Professional Feedback

I spoke via email with Renee Pasley for feedback on my site and resume. Her thoughts are as follows:

The lines are confusing and stupid. Scrap 'em.
The typeface doesn't work. Find another one.

Got it!

And on that note...I started over again. Here's what I did yesterday:

Logo 2

Experimenting with another logo idea. Originally the shape was created by overlaying a "k" and "b"...but I don't think that's clear anymore. Sigh. It's a bit dull. 

Mix it Up: issuu

Open publication - Free publishing - More cocktail

site map

I'm undecided about a couple of the projects. And don't know if I actually need an "about" page [hello]. It seems like unnecessary extra work, but then again it's always one of the first places I go to on someone's site.

worst website design. period.

Worst web design? I think so.

Green Lake Jewelry Works 

logo design

This is an old draft from a previous class. But, thus far, I haven't been inspired by any of my other attempts. I'll keep trying. And I know, I know...the "k" shouldn't be backwards. I'm OK with it.

concept statement

Create a list of all users that may visit your site:

- clients

- employers

- industry professionals

- peers/colleagues

What will each of those users want to see?

- projects

- process

- range of skills

- professional presentation

- creative solutions

- contact information

Name your intended audience:

- potential clients who are looking to solve a specific problem

- employers we need a certain skill set and degree of experience

- creative community of students and professionals

Describe what you need to inform and persuade them of:

            - Promote my design knowledge, problem solving skills, project management, professionalism

            - Goals of the site are to attract potential clients and employers, provide a comprehensive portfolio that communicates design knowledge and problem solving skills and inspires confidence

            - My ultimate message/philosophy (about who you are): I am curious. I am capable.

            - What is the story you are telling? Adventure and curiosity.

List the assets you need to persuade the user: Which 7 (minimum) projects? scans of what?, photos of what objects? images from what computer graphics program? what descriptive text? list them.

-       Projects:

o   Business card/logo design

o   Multi-page publication

§  Quirk Publisher’s Cocktail Book

§  NMG Annual Report

o   Magazine Spread

§  Kinfolk Magazine

§  Day/Night?

o   Mobile App

§  Mountain Meet Up

§  Mingle

o   Editorial Illustration

§  New York Times: “Rise of the New Groupthink” web-based illustration

o   Digital Illustration - Vodka Ad

-       Buttons

o   Facebook

o   Linked in

o   Navigation

-       Concept Statement for each project (brief)

List the categories of work you will show:

-       print

-       web

-       contact

-       blog

Concept Statement:

Having an online portfolio presence is an important professional and creative platform for graphic designers. It is a perpetually evolving means of access and communication to potential clients and peers, as well as a developing documentation of skill and experience. Creating a website will help me reach clients and continue creative growth as a graphic designer (and maybe someday illustrator). It will provide a space to showcase a professional portfolio of my most up-to-date and relevant design endeavors in both print and web including logo design/branding, multipage publications, editorial illustrations and interface design. It will communicate sound design principles, professionalism and a readiness to tackle challenging problems. It will be easy to navigate, intuitive the user while reflective of personal style and aesthetic choices. More than just getting me the job, my portfolio should say something about who I am. It should communicate a story of adventure, curiosity, problem solving, and willingness to learn. It should connect with the concerns and needs of the client in a truthful and telling way, not overselling but still capable.

good and bad

Good Design

Text: Summarize the qualities of the use of type that make a website successful.           

Clear hierarchy of information, readable (narrower columns than in books), background shouldn’t interrupt text.

Navigation: Summarize the qualities of the navigation that make a website successful.

Site usability is the primary function of navigation. Thus, navigation buttons should be easy to understand and should make sense to the user, maintain consistency, and keep the user from getting “lost.”

Links: Summarize the qualities of the links, and their behavior that make a website successful.

Links should be easily identifiable and should match the design/color scheme of the site.

Graphics: Summarize the use of Graphics, vector and raster, that make a website successful.

Buttons shouldn’t be too big, graphics should have alternative labels and matching text link, graphics and backgrounds should use browser-safe colors, animated graphics should turn off by themselves.

General Design: Summarize the aspects of the overall design that make a website successful.

Pages should download quickly, fit into an 800 x 600 pixel space (or immediate impact within that space), break up text with graphic elements, be consistent (carry repetitive elements throughout site).

Notes: The point isn’t just to be pretty; it’s to communicate effectively. Don't make the user think. 

Bad Design

Text: Summarize the qualities of the use of type that make a website unsuccessful.           

Things to avoid: text that is too small to read, crowding the left edge, stretches across the page, centered headlines over flush left copy, paragraphs in all bold, italics and/or caps, underlined text (unless it’s a link). The goal is readability without making the user think too much.

