Critique my portfolio, please

Hi, I’m a graphic designer with 3 years of agency experience and would love if someone could help critique it so I can make it much better.
I’ve always been wary of showing my work online and this is the first time I’ve made a Web portfolio since I’m looking for more remote and freelance jobs so this would be my my main showcase.
Thanks!

Portfolio : www.itriedsomething.com

Are you looking for a critique on the website itself, the work or both?

Both.

Okay. First of all, my comments are completely designed to help you improve your site and grow.

That said, I’m just going to go ahead and rip the bandaid off so to speak.

The biggest issue I see is with your own branding / messaging. You have “i tried something” as the domain and primary message, there is “amrita” acting as a fixed position link in the upper left, you scroll to the bottom and see an “aj” logo, and it’s not until you click on “about” that you find out that your name is Amrita and that you’re a freelance designer.

When I was first looking at your site, this came across as being all over the place, and I had no idea what the “amrita” was. My inclination is to look at the work first, so it took me a bit to figure out that was your name.

Also, the “i tried something” doesn’t speak too highly of you. Especially when you drill down in the site a bit and read “i tried branding,” “i tried digital marketing,” etc. Anyone can try something, but there is a big difference between trying something and being able to do something successfully.

All of that said, I think you need to come up with a different domain and spend some time working on the messaging of your site. I like the combination of the script typeface and the sans serif type, so maybe it’s something as simple as setting your name in the script face and then “freelance graphic designer” underneath it in the sans serif font.

On the plus side, you have some nice work, and the images you created to display the work are very nice.

Under digital marketing, I’d suggest you show some of the work rather than just colored blocks.

Some of the links don’t seem to be functioning properly. Take a look at Perlice and Ashley News under print and Madurai and Pretty Natural under websites.

Also under websites, the graphics look like they’re just stock photos. I wouldn’t mind seeing something there that gives me more indication I’m looking at the thumbnail of a website.

The bottom line is this: you have some nice work and show some talent, but your personal branding and messaging needs some work and fine tuning. When everything comes together, you’ll have a great website that is on par with your work.

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Hi Steve,
Thank you so much for taking the time to go through my portfolio.
I understand now why just the i tried something would not work as a standalone on the main page, will try to work around it.

Since this is my first proper web portfolio that I’ve done, I was a bit hesitant about putting my name as the first thing out there. I ill work on the messaging as you suggested.

Since I’m mainly trying for branding and visual design right now, I didn’t spend as much time in the website page. Will be replacing the images soon.

Again, thank you so much!

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You’re welcome. I’d be happy to look at a revised site if you’d like. Good luck!