professionalism in web design

[razuel]

So I finally finished my first flash web site, and my first 'professional' portfolio. ( www.jbscreations.com if you didnt see it in the showcase )

But I just don't feel right about it. Sure, it looks cool, but it just doesn't feel professional. I'm still in college, but as far as I know I want to get into the media design business.. but for some reason I don't see this as a portfolio that a well known graphic/web design company would hire.

Am I crazy or is there just something missing with all of my work.. is it too graphical based maybe? It doesn't feel professional to me.

[htmldude]

doesnt look "unprofessional" to me. imo you should fill it up with some more stuff. on your resume page the "education" part gets bunched into the stuff above it. overall i like the design but i'd say just give people a little something more to look at.

[razuel]

Hmm.. other than filling up my portfolio?

[ecsyle]

<title>main</title>

You might want to change that.

Also, again, it's not doing anything that actually requires an entire flash site.

It looks cool though, but I wouldn't hire you base on your site alone. I would have to see how well rounded your web and design abilities are. The site is not showing me that.

Does the sound have anything to do with your abilities as a web designer, or did you just think it was cool? I had music playing when I visited your site, so at least you had a way to stop it. It kinda feels like a gamer site to me, not that of a designer.

[chris_bcn]

^^ what ecsyle said.

The look and feel puts me off immediately. It looks like a hobbyist site of some sort. Not that of a professional designer

[razuel]

Yes yes, that's what I feel too.. but I don't know why.

Where am I going wrong with this?

[chris_bcn]

trying too hard ot make something that looks cool, but forgetting to get the basics down first?

Work out your inforamtion architecture. Ask yourself why you're building the site. What is it there for? why should someone visit, and if they do, why are they there and what do they want?

For my money the best portfolio sites are clean and simple. Lots of white space and the work takes centre stage not the site itself

[razuel]

yeah that makes sense to me.. I think I was too focused on making something that looks cool because my portfolio is so empty.

maybe I should have worked on the portfolio first.

[ecsyle]

^^^ what chris said

You aren't doing anything wrong per se, but you might be thinking about trying to look cool instead of trying to convey the right message. And I will say that designing your own site is one of the toughest projects to complete. I have been struggling with my own site for a long time. I actually took it offline just to rethink the entire thing because I felt I wasn't saying what I needed to say, and instead tried to make it look cool.

[tZ]

^ even more difficult when you have nothing to say.

It seems to me like you got the idea to build a site without first establishing the most important part- information.

Once you have something you want to say then build a website. If you have no content or very little in your portfolio there is no need to build a site.

Yes, it looks somewhat 'cool' but, who cares? Design isn't about what looks cool and doesn't. Design is commuicating and that is something you need to understand before beginning any project not only a web site. Cool is subjective. What looks cool to be may not look cool to someone else. However, the rules and 'guidlines' that bind sucessfull design are not so much. Something may not look cool but, if it gets the message out in an effective and memorable manor it is sucessfull by design standards. On the otherhand, if something is only cool and doesn't communicate anything to an audience then what was the point to the creation in the first place?

Companies and people who are serious about their business generally want to tell the world something and as designers its outr job to do this visually. If the design is only addressed on how 'cool' it looks then the most important aspect- the client- isn't being thought about.

well… thats my rant.

Personally, I think cool in web design though has it place. However, not with flash. You can do everything the same with javascript and have it be assemble to everyone and load much quicker. Javascript is a much better way to go then actionscript/frame based animation using flash. If your into the web design dersign stuff I would highly recommend learning javascript its a much better alternative to actionscript. However, even with javascript you need to rmember with great power comes greate responsiblility,lol.

For instance, yes, I may me able to script all those effects you have going but, before I do I would need to ask myself why? If I can't come to a reasonable answer then its prombly best to leave them out. Interaction and animation effects should enhance the viewers journey throughout your website, but never at the sacrifice of the most important aspect- design and/or communication.

[xplod_ldg]

I see you fixed the displaying problem ... ;)

[fiend]

You should let your work be the centerpiece of the design of your website.

Think about structuring your site with clean css/xhtml, letting content be king. The flash and annimation aspect should be supporting not dominating, letting your work shine through. I know most web design shops out there right now are looking for the conceptual/artistic skills but also a solid foundation in front-end web coding, which right now is css/xhtml based sites. Your site as it is now can be done without building it only in flash.

Think end user, in you case an employer, And design you site for them.

good luck :)