February 08, 2004 | View Comments (32) | Category: Design Critiques
Summary: Design critique of Dunstan's blog.
This critique features Dunstan's blog. Dunstan was cool enough to ask for this critique, and I was lazy enough to take 4 weeks to write it. I tried to be as thorough as possible with my analysis and although the "good" section is smaller than the "bad" section, understand that in reality this is not the case. When posting comments for this, I would appreciate it if you could keep it on topic and either talk about the critique and/or provide your own analysis. Let's not get into a discussion about the merits of critiques and whether they are warranted or not. They do help some people out there.
My thoughts (even the stupid ones) are in black and Dunstan's are in blue. I wrote up my part and sent it to him and he replied back with his. None of the text has been altered.
I am not sure if you want to consider this a design issue, usability issue, or whatever kind of issue, but the biggest thing I notice with this site is the lack of a brand acknowledgement. There is not a logo or sign telling me where I am at. Of course many will argue that the beautiful panoramic photo at the top should be all the indication you need that you are at "Dunstan's Blog", but what about the new visitors? Sure there are other hints such as the title at the top of the browser or the url itself, but these can not replace a good "header" so to speak. I would go as far as saying that even a small background image in the bottom-right corner with a logo would improve things a bit.
This is certainly something I've thought about, and I see your point, especially as I have an unusual name.
However, I don't have a logo; I wasn't keen to take up space with a heading of "Dunstan's blog" (it is there, but it's hidden using CSS); and a "Description: This is a blog by Dunstan Orchard, covering web development, his family, and his life." didn't really seem to add very much (while taking up valuable screen room).
I think if anything I've made a conscious effort not to brand the site. Were this a commercial site, I'd most certainly have the name and logo proudly displayed, but since it's a personal site I'm happier letting the overall look and feel be my signature.
Plus, you know, seeing "Dunstan's blog" written somewhere doesn't really tell you too much — if you want to know who wrote the site, look in the Colophon.
I love greys. They always seem to work nice with almost any design. However, some of the greys on this site seem to have an "invisible ink" effect. What I mean is that you catch a glimpse of something, but aren't really sure if it's there or not. This causes you to put more thought into something that should require no thinking at all. A good example are the links. They have this dotted underline (actually it's a solid line) with them, but you catch yourself looking at them trying to adjust your eyes to catch if they are even there. Another area where I see the grey as a distraction is with the comments. Some of the text on the comments is only readable when I hover over the specific comment. As designers (I am definitely guilty of this) we sometimes get caught up in using light colors and small fonts, but even though they look good, doesn't mean they read well.
Being aware of the problems that subtle design brings, I've asked repeatedly for feedback on exactly this kind of thing and never got a negative response.
However, with both you and Widgetopia saying the same thing within a week, I'll have to take a look at darkening some of those lighter shades of grey.
There is a really good IA feature on the site when you visit an individual entry. On the right you will see a "relative links" box that shows you where you can go in context with the entry. However, I am not sure where the links will take me. To me I keep on coming thinking that "up" and "next" will take me to the same place, but obviously it wouldn't make sense then to have them both.
I am surprised. Like many sites, I imagine mine in a series of layers:
The 'next' and 'prev' links will move you along a given layer — from post to post, from day to day, from month to month, or from year to year.
The 'up' link will move you up a logical layer — so from Post to Day to Month to Year to Archive.
It really is very logical, and it's been tested on my Mother for usability purposes. I don't know what could be done to make it any friendlier, especially since I already use title tags to explain where the links will take you.
Note: the Previous, Next, Up navigation comes as standard on Mozilla and Opera (providing you enable it) and as a plug-in for Firebird. I've just duplicated this functionality on the site.
A great usability feature that can be added to all site is differentiating the colors between visited and unvisited links. If you click on an entry on the site and return to the homepage, you will find that none of the links change. When you begin to visit a lot of sites during the day or week, it is always good to know the entries that you have already read without having to click on them. I have come across many other sites recently that neglect to use the a:visited element.
