Future Portfolio Revisions: have input?

Professional
#1

Overview
I’m working on portfolio revisions this quarter. I’d love some constructive criticism on my current design. Feel free to comment here or privately email heathermdecker (at) gmail (dot) com.

Background
I’m a graduate student working on a MFA in Interactive Design and Game Development through Savannah College of Art and Design. I have about a year left in my degree program and my focus is to improve my offerings as a technical artist.

My Initial Thoughts
[ul]
[li]move contact info and social network links to the front page (no more contact section)[/li][li]add a page for linking relevant blogs, tutorial, recognition, in chronological order. Perhaps call this section “Links.”[/li][li]add filter links on the main page, for work categories (perhaps key words such as Flash, game design, Unreal, Environments, etc.) Default would be “All.”[/li][li]next/prev links on all piece pages, so users can thumb through the body of works without coming back out to the main page, if desired[/li][/ul]

What do you think?

#2

Hey,

I have been working a lot on my portfolio the last few months and I have been asking a lot of feedback from all kinds of persons with all kinds of different personalities and backgrounds. And these are some things I remember at this moment (just awake :slight_smile: ) :

  • Never use pure black as a background
  • Small gradients as a background make it a bit more interesting to look at
  • Don’t use too much different colors, use color to indicate important things
  • Make your thumbs big enough (prefer 16:9) to get a cinematographic feeling
  • give a really small description to the thumb about what it is
  • use enough whitespace in your design and don’t push everything really close to each other
  • make everything fit on one page so the people don’t have to scroll
  • if it is longer then one page, let the user know visually that there is still content there
  • don’t have too much menu items
  • keep your design very clean and simple to read
  • I am no fan of a link page, because in my opinion the user comes to see your work. But it depends whether you are looking for a job or not. For other people it can be useful
  • make hover states for your buttons / thumbs so people know visually there is interactivity and it invites them to click on it
  • only show your best work, too much work and some bad work can ruin it
  • use categories for you technical and artistic stuff and show this visually
  • keep your resume well structured and clean. You don’t have to show everything on your webpage. Big descriptions can be kept in your pdf/doc
  • put your contact information always visible and on top of your webpage
  • check for good usability in your webdesign
  • try to have as less text as possible, huge walls of text or not sexy to look at. But give the option to see more information if the user wants it
  • make a nicely presented video for your technical stuff with a bit of feedback of yourself why you made this and how you started on it and finished it. Video is so much easier then a lot of text

I got to go now, if there are more things popping in head I will add it to my list.
Feedback about my feedback is always welcome :slight_smile:

Cya

#3

Haha way, Mr. Brems was paying attention! All kidding aside, we should sticky a portfolio/reel/website thread…Rob?

#4

I’m going to keep posting my progress a bit here, to see what kind of suggestions I might receive.

From the feedback I’m getting in my online class, I’m looking at a full redesign. I still want the “paint meets technology” sort of metaphor at the heart of it, but the paint definitely needs to be more obvious this time around. (Previously one person thought it was purple fire.)

So I’m working on the header image:

…and playing with a different sort of layout (early comp).

#5

A few suggestions:

Consider using links that aren’t underlined. Also, I think the page might be better served by a BG color other than something in the near black range (maybe something like, fdfaff). I like the general layout of the site, but I think that the aforementioned features visually date it a bit.

BTW, nice work on the “Julia’s Magnificent Mishap” game. The core mechanic of controlling two characters at once offers some pretty neat gameplay possibilities. Also, GO SCAD! :D:

#6

Eric: Thank you for checking out Julia’s Magnificent Mishap! Team Mishap is presently cooking up something new for IGF this year :):

So maybe a light background is better?
Light vs. Dark

(Light version also has link underlines removed, extra paint blobs removed… just playing with suggestions.)

