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In this article, we will focus on a variety of techniques and best practices to improve the usability of horizontal navigation bars, and we will note less effective styles. We'll also look at several trends that developers can choose from when working on the navigation design for their next project.

Likes- This page layout is simple and the main menu has all the information an employer is looking for, from studio projects to resume and contact info. Dislikes- (and there are many) The navigation is not easy to understand once you get past the main menu. After selecting the studio option I could see the photo icons at the bottom, though small and not titled, but it took me quite some time to notice the tiny light gray arrows in the upper corner. The main images do little to evoke thought, and are too small to really see any detail. It is almost as if she doesn't want you to see her projects? Also, there is no narrative present in the portfolio and no words to express her intentions. It shows me that she put as much thought into her website as she obviously put into her projects. Very little. I think that Vanessa gets a D on this one.

Like: -Very Easy Navigation -Layout of page stays the same no matter what level you are on, so it is very easy to return to a previous screen/project -It is all about the images! Brief descriptions are available for each project, but can be hidden/displayed at viewers discretion -Clear organization (broken down into studio work, thesis work and employment; all of which can be navigated to at any time from any screen. -Appears as though new projects could easily be added without altering the overall layout -Resume is displayed on site, but can also be downloaded  Don't Like/Needs Improvement -Thumbnail images at bottom of page for navigation to projects are too little; could be a little larger to give a better preview of the project -Don't know what the project is until you select it; a brief title could be helpful -Overall, the site is too small; filled less than 1/4 of my screen and images were a little hard to read -When you reach the end of a series of images, it quickly rewinds to the begining; would prefer it to be a loop. -The solid color across the screen when you load a new project is distracting; it might just be the color, but a smaller bar might be better -It is nice that the project title displays when you first select it; but then it goes away until you show the project details.  Perhaps having a constant title bar at the bottom displaying the project title would be helpful

+ Large thumbnails allow for plenty of information about the project the link will take you to + absence of text unless you rollover an image allows for very visual and uncluttered aesthetic + Site map in upper right allows for easy navigation - Length of page means that not all projects are immediately visible. - Button to navigate back to home after a project could be larger - The fact that links to projects is not included in the main site navigation is not readily apparent

+ Beginning animation is unique and grabs viewers interest and loads quickly + Photo collage provides visual information about the projects and creates a unique aesthetic + Loosely organized navigation makes exploring the site more exciting and allows for opportunities for discovery + Artist's eclectic and creative personality comes across with the website design - Sometimes difficult to find and somewhat unintuitive links can be confusing - Abstract project categories can make navigating to a particular page or interest difficult - Lack of color at main project navigation creates a somewhat bland aesthetic

In this article, I'll be analyzing the navigation elements of a particular category of websites, i.e. portfolios. Why portfolios, you ask? Because they represent an interesting blend of creativity and development techniques. As they offer an intriguing user interface and interaction, this often borderlines with what is ultimately defined as an enjoyable user experience. Should aesthetics, originality and creativity come at the expense of usability? Can they reside on the same website in harmony?

+ The main bar appears to stay the same while the content changes, allowing for intuitive and easy navigation + Minimalistic design makes it clean, simple, yet interesting + All of the project links are on a single page and readily visible - Thumbnails for the projects are somewhat small, difficult to see what each project is - Strategy to navigate within projects adds a level of difficulty, arrows to switch between projects and multiple blocks to navigate within a project not very intuitive - Extra space could have been used to include more and larger content

Pros-Simple and easy to navigate. - Well organized images. Work organized into projects from a main portfolio page with a slideshow for each project.-Logo on every screen reminding the view who's portfolio they are looking at. Cons -Very Simple, the home page isn't very attention grabbing. -There are some blank spots on the project selection page which looks unprofessional. -All of the text appears to be pixilated. 

+ project navigation on the left and project images on the right is simple and intuitive and project images are a great size. + Variation of media such as video with images creates an interactive feel + Project text on left is a good size and about the optimal amount (verging on the lengthy side however) - Navigation buttons to switch between different images in a project are not as intuitive and harder to find - Direct posting of project boards instead of individual images make site less engrossing - The web design is light on unique details, and therefore it is hard to get a sense of the personality of the artist from exploring the webpage (the about section is also very short)

Good: 1. The buttons and navigation style is cartoony and interesting, which gives a feel for this guy's personal aesthetic in his work. 2. After clicking a tab (for medium of work), there's a visible list of the content on that page that is shown on the left. 3. There's buttons on left content bar to navigate through pages, but also at the top to navigate through sub-sections of the content (e.g. multiple ads for a single ad campaign). Bad: 1. The content info at the top of his page uses a font that I don't think matches his illustrated/stylized font. It only sticks out because it's the only area of the page that uses different font. 2. After clicking on a link from his home page, you can't get back onto the intro page unless you shorten/modify the URL. 3. When the content list on the left side of the page contains many things, it's annoying to have to scroll to find the last page you viewed after clicking on a single piece.

