portfolio

[mar1300]

Hey everyone!

Here’s my new portfolio site.....I would love some feed back on it...I'm open to suggestions on how to improve my site and my portfolio work

One problem: every time you click on a link my home page background flashes "orange background with the pencils” I need some help on getting rid of that

Thanks

www.marlonhibbert.com

[Navian]

On the porfolio page, under the Catcher in the Rye, the text next to the image has a typo: The Cathcer in the Rye. (Good story btw)

Those 3 dots on the about page for scroll arrows, might cause some issues.

You might want to send some of that text through a spell checker just to make sure you dont have any typos or spelling errors.

Overall, I dig your porfolio, and the site.

I wish I knew how to create one of those flash do-hicky things. lol. might want to get rid of the "enter" and have that page automatically load to your main page after say 3-5 seconds. I personaly HATE those entry pages.

[balou]

I like the site design. Found a few things that might help.

Perpetual proofreader that I am I noticed a typo on the About page. "Giving the opportunity" should read "given the opportunity". This page also isn't showing me all the text. The last line I see on the page reads "improving my skills in Photoshop, Illustrator," and then there's nothing else. I'm viewing in Firefox on MacOS10.3

The Portfolio page should come up with something in the window right away. Nice work by the way!

I felt like there should be a home page. I don't know if that's just from habit from other sites or what. Just felt like it was missing.

Hope this helps.

[balou]

might want to get rid of the "enter" and have that page automatically load to your main page after say 3-5 seconds. I personaly HATE those entry pages.

I agree. If it has to be there, maybe something more interesting to look at and I felt "enter" should be larger.

[mar1300]

Alright thanks.....I completely forgot about the spell checker...I guess I was overly excited to get some feedback

[Navian]

Dont worry, I tell my instructors that if they find a typo, its because they gave a huge project with short notice. Then I told them I will fix the spelling issues in my Portfolio class. It will give me something to do.

[Zenobian Grey]

Increase the frame rate of the flash movie. (I suggest 24 -60)

You are an ample designer so I need not critique your design approach. I like the fact that you relied more on the work rather then the transitions effects and polish of the website layout/container. Just a simple fade transitions and muted background space works nicely to bring the work (the emphasis) into the foreground. Smart foreshadowing old boy.

However, I understand the nature of small text, it's contemporary and sheik. But I would seriously consider increasing it 1 to 2 point sizes. Any more and you might lose some stylization but I think it's worth a shot nonetheless. This is why.

Realize, your audience is not forgiving designers, it's the general public. Trust me, the general public likes function more than form and they may see the decision to go with tiny text as a flaw in your common sense approach. They won't see it as contemporary or stylistic, they'll see it as a literal handicap. This factor is tripled when it comes to employers and clients, they tend to like BIG letters for some odd reason. I'm guessing it has much to do with marketing concerns in reaching a broad demographic.

Also, the orange bar on top...ask yourself this, "is this really effective for the design?" In my opinion, it's not and would be better if were removed. It's not aiding in composition or leading the eye into positive space. So it stands right now its counterproductive.

The function of your site is straight forward and the information is easily accessible.

Overall, great job, it should produce some positive results. Consider the minor tweaks I suggested and see what you have, you may agree.

[emmerse]

yes, I too like the overall design of the site.

very few notes, most of which have already been stated.

my one thing is you list the programs used for each piece... not really necessary. prospective employers could care less about what software you used to design something, they want to know who it was for, what was its purpose, what was your thought process and reasons for designing it the way you did. catch my drift? A short synopsis along side the piece would strengthen the work if you ask me. (the work is really nice stuff, too)

[mar1300]

thank for the feed back....
update list so far:
no splash page
spell check done

i will work on increasing the font size

the only thing still is the flashing orange background can't get rid of it......and on my portfolio page i wanted a piece of work to show right away, but i get the same thing with the image flashing every time you click on a link.....not sure how to fix it?

www.marlonhibbert.com

[balou]

I like that startup better. I just realized the dots on the side were up and down arrows in the About & Resume section. Maybe those should be more obvious?

[Navian]

You missed the catcher in the rye (next to the image) in your spell checking :)

[reuber1]

Increase the frame rate of the flash movie. (I suggest 24 -60)
...
However, I understand the nature of small text, it's contemporary and sheik. But I would seriously consider increasing it 1 to 2 point sizes. Any more and you might lose some stylization but I think it's worth a shot nonetheless. This is why.

Realize, your audience is not forgiving designers, it's the general public. Trust me, the general public likes function more than form and they may see the decision to go with tiny text as a flaw in your common sense approach. They won't see it as contemporary or stylistic, they'll see it as a literal handicap. This factor is tripled when it comes to employers and clients, they tend to like BIG letters for some odd reason. I'm guessing it has much to do with marketing concerns in reaching a broad demographic.

Also, the orange bar on top...ask yourself this, "is this really effective for the design?" In my opinion, it's not and would be better if were removed. It's not aiding in composition or leading the eye into positive space. So it stands right now its counterproductive.

The function of your site is straight forward and the information is easily accessible.

Overall, great job, it should produce some positive results. Consider the minor tweaks I suggested and see what you have, you may agree.Not sure about the frame rate, unless you've already done it, but otherwise it's fine with me. The text is also pretty small; I would go maybe slightly larger.
I'll agree with getting rid of the orange bar on the top. I think it would look much better without it.

One thing, each time I click a link, it seems like the very first frame of your transition shows that opening graphic w/ the pencils. Not noticeable on your first click, since the graphic is already in front of you, but when you go from a section of text, to another section of text, you can see that image pop up briefly...it's very noticeable.

For the most part I like what you've gotten. I think with those fixes this will be awesome. I haven't had a chance to look at your work, my busy-ness (not to be confused with business) knows no limits today.