I have toyed with this, and I do use a:visited for the blogmarks list in the tabbed area on the right, but I've yet to implement it in the rest of the site. The tricky part is finding a colour or style that shows the user where they've been, but which doesn't arse up the colour scheme of the site (or impinge on readability). On a normal page that might not be such an obvious thing to consider, but if you look at a page such as the Archive, you'll see that almost everything on that page is link. This means any 'visited' style I chose is going to have a big impact on the look of the site.
It's quite a tricky problem, or at least it is for me, so I'm still looking for a colour or style that I'm happy with. (I'm considering a very subtle version of The Daily Flight's background-image technique.)
Regardless of what I'm planning to do, you're right, this is a problem as it stands.
This is more than likely a personal issue, but I always have problems finding the navigation section. It never moves and is always in the right place, but for some reason the way it is designed I keep on looking for it. Maybe a clearer header telling me "hey man, the navigation is right here" would help. Another issue that could arise is when I click on the bookmarks or blogroll section. This becomes an issue because if I wish to get back to the homepage without clicking the back button, I have to click on the main navigation tab and then click on the home link. That's two clicks when it should only require one.
There is a 'Navigation' heading, but it's hidden by the tabs Javascript. Why? Well, firstly because the navigation's always in the same place (as you point out), right at the top of the right hand column, and secondly because I'm always looking to cut out the clutter.
I can see this might slow new users down for a second, the first time around, but after that… well, I don't really know what to say about that.
As regards the double-click thing; yes, it's a pain, but when you consider the advantages that the tabbed navigation brings, it's a sacrifice I'm happy for users (myself included) to have to make. If I could find a suitable solution, I would implement it, but not at the cost of messing with the tabs. I like them too much.
As you can see I really had to dig deep to find some of the issues with the site because Dunstan really has taken a lot of time to build a quality design. It is simple and minimalistic, which of course is my type of design. With that said I love the overall feel of the site. It is inviting and matches the type of content that you can find there (he is funny as hell). The size of the fonts never make reading difficult. The programming tricks that he pulls out of his arse (haha, that's an english word) are crazy. The spacing between the left and right side is generous enough where a border is not required to separate the sections. The execution of the header image along with the newly added bookmarks and blogroll section (minus the double-click issue discussed above) show the hardwork that has been put into such a site.
My favorite design element with this site though is the use of images and the background shadow accompanying them. Anytime there is a photo, be it interesting or not (not a big fan of farm animals :), the pictures always look beautiful because 1) they are great pictures and 2) the border and shadow seem to enhance them.
Update: Had to fix some HTML mishaps.
Trackback URL: http://9rules.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/141
Excellent critique, and bravo for Dunstan being brave enough to invite it.
Including Dunstan's replies makes it more valuable - to see the decision process behind the design.
I agree with the point made about how the simplicity of his blog belies the complexity of it's mechanism.
This post alone shows why both you (Mr Scrivens) and Mr Orchard are on my daily must-reads. Kudos.
seriocomic (http://www.seriocomic.com)
I had to change my browser from Moz v1.6 to get the "Black and Blue" feature of the article.
My only comment is the on the first point about Branding.
I'm delighted to find personal sites that dont apply "marketing" rules.
Cheers
John
John (http://www.wow-factor.com)
Dunston doesn't really need a logo. Use a nice handwritten font (or your own http://www.fontifier.com/) and write something like "This is Dunston's Blog" somewhere in the header image. It doesn't get anymore simple than that.
Battlewax
Excellent critique. I agreed with both Scrivs and Dunstan.
"Where Am I?": I found this to be a small problem as well, but the prominence of the site's content make it easy to figure out. However, I say that as a frequent visitor. I think it would be nice to have a compact little line of text and/or logo in the corner of the header that would say "Dunstan Orchard", and maybe the section of the site. Nothing splashy. Silkscreen would be a good choice.
