Hello, I am a long time lurker but first time poster here and I have always valued the advice and feedback that you all provide so I am hoping that you can give me some input regarding a personal portfolio website that I am working on.
A few notes: -I am primarily a designer and know enough about the development side to get me in trouble... - The site is semi HTLM5 (still working though the switch) and the code is still a bit dodgy as I am designing as I am developing. -Some of the copy needs to be rewritten...just shooting from the hip for now... -The site is not responsive yet, plan to get to that soon.... -I am using Typekit and my font library is huge (for now) as I put a bunch of possible fonts in a temproary library for the design phase....so the fonts may load slow....once I dial it in I will trim down the library and speed things up...
I like a lot! Typography is great and I like the monochrome with a splash color scheme. I also really like the effect you used for your recent work section. I was a little confused by the lack of clear indication as to which section I was up to. It's pretty self explanatory, but at first I scrolled down and thought- "Hey this is a long home page..." I didn't realize you did the whole thing on one scrolling page. Also, the combined "About Me" and "Contact" section further threw things off.
But overall great design and I didn't notice any glaring issues. But I'm far from a pro...
The site looks really good! Only two things I thought didn't feel right was how the header and each box has the jagged edges, but the footer is perfectly straight. If you put a little jagged edge on the footer it might fit better.
Also, I don't know how I feel about the dashed borders on the contact form. I think some sort of solid border would look better, but other than that, it all looks good!
Looks pretty good but could be organized a little better....I won't comment on the code at this point, mainly my big issue is the about/contact combo section..I kinda like the border of the contact form, but personally, i prefer dotted to dashed :)
Thanks everyone for all the feedback folks - much appreciated. A follow up question - do you think that the site works as a single page scrolling site (with only the individual project pages being separate) or should break the site into individual pages (home, work about, etc...)? Again, all of your feedback and advice so far is appreciated and I'll be working on a revision tonight.... Jim
Personally, unless you have a lot more information, I like the one page site more. Otherwise you'll have a bunch of pages with just a little bit of content. It's sectioned off nice enough that you can split up the information visually. I like it!
I think it'd be neat to get your tag line in 100% actual text, but that might just be something only another designer would notice :P
I think I'd recommend not putting "some successful, some not" on your portfolio pieces. You won't want to sew any seeds of doubt into the mind of someone who might be choosing you for a job. There could be completely reasonable explanations but if you don't elaborate, someone will begin to draw their own conclusions.
I agree with Chris in that without a ton of information, a single page site makes more sense. My challenge would be to sit down and develop more content. But, that's completely outside of knowing what your goals are. If you are basically just kicking ass as a freelancer, getting a good amount of word of mouth and you are continually busy, then it may not really be an issue. But if you are being aggressive, submitting proposals, trying to get a lot of new business on your own, then you may want to seriously consider it. It all kind of depends on your situation.
Josh & theacefes, Totally agree about the tagline being 100% text, I have actually been kicking that can down the street for a while....just haven't dialed it in yet.
Josh, Good point about the copy...I am still writing the final copy but your point is a good one - I'll be sure to keep the message pointed in the right direction.
Regarding content - agreed that it is light but for right now it is kind of supposed to be... just a quick spot for me to display some of my most recent projects - not meant to generate business on its own(for now). Right now this is not my day job and, although there is not a ton of work coming in, there is enough to keep me busy enough to make this worth it. If / when this ever transitions into more of a full time operation, I totally agree that more content (and a more robust site overall) will be warranted - although I am hoping that the initial design and framework of the site will remain consistent.
Apologies for rambling - just though a bit of background would give you an idea of where I am coming from.
yeah man I know what you mean. When I was doing freelance on the side, my site was barely more content filled than that if at all, and for what it was, it got the job done and people were generally impressed enough as they were dealing with only me (the expectation is a little different when you're just some guy who does work once in a while even if it's professional and looks good).
Hope you end up taking it all the way. If you truly enjoy the work, it's a pretty great job. I don't miss my corporate gig for one second :)
I am a long time lurker but first time poster here and I have always valued the advice and feedback that you all provide so I am hoping that you can give me some input regarding a personal portfolio website that I am working on.
A few notes:
-I am primarily a designer and know enough about the development side to get me in trouble...
- The site is semi HTLM5 (still working though the switch) and the code is still a bit dodgy as I am designing as I am developing.
-Some of the copy needs to be rewritten...just shooting from the hip for now...
-The site is not responsive yet, plan to get to that soon....
-I am using Typekit and my font library is huge (for now) as I put a bunch of possible fonts in a temproary library for the design phase....so the fonts may load slow....once I dial it in I will trim down the library and speed things up...
So give it to me... here is the temporary landing spot: http://mellor-design.com/creativejuly82012
Thanks in advance for your comments.
Cheers,
Jim
I was a little confused by the lack of clear indication as to which section I was up to. It's pretty self explanatory, but at first I scrolled down and thought- "Hey this is a long home page..." I didn't realize you did the whole thing on one scrolling page. Also, the combined "About Me" and "Contact" section further threw things off.
But overall great design and I didn't notice any glaring issues. But I'm far from a pro...
The only thing I might recommend is maybe grab a smaller piece of that header/nav background and repeat that instead of having a 2000 px wide image.
The gritty, uneven bottom part of your header is out of place, compared to the rest of the design (which is very clean).
I would add title text to that giant text image you have there (your "tagline") or better yet, turn it into actual text.
Overall, though, it looks very fun and professional!
Also, I don't know how I feel about the dashed borders on the contact form. I think some sort of solid border would look better, but other than that, it all looks good!
Good stuff.
Jim
I think I'd recommend not putting "some successful, some not" on your portfolio pieces. You won't want to sew any seeds of doubt into the mind of someone who might be choosing you for a job. There could be completely reasonable explanations but if you don't elaborate, someone will begin to draw their own conclusions.
I agree with Chris in that without a ton of information, a single page site makes more sense. My challenge would be to sit down and develop more content. But, that's completely outside of knowing what your goals are. If you are basically just kicking ass as a freelancer, getting a good amount of word of mouth and you are continually busy, then it may not really be an issue. But if you are being aggressive, submitting proposals, trying to get a lot of new business on your own, then you may want to seriously consider it. It all kind of depends on your situation.
All in all, I really like the look and feel!
Totally agree about the tagline being 100% text, I have actually been kicking that can down the street for a while....just haven't dialed it in yet.
Josh,
Good point about the copy...I am still writing the final copy but your point is a good one - I'll be sure to keep the message pointed in the right direction.
Regarding content - agreed that it is light but for right now it is kind of supposed to be... just a quick spot for me to display some of my most recent projects - not meant to generate business on its own(for now). Right now this is not my day job and, although there is not a ton of work coming in, there is enough to keep me busy enough to make this worth it. If / when this ever transitions into more of a full time operation, I totally agree that more content (and a more robust site overall) will be warranted - although I am hoping that the initial design and framework of the site will remain consistent.
Apologies for rambling - just though a bit of background would give you an idea of where I am coming from.
Thanks for all the feedback and kind words.
Best,
Jim
Hope you end up taking it all the way. If you truly enjoy the work, it's a pretty great job. I don't miss my corporate gig for one second :)