The menu is bland and ive spotted some spelling mistakes. 1 here - guarintee
For me, as a web designer, your portfolio/company page should be the very best of your talents, to show your potential clients that you know your onions.
Another thing, dont be one of those designers who just browses iStock and just puts in random photos they like, try and follow a colour scheme. So blue and yellow, blue and grey etc. On the services page you've got some iStocks one is red, one is blue. This doesnt work for me.
I create a type of mood board where i get colours, typefaces etc together before i design something. Try learning Photoshop, you'll find your designs will improve. Try create yourself a strong logo, the rest of the design will flow from that.
@MrPixel. i have used photoshop. and i agree with you, the red doesn't seem to grow on me either, but the blue is istock. ill take all of your opinions in consideration thanks! .. except maybe the rainbow line, sorry.
good stuff, just keep practicing in photoshop. Ive had 13 years in it and im still learning new techniques.
Web design to me isnt using Wordpress and changing a theme, its creating an idea from scratch and making it appear on the screen.
Me personally, i use graph paper to sketch my designs, then mock them up in Photoshop and Fireworks, then build them in CSS, HTML etc. They can be anything you want them to be then, and the clients needs can be realised.
im not just using a theme. I downloaded starkers theme. then built my site from ground up. Personally I hate pre-built themes. I find it never has everything Im looking for. I think in this case (my portfolio) I've got everything I'm looking for. and hopefully more, since I hope I'm not done yet. by the way this was the photoshop mock-up.
not much more then i already have. but what I DO need to do is fix my font issue. i need to upload it to my server and then link it from there. i think ill do that in a few days though.
I think my highest concern right now is to make my content solid, as well as the Portfolio page looking.. well better.
I love photoshop. I'm just not that good at it. I hope to get better at it and learn a lot more. A LOT MORE.
White space is great....in fact its key....don't just throw things on the page for no reason! White space lets the content breath!
As far as the site goes...2 things jump out for me:
1. The shadow on the nav menu doesn't work, it makes it more difficult to read. Maybe just a simple: border-bottom: 1px solid yellow; Might work. :)
2. The first thing I see on your site is that, if I am looking for my next site to be HTML 5 and CSS3 I should come to you. Yet, your site is not HTML5 and I see no CSS3 techniques?!?! :) Just an observation.
One other small thing....do you really need a big title that says "Sidebar".... maybe a more relevant title would be more appropriate.
You've gotten some good advice above; I agree with most if it. One exception is the "background image" reply - no idea what that's supposed to mean. Also not sure about the "Add a small rainbow line on the top of header." suggestion.
My initial impression is that it's an attractive website, generally well laid out. The gray/orange/white color scheme works well, except that the orange text could be a little darker to stand out more - as it is, it's kinda hard to read.
I agree that the aqua of the twitter section really clashes with the rest of your site.
Definitely proofread. Better yet, have several people proofread for you. Spelling mistakes (one already noted above), inconsistent punctuation (some sentences and some of the "bullet items" in your resume are missing an ending period, for example), and odd capitalization ("...and I am a Current student..."), for example. These things are never good, but are especially detrimental on a website that hopes to convince folks to hire you. A potential customer seeing these sorts of careless lapses on your website probably wouldn't feel a lot of confidence in your thoroughness. Of course I understand that what we're seeing could be an early, not-ready-for-prime-time-version.
I'm not gonna sugarcoat this, that's possibly one of the least inspiring design portfolio websites I've ever seen. Which is funny as your tagline is 'Designs that Inspire'. The site and your portfolio unfortunately do anything but that.
My honest feedback would be to step away from web design for a few months and practice graphic design - work on layout, typography, color theory, creative thinking - and then come back to photoshop and try again. I feel like so many people jump into web design without any design background, and you can really tell that this is the case here from the website and from your portfolio pieces.
I hope you take this advice as constructive criticism, I really think you'd benefit greatly from practicing graphic design first before trying to design websites.
I personally started in Photoshop, it was the first thing i ever got into. I learnt just by practicing long hours and eventually enrolled at University to learn Web Design. That said, i have learnt more from home courses, the Internet and actually working in the industry than i ever did at Uni. Just practice, practice, practice. Go onto the many Photoshop Lesson sites that are about and just practice some of the techniques, tricks etc to learn what each tool does.