Navigation: Summarize the qualities of the navigation that make a website unsuccessful.

Navigation shouldn’t be overly complex, or include unnecessary features (scroll bars), no orphan pages, and no stupid page titles that don’t explain what the page is about. Navigation should clarify the user’s experience, not complicate it.

Links: Summarize the qualities of the links, and their behavior that make a website unsuccessful.

Avoid default blue links, unclear links, distracting links, and dead links. I don’t like underlined links…but sure, I’ll make darned sure it’s clearly a link.

Graphics: Summarize the use of Graphics, vector and raster, that make a website unsuccessful.

Avoid large graphic files that take forever to load, useless graphics, graphics without alternate labels, missing graphics, or graphics too big for the screen.

General Design: Summarize the aspects of the overall design that make a website unsuccessful.

Avoid home page that doesn’t fit in browser, frames that scroll sideways (hmm? really?), no focal point, too many focal points, clutter, misalignment, lack of contrast, etc.  

The Ugly:

Top Web Designer

Portfolio Page

Text: Summarize the qualities of the use of type that make this site unsuccessful.

Too many typefaces – lacks consistency. The phone number is obnoxious.

Solutions page: lots of text. I didn’t read it – especially with all alt navigation/text on the left side, they whole page feels surrounded by, squeezed by, and filled with text.

Navigation: Summarize the qualities of the navigation that make this site unsuccessful.

Navigation isn’t too bad, although I want it to align with elements on right of page. Feels a little off-balance.

Links: Summarize the qualities of the links, and their behavior that make this site unsuccessful.

Links are blue (on a bluish, black background). They are pretty identifiable as links, but the wholes sites color scheme seems heavy and disengaging. Logo/brand page needs a back to top link. Not all pages link back to the homepage.

Graphics: Summarize the use of Graphics, both vector and raster, which make this site unsuccessful.

Many of the graphics seem entirely unrelated to the site’s function. The portfolio module display thing is kinda neat. Took a while to figure out though, it feels to dominated by the sunset photo above it (which doesn’t make sense at all…is it supposed to be a page title…in a random photo?).

General Design: Summarize the aspects of the overall design that make this site unsuccessful.

Although the site name should be a giveaway, the site does not immediately communicate “web portfolio.” The actual portfolio is buried below an useless photo. The alternate left column navigation on subsequent pages is repetitive, cluttered, and distracting. None of the graphics make sense and most of them are obnoxious. If the point is too see their web design work, they made it pretty annoying to get there (and who are they? Awkward “about” photo/description…makes me think it’s a hoax?) 

Notes: Busy background that seems entirely unrelated to the sites function (which is sad, because it’s a web design site…)

Pretty [neat]:

Lost & Found

Text:

Text is unobtrusive and easy to read, compliments color scheme of background. 

Navigation: 

Navigation is simple, easy to find (left), easy to maneuver, and consistent throughout.  

Links: 

Links change color when scrolled over, feel intuitive and expected. 

Graphics:

Graphics are appropriate for the site's purpose and clearly relate to/communicate its intention. 

General Design: 
Visually interested without being distracting, focus remains on the designers work, maintains consistency. 

Pixelot

Sticky Stuff

Text:

I'm not crazy about all the type choices, but the varying opacity's and styles provide clear hierarchy, differentiation of information, and contrast. All good things. 

Navigation: 

Although aligned to the right, the navigation is still easily identifiable and understandable, as well as unobtrusive. I love that it's easy to find when you need it but not the distracting when you want to focus on the content. 

Links: 

Links change color when scrolled over, feel intuitive and expected. 

Graphics:

Graphics are limited to the designers portfolio work, keeping focus where it should be and clearly showing the function/point of the site.  

General Design: 
The color scheme provides a good, washed out canvass to keep the focus on the designer portfolio, but the subtle texture of the background creates visual interest and dimension, keeping the site from feeling flat and dull. I'm not crazy about the button graphics directing to different services along the bottom of the homepage, they feel inconsistent with the overall design and little distracting. 

Week 1: Skills inventory

Name: Katie Joy Blanksma

Department/Program: Digital Design Diploma

Are you graduating this Quarter? Fingers crossed

Online Social and Professional networks: Facebook and LinkedIn.

What software experience do you have? (explain all that apply)

Photoshop: Awkward Teenager. 

Illustrator: Junior High Cheerleader. 

Dreamweaver: Nope

HTML: Nope

InDesign: Stumbling (but capable) undergrad.  

Explain your objective for the class to the best of your knowledge: To develop a professional and working website, better understand web design, and increase skills using the aforementioned software. 

Learn iWeb?Sure?

Publish web site? Absolutely.

Revise and update current site? Um...I think I'll start from scratch. Do you remember that thing?

Begin the process of a professional web presence? Yes, please.