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My burning question is how do I make my online architectural portfolio stand out from other portfolios? I found a blog at www.thinkvitamin.com by author Mike Kus that had some great ideas. One of his ideas was to keep it simple and not be afraid of having blank space. I think this is really good input because having a clean and unfettered layout is attractive to potential employers. How the items are arranged on the site and where the blank areas are can also showcase design layout skills. Another one of his ideas is to have a good set palette of colors. Having a specific palette that is consistent throughout the portfolio helps to give the site a coherent sense of identity and character. Also, the color palettes in the example portfolios he gives compliment and contrast with each other very effectively. I plan on doing further research on effective and attention grabbing color combinations as this seems important. Other important aspects that he can make a portfolio stand out if done effectively are imagery and typography, bucking current web trends, and attention to detail. His examples of portfolios are not all architectural but their merits are definitely applicable and are worth taking a look at.

In a world of too many options and too little time, our obvious choice is to just ignore the ordinary stuff. Marketing guru Seth Godin spells out why, when it comes to getting our attention, bad or bizarre ideas are more successful than boring ones.

likeswhitehome page it directly lets you know what to expect. no searching involved.contact info is simple on the home page then specific on the contact page dislikesbad choice of color for the contact info on the home page. address is hard to see.i don't like how i have to view the artist twice to check out their work.

Like:-Overall Layout is clear and concise/simple-Navigation bar remains constant at all levels-Contact information is very clear-Load Sequence of projects is very interesting, and looks great when done-Large thumbnail images -Simple project description on each page; not too distracting and a good balance of images and text Don't Like/Needs Improvement-Page is too simple when you first open it; looks like there is information missing-Projects load too slowly-When you first load a project, it defaults to a blank box, rather than automatically loading the first image -Could be helpful to have a thumbnail image associated with each project to give a quick glimpse/overview -Overall, the site could be a little larger; only fills a small portion of my screen.

What I like... - Branches that come out from bigger titles - Easy to jump into the other work images and to come back - Clear organization of works with proper details What need to be improved... - PDF file rinks on the left and top make me confused and give less impact on the main manu on the bottom - Taking a little time to show related images - Since worked by Flash, web address doesn't change when I move around on the web site

I like the opening page with music. I normally would not say this, but I like the music and the images go along to the change in notes. The work isn't really good, but its a nice try on polishing a dud. I like the layout. Its clear and the gray on black makes the images stand out better. There seems to be too many images that really don't help display this persons work. Some of the images don't seem to have any relevance to the project being shown. Why show random pictures of urban decay? I enjoy the contrast between the former built and the nature that will eventually engulf it, but it distracts from the idea of designing and building anew.  I like the the layout of the individual projects. Main image above with thumbnails along the bottom, followed by a brief description. Too many downloads. In order to see any display boards, one has to down load the files. I think there should be a hierarchy of fonts. All of the font seems to bleed into its self.

Works: 1. Clean and simple layout, few tabs. 2. Design is dark color allowing images to pop out. 3. First thing you see are thumb nails of artists works. Does not Work: 1.About does not include a resume. 2."Prints available".... confuses a little. Is this a store? 3. Text color could be white instead of another shade of grey, site is already grey/ash/black.

What I like... - Use of two different colors (simple but clear) - Showing thumbnail images that interest me - A simple composition of overall web design What need to be improved... - It is confusing to figure out the relationship between thumbnail pictures and contents - It is hard to see the hierarchy of contents (it makes me to keep forgeting where I am and how I get into the page...) - A weak first page with little information

+Simple +Everything is out front and readable from front page +large, good quality pictures -I don't like how all the text is same color, i would change color of text on top right, to decipher from menu -i didn't realize there was anything under main picture, i would give some sort of clue to scroll down

A collection of websites which offer free online portfolio platforms. Some of these start out free and charge extra if you go beyond just the basic versions. Others require an invitation.

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.

User-controlled site that showcases interesting digital portfolios. Like this diigo group, but on a larger scale. Worth checking out.

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: -the layout that he puts menu on the left, and has a good quality of image on the right. -clean menu, such as you will see a bunch of his woks when you click "work," rather than putting those directly on menu. -fading out/ in images look sophisticated. Dislikes: -need to think about the contrast; blue on white is little hard for me to recognize those words. -he can definitely use the space on the left more efficiently. -those fonts are too small to get them.

Likes: -The way "Lyndon Wade," and the images come out when entering the website. -The layout that is so simple, such as five images on dark gray background. -The font "Lyndon Wade" _When you go to the portfolio page, you will be able to see thumbnails at first. Dislikes: -When you enter the website, pop-up will come up. -Your internet browser will expand when you try to go to the website. -The scheme, orange and black, is little bit strange to me.

likes: -very animated -visually consistant -very organized and easy to navigate -nice color scheme -personal touch dislikes: -problematic with slower computers -pop ups can be annoying -buffering speeds vary - possibly too much going on -splash page is unavoidable

Likes: -the way those images fade in/ out -the contrast between the characters(light gray) and the background(white) -two languages are available; ENG and JP -you will see his latest product through flash player, entering the website. Dislike: -another window will be brought when you try to get in the website, which is annoying. -the most important contact information, email addresses have liter color. -strange music

Likes: 1. Uses mouse tracking to navigate horizontally, which is fun and interactive 2. Clean look--fonts work well together