[mar1300]

ok i'll what i can do about the up and down arrows

[mar1300]

You missed the catcher in the rye (next to the image) in your spell checking :)


ooppppsss.... i thought i changed that i'll get right on it

[mar1300]

One thing, each time I click a link, it seems like the very first frame of your transition shows that opening graphic w/ the pencils. Not noticeable on your first click, since the graphic is already in front of you, but when you go from a section of text, to another section of text, you can see that image pop up briefly...it's very noticeable.



yea that's the thing i can't get rid of.....and it's killing me softly

[reuber1]

Hey everyone!

Here’s my new portfolio site.....I would love some feed back on it...I'm open to suggestions on how to improve my site and my portfolio work

One problem: every time you click on a link my home page background flashes "orange background with the pencils” I need some help on getting rid of that

Thanks

www.marlonhibbert.comOK, I'm an idiot. I just realized you wrote that. LOL.

[reuber1]

Another thing that kind of bugged me is that I couldn't simply hold the mouse button to scroll through your Resume. Rather it has to be repeatedly pressed in order to move. I would also consider having a "scrubber" for the user to click and drag through your resume.

[morea]

looking good. Some awesome feedback so far. I agree with much of what has been said.

On the "Together" piece, should "LET?S" be "LET'S" or was that intentional?

I'd like to be able to see the pieces a little larger so I could get a better look at them, I'm in firefox for pc @ 1024 x 768, if that matters to you. (Web design is SO not my forte!)

Otherwise, it's looking good!

[mar1300]

On the "Together" piece, should "LET?S" be "LET'S" or was that intentional?


it was intentional.......yea i was thinking on having the viewers click on the images so they could get a full scale view of the work.....i'm not sure how to do all that stuff yet.....i just know the basics of flash

[mar1300]

Another thing that kind of bugged me is that I couldn't simply hold the mouse button to scroll through your Resume. Rather it has to be repeatedly pressed in order to move. I would also consider having a "scrubber" for the user to click and drag through your resume.


yes it bugs me to ..... but i'm not sure how to do all that stuff yet

[mar1300]

well i updated the text size and got rid of the orange boarder at the top, but now it looks kind of plain........that's just my thought on it...what do think?

www.marlonhibbert.com

[reuber1]

Orange scroll arrows, perhaps?

[emmerse]

"this site contains portfolio works" is officially sanctioned by the department of redundancy department (its not necessary) :)

[Jimeda Fork]

When you arrive in the portfolio, display your first piece, don't leave a blank white window. I thought something was trying to load.

Also, I run a 1280x1024 resolution. I know that's not the average, but I would like to see bigger pics of your work.

Overall, good work.

[mar1300]

When you arrive in the portfolio, display your first piece, don't leave a blank white window. I thought something was trying to load.



that's the problem i'm having.....i want a piece of my work to show right away... i just don't know how to do it......i don't know how to make that image disappear after you click on another piece of my work? that first image sits there and the rest of my work loads on top of it

[Jimeda Fork]

http://www.flashkit.com/

http://www.actionscript.org/

-- Search, Read, Learn, then Apply --

Good luck.

[mar1300]

alrite thanks....i'll take a look for sure

[TenTwenty8]

typo on about page: "combing" -> combining ;)
keep workin on it...I was very impressed.

[mar1300]

typo on about page: "combing" -> combining ;)
keep workin on it...I was very impressed.


thanks for pointing out the typo... i thought i was done with the whole grammer thing

and thanks for the complement

[cjoe]

impressive site, impressive portfolio, congrats you've nailed it.

[mar1300]

I would like to thank everyone for their feedback and complements it really means a lot. I don’t have a lot of confidence in my designs or myself and to hear all these great things really inspired me to keep pushing forward. My designs have matured so much since I’ve been coming to this forum. Thank you…

Well I’ve fixed my orange background error finally
I’ve got my work piece poping up in my portfolio section right away…. looks a lot better.
And everything looks a lot smoother thanks to you guys.
and i think i've fixed all my typos........i hope

My next mission is to have my viewers see my work close up by having an option to.

www.marlonhibbert.com

[reuber1]

...I don’t have a lot of confidence in my designs or myself...
After looking at your work, I don't think that's anything you're going to have to worry about. Your work is impressive, and seeing stuff like this inspires me to get going on some more projects too...which means laying down some bucks for software. Soon...soon.

Anyways, it looks great and your improvements definitely make it even better; outstanding job!

[balou]

Great job hopping on all the changes! Site works great. On your portfolio page, do you think it would it make sense to have the title of the project on the left be bold when it is up on screen? Would also be nice to be able to arrow up and down through the portfolio pieces instead of clicking on the names. Sheesh, am I lazy or what?

I LOVE proofreading - found some more if you want them...

About page:
In the last paragraph:
"I've taking the time to use my" - change taking to taken.
Take out comma after family in "for family, and friends."
"and look forward in combining this knowledge" - should be "to combining".
Comma out after Developing in "Web Developing, and Graphic Skills"
"my self" should be myself

Resume:
"Adobe Indesign" should be "Adobe InDesign"
Take out comma after FTP Software
I'd not abbreviate the months. I've never seen June abbreviated and as long as you have the space, why not spell them out?
I'd make the dashes all the same - some are long, some are short.


Contact Page:
contact is spelled wrong.

I didn't see any typos in the portfolio section but paged through them all again...real slow - love the designs.

OK, I'm done! :)

[mar1300]

I LOVE proofreading - found some more if you want them...

WOW! as you can tell i hated English class...I'll make those changes...and i'll work on making the names bold and see if i can work on away to go through my portfolio easier.... thank you very much