Feedback on design

A couple of weeks ago we asked for your help on designing this site and you’ll hopefully have noticed that the banner (top part) of this website has changed.  It has gone from the temporary plain design to a collage of engineering themed images.

There are two main components, a series of line drawings and a set of icons. We would really value your feedback on this. Some questions we’d like to answer are:

  1. Does the style, the “design drawings”, convey engineering in realistic way?
  2. Whilst we can’t possibly convey the entire breadth of engineering in one banner, how have we done? We could we add to dramatically improve the range of drawings and icons?
  3. Can you tell what everything is? Is something confusing?
  4. For students: does this design appeal to you? Does it make engineering look interesting?

Please do leave a comment below to let us know what you think. Don’t hold back. There are some things we want to change but we’d rather have your input too.

Posted on December 9, 2011 by ModShane in News. 35s Comments.

35 Responses to Feedback on design

  1. Olivia says:

    1. I think that the design is a little bit simple and could be a bit more colourful. It’s good as a start though and the colour scheme is good.
    2. I think that you could add a few more elements but not too many as it may eventually get overcrowded.
    3. I understand what everything is, nothing is hard to work out on the page, its fine.
    4. It makes engineering look a bit more ‘fresh’ if that makes sense and a bit more appealing as well. 😀 done!

  2. Joshua Hook says:

    I think the banner looks really good! It looks almost cartoon-like so it will appeal to schoolchildren in that way and at the same time it looks very advanced and complex and will make engineering appear really interesting to them!

    Personally, as a Secondary school student, i don’t know the full extent of engineering and i don’t understand all of the sumbols – but thats what makes it interesting to look at! – “what do all these mean? these engineers must really know their stuff!”. But then, if i don’t, not many other’s will either.

    Hope this helps!
    keep me posted! 🙂

    Josh.

  3. admin says:

    Thanks for those comments. Very helpful. It’s really difficult when you’re running a project to know if design works.

    What are the most interesting aspects of engineering that you know about?

  4. Sophia Liu says:

    Initially I heard about I’m an engineer and thought “Oh, that’s not very exciting compared to the Scientist version” mainly because engineering seems to be very specifically about cars and more interesting for boys in my opinion and not as broad as Science however upon looking at the banner, it’s strange but it doesn’t seem as boring as I normally associate engineering based posters and banners. It’s simple, and fresh-faced fairly modern too which is what appeals to me. Engineering seems complicated but this banner simplifys it nicely. However I have absolutely no idea what the symbols are in the circle, I assume they are relevant go the world of engineering, simply because they are in the banner,yet I do think that the drawing is ifa crane of some sort? Maybe it’s because I have been quite ignorant towards engineering as it always seems quite complicated and this banner sort of conveys a blank canvas to me which suggests that everything is actually bit art based and creative: coming up with new ideas and creating them, which appeals to me a lot more than cars! I certainly feel that conveying engineering as line drawings defibateky is more realistic than drawing a factory for example and having an engineer fix something, there is a lot more thinking and planning behind this and I think the line drawings are really suitable, also it widens the appeal really to girls if I’m being stereotypical as I think they would enjoy the planning and designing aspet morwthan boys who would be interested in the practical making. Overall I’m pleasantly suprusef!

  5. Angus says:

    i think it looks very interesing and i don’t think it need any changes

  6. Ellie says:

    I like this design but I think the title is too similar to the Scientist version.
    Maybe you could change the font or something. But other than that I like it. The pictures are good but maybe add a few more?

  7. Sam Andrews says:

    Okay, I think the design is very sketchy and it looks like a first draft of something. For the most part, it’s really bland. However, as a student, I can clearly see that the website is based on engineering and I think the design of the banner is there, but the colour needs improving.

    I like the design of the website and it is interesting. But comparing it from the ‘I’m a Scientist’ banner, the colours green and yellow need to be enforced to make it look more modern.

    Sam Andrews 🙂

  8. Amy says:

    I think the banner is really good and is very appealing. The background could be a litle bolder and colourful so it appeals to more artistic people. I can tell what the pictures are but you could add more realistic stuff like spanners etc 🙂

  9. Sameenah says:

    I think that the banner is actually quite nice,i like the colours used but i think it could be more towards the side of engineering.

