Need input

john3610

john3610

New Member
Howdy folks! I decided tonight that I wanted to rework my online graphic design portfolio. I just finished and figured I'd put it up here and see if y'all have any input one way or another. Is it laid out well? Does it flow well? Does it showcase my work?

I guess take a look at it and let me know if there is anything I should change or any suggestions :)

http://www.dstate.org/portfolio
 
I think it looks great. Very smooth and consistent. I like the little WoW-UI elements that ties them all together.

My one addition would be to the lightbox effect. Is there any way you can make it so once I zoom in on a picture I can just hit a right arrow and see the next one? I was a little put off by having to click on each one individually and wait for the animation to take place. I wanted to see them all and that felt restrictive.

I might consider a graphical option for your email vs pure text and clickable link. Your gonna get a ton more spam when the spiders hit your page.

Really great tho, some of that artwork is pure awesome.
 
I like the overall look and feel. I think the home page is slightly redundant because you say the same thing on the home page as well as the always there left-side text. Perhaps make a piece of artwork the focus instead of text, as it will be the first thing people see when they visit the site and you want people to see your work as soon as possible. Then add a "contact" tab for your address and email.
 
HA I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE NOW! hahaha

I agree with Quantam, thats a good idea. Overall, I like all the art. Very cool stuff there Bill. I did notice one type-o in the SmartWater thing, you had 'the the' :)
 
the front page itself needs to be a representation of your work, that is the first impression people get. it is a little bland, though i like the taupe color itself, may need more color, more flare, more a representation of your awesome talent, overlay a piece of your artwork like the lady in the dress, anyway thats my opinion. i like the layout because it is easy to view your work, and simple to navigate.
 
Last edited:
Things I liked:

* Smooth, clean presentation of the website. Usually, imo, heavily designed sites tend to be clunky (or smooth sites tend to be minimalize). You manage to do both, big plus. Was looking at it in Chrome for what that's worth.
* I like the organization with print vs. logo vs. shirt

Things I wasn't sure what to think about:
* There's a design meme you have in terms of having "covered" stuff. The sticker in the upper left, and the underlying red-stroke design on each page. At first I thought I'd be able to "reveal" the "thing underneath" and was frustrated when I couldn't. However, the curiosity did force me to interact with and be drawn into the site because of that, so maybe it's a stroke of brilliance, even if I'm left partially unfulfilled and annoyed. Seriously, who IS the picture on the blue sticker?
* I like Ewoks's point about the "arrows' to click through stuff ... but personally wasn't annoyed by clicking into each example. Given that there are only a half-dozen examples per page ... having to take more time to swap them out didn't feel tedious to me and instead added some heft. I'm not sure if you're ultimately well served if it only takes 30 seconds to flip through the entire site, it'll make it seem less substantive.

Things I'd definitely change:
* Don't include the "Christmas letter" logo in those examples. Even though it's a nice looking piece and all, it's a jarring "amateur/personal" example in the midst of other, imo more professional examples. Not because of the quality of the work, but just because of the subject matter.
* I agree with Goodwone's point that having your design examples up-front would be good. The design of the site itself IS an example, but it's a very different type of example from your actual work product. Would there be a way to, in the lower-left part of the "constant/unchanging" part of the page to drop in a picture-frame type thing that just cycles through your work examples?
* Haven't you done other websites as well? Could you do front-page screenshots of them or something as another example element?

Overall, I tend to be underwhelmed by things like this but I liked what you did here for sure ... nice job.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top