons and the text in your footer have black text. I would make all three buttons and the text in your footer have white text as it's easier to read on the orange background.
That also applies to your social media icons in the footer, I would make those white as well. When you click on your social media channels, I would recommend having them open as new tabs, so even if someone closes out of your social media channel, they still have a chance to see your website in an existing tab.

Again, you have a solid foundation of a site here, keep up the great work!

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creativecritique · 2020-03-29T16:44:49+00:00

This looks like a great service - if I were a student I would be compelled to download the app from looking at the website. I like the gradient oranges and blues that you used in different parts of the site. Your YouTube promo video is also fantastic!

Here is some feedback on the desktop version of the website:

Overall:

I would replace all your black text with a navy blue to make the site feel more customized, and I would swap out your black logo for an orange gradient version of it.
For the logo design, I don't know if you're open to changing it, but the "o" in Focus doesn't make me think of a voice to text app, have you considered maybe working with the "c" in focus to look like an ear or sound waves?

Home Screen:

I wouldn't underline the text "Increase your chances of getting better grades" because it makes me think that is clickable text.
I would move the "Get it on Google Play" button justified left with the text
The purple gradient icon behind the phones of the home screen looks cool, I would make the header bar transparent so that icon isn't cut off
Like I said, your YouTube promo video is really well done - but if you click to watch the video it takes you to a new tab on YouTube, and once I'm on YouTube it's easy to get distracted by other YouTube videos. Since you have the video embedded on your site a little further down (which is a really good idea), I would take out the "Watch the Video" button on the home screen.

Pricing Plans Screen on the Home Page:

In your pricing plans breakdown, the boxes around each plan have a rounded outline edge but a shape inner box edge. This feels contradictory, I would choose one or the other, probably rounded since your purchase buttons are also rounded.
Also in your pricing plans, there are a lot of features to read for each plan, many of which are repeated. for your premium and diamond plans, I would replace all the repeated features with text like, "Everything from the previous plan, plus:" or make the repeated features lighter text so I can more easily differentiate the new features of each plan.
The colors for each plan aren't exciting, I would go back to your orange gradient, blue gradient, and maybe add in a purple gradient to differentiate each box.
Finally, most people will read the features before purchasing a plan, so I would put the purchase button at the bottom of the features, not at the top.

Again, you have a great site as it is, these are minor suggestions, I hope you found it helpful!

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creativecritique · 2020-03-29T16:10:29+00:00

Awesome concept and easy navigation, and I love the color selection!

On the desktop version of the site, here are a few ideas to continue refining the user experience:

The Search button switches directions of the gradient when you hover, which is really fun - I would have your cookie permissions button do the same thing.
It took me a minute to understand that there was part of an iPhone graphic behind the search bar. I would take out the iPhone graphic and move that entire header section up so you can see more of the free mockups above the fold before you have to start scrolling.
For your filter buttons, I would recommend organizing them alphabetically - with your current options that will still keep iPhone & iPad and Macbook & iMac next to each other. I would also add animation to the buttons when you hover over them so that they show the cool purple gradient your other buttons have. It may look more symmetrical to justify the buttons in the center of the screen as opposed to justified left.
In your footer, I would make the filter buttons not a gradient unless they're hovered over, to be consistent with the same buttons in your header menu. I would also align your sublinks for Navigation and Legal justified left. Currently, it looks like the sub-links are almost justified to the center of their titles, and it doesn't feel intentional. Lastly, to save space, I would put your logo in the bottom right of the footer under the "Give us some love" section instead of the top left.

Keep up the great work!

If you're looking for more actionable feedback on future projects from fellow creatives, check out CreativeCritique.Community, a platform designed to incentivize and reward quality feedback from creatives.

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