Having a strong grasp of graphics and Photoshop, Fireworks, Illustrator will enable you to design anything. Its no good being a good coder if you cant back that up with good graphics. There are so many talented designers out there that you will be lucky to get any work if you cant demonstrate the ability to produce a nice looking site. Its a competitive industry because every man and his dog thinks they can produce a website.
Im only offering constructive criticism here, you've got a good starting point already, just practice some more and eventually you'll get there.
I'm taking them some as constructive criticism, and some to heart (as needed). The thing is, Im trying to be creative, I don't know if I'm trying too hard and thats why I'm not getting anything out of it, or to put simply, I'm just not creative. I feel like I'm hitting a dead end whenever I try another design. I get stuck, it looks too similar to another site, or it flat out sucks. The good part of this post is, in still in general arts, I'll be getting into my web design course in september and will learn how to use photoshop properly alongside other programs.
Im sort of at a cross roads and unsure (still) weather I would like to do design or development after my web design program and with my final decision comes the realization that if I pick one over the other, I'm losing job opportunities, and its just hard to decide. I can still do the web design course because it teaches both but its just I have a huge decision to make and i don't want to think that I made the wrong choice.
by the way, this is a site I made a LONG time ago for an MC that I didn't finish , and he no longer needed anymore. Would you mind telling me your thoughts on this as well?
A simple website NOT on wordpress but the idea behind how it might have looked with the default sidebar, i coded it about a month, month and a half ago, but designed it over a year and a half ago and thought it would be a good idea seeing how it would look live.
thanks again, and please keep the comments coming. I want to work on my Photoshop skills I really do, but do I start at basics? or is there a general basic for web design in specific?
Ill give you some feedback on that site, the colour scheme looks much better than your own site but its lacking any graphical elements, such as a good logo.
You've got to remember, any design agency will have a few individuals all performing their own tasks to complete a site. So you'll have a project manager, a graphic designer, a programmer, a marketing person etc. Each have their own niche. When you freelance, you need to be able to perform each task yourself to complete a site. Myself, i started out in graphics and front end development (css, html). I now know JQuery pretty well, am totally accomplished in SEO and marketing and feel comfortable in PHP, having learned enough to code and build pretty much any site. If there is something i dont know i can call on my programmer. But primarily im a front end developer, its what i practice most and more importantly its what i actually enjoy doing. Theres no point struggling with graphics if you dont enjoy it. If you do enjoy it but lack creative thought, then you need to practice Photoshop until you understand what the program can do. You should be able to learn all you need to learn off the web to start with which will stand you in good stead before you start your course in September.
My advice would be to find the environment you feel most comfortable in and learn that first. If you feel creative thought and design is not your thing, you might struggle being a freelance web designer. Thats not to say you cant outsource any graphical work to someone else and concentrate on the coding side if you feel thats what your better at. Its a hard industry to compete in, there are so many people that think they can build sites but when it comes down to it they dont understand the bones about the industry and just offer any old tosh and move on to the next client. I cant work like that, every site i build has to be an extension of my own business and be pixel perfect, then you get the plaudits, the recommendations, the repeat business, the SEO, the hosting etc and you can make some serious money.
Dont let any of this put you off, get stuck into Photoshop and learn all the tools and practice mock ups. Remember to be pixel perfect, so use guides and measurements so everything lines up. Then code it out into an actual site. You'll find it rewarding once you master it all.
I just want to mention that Photoshop should not be your only tool for design. Illustrator can be more helpful in a lot of situations.
I notice that a lot of people that end up on the forums have the idea that they are required to be both, a developer and designer. At one point I had that assumption as well until I realized that's just not the case. Not everyone is great at design and the same goes for development. I think it's important to find your strong spot and pursue it.
I use all three, Photoshop, Illustrator and Fireworks depending on what i need. Once you understand one, the tools and the layout is similar in all three tools.
pixel perfect. I like that haha. I feel a lot better now. thanks sir.
@MrPixel before working where you do now, where were some of your tech, and web related jobs at? if you don't mind discussing?
anyone else agree with that?
"the tools and the layout is similar in all three tools"
i started with fireworks in high school, then moved onto photoshop the only difference was fireworks was a LOT of presets. and you kinda had to start from scratch for photoshop.