"Invisible Ink": I agree with both statements. :P
"Relative Links": The Prev/Up/Next mechanism has been around since HyperCard (or earlier, probably). While it's not as common to see today, it still provides the user both a suggested way to visualize the site's organization and an easy to understand navigation widget. I was going to suggest titles be added to the links to explain further, but it's already been done.
"Normal Links": I always have the same problem when designing. I can never find a way for displaying visited links that quite satisfies me. I was actually thinking of The Daily Flight as I read that. Good call. :)
"The Navigation": The navigation is a little awkward when moving through the tabs. It's probably best for it to be universally present. The first solution that comes to my mind is to move the navigation links above the tabs. They don't cause much clutter, and they're important enough to be there. By the way Dunstan, your honest in the last sentence of your response in this section is awesome.
"The Good": I very much agree. :)
Good to see that the critiquing is still alive. It was done much better this time around, now that we have all the clarifications and rules in place. I'm sure Dunstan and the Whitespace readers will find it useful.
Chris Vincent (http://dris.dyndns.org:8080/)
Good job on the new critique "format" Scrivs. I think this is a great idea being able to give your opinions/thoughts on a design, and then allowing the designer to defend his/her choices.
On the subject of Dunstan's blog, I had never really noticed the lack of logo/branding until it was brought up in the critique. I, like many, associate the rotatating weather panorama with Dunstan. Then again, I came about the site because of a post elsewhere highlighting that portion of Dunstan's site. So maybe it is because of how I happened upon the site that causes me to know it for that feature, and not really consider the lack of a logo. Also, I usually have the site opened in a tap in Firebird, so the Title showing up in the tab kind of reminds me where I am.
But alas, not everyone has discovered the sheer joy that is Firebird.
Anyway...
Perhaps a small snippit of text on the sidepar (This is Dunstan's Blog) could satisfy those who may see a problem with not having a logo of any sorts.
To me, the panorama has always been the branding.
Jeremy Flint (http://www.jeremyflint.com)
AS to the format of the critique, it is an accessibility issue to only differentiate content based on color. And the colors you have chosen are pretty close together. I suggest keeping the color, but using BLOCKQUOTE to further differentiate between Dunstan's replies (since you are, in fact, quoting him) and your critique.
I enjoyed reading both the critique and Dunstan's replies. Having the designer reply to your well thought out critiques has definitely improved them and their value to the design community.
And kudos to Dunstan for jumping into the crucible!
Mark Newhouse (http://gnuhaus.com/iblog/)
You are right about the accessiblity issues Mark. I have tried to fix them with a background and a border. Hopefully this helps everyone.
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
Nice critique Srivs
(-- logo --)
Not having a logo doesn't mean you don't have a brand. Dunstan's brand is subtle and recognisable. So are his sheep.
(-- greys --)
I love the subtlety. Hovering to read the comments brings out added link detail in the footer of each comment that would overwhelm if emphasised. The same goes for so many other elements that make the site what it is.
(-- relative links --)
They work for me. I wish more sites would use them (and in the right place, the footer!)
(-- visited links --)
this requires the designer to compromise their 'perfect' visual design for usability. With a sigh, I agree with Jakob on this one.
I'll leave the final word to Dunstan:
"It really is very logical, and it's been tested on my Mother for usability"
Bravo!
Adam Bramwell (http://www.octapod.org/adam)
Poor Dunstan is getting featured on Whitespace at a time when his latest post shows him young, topless and dressed as a cat/lion.
I've always liked his idea of a clutterless sidebar. And his really useable and friendly 404 pages.
I think the "Naked Super Dunstan Technologies" graphic needs more attention than it gets. That little guy cracks me up everytime my cursor hovers over.
Jack (http://boxofjack.com/)
Branding: I ask everyone this question then who believes the header is branding enough for his site? What would be the effects if a couple of other sites took this approach as well?
