Spencer: 3D Studio Final
Allee Thompson-Review 4(last review)ITWD
I am going to be comparing two different artists portfolio’s since I do not have one. http://blublu.org/sito/blog/ The artist that goes by Blu is a street artist. The portfolio site is very interesting. It is done in a way that all the work is put into a journal/sketchbook. I find that very interesting. Although that is really cool navigation it can be easy to miss. The messy font seems to work with this but I can be a bit hard to read. Maybe there could be a bit more clean and readable. The second artist “Space Invader” http://www.space-invaders.com/projects/ . is also a street artist as well. His site has a cleaner and more recognizable navigation. He also has a very interesting interactive world map. It is very interesting that he keeps with an invasion theme and mission rather than a regular portfolio. The page even allows a translation preference. Overall I like the second site over the first site because it is more clean , easy to navigate through and that I can clearly read what is being said on the website. With that said I do enjoy the minimalism of the first site and its uniqueness in style to a regular portfolio.
Noah: Intro to Web Final
Allee: Intro to Web Final
Nick: Intro to Web Final
Harrison: Intro to Web Final
Rylie: Intro to Web Final
Thomas Ognibene 3D Final
Jacob Yanosick 3D Final
Web Review 4
Considering my own portfolio, I chose to also take a look at other portfolios from around the web. One that stuck out to me, not in spite of it’s simplicity, but because of it, was http://zcole.me. This one was very helpful in designing my own portfolio website, as it was direct, concise, and to the point. This made me want to approach this project in the same direction, with putting my own spin on it. He introduces himself, he talks a bit about himself, and he showcases some of his work.
Web Review 3
I chose to review both bravofranco.com and sixpennkitchen.com. I personally preferred the aesthetic of sixpennkitchen, but felt bravofranco had more tools to actually use the site. It felt like there should be more to sixpennkitchen, as if that was just a home page that could navigate you to other websites, while bravofranco’s page felt more complete. Overall, I think that bravofranco’s page is more effective, as it has a better sense of unity and balance, but I do prefer the layout of sixpennkitchen
Harrison Klehm — Review 4
For my final web review, I chose to review another portfolio site that is built in the same style as mine.
https://www.christammar.com/projects
This is a very well designed portfolio site. It is similar to mine in regard to its minimalism. The layout is quite simple and easy to navigate, making it work very effectively as a portfolio. The layout focuses primarily on images and uses words only where necessary. The navigation is also well done, and extremely simple. There are only two buttons at the top, which are “Projects” and “Contact.” The colors are extremely simple and minimalistic, which lend to a modern design, which is good for a Graphic Designer’s portfolio. As for texture, due to the website’s simplistic nature, it is all kept very simple. It is mostly white pages with images and minimal text on it, all to keep a modern feel.
Like Steve Krug mentions in Don’t Make Me Think, non-essential information should be cut from a website. This portfolio website takes that to the extreme, in that text is extremely minimal. I think it is done sort of well, however many of the images are left without context and it may be rather confusing as to what each of them represents.
However, another topic to consider covered in Don’t Make Me Think would be how quickly a user can use a site without thinking. And one key feature this site lacks, in particular, would be titles for some of these sections. The images act as links in this site, and when you hover over them, they turn nearly fully white with an eye icon over them. This is what indicates to the viewer that the image is clickable. However, the images alone do not make it fully clear what each image is supposed to represent, especially that in the bottom right. Without any headings in the image or any words to match it whatsoever, the viewer can be lost in this type of website.
My website aims for clear navigation throughout the entire system of pages. I have it split into three sections instead of two, as to not let each section get too cluttered. I also make frequent use of headings as that is what website viewers typically look for when they are looking for something in particular. I also use images for navigation, but in the My Work section, where it is clear that those images are my illustrations due to the presence of other illustrations in the area.
My website also uses quite a bit more words. Though I agree words should be kept minimal, I believe this website’s words are kept minimal to a fault. It feels like some important information is being left out. I am also unable to learn about the designer himself, as the website is primarily just images of his work, and very little about how it was made, or about him himself.
Nick Veltri Review #2
Web-expert.it is absolutely the most aesthetically pleasing website I’ve ever seen. I chose this website because it immediately grabbed my attention. On this web-page, it seemed like the page was animating as I was scrolling down it, showcasing the talent of this web design group very strongly. Animations are literally designed to move on the page as you scroll. The pallet used expresses a very strong understanding of color theory. The sepia-tone pictures contrast very well with the blur and red overlays.
Harrison Klehm: Web Review 3
For my web review I reviewed the following websites:
http://www.no9park.com/#intro
https://burgatorybar.com/
Both websites follow the standard format of having the navigation bar at the top alongside the logo. They both additionally have some buttons on the right side of the screen used for quick navigation across the page, though it is a bit harder to notice this in No. 9 Park’s website. Overall, the websites are functionally pretty similar, aside from their aesthetic differences.
In terms of some of the issues these sites have, Burgatory’s website changes the conventional navigation system a bit using terms like “Order Up” and “Happenings” that are not immediately obvious. Krug goes over this in his book early on as part of one of his rules, where buttons should be straightforward and not require people to think. No. 9 Park’s navigation, on the other hand, follows these straight forward conventions well.
Both websites are well balanced in that they are symmetrical and keep the reader’s eyes flowing in a natural direction. Emphasis is placed properly where the more important elements are made bigger or more visually obvious. Both websites make the headings and sections distinct and separated for easy navigation. They both maintain unity as each page within this website maintains the same styles. No. 9 Park goes for an elegant style, while Burgatory goes for an informal style that makes use of heavy typefaces and textured type for the top headings. The layouts are all kept relatively simple where most things can be found by clicking links on the homepage. One does not need to go far to find what they need. Of these important principles Krug mentions, these websites do them properly for the most part.
Another thing that Krug mentions is to limit text to what is essential. Otherwise, the reader will typically only scan the text and not read everything written. The Burgatory website does this well in that the text is very minimal, whereas the text in the No. 9 Park site is very lengthy. Though some of it may be necessary, it could certainly be condensed.
In general, the two sites are both very effective, but I think that the No. 9 Park site is more effective. It uses a mix of typography, photography, and design to give the reader an image of what the place looks like, and it has convenient and easy to use navigation. It has a good sense of priority and lists the important topics first, making it easy for viewers to find what they’re looking for. The Burgatory website’s difficult navigation makes it a bit harder to navigate, as even a few seconds of thinking can make a website user frustrated and not want to visit it. Otherwise, I think that the design is minimalistic to a fault, and some of the orange text is hard to read compared to the background. No. 9 Park, on the other hand, excels in this type of contrast and uses images effectively to enhance the website design. As such, I believe that No. 9 Park is the superior website.