Ive got 13 years experience, 10 years freelancing, 2 years in an agency and in the last year i've set up a company with my programmer friend. Im 32 going on 18 :)
As for the tools, each does different things. Vector (scalable) and Bitmap (pixel). Fireworks does both. Fireworks is superb for working mockups and vector graphics, Photoshop for image manipulation, and any other web graphics and Illustrator for print, unique shapes, logos etc. If you have all three, you'll see tools from each one in each other program, and there are also tools unique to each program. Once you have all three, you will understand the limitation of each program and can choose whatever program best suits your needs. For example, any logos i do i use Illustrator for the text and shapes, and then move it into Photoshop for any shadowing, touching up etc.
Just curious on everyones thoughts.
The menu is bland and ive spotted some spelling mistakes. 1 here - guarintee
For me, as a web designer, your portfolio/company page should be the very best of your talents, to show your potential clients that you know your onions.
The yellow on its own is a bit hmm for me, too bland. Perhaps consider adding another colour in the mix?
I like the personal touch of adding your favourite websites, and people that inspire you.
I remember 'favourites' being a standard feature on most websites a long time ago, hardly see that now.
I think if you were to add some more colour, it would jump out a lot more.
I create a type of mood board where i get colours, typefaces etc together before i design something. Try learning Photoshop, you'll find your designs will improve. Try create yourself a strong logo, the rest of the design will flow from that.
This is a great site for colour inspiration - http://colourlovers.com/
Background image.
I'm constantly amazed at how sites with hardly any content can really pop with the help of a background texture or two.
good stuff, just keep practicing in photoshop. Ive had 13 years in it and im still learning new techniques.
Web design to me isnt using Wordpress and changing a theme, its creating an idea from scratch and making it appear on the screen.
Me personally, i use graph paper to sketch my designs, then mock them up in Photoshop and Fireworks, then build them in CSS, HTML etc. They can be anything you want them to be then, and the clients needs can be realised.
http://twitpic.com/86kgr4/full
not much more then i already have. but what I DO need to do is fix my font issue. i need to upload it to my server and then link it from there. i think ill do that in a few days though.
I think my highest concern right now is to make my content solid, as well as the Portfolio page looking.. well better.
I love photoshop. I'm just not that good at it. I hope to get better at it and learn a lot more. A LOT MORE.
White space is great....in fact its key....don't just throw things on the page for no reason! White space lets the content breath!
As far as the site goes...2 things jump out for me:
1. The shadow on the nav menu doesn't work, it makes it more difficult to read. Maybe just a simple:
border-bottom: 1px solid yellow;
Might work. :)
2. The first thing I see on your site is that, if I am looking for my next site to be HTML 5 and CSS3 I should come to you. Yet, your site is not HTML5 and I see no CSS3 techniques?!?! :) Just an observation.
One other small thing....do you really need a big title that says "Sidebar".... maybe a more relevant title would be more appropriate.
Good start though. :)
My initial impression is that it's an attractive website, generally well laid out. The gray/orange/white color scheme works well, except that the orange text could be a little darker to stand out more - as it is, it's kinda hard to read.
I agree that the aqua of the twitter section really clashes with the rest of your site.
Definitely proofread. Better yet, have several people proofread for you. Spelling mistakes (one already noted above), inconsistent punctuation (some sentences and some of the "bullet items" in your resume are missing an ending period, for example), and odd capitalization ("...and I am a Current student..."), for example. These things are never good, but are especially detrimental on a website that hopes to convince folks to hire you. A potential customer seeing these sorts of careless lapses on your website probably wouldn't feel a lot of confidence in your thoroughness. Of course I understand that what we're seeing could be an early, not-ready-for-prime-time-version.
Overall, a very good start, as noted above.
My honest feedback would be to step away from web design for a few months and practice graphic design - work on layout, typography, color theory, creative thinking - and then come back to photoshop and try again. I feel like so many people jump into web design without any design background, and you can really tell that this is the case here from the website and from your portfolio pieces.
I hope you take this advice as constructive criticism, I really think you'd benefit greatly from practicing graphic design first before trying to design websites.
I personally started in Photoshop, it was the first thing i ever got into. I learnt just by practicing long hours and eventually enrolled at University to learn Web Design. That said, i have learnt more from home courses, the Internet and actually working in the industry than i ever did at Uni. Just practice, practice, practice. Go onto the many Photoshop Lesson sites that are about and just practice some of the techniques, tricks etc to learn what each tool does.