#7

I like the dark version better, but I’ll echo the idea that you might want to use a dark color vs straight black. I know this link has been tossed around before but i think this is still one of my favorite tech art portfolios for look and content layout:

http://www.eriklarsson.net/

Rather than making people click through to a specific area such as AI, Scripting, etc (unless it’s actively filtering the available content on the front page on click, which might be an interesting exercise), I would suggest having all the content categorized up front. Key thing is make sure people are spending their time on your site checking out your content vs trying to find it.

#8

I would say something in between. I’d go with some contrast, but not the entire spectrum. When I made my first few sites, I tried the same thing, but it’s hard on the eyes. You should post your site up @ http://www.conceptfeedback.com/ they’re a little ruthless, (because most of them are hard-core designers) but you will get great feedback.

#9

[QUOTE=djTomServo;10216]I like the dark version better, but I’ll echo the idea that you might want to use a dark color vs straight black. I know this link has been tossed around before but i think this is still one of my favorite tech art portfolios for look and content layout:

http://www.eriklarsson.net/

Rather than making people click through to a specific area such as AI, Scripting, etc (unless it’s actively filtering the available content on the front page on click, which might be an interesting exercise), I would suggest having all the content categorized up front. Key thing is make sure people are spending their time on your site checking out your content vs trying to find it.[/QUOTE]

I think I rather like this happy medium, at least as far as colors go.

I’m a bit unsure of how to approach categories, which is why I was looking at filtering options. Some of the pieces could appear under two or all of the categories. For instance, some things I’ve both designed and scripted. If I did tags under the thumbnails, I suppose I’d also be open to additional keywords.

#10

I might have to try that. Thanks for the link!

#11

[QUOTE=heathermdecker;10219]
I’m a bit unsure of how to approach categories, which is why I was looking at filtering options. Some of the pieces could appear under two or all of the categories. For instance, some things I’ve both designed and scripted. If I did tags under the thumbnails, I suppose I’d also be open to additional keywords.[/QUOTE]

I’m not sure the thumbnails under the tags is a good approach. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who is looking to hire a technical artist and is having to vet portfolios. You’re going to want to be able to get to the content that is most relevant to the position straight away. Using myself as an example, when I look at a candidate’s tech art portfolio, the first thing i look for is code and tools, or say i’m looking for a shader guy, obviously i’m going to want to jump to shaders straightaway. Having to decipher something based on keywords or tags is probably more reading than i want to do when i’ve got 8 or 9 other websites lined up.

Another thing I’d want to pay attention to is the pieces that could fit under multiple categories. I’d make an effort to try and break the content out so you can showcase each aspect, unless it’s something like a tool that you designed AND coded the UI for, for instance. Otherwise, worst case scenario, i’m in a situation where I’ve had to figure out what sample content I want to look at based on keywords, then once i get to that page i have to decypher the actual content to try and figure out if there’s even a relevant sample on the page. Like i said above, I’d rather just go to the Scripts heading on your website and start clicking through samples. Make it easy for me to get to the content i’m looking for.

I DO really like the new color scheme though, you’re definitely onto something there. Very easy on the eyes.

#12

[QUOTE=djTomServo;10221]I’m not sure the thumbnails under the tags is a good approach. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who is looking to hire a technical artist and is having to vet portfolios. You’re going to want to be able to get to the content that is most relevant to the position straight away. Using myself as an example, when I look at a candidate’s tech art portfolio, the first thing i look for is code and tools, or say i’m looking for a shader guy, obviously i’m going to want to jump to shaders straightaway. Having to decipher something based on keywords or tags is probably more reading than i want to do when i’ve got 8 or 9 other websites lined up.

Another thing I’d want to pay attention to is the pieces that could fit under multiple categories. I’d make an effort to try and break the content out so you can showcase each aspect, unless it’s something like a tool that you designed AND coded the UI for, for instance. Otherwise, worst case scenario, i’m in a situation where I’ve had to figure out what sample content I want to look at based on keywords, then once i get to that page i have to decypher the actual content to try and figure out if there’s even a relevant sample on the page. Like i said above, I’d rather just go to the Scripts heading on your website and start clicking through samples. Make it easy for me to get to the content i’m looking for.