Also couldn't it be argued that even though you try not to brand a site, your design and content effectively do that anyways?
Relative Links: Hmmm, I understand when they are explained to me, but for some reason I just don't see them as intuitive. I take credit for that misunderstanding. I can see how "up" moves me up to the next layer, but if there is an "up" shouldn't there be a "down"?
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
Regarding the logo, I'd say that I've always thought of the panorama as Dunstan's logo. Instead of an obscure shape with some lines and letters like most logos, Dunstan has a panorama that says "This is Dunstan's blog!"
Regarding navigation, it makes sense to me. It always has.
Scrivs, this was a very well composed critique. Good job!
Ryan Parman (http://www.skyzyx.com)
Scrivs, there can't be a 'down' link because if you're in the Month layer at January, what would 'down' link to? There are 31 possible days below/within the month of January - which one would that 'down' link link to?
It could go to the first day of the month I suppose, but that would only work in this date-driven instance, where's there's some obvious order. If you applied the same navigation idea to a structure that wasn't date-driven (such as categories, sub-categories, sub-sub-categories, etc) then the 'down' link really wouldn't have any logical target.
However, 'up' always has a logical target, as do 'prev' and 'next'.
It's funny you find this tricky to get your head around - I love hearing stuff like this. On the one hand it drives me mad, and on the other it's good to be reminded that we all think differently.
Dunstan (http://www.1976design.com/blog/)
Now I am clearly seeing your logic. However, I am still thinking there has to be a better way to kill the confusion for some, but that would probably require a less minimalistic approach.
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
The panorama is seriously good. That it accurately reflects the time of day and weather is marvellous. Sometimes I have been reminded that it is dark outside now simply by going to this site. How many websites can you say that about?
I was disappointed that it showed green fields when there must have been snow at the end of January though. If by some miracle those fields did in fact escape snow, then of course I must stand corrected.
The shadows on pictures looks geeky to me, like cheesy 70s magazine design.
I think the typography could be improved.
One thing that annoys me about the site are the black pop-up rectangles on links. Not only are they ugly they compete with browser tooltip pop-ups, which looks awful. If tooltips could somehow be suppressed, and the style of the pop-ups made more attractive, then they may be okay.
I think a logo or typographical masthead would compete with the wonderful panorama, which serves all the purposes of a logo and masthead without being either of them, therefore it is unique and makes its own rules. A changing picture is worth a thousand logos.
I think the linked comments system is overkill and over-complex and doesn't serve any great purpose. Too clever.
Joel (http://biroco.com/journal.htm)
I wasn't going to comment until I saw Joel's obviously very opinionated words.
Overall I liked the critique and I very much enjoy Dunstan's site. I don't think it's too clever.
I think it's too bad that the issue of audience wasn't brought up more in the critique. The fact that this is a personal site (which IMHO doesn't necessarily need to worry to much about "brand" for one thing -- unless Dunstan is going to sell some "Naked Super Dunstan Technologies Action Dolls" or something) makes any kind of critique a bit harder to swallow.
I'm not knocking the critique or anything -- I mean he asked for it right!? -- but it's hard to equate the design goals and audiences of a personal site to something, well....not personal.
ANYway, hopefully we'll get some non-blog type site critiques out of you Scrivs!
Keith (http://www.7nights.com/asterisk/)
Hey Joel.
"I was disappointed that it showed green fields when there must have been snow..."
We were forecast big snow storms. What we got was 5mm of snow one evening in January. By 10am the following morning, it had all gone. That was our lot :o(
------
"I think the typography could be improved."
Really? In what way? I think it's a pretty readable site.
I admit I don't know much about typography though, so I'm happy to be taught a thing or two.
------
"...black pop-up rectangles on links ... ugly ... compete with browser tooltip pop-ups..."
Well, _my_ tooltips are repressed, and no-one else has ever said theirs weren't. If you don't get told things like that, there's not a lot you can do! :o)
What browser are you using and I'll pass the info on to the JS coder who made the script.
