Need your strong criticism to make it look good

[Aelon]

I made a yeartext for my two former congregation. Instead of sending them money, it would be better if I would do it here for the reason of convenience ( they are living in the provinces and if I let the elders do it, it would take time by commuting to an hour or two to the best printing shop and the result is not that good as what I expected.

Give me your constructive criticism. I need your opinion prior to sending it to print next Monday. Your opinion is highly appreciated.

Merci

[spoiler=Click if you want to see The yeartext is in Cebuano, language spoken in the mid and southern part of the Philippines]

[rahabnruth]

very pretty

[stuagu]

quality bud, well done!

[CK]

This is beautiful()

[Astrid]

I really like the intense colours, very beautiful indeed!

[BlaqueCalalilly]

Very pretty indeed ....... >< I think the brothers will enjoy this very much

[GrumpysWife]

It is very nice. The only thing I see that might be changed is the size of the "Jun 17:17". But that is just my eye and what you have done is really beautiful. I would be proud to use it.

[Shawnster]

Just so you understand, this is my job. I do these things for a living. I'm not intending to be harsh but, you asked for it ;)

Overall it looks very nice. I personally would find it a little distracting or "too much." However, that's the culture I live in. I'm a white brother from the United States. We aren't that flashy. Giving the cultural background of the congregations it is for, I'm sure it's fine.

Now, on with the critique.

As stated above, the - Juan 17:17 is too large. I would suggest shrinking the size so that it is the same length as Kamato in the word above.

I would choose a different font for - Juan 17:17. Maybe something a little more traditional like Times New Roman or Century Schoolbook. Actually, it may look good if you use the same font for all of it. Try that and see.

Definitely put a space between the dash and the Juan. Right now they are too close together. They should not touch like they do now.

The body of the yeartext looks beveled and the - Juan 17:17 is outlined. Don't use the bevel on the yeartext. Simply outline everything the same way you outlined - Juan 17:17. It will be easier to read from a distance. The yeartext should pop out and right now it's not going to pop out so much, especially when seen from the opposite end of the room.

[Dages]

Nice colours, but I think this is a little bit too dark.

[sianrose]

I agree with the text comments...and yes... I think the background colour could be taken down a shade or two also...and the red flower in the corner made wider and shorter...

it is all there essentially...just needs some tweaking....

[UpstateKate]

I agree with the previous advice. I'm pretty experienced with Photoshop and the first thing that jumped out at me is the distortion of the flowers. The red flower is squished and the white flowers are stretched. I also agree that it would be easier to read if the background was a bit lighter. I think it's neat that you get to make your own year texts. At our KH we have glass mounted with a wooden frame and the lettering is vinyl stickers that we change each year. We have English, Spanish, Russian and Karen (Burmese) texts.

[JaneAusten]

You are very talented. I wish I could do that. Its maybe little too dark. But nice. ]

[julieandken]

Very Very Nice, I love the colors and the art. Beautifully done.

[Aelon]

` How about this?

[rahabnruth]

a little too muted in the background otherwise beautiful

[Aelon]

Thank you for all the wonderful comments.

Just to let you know that the background was not mine. I just goggled it in Google.

[Shawnster]

I use this website for finding high quality artwork for free: www.sxc.hu

Registration is free. Downloading is free. Images are all high-quality and a wide variety.

[Shawnster]

As for the revised design - love it! I would put quote marks around the actual yeartext. I would also shrink the - Juan 17:17 so that it was the same length as "ouran"

But it's much much better!

[Aelon]

The quotes thing is in my mind few weeks ago but I completely forgot about it, sad thing I need to do it again because I raster the layer already. Thank you for the site. The background picture is originally 1024X1280 pixels and I just stretch it to fit the 2ft X 4ft.

Maybe next year I can use the site as a source.

[Nomi]

I personally would go the 2nd one. I think it would be more visible from a distance