Looking for some feedback on my portfolio site design

[Evan Wiener]

I was able to make updates to my "in-progress" portfolio site over the weekend. Check out the "Apparel" section of the site for a gallery of 28 samples. I plan on updating the other sections this week.

http://www.evanwienerdesign.com/apparel.html

Some things I'm considering:
- Link the thumbnails to larger images that open in a new browser window

- Should stick with this layout which features hidden large samples until mouse-over (done solely in CSS)? Because the large images are on the same page, but hidden, it seems to cause a longer load time.

Am I better off going with a series of thumbnails on the page, and you have to click-through to see even larger samples in a new browser window? I'm worried modern pop-up blockers would prevent that these days.

I have no JavaScript writing skills, so I'm trying to prevent needing to use it.

In the coming week, I will update all the other galleries with samples, create a Contact Form for the Contact page, and create links to sites about design or other interesting places on the web that I like. Eventually, I'll try my hand at animating that header graphic to make it a more interactive navigation.

[Evan Wiener]

I should also note that I am seriously considering scrapping the header graphic because it's starting to feel too "cute." I think a vector graphic with this style doesn't match the deco-style and elements that I've created in the bottom half of the site design. I may decide to redesign the header as a nicer design project that features stock photos of carnival elements in a toned-down quality to give the site a sharper, classier look.

[THAT Sean!]

Add some CSS margin to the A element on the images (as opposed to the IMG element). That way, when I move from one image to the next, there isn't that obnoxious switching back to red for half a second between images on the right. Change the pointer for the thumbs as well so people don't think they're clickable links, since they technically aren't.

I'd also recommend generally doing functionality like that in JS. In this particular instance, you'd be able to use real URLs in the thumb links. That way, the site degrades gracefully for those without CSS functionality.

As a designer, I used to be scared silly about Javascript and all its cross-browser craziness. Then I read DOM Scripting by Jeremy Kieth, and all is right with the world. I'm even learning to do Ajax stuff for the new version of my site.

[Evan Wiener]

Thanks, Sean. Did you do web design work professionally before your comics career? I'm in are of you guys that are able to write/draw comics, design for the web, do graphic design work, etc. I'm having a hard enough time just learning CSS!

I do plan on making those thumbnails clickable links to even larger samples of the work that previews on the right.

I spent several hours on the illustration on my header graphic, and I'm trying to decide if I should put more detail and time into it, and animate it. I'm wondering if it's just too cartoony and maybe I should scrap it for a more deco-designed graphic or even just take a sample of my illustration work, and make that the header with a logo on top?

[THAT Sean!]

Thanks, Sean. Did you do web design work professionally before your comics career? I'm in are of you guys that are able to write/draw comics, design for the web, do graphic design work, etc. I'm having a hard enough time just learning CSS!

I do plan on making those thumbnails clickable links to even larger samples of the work that previews on the right.

I spent several hours on the illustration on my header graphic, and I'm trying to decide if I should put more detail and time into it, and animate it. I'm wondering if it's just too cartoony and maybe I should scrap it for a more deco-designed graphic or even just take a sample of my illustration work, and make that the header with a logo on top?

Yeah, I used to design professionally. I still try to keep up to date, mostly because it's still a fun hobby for me. I had even built a fun little comics publishing simulator that I had to scrap after a year due to database issues.

A good book for CSS is HTML Utopia: Designing Without Tables. I would recommend that, then the DOM Scripting book for JS. Really, if you want to be a competitive designer these days, you need to know how to use CSS, (X)HTML and JS in concert with a backend programming language, like PHP or CFMX.

For writing CSS, I would recommend using TopStyle Lite (http://www.newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdId=TopStyle&ProdView=lite). Really helpful.

As to your header graphic, it's attractive, but it's not my thing, honestly. I wouldn't use it, personally. That doesn't mean you shouldn't. You've got them also available as text links, and that's what's really important. Animations for each link onmouseover would be really cool.

[Evan Wiener]

Yeah, I used to design professionally. I still try to keep up to date, mostly because it's still a fun hobby for me. I had even built a fun little comics publishing simulator that I had to scrap after a year due to database issues.

A good book for CSS is HTML Utopia: Designing Without Tables. I would recommend that, then the DOM Scripting book for JS. Really, if you want to be a competitive designer these days, you need to know how to use CSS, (X)HTML and JS in concert with a backend programming language, like PHP or CFMX.

For writing CSS, I would recommend using TopStyle Lite (http://www.newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdId=TopStyle&ProdView=lite). Really helpful.

As to your header graphic, it's attractive, but it's not my thing, honestly. I wouldn't use it. That doesn't mean you shouldn't. You've got them also available as text links, and that's what's really important. Animations for each link onmouseover would be really cool.
EDIT - Double Post

[Evan Wiener]

Yeah, I used to design professionally. I still try to keep up to date, mostly because it's still a fun hobby for me. I had even built a fun little comics publishing simulator that I had to scrap after a year due to database issues.

A good book for CSS is HTML Utopia: Designing Without Tables. I would recommend that, then the DOM Scripting book for JS. Really, if you want to be a competitive designer these days, you need to know how to use CSS, (X)HTML and JS in concert with a backend programming language, like PHP or CFMX.

For writing CSS, I would recommend using TopStyle Lite (http://www.newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdId=TopStyle&ProdView=lite). Really helpful.

As to your header graphic, it's attractive, but it's not my thing, honestly. I wouldn't use it. That doesn't mean you shouldn't. You've got them also available as text links, and that's what's really important. Animations for each link onmouseover would be really cool.

My company hooked me up with a subscription to Lynda.com, which has Quicktime Training videos for just about everything: CSS, Flash, JS, etc. I just need to spend more time practicing using the languages. Like anything else, if you stop using something on a regular basis, it's really easy to forget important techniques. It's not like riding a bike, unfortunately.

I think the larger views on the right are still too small to show off some of the detail in some of the work I've done, so I think I'll make those thumbnails clickable links to larger images that open in a new window.

Thanks for the great tips, Sean.

[mattbrand]

For writing CSS, I would recommend using TopStyle Lite (http://www.newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdId=TopStyle&ProdView=lite). Really helpful.

Nice man. Thanks for the link!

[Evan Wiener]

I have to make a decision on that header. I was considering animating it to use it for navigation. The problem is that I'm trying to market my design AND illustration skills, and I thought the header graphic would show off a style of vector illustration.

Maybe I should revise the logo to remove "Design" from the header? I may also just register the site as EvanWiener.com instead of EvanWienerDesign.com, so I don't pigeon-hole myself into being just a designer. This way, people wouldn’t think “this doesn’t look like the site of a designer.”

Does that make sense?