That said, number 36 (out of 64) on my List Of Ways To Improve My Site is to provide a 'tooltips on/off' option in a site config page. That should cater for regular visitors who don't like them.
------
"I think the linked comments system is overkill and over-complex and doesn't serve any great purpose. Too clever."
Hmm, well, I use it about 20 times a day, so it's not any of those things to me. I honestly don't see how one tick of a checkbox - thus tying your comment to someone else's - is over-complex or too clever.
Sounds pretty simple to me: read. tick. reply. post.
I've had to check this post five or six times today to see if anyone had responded to my comments - with my system I'd have got a nice email (or several) letting me know. As you would have once I post this reply to your comments...
Thanks for your thoughts though, Joel :o)
Dunstan (http://www.1976design.com/blog/)
Dunstan, my major criticism of your site would be the use of justified type. This tends to look very unevenly spaced in a web browser, particularly in narrow columns.
JD (http:///)
Scrivs, wonderful job of making the critique. I love the format, it's a great idea.
Oh yeah, in the "relative links" part of the article, the numbers of the ordered list aren't inside the BLOCKQUOTE. You might want to look into that.
Anyway, here's my comments:
{ Where Am I }
I think the panoramic image makes the site very easy to distinguish. Maybe Dunstan could add some Silkscreen text on top, or above the gradient that seperates the content from the panoramic image. [off-topic]Dunstan, how do you do the live weather thing? Is it a feed from somewhere else, like the blogroll?[/off-topic]
{ Relative Links }
I think the system is a bit too intuitive, too. But I don't mind it being there. In fact, I never even noticed it until you pointed it out.
{ Visited Links }
I like it the way it is. :)
{ greys }
I agree with the part about the comments, but not the links. I think the links are fine. :)
{ Navigation }
It's fine with me, I hardly check the other tabs, anyway.
{ Comments system }
It's useful. I don't understand why it changes color when you click on a comment, though...
Confusing at first
Tom
Keith -- "obviously very opinionated" -- oh I thought the point was to say what we thought. If it was just meant to be a love-in somebody should have said.
Dunstan -- ah yes, you have suppressed tooltips in all but the browser I use, Opera. I still think the black rectangle pop-ups are out of character with the site though.
On typography, justification has been mentioned, rarely works well on the web. And Trebuchet I consider an unattractive font except at one or two pixel sizes, even Verdana can be ugly unless you use pixel setting. And Georgia is nowhere near as well distributed as many web designers believe, so most will see Times New Roman, which again only looks good at a few set pixel sizes. Some web designers think they're seeing Georgia because it's first in the style sheet when in fact they're seeing Times New Roman at a size they're unaccustomed to.
Of course I realise pixel setting is unfashionable these days. I sometimes wonder about the supposed advantages of doing it the fashionally accessible way though, I mean on Keith's asterisk site I routinely up it to 120% on Opera's magnification button since it is unreadable as it comes. This ruins his masthead but maybe he's not bothered, if legibility and accessibility is the only concern. The same can't be said about your site, it is readable as it comes. In an ideal world people who really needed accessibility options would choose a browser where you could alter pixel-set type. It's a bit like enormously fat people complaining the doors of buildings are too narrow to admit them.
On the comments system, the email notification is fine, I was referring to the rigmarole of linking who is commenting on who. Seems like playing with your food to me.
Although content wasn't an issue, it has been mentioned in that Scrivs said he's not into ponies. Well may I say I enjoy reading about forcing rhubarb and going to visit the ponies, and I like your blog. Assuming when you invited criticism it wasn't merely a thinly veiled desire for obvious and much-deserved praise, I trust a little constructive criticism is not unwelcome.
Joel (http://biroco.com/journal.htm)
Sheesh Joel -- I didn't mean "very opinionated" as a bad thing, just that it prompted me to post my own comments.
