Sunday, November 29, 2009

MX: Website

You can see my website HERE. The detail pictures are not opening up (I apologize), but they come up in place of the main image.


The website is playing off a gallery metaphor, guiding the viewer through a virtual space that resembles a physical gallery wall with works separated in clusters based on the media. The contact information and descriptions are displayed on the main page for two reason. First of all, it literally resembles the gallery show description. It also saves clicks for a user that is in a hurry and does not want to spend time looking for the info. The resume is a simple PDF download and the blog takes you to the process blog with more detailed descriptions.
The frame that the image shows up in allows for multiple image sizes and gives reasonable space for the project description and additional thumbnails. Overall, the website is meant to be simple and easy to navigate to save time and not cause frustration.

2 comments:

gerg werk said...

• overall usability of the site-
i think overall it's pretty simple to use. everything is sitting on one page and I'm able to see everything all at once. each work can be clicked on to pull up a new window with details about the piece itself. the pop up is relatively close to where the work except in the 'web section'.


• the degree to which it pushes boundaries / questions traditional presentation of portfolio work-
i kind of enjoy the 'gallery' view of your work. instead of having a traditional grid to display your work, they are staggered and various sized. I like it! it becomes more interesting.


• same as above but for overall site navigation-
in a way, it pushes boundaries by having all the information on one screen, and just asking the user to scroll through the content. I enjoy how there is no links and i just navigate through everything by scrolling through the site, as opposed to clicking on links to open new pages. be sure to ask josh how to add your own scroll bar!


• if the site utilizes linear / cinematic elements (such as transitions, image sequences, etc) and the success of those linear elements-
the site is linear and non linear at the same time. you have less control because there are no 'image sequences' in a timeline. the only way it becomes linear is if the user chooses to click each image or link in succession of the next. otherwise it's a free-for-all!



• overall organization of the work -- logical? interesting?-
it seems very logical the way the work is laid out. each section is grouped by category. i recommend making more space between the 'print' and 'book design/packaging', to make a clearer distinction, unless those works intentionally exist in both categories. you're also wasting a lot of space at the top; move EVERYTHING up! this will insure that your bottom content won't be cut off with people who use larger window browsers.

asenseofhuber said...

overall usability of the site:
As it exists now, the usability is not very flushed out. You have the main containers opening for each project on the gallery "wall" but then once they are opened, your buttons do not activate new images of the work being shown. I know you had technical difficulties at the last minute that made you sacrifice your internal scroll bar that you tried to use, but I don't mind the horizontal scroll bar that exists in the html format. It works just the same, in my opinion. My concern is that your fully functioning wireframe portfolio website isn't at the completed stage yet. You have a lot of work to put in to it still! The concepts you have set up are working well, however. I like the simplicity of the site and the way you presented your work with a clear and easy to navigate format.

the degree to which it pushes boundaries / questions traditional presentation of portfolio work
same as above but for overall site navigation:
I absolutely love the presentation of your work and how you implemented this "gallery" view of your work in frames on a wall. When it is completed, I can only imagine how awesome it will look! With this being said, I do not think you pushed many boundaries as far as traditional presentation is concerned. You have simple buttons activating simple movie clips that have multiple views of the work and a description (all of which can be closed with a simple click of an x). This has been done over and over again. You need another function that is innovative and challenges your users expectations, while still remaining simple and efficient like you stated as being a primary goal of your site. Perhaps you could figure out how to get the frames on the wall to be dragged and dropped so that the user can reorganize the work themself, if they had the time or interest in doing so. This way, instead of each frame(button) just opening up the corresponding work on a click, the small frames can be dragged around, repositioned, stacked, etc. and THEN clicked to be opened up and viewed? I think that would be AWESOME!!!


if the site utilizes linear / cinematic elements (such as transitions, image sequences, etc) and the success of those linear elements
overall organization of the work -- logical? interesting?
I think you are lacking these elements, but it might be okay. You aren't interested in being a web designer or motion graphics/screen based artist, so why make a portfolio that is flooded with these kinds of elements? But at the same time, perhaps a simple slide show of the different images of work ( image sequence) could add to your site's functionality. This way, an arrow guides the user through a series of images, instead of giving them the total freedom of choosing the tiny cropped image button within the big work view.

The overall organization of your work is great. I love the idea of clusters and the visual aesthetic you have created is working nicely. It is logical and interesting, while also allowing clear distinction between the different types of work. I'd really like you to turn the boxes into physical frames and add some cute flowery wall paper as soon as possible. :)