How is my portfolio layout?

JamieRIOT

Hi,
I have been starting to set up a portfolio site the last couple of days, having trouble with finding a site that allows to post up large(ish) images without having to pay a monthly fee etc. Having tried quite a few, like Wix, Carbonmade, Behance (and more), I decided to just make it on blogger instead.
Basically, I am in the process of selecting existing/creating more work to post up on my portfolio, so just ignore that fact for now. What I mainly want to know for now is what you all think on the general layout and design of my site. I aimed for something simple, clean, easy to navigate and with big enough images.
Any time you may spend having a quick look or commenting on this thread is greatly appreciated!
Thanks.

http://jamieread3dportfolio.blogspot.co.uk/

* To-do list: *
- CV download link/images.
- E-mail link on home page?
- Address black marks on acid container base.

slipsius

The layout is fine. a few notes though

-"Links" should read "Contact Info"
-You should have a link to down your resume as well.
-At the top of your pictures, it says max > photoshop > marmoset. the > feels weird. Almost like its a folder hierarchy. change that to - or ,
-Those same words, you can click them. You shouldnt be able to click them. It makes it feel like it will bring up something important, but really, its just the picture of the word.
-I like how clicking your name brings you back to the front page, but I think clicking your email should link them to the email me thing. the "mail.to" thing. pops up outlook with your email addy in it already.
-You need more work on it

The work that is there. I like it, but on the base of it, the bottom rectangles seem to have a black outline going around it, just before the bevel. Seems weird.

JamieRIOT

@Slipsius
Thank you for the tips, I appreciate it.
- A download link for the CV was on my lists of things to do, but I forgot to write it on the 1st post. Woops.
- I didn't realise you could click on the Max > Photoshop thing. I will have to look into changing that.
- I think the header at the top with my name, title and e-mail in automatically links back to the home page on blogger (its all one image, not sliced up separate ones). Again, I will check it out.
- I noticed the black, not sure what it is, I will see if it can be fixed.
Cheers, one again!

rogueNoodle

The layout seems a little wide to me - on my monitor (a laptop with 1440 x 900 resolution), your email address gets cut off, as does the first image. This is in Safari, latest version, on a Mac - didn't try it in anything else. Screenshot below (scaled down here, but originally taken at full width and height of my monitor, minus menus) :



Otherwise, it's nice and clean - though maybe the white background is a little TOO white. A bit hard on the eyes, y'know 8)

JamieRIOT

@rogueNoodle
- Cheers. Ah I see, I'm so used to having a 1600x900 laptop now, that I optimised it for this size I guess. Do you think it's a real turn-off having to scroll right a touch?
- On the whole white background thing, the brightness did cross my mind, but at the same time I didn't want grey either. I will have to have another think and see if I can find something suitable that I like too.
Thank you.

mr_ace

not a fan of white backgrounds, and i think it still seems too blog like, and not website enough. Also, depending on how you're going to fill it out when you have more work to show, you'll need to look at how you're going to organise things, maybe just put some images up that link to other parts of the site as placeholders. I don't really like how wide it is, and the design seems a bit erratic, i know because it's a blog there's only so much you can change, but that sidebar seems a bit unnessecary having only 3 links on it.


Personally, I would recommend just biting the bullet and making a really basic website. It really doesn't take much effort to learn enough html to put something simple together. My website is certainly no looker, and it's as basic as they come, but i find it's much better than anything i could get with the free sites, and it only took a couple of days to learn some html and make.

The advantages are you get a much more professional package, with your own url, email and design without any limitations on image size etc, and you can make it look more or less (depending on how good you are with html!) exactly how you want.

rogueNoodle

I think that's sort of an extreme size to optimize towards - if that's the case, I would at least work towards a fluid layout. One that's optimized for a larger size but scales nicely for the less fortunate laptop owners like myself :poly121:

I'm not sure if scrolling horizontally is a turn-off for everyone, but I kind of hate it. I'm lazy, I guess. When the site first opened, my initial reaction wasn't "wow, look at the cool art" - it was more like "damn, guess I gotta scroll horizontally, which I kind of hate".

Regarding the white background, even an extremely light grey (think "office paper" brightness) would help. Or how about a subtle pattern?

JamieRIOT

@mr_ace
I will have a look into it; i know some basic html anyway. I know what you mean about it looking too much like a blog (blogger is for blogs after all ). I like how Carbonmade sites look, they just don't accommodate for big images without paying.
@rogueNoodle
I like the idea of a subtle pattern, something to try out. I will keep in mind the 1440px width limit too when revising the design.

Thanks.

JamieRIOT

The new revised version is now up.

NB: Work is currently being picked/created to add to my portfolio, I'm just after design and layout crits please.

rogueNoodle

New layout looks much better - the horizontal menu feels like an improved use of the space, and everything fits on my screen

I might be wrong about this, but with Blogger, is there an option to turn off the search bar thing at the top? It could help to reduce the overall bloginess if it wasn't there, and would give you a little vertical room back as well.

JamieRIOT

@rogueNoodle
Ah yeah, the navbar at the top never really crossed my mind (I'm so used to using Blogger and using it, that I don't really notice it's there anymore). Anyway, I managed to turn it off! I must say, the site isn't far off now and looks ok (At least until I create my own site in the future).
Thanks!