Typographic web design
How to think like a typographer in HTML and CSS.
initial solution
detail: overall, the text is too small.
Revisions are integrated into the final piece.
Student Example
Lesson 13: A Recipe, Part 3
(Creating a System of Navigation)
Josh Terceira, Fall 2011
Josh changed his color palette and font. He also modified his navigation links so they worked together as a system.
All of Josh's recipe pages
Recommendations
The change from red to very dark gray is a step in the right direction. You've stripped out the red, but now the color palette is flat. A web site about baking pies should have some warmth or joy to it.
The new font (Droid Sans) is much better. It is a more humanist sans serif than the other font. It's less mathematic and precise feeling.
The links start to read like links because of their placement—and using the right alignment for both levels of links helps pull the navigation together as a system. The main navigation links still feel a bit too big. Also, perhaps you can integrate color? This is not strictly necessary to communicate "links" due to their placement, but color will be helpful when you incorporate in-line (in the text) links. Adding subtle color can also add warmth to the design.
Overall, the text is too small to read comfortably. And the hierarchy needs some work. The "Directions" heading is getting a bit lost.
Finally, consider using an image or texture in the background. You've created a strong vertical system with a lot of space on either side. Can you make the space on either side work for you? An image or texture could help communicate the idea of baking, pies, warmth, joy, memory, organic, french, and so on.