    🙂

  10. Tara McGough says:

    I’d firstly like to point out that it looks half-finished. Whilst I believe it conveys an image of engineering (to an extent), I also believe it lacks colour and the space is not adequately used. I believe the background of sketches of the logo is clever, but the forefront pictures being small in numbers, yet small in size and placed randomly, does not work. I think it either needs more images in the current style (randomly placed and fairly small in size) or bigger and more organised images.
    I also believe the images themselves only represent engineering to those who are educated to an extent in such. The images included need to be more typical of engineering as to display the topic to those with a lesser understanding of the subject i.e. cars.
    However, I think the idea of designing it like a set of blueprints is inventive and believe this, at least, shows the topic at hand to an extent.

    Thank you for requesting my feedback,
    It was a pleasure to do so,

    Tara

  11. Eve says:

    The banner is great, it appeal as is is carton like yet also looks like proper engineering drawings, I could tell what it all is but is looks good, it is a little gray (the background), may look better with the green/yellow standing out more. however it does look very engineeringy which would appeal to students!! 🙂

  12. Aoife says:

    Like the colour scheme (Green’s my favourite colour!) but the top part needs more colour 🙂
    Hope this helps! 😀

  13. Emily R says:

    the design seems very basic but is easy to understand, although from what i can see it migh need a bit more work for it to get more students ot become interested in engineering. 🙂

  14. admin says:

    Wow. Thank you for the all the comments. We might not be able to please everyone but some themes are coming through strong.

  15. lamchuiling says:

    1. I am not sure how engineering stuff works but I think that the clamp thing in the middle looks really great.
    2. I believe that you could add a few more simple drawings about the machines you use for engineering and maybe spread the icons a bit further apart because everything seemed a bit crowded at the moment.
    3. Some people like me who doesn’t really know what engineering is about might be a bit confused by those icons in the circles.
    4. I do not have a real passion in engineering so that’s a bit biased for me to answer this question. But I think that those arrows and lines which you draw around the ‘joints’ of the clamp makes it a bit more interesting to me.

  16. Georgia says:

    Hi,
    I love this new idea for “I’m an engineer” it sounds fantastic. Your banner design is Amazing it portrays engineering in a realistic way and is not to over crowded! I’m not sure what any of the icons are but they look technical and they make me automatically think of engineering. This logo makes engineering look interesting and does appeal to me.
    Georgia 😉

  17. Kiana says:

    The pictures are very attractive, but a way in which you could make it more realistic is put some of the products of engineering (e.g a car, a plane, or a computer) as well as the technology which you have already put. I like the way in which the design is similar to that of I’m a Scientist, it makes it nicely familiar. Nothing is really confusing, and the sign does make the project as well as engineering itself look exciting and interesting.

  18. anu says:

    I think the banner and the idea behind it is great because i guess many young people may ghave heard about engineering but know little or nothing about it and having engineers on her would be great for them to ask them and find our more on what they do. i really enjoyed takign part in i am a scienctist so this one would be equally as good yeah go for it its looks brilliant 😀

  19. modrosie says:

    Comment from a student: “I’ve just read the email and looked at the design, I personally fell that the design only needs a tad bit more colour and a few mathematical numbers next to the arrows. Apart from that I can’t fault the design. I also personally feel that the design is clean cut and portrays the meaning of the site really well. Looking forward to seeing the site fully.”

  20. rosamund says:

    I like the way some of it is bolder than the rest and I also like that it could be any type of engineering because of the different zones. It is also not too crowded which means it is easier to look at and it doesn’t distract from the rest of the page.

  21. laura benson says:

    i like the banner, its simple but effective. Although i think you could add some colour to make it look a little more interesting. Not too much though- as it would spoil the design

  22. Charlie says:

    I think that although the banner looks simplistic it incorpirates some intresting ideas from enginearing. I also think that the banner could have another small piece of technical machine drawing to fill up some of the vacant space. At the moment the banner has quite a lot of space but should not be over crowded as this might be too distracting on the webpage. I quite like the colour schemes but think that it could incorpirate more colours to attract students. I hope this helps 🙂

  23. Annabel S says:

    Hi all, afraid I can’t answer bit by bit in answer, but here’s my thoughts-

    The first problem that struck me was that it’s all pictures of mechanical bits and bobs. I know typically everyone thinks engineer = working with machines, but perhaps that’s just the sort of stereotype that I’m an Engineer wants to change?

    I know two engineers, both of whom are working in civil engineering. One designs air ventilation pathways, the other designs hazard-proof housing.

    Maybe you could add a hi-tech looking suspension bridge, a skyscraper, something structural? Roads leading to places, train tracks?

