My Portfolio
The first thing I did when creating this site was to decide on a layout for the home page. I decided to use navigation at the top of the page as opposed to the left side, simply because I liked it better at the top. I believe it would have worked as well on the side, but I also like the contrast of the blue between the two more neutral colors.
The colors were the second thing I picked when designing my site. I normally prefer brighter colors, but because of the professional nature of this web site, I thought darker colors would be more appropriate. I used a khaki color for the background of the main part of the page so the black text would have enough contrast to be easily readable. I used the blue to add a little bit of interest and to draw users' attention to the navigation bar. I used the color picker to make the title of the web site the same color as the background of the main section because I though the repetition of the color made the web page look more professional.
Once I decided on the basic layout and colors of the page and before I put any information in the main section of the page, I saved what I had as a template. Instead of starting from scratch on each new page, I was able to use this template. That way, I was guaranteed that the layout of each page was identical, ensuring that the user would know that they were still viewing my web site.
I used left alignment for the title of the site and the text in the main body. I think that alignment made the most sense and looked the most professional. I might have centered the body text on some pages with lists, but for the sake of repetition and a professional appearance, I stuck with the left alignment. I did indent the text to make sure it was not bumping up against the left edge of the page because I did not want it to be hard to read. I did, however, use a right alignment for the navigation to draw the user's eye to it.
3 comments:
Hye Chris,
Good design overall. However, I do have some suggestions. But I will start off with what I liked best about the site.
It is very easy to navigate which is good. Especially for somebody like me who zones out easily! Things were easy to find from that perspective. Good repetition in that every page looked to belong to the home page. I could always tell it was your sight. Good job with selecting a good photograph for the front of your homepage.
Keep in mind that a lot of the things I will point out are the same sort of issues I'm having with my site. But the issues I found with your site were very small and are going to be easy to fix before the December due date.
Overall, I like the choice of color but I would avoide the use of the color purple. For instance when I click on "Professional Goals," it turns purple when I come back to it. Purple just lacks a professional look. Plus, in your case, it blends with your border almost to the point that one may not be able to read it very well if they have eyesight issues.
I like how on your resume section, you have an option for a more detailed resume as a PDF. That was an great choice. Be sure that anything you have as a PDF comes up that way. Your website proposal is not yet appearing as a PDF but I just assumed you were saving that for when we turn in our final drafts.
Like I said earlier, good use of the photo on your home page. I would try to throw in some more pictures. Perhaps on your "Professional Goals" section you could include a head shot of some type. Another good place to do this is your resume section. Not only can an employer see what you have done but they have an image of you right there. Do you have any pictures of you doing that radio show when you were in high school? This is something I need to work on for my site as well. There aren't any photos of me until you go to one to my section about theatre.
Dr. Youngblood has talked a lot about contrast, repetition, alignment, and placement and you seemed to follow these rules of thumb very well for the most part.
Everything I pointed out is very small but could make big improvements to your portfolio. Good luck with it.
-Rober McLeroy
Chris,
Nice web site. I thought it was very user friendly and I might only suggest changing a couple of things.
Some things that I liked about it was that right off the bat, I was introduced to who you were. I immediatly knew that I was on YOUR site. The picture is a nice touch, I as well put my picture on the home page, so of course I think its a good idea. Your black text makes it easy for me to read, and its good that you chose a light color for the background, and Williams in the text says that its important to use darker text. I like that you kept repition in mind by making each page flow with the same use of colors.The proxemity looked good, you kept things pretty simple with that. It was important that you put the navigation tools at the top, by once again making it user friendly.
It looks really good, but I may suggest a few things. Keep contrast in mind, and maybe try to change something on the home page, for example, maybe you should change the text used for your name at the top just to change it up. I also agree with Robert and think that the purple isnt very professional, maybe a brown or navy color would be better. With that in mind, I would also change the color of text to a brighter color so it doesn't blend with the color behind the text, becuase i had to strain my eyes a little to read the navigation tool. I would take a look at the alignment, and see if you could center the whole page, because I dont know if it was just my computer, but your page was the the left side and not centered? Check on that one. I hope that you will add more to your resume, because I know that you probably have a lot to put on one.
Overall, I think you are off to a great start. There are just those few you may want to look at. It is very user friendly, you took what you have learned from the class and really applied that to your site. Good luck on finishing it, I can't wait to see the final result. Just have fun with it!
-Jessica
Wow! I had no idea that was purple. I was going for light blue. That's what being color blind will get you!
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