I DO really like the new color scheme though, you’re definitely onto something there. Very easy on the eyes.[/QUOTE]

Thank you!

I didn’t see tags as being the best solution to the problem, but I like to explore possibilities, at the very least. I suppose I’ll have to try and reorganize some more! I very much appreciate all of your help! :):

#13

Based on in-class feedback, I revised the header and color scheme further. Also expanded my title, since I’m a bit of both:

I believe I’ll be revising work this next week, then starting on the actual site construction (at long last.)

#14

The title seems odd to me … I would choose Technical Artist or Producer – but not both.

– an artist that’s technical
– or a technical artist that was once a programmer

Technical Artist + Producer doesn’t ring right to me. It reads like you’re not sure of what you want to do. Both of those roles are very broad as well – and mean different things to different organizations. If you are interested in obtaining a role in Technical Art – lose the producer imho.

#15

Um, to help you with color schemes for webpages, this one is very useful and it is nice for general purposes too.

http://colorschemedesigner.com/

#16

Thank you!

#17

I know i have said this in the past on this site but it is making me crazy how much time and work is going in to making a website vs. putting time in to the content.

Clean, easy to find your work, your reel on youtube/vimeo, resume that isn’t a word doc and spend time on updating with new work.

2 pages of feedback on here for a website = not good, where are the 2 pages of feedback on your work? That is what you should be here for.

Honest reaction- I go to the site, and I look at all the thumbs of stuff that is so hard to tell what it is, I am ranomly click something, its more small images and stuff to read… and now less than 30 sec. I am done with your site, I can’t find work that shows your a tech artist, I can’t find work that I can see that you understand what is good work to show off.

If you don’t want people clicking around randomly on your site or never clicking beyond one random thumbnail, fix that and then get back to doing work that will get you hired.

Only show your best work, make it easy to find, view and share.

p.s. sorry all this sounds harsh…just it is from a place of wanting to help you…as I think people here know:)

#18

This x(over 9000!)

#19

[QUOTE=bclark;10554]I know i have said this in the past on this site but it is making me crazy how much time and work is going in to making a website vs. putting time in to the content.

Clean, easy to find your work, your reel on youtube/vimeo, resume that isn’t a word doc and spend time on updating with new work.

2 pages of feedback on here for a website = not good, where are the 2 pages of feedback on your work? That is what you should be here for.

Honest reaction- I go to the site, and I look at all the thumbs of stuff that is so hard to tell what it is, I am ranomly click something, its more small images and stuff to read… and now less than 30 sec. I am done with your site, I can’t find work that shows your a tech artist, I can’t find work that I can see that you understand what is good work to show off.

If you don’t want people clicking around randomly on your site or never clicking beyond one random thumbnail, fix that and then get back to doing work that will get you hired.

Only show your best work, make it easy to find, view and share.

p.s. sorry all this sounds harsh…just it is from a place of wanting to help you…as I think people here know:)[/QUOTE]

I understand and appreciate your guidance :slight_smile:

My new design will definitely focus on filtering the work based on category. I’m also including more of my recent projects (probably only keeping like six things from my current site.)

#20

[QUOTE=JasonB;10455]The title seems odd to me … I would choose Technical Artist or Producer – but not both.

– an artist that’s technical
– or a technical artist that was once a programmer

Technical Artist + Producer doesn’t ring right to me. It reads like you’re not sure of what you want to do. Both of those roles are very broad as well – and mean different things to different organizations. If you are interested in obtaining a role in Technical Art – lose the producer imho.[/QUOTE]

This was actually a concern I had when originally considering the prospect…

If my skill set matches a role, I don’t want to shut myself out of opportunities because a title doesn’t match up. At the same time, I don’t want to come off as not knowing what my strengths are!

Overall, my reasoning was that TA Generalist and Producer have some overlapping skills: planning the approach, coordinating different disciplines towards the same effort, documentation, solid communication, problem-solving… but if I’m unable to communicate that, I’m not sure how useful dual-wielding titles is.

I appreciate your feedback and would love to hear more of your thoughts on this matter!