    There’s other branches of engineering that kids might not be aware of. Biomedical engineering sounds fantastically interesting- building components for robotic arms, for pacemakers, for body sensors. A robot arm mayhaps, or a bionic eye? And chemical engineering- some polymer molecule formulae floating around, or bottles with hazard signs.

    The point is, I recognise the symbols as to do with engineering only because they look like circuit-board bits, and also because I don’t know what all of them mean. Therefore it says to me, engineering = mechanical, nerdy, obscure. Possibly part of the reason kids shy away from engineering is that they only realise its scope when its too late and the A level choices have been made.

    I wonder if you could portray the creative process of engineering using a sort of picture symbol-equation. Such as [a picture of a maths formula] + [components] + [cartoon person thinking] = rocket blasting up and away. Like a simple recipe, this + this = that. I think it would look better than bits of arbitrary engineering paraphernalia randomly floating around. Engineering relies on processes put into effect by people, not random bits of nature.

    I also think some other colours and logic in the spacing between the pictures would be good. Some of the pics are hidden behind the IAE title and they’re all kind of inclined towards the left hand side.

    So says me, anyway! I just usually have too many ideas for anything design-ey 🙂

  24. Jack says:

    Its the same as I’m a scientst… Could do with a bit of red but good designer good luck with this project

  25. modrosie says:

    Thank you all for so many comments and suggestions, and for taking the time to let us know what you think. We’re reworking the design at the moment and will have the updated banner in place on the site soon.

  26. kenneth mciintosh says:

    Here are my thoughts echoed elsewhere too…….
    mechanical bits and bobs??? Why not put a spanner, hammer, plier ….I want kids to be inspired with the “sky is the not the limit” for the sake of the god particle… I know some people still think engineer = grease and machines, but where are those great buildings, bridges, roads, rockets, ipods, ipads, ….does the graphic capture the kids imagination? that’s just the sort of stereotype that I’m as an engineer wants to change…the power of the “pen / computer” to change the world we live in…let us have iconic images….wind turbines..( angel of the north ) ; gliders ; buildings ; wind-up tv / radios …anything that is relevant to todays challenges…. have the images link to each other …lie a road …to a hi-tech suspension bridge, a skyscraper, to a pedestrian with a getto blaster facing a road to an african hut with wind generated power feeding tvs and radios with a child lwith air lift shoes ooking at the moon and a shuttle going on its way………………may capture biomedical engineering ….I recognise the images but then I ought to at my age…good try but not in my name bro….

  27. Lauren says:

    It’s a broad subject to cover, and I don’t envy you having to come up with some iconography to cover the lot.

    You could go back to the old definition of engineering as “the application of science”. From that point of view, maybe an icon of a conical flask pouring out robots, cars, buildings, bridges, wind turbines, stethoscopes, rockets, etc.

    Maybe play on the word “engineer” and have an engine made up of all the different things that can be engineered.

    I think you may want more of a mix of subjects in the circles above – the current banner is cool but it’s very electronics focused, and I’m not sure that has wide appeal.

  28. Aleena says:

    i think the banner at the top is a little simple and could do with some colour.
    The confusing part is some of the signs at the top,because they don’t show what you are actually talking about.I think this design would appeal to mostly boys because it looks like mechanical work and i don’t think most girls would like mechanism .To me personally it doesn’t appeal to me.

  29. Sara says:

    I think it’s a good design and I understand what it is trying to convey. But I don’t know what some of the symbols are. It should be more colourful and more eye catching. You could try blue or green. Hope this helps.

  30. cslayer11 says:

    I think that the images do convey engineering although it does still seem a bit plain and not too exciting… To improve it you could add a bit more colour and some more images which aren’t too confusing. I can understand some of the images but the icons I don’t understand. It is attractive but I think it could be made more engaging. However, I think it’s great you’re starting this site, I’m very interested in engineering as a career!

  31. Megan says:

    I like the banner looks great. The simple colour scheme does distract readers away from the information on the page but it it bright enough to be visible. The cartoonised idea is greatr and really appealing to school students 🙂

  32. Natalie says:

    I agree with the past comments, it’s a bit too stereotypical for my liking. What about civil, structural, environmental engineering?

  33. modrosie says:

    Thanks everyone for the input. We’ve updated the banner to incorporate the blueprint design with a robotic arm and jet engine. We will also design icons for each zone to illustrate the theme.

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