DISLIKES... - The Autoplay Music: with other running media, it became really distracting & i became more focused on looking for a way to turn it off. Could potentially make a person exit the website - More Descriptive Home: unlike other online portfolios, they usually state "portfolio" or "photography" or something, just to give an indicator as to what the website is. For his portfolio, there is no such description which would be nice to see - Details?: navigating through his site, his work is categorized, however there are not descriptions as to what the "advertising" was for. Even something as simple as "Canadian Hockey Nike Campaign" would have been nice. - About Him: It would have been nice to know a little bit about him (hometown or even the type of work he does) - No Back: Once you click somewhere, there's no real going back. LIKES... - Black & White: gave a sophistication to where I could see some sort of aesthetic in Chris' work. - The Rollover Effect: navigating through the work, there are thumbnails that you rollover and change opacity & starts to zoom out. I thought that was a really interesting effect that made me want to see more of the photo - Simplicity: his portfolio is really simple, which I find pleasing because it's easy to navigate & doesn't have clutter to distract from his photos - Music Choice: although I found the music distracting, his selection created a nice ambiance to his portfolio & created a "personality" to where I could start to get a feel as to who he was. - Use of Nav Buttons: I like how you can instantly flip through photos

likes three colors with good contrast the page feels balanced left to right type face easy flow navigation dislikes header is in the upper right corner face book is way to big it should be a after thought, the weight and size is given equal consideration as the sixinch logo (sad to see)

likes simple layout easy to navigate all images are on the home page header explains it all dislikes busy under links his images pop up again. not a clear point to this action there is not a footer

DISLIKES... - Quick Icons; The icons used to navigate through his work, move really quickly & pop up really fast. - Small font: in combination with some of the light colors & mix with white, the titles were hard to read cause the fonts were so small - Hidden Categories: each time i refreshed the page, the menu icons were just randomly "dropped" onto the page to where sometimes some menu icons were hidden. - Small Viewbox: It is nice to have a formatted size to view his work, however, for some I felt it was too small. There were so much content for some of his work, that shrinking it down to that formatted size didn't do justice to what his work look liked LIKES... - Simplicity: his home page looks clean to where the main focus is the menu icons that really encourages you to interact with his website - Menu Icons: they are really unique & interactive - No Need Back: through the integration of his menu icons, there is never really a need to press the back button. - Interaction: At the very least, every person that comes to his portfolio page would be interested because of the interaction that is required to navigate through his page. It is very playful yet simple

In this portfolio it is mostly visual with very few words. This style of portfolio allows his work to do all of the talking. To me it was very powerful and bold. What I liked best about this portfolio: 1.It is quick and easy to navigate 2. The photos are captivating and large so you know what you are looking at 3. The landing page is clean, precise and different then others I've seen (it looks professional). 4. When you glide over the elongated photos of the works he has been involved in, large white titles show up to tell you right away what file you are about to open. Example: photo of the production Cinderella, hover your curser over the image and click! Now you have several more photos to look at, all on the production of Cinderella 5. The main menu is large and bold, always visible. 6. There is a small text that shows up "move your mouse over me" encouraging the host to explore and help navigate the site. 7. I like that there are current projects he is working on, he includes awards he has won and he has both a contact page and a resume (that you can download) My suggestions of changes this portfolio could have are: 1. It could use more text, all I see is the work, but where are his ideas and contributions (his experiences in this field?) 2. Does he draw his designs or make models, how does he work? 3. I did not see an about page-what is he like? 4. There is nothing too personal about him. For example: no picture. 5. Resume is all one size and same color of text, nothing jumps out at you. 6. His name and title could be larger (on each page). Because as you scroll down you loose his name and then you ask your self who's work am I looking at again, because this is good and I want him to work for me! (although all you have to do is scroll up or click on the back button to return to menu... there his name is prominently displayed again) Overall: It was very hard to find anything that this portfolio needs to change because I really like what James has done with

Glen's portfolio is fun and personal. What a fantastic way to meet future clients and letting them meet you. What I liked best about this portfolio: 1. I immediately love the homepage image and how you interact with it, what a refreshingly new idea that I haven't seen before. 2. When you click on the image you go inside the book bag or you zoom in onto the notebook paper to read the resume. Its fun and inviting. 3. I love that you get a feeling for who this guy is and what he is like. Its personal and friendly. The guy is waving at you, saying hello. 4. I like how everything is black and white until you hover your curser over an area on the drawing like the tie. It all of a sudden gives you a punch of color and a clear definition of what file you might be opening. 5. When you have opened one of the files like his book bag-the photo icons are clean cut and clear, plus the return to homepage is prominent and easy to spot in the upper right hand corner. Easy navigational tools. What could be improved in this portfolio: 1. He could have used some text on his homepage. Like his name and the profession he wants to get into. 2. He could have included a footer. More navigation choices. 3. He could have added different ways the pages morph into one another 4. His Return to Home button is a little too well designed, it is kinda masked, to look like a skeleton to match his portfolio design. It could be even more clearer. 5. In the about me page-he could have given us his name. Overall: This portfolio is flat out Amazing! Making a homepage can be a fun and can be used in an artistic way of introducing your self to your profession. Again it was hard to come up with things Glen could change about his portfolio, because its really good: great use of color to highlight his work and having fun with portfolio.

I like that the page is clean and readable. The simple layout make navigation easy, however many of the pages have far too much information on them. I enjoy reading as much as the next person, but for a design portfolio, I feel that the images should convey the ideas more than words. I like that the contact information is readily available and isn't too distracting at the bace of most of the pages.  The pages move way too fast. One can control where they go but the pages fly by kinda erratically. I like the personal touch, however don't understand why people put their picture in their portfolio. I appreciate her looking professional, however care more about her designs. I don't care for the sounds. I like the fact that it comes in automatically disabled, but then what is the point? If I didn't scroll to the bottom and look at the very light and very tiny font, than I would have never known it existed.