One of the first portfolios I've ever browsed for fun would be http://www.cylehowe.com/
My connection to this portfolio would be that the creator went to my high school and I've asked this person for advice when deciding to get into the graphic design in college. This portfolio is a big inspiration because this student comes from a similar background to mine, coming from the same high school as I did. From T-shirt designs to posters I enjoy viewing new creative ways to design things. I especially admire his logo and how he has created a brand for himself in such a cleaver way.
This second portfolio I found while browsing the internet and right away I was intrigued by it. http://charlottetang.com/ What has drawn me to this portfolio was its unique use of shape in its overall layout. The use of circles instead of rectangles made it stand out from others and has a much smoother feeling to it. One of the many examples that I admire this portfolio is "Munchkinetics" which takes a fun and artistic idea and still keeps it very professionally done.
http://rsj.prosite.com/ This designer's portfolio has a very simplistic and animated feel to it but the other topics on the page are different but do not cause the design to clash or cause chaos. What I admire about this portfolio is the designers ability to make fluid designs that require little to no detail, without taking away or reducing the impact of the design.
Website #1, Cyle Howe. It was interesting to experience the format of this website; all one page. New to me. While I also appreciate his logo, which represents the mountains in the background, I'm unsure how these mountains relate to him. In fact, I think I found Howe's name only once, and I had to search for that. I would have liked to see a photo of him. Perhaps he's there in among the photos in his, but not identified.
ReplyDeleteWebsite #2, Charlotte Tang. I like those circles, also, as well as the "pop ups" that appear when you move the cursor into a circle. I found her photo when I visited her blog, which I think is a great idea for an online portfolio. I want to connect my blog to my online portfolio. I also noticed that she placed her logo in the tab of her website. Another plus. "About Me" is nice and simple; she lets her work speak for her.
Website 3, Randi Sjælland Jensen: Her portfolio is the first thing you see on her website; top priority; it speaks for her. A lot of school projects. A lot of animation and movement, although the fast pace of the slideshows (such as the one on her "About Me" page) was distracting. The site seemed a little too "school girlish" to me. However, she's young.
Chris - I can see an illustrative theme to your choices. I also see a wide variety of projects in the 1st and 3rd portfolios, which present a design and unity challenge to the projects shown. I'm not convinced that all the very different projects should be shown on the same page... even a grid doesn't seem to work to hold the design together. Instead, the solution that your #2 choice chose was to unify all the very different projects as b/w versions until the mouse-over turned them individually into color. I think that was brilliant, and a very successful way to unify their presentation.
ReplyDeleteSo - the question to consider is, "How can a designer unify very different, and separate, projects for the sake of a well-designed page?
This is a question I must consider, as I ponder creating a website showing all the different ways I can fill the communication needs of faith communities -- brochures, newsletters, photography and websites. How do I display all that as a cohesive whole? So, Chris' website #2 can help guide me.
DeleteYour first site I almost feel like it should be broken up into two different sites: One relating to all things design, and one solely having to do with photography. I might even go so far as to design separate yet similar logos. Your second site was actually one of my choices as well that I took off my list to share once I noticed you already posted it. It's very professional, creative, visually flowing and balanced and very inspiring! In the third site I must say Randi has a knack for illustrating girls fashion that could be widely used and sold as stock vector art. Thanks Chris!!
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