Having a strong grasp of graphics and Photoshop, Fireworks, Illustrator will enable you to design anything. Its no good being a good coder if you cant back that up with good graphics. There are so many talented designers out there that you will be lucky to get any work if you cant demonstrate the ability to produce a nice looking site. Its a competitive industry because every man and his dog thinks they can produce a website.
Im only offering constructive criticism here, you've got a good starting point already, just practice some more and eventually you'll get there.
I'm taking them some as constructive criticism, and some to heart (as needed). The thing is, Im trying to be creative, I don't know if I'm trying too hard and thats why I'm not getting anything out of it, or to put simply, I'm just not creative. I feel like I'm hitting a dead end whenever I try another design. I get stuck, it looks too similar to another site, or it flat out sucks. The good part of this post is, in still in general arts, I'll be getting into my web design course in september and will learn how to use photoshop properly alongside other programs.
Im sort of at a cross roads and unsure (still) weather I would like to do design or development after my web design program and with my final decision comes the realization that if I pick one over the other, I'm losing job opportunities, and its just hard to decide. I can still do the web design course because it teaches both but its just I have a huge decision to make and i don't want to think that I made the wrong choice.
by the way, this is a site I made a LONG time ago for an MC that I didn't finish , and he no longer needed anymore. Would you mind telling me your thoughts on this as well?
http://attilahajzer.host-ed.net/beats/
A simple website NOT on wordpress but the idea behind how it might have looked with the default sidebar, i coded it about a month, month and a half ago, but designed it over a year and a half ago and thought it would be a good idea seeing how it would look live.
thanks again, and please keep the comments coming. I want to work on my Photoshop skills I really do, but do I start at basics? or is there a general basic for web design in specific?
You've got to remember, any design agency will have a few individuals all performing their own tasks to complete a site. So you'll have a project manager, a graphic designer, a programmer, a marketing person etc. Each have their own niche. When you freelance, you need to be able to perform each task yourself to complete a site. Myself, i started out in graphics and front end development (css, html). I now know JQuery pretty well, am totally accomplished in SEO and marketing and feel comfortable in PHP, having learned enough to code and build pretty much any site. If there is something i dont know i can call on my programmer. But primarily im a front end developer, its what i practice most and more importantly its what i actually enjoy doing. Theres no point struggling with graphics if you dont enjoy it. If you do enjoy it but lack creative thought, then you need to practice Photoshop until you understand what the program can do. You should be able to learn all you need to learn off the web to start with which will stand you in good stead before you start your course in September.
My advice would be to find the environment you feel most comfortable in and learn that first. If you feel creative thought and design is not your thing, you might struggle being a freelance web designer. Thats not to say you cant outsource any graphical work to someone else and concentrate on the coding side if you feel thats what your better at. Its a hard industry to compete in, there are so many people that think they can build sites but when it comes down to it they dont understand the bones about the industry and just offer any old tosh and move on to the next client. I cant work like that, every site i build has to be an extension of my own business and be pixel perfect, then you get the plaudits, the recommendations, the repeat business, the SEO, the hosting etc and you can make some serious money.
Dont let any of this put you off, get stuck into Photoshop and learn all the tools and practice mock ups. Remember to be pixel perfect, so use guides and measurements so everything lines up. Then code it out into an actual site. You'll find it rewarding once you master it all.
I notice that a lot of people that end up on the forums have the idea that they are required to be both, a developer and designer. At one point I had that assumption as well until I realized that's just not the case. Not everyone is great at design and the same goes for development. I think it's important to find your strong spot and pursue it.
I use all three, Photoshop, Illustrator and Fireworks depending on what i need. Once you understand one, the tools and the layout is similar in all three tools.
@MrPixel
before working where you do now, where were some of your tech, and web related jobs at? if you don't mind discussing?
anyone else agree with that?
"the tools and the layout is similar in all three tools"
i started with fireworks in high school, then moved onto photoshop the only difference was fireworks was a LOT of presets. and you kinda had to start from scratch for photoshop.
As for the tools, each does different things. Vector (scalable) and Bitmap (pixel). Fireworks does both. Fireworks is superb for working mockups and vector graphics, Photoshop for image manipulation, and any other web graphics and Illustrator for print, unique shapes, logos etc. If you have all three, you'll see tools from each one in each other program, and there are also tools unique to each program. Once you have all three, you will understand the limitation of each program and can choose whatever program best suits your needs. For example, any logos i do i use Illustrator for the text and shapes, and then move it into Photoshop for any shadowing, touching up etc.