Although, now that I think about it, you're comments tend to say toward the critical. Not that that is really a bad thing, but it makes one wonder a bit.
Anyway, no big whup.
As far as the legibility of my site on Opera -- I don't support Opera on my site, at least not right now, mainly because it's got inconsistent standard support (but getting better), I don't have time and it doesn't even show in my usage stats.
I feel bad, but I'm busy and have to draw the line somewhere. I'm not too worried if the design breaks as long as you can get it readable by bumping up the text.
Maybe in a future version it'll be better. I have looked at my new version in Opera and it's still messed up...not sure why.
But these are the issues I find crop up with personal sites that often times people make a big deal of. I don't know about others, but I've got a full time job, lots of freelance work and a social life. I do my best to make my site usable, readable, accessible, standard compliant, etc. -- while at the same time provide a quality design and quality content.
Can't please everyone, not sure if I care to. But then again, I didn't ask for a critique. This one made for interesting reading, but I'd really like to see a review of a professional site.
Please, Scrivs? ;)
Keith (http://www.7nights.com/asterisk/)
Well okay Keith, I'll make allowances for the Atlantic, it's just that over here to say someone is "very opinionated" is a way of maintaining a veneer of aloofness and superiority while having the gall to be just as opinionated. Glad to hear you approve after all.
As for leaning towards the critical, you mean apart from where I lavished high praise on the site?
There's a few issues in Opera, but there are a few issues in Mozilla too. But I understand that for some people Opera use is seen as a bit like ham-radio or something. I put it down to most people not realising what a great browser it is. Incidentally, bear in mind that Opera users often identify their browser as IE or Netscape, you can do that in Opera. I'm always amused when someone's clever javascript thinks it's talking to an IE user.
jOEL (http://biroco.com/journal.htm)
With regard to using the silkscreen font to add "branding", Dunstans sheep would say:
baaa, baaa!
Joel, interesting that you use "enormously fat people" as an example to illustrate accessibility options! Good comments though, especially on font pixel sizing.
I agree with JD on the use of justified type. Word spacing becomes especially forced when I use my narrow screen bookmarklet.
Adam Bramwell (http://www.octapod.org/adam)
Whoa people, I think we should step back and realise that this was Scriv's critique of Dunstan's site, not an open invitation to pick apart everything we may or may not like.
Let he who lives in a glass-house be the first to throw the stone. Dunstan, I don't think you should be expected to defend all and sundry criticisms (as in 'not a critique').
While I look forward to being corrected on these points, I assume Scrivs welcomes constuctive participation, but if this is the way it's gonna be played, who is going to want to put their hand up next?
OK, said my piece, I'm going to go back into my corner and play with my Naked Super Dunstan Technologies Action Doll...product research - you know...
seriocomic (http://www.seriocomic.com)
Glass houses, stones, opinionated..
What fragile people. Have a critique or don't have a critique. Leave comments open or leave them closed. If it's a web designer's mutual praise clique you're after, I've got better things to do.
Joel (http://biroco.com/journal.htm)
Looks like someone might have just volunteered for the next critique? ;)
Seriously Joel, lighten up, I don't think anyone feels your comments are unvaluable -- but frankly you come of a bit harsh -- which sets folks on the defensive. It happens, don't take it personal.
Keith (http://www.7nights.com/asterisk/)
Bit harsh you say. Well if anyone wants to post the expected etiquette for expressing an opinion here that might be more useful that continual indulgence of vague generalities about behaviour presumably intended to be marginally patronising.
Joel (http://biroco.com/journal.htm)
Navigation:
Dunstan, at the top of your blogmarks pages there is a bread-crumb heading with links all the way up to Home. If you feel this is an issue, you could add that to your posts' pages also. I don't think it is.
Where am I?:
On all pages except the Home page, you have a h1 heading announcing the section (below the header image). This wouldn't require too much space on the home page. {Also, it's simpler than planting an orchard shaped like "D" "U" "N" etc., on your property and waiting for it to grow, photograph it 95 times, etc. Come to think of it, you better get started now just in case... "Nature is a language, can't you read?"}
Titles:
One feature of the Nicetitles script (replacing the title attribute on links) is that the title-text size scales with my browser font size; when I enlarge the font-size in my browser, the title text is enlarged. Plus, it's more descriptive than a title attribute, as I don't have to shift my focus down to the status bar to see the link destination.
David L (http://ibabylon.net/~david)
Great review and great responses.
I've never found any of the above to be a problem or a hindrance on the site, I've always easily found where I am, where I've been and who created and authored the site.
Sian (http://www.webdiva.co.uk/blog/)
Interestingly, I just went back to Dunstan's site and noticed that he has left-aligned his body text. Excellent move! (I'm assuming it's in response to the comments here.) Unlike Joel, I really don't have a problem with Trebuchet, although I do agree that most web fonts only look good at certain sizes. But that's just the problem with web typography. It's not the same as print.
I didn't notice if he's made other modifications.
JD (http:///)
{ Where am I? }
Whether the panorama masthead is considered Dunstan's "logo" or not, shouldn't it be a link to Home, with link title "Home - Dunstan Orchard's Weblog"? (Yes, I know this is not a commercial website.)
{ Relative Links }
I agree that it might be confusing to users if they are not familiar with this useful feature. IMHO, it should be removed. Users who like this feature will probably already utilize the Site Navigation toolbar of their browser, so for others it's just clutter. Scrivs, turn on the Site Navigation toolbar on your Mozilla for a week or two and you'll get the hang of it and love it ;) Actually, I was a bit disappointed that Whitespace is one of the few blogs that I frequent that doesn't use relative links.
{ Misc }
Tooltips: While very nice, the white-on-black does clash with Dunstan's color scheme (especially when the masthead is daytime). I also find the URL too small to read.
Menu: I strongly feel that a menu should always be visible. Also, it's probably just me but the word "Colophon" is quite foreign and not at all intuative to me. Everyone is used to seeing "About".
Just me two cents. Good discussion, guys! Keep it up ;)
Trogdor
Dunstan, it's obvious that you've put a lot of thought an effort into your website, and I commend you for that.
I have never had any problems with understanding the navigation or the concept of "layers".
Your content is superb. Just the right amount of humour, sarcasm and honest impressions. The main strength of your content is the feeling your audience end up with - that we "know you".
While I admire the concept and implementation of your panorama, I fail to see the point. The information conveyed is too localised to be useful to anyone outside of, well, Dorset. Therefore, as others have also noted, the panorama itself is the "brand" - no further title or logo is necessary.
Things I don't like:
Like others, I am irritated by the lack of visual indication of visited links. If there is one thing I would like addressed it is this. While I agree with Jakob Nielsen on the use of blue/red/purple for link colours, I realise that such colours would kill your site. However, some way of differentiating links is definitely required (and I don't think the strikethrough is the best way of doing it).
The only other thing that bugs me is the way the "b-marks" and "b-roll" panels revert to "main" when I return from visiting one of the off-site links.
I understand that you want to reduce clutter but, for me, the three-level panel just doesn't work.
You don't need to clutter up the right-hand column with three seperate panels. Just put the "b-marks" and "b-roll" on seperate pages (in the main content area) so that the browser's back-button works as expected. It's currently one click to each panel, having them on a page of their own would also involve one-click... so implementation wouldn't hurt the site at all.
Those are my only critisms of your otherwise first-class website.
DarkBlue (http://urbanmainframe.com/)
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#1
I have to say I never noticed some of the points writen here. But I do agree that
not having a clear logo or something can be a bit confusing. When I'm new to a weblog it takes some visits to memorize name of the person and its weblog. Other than that Dunstan's Blog is one of the best design of a weblog that I visit daily.
Darice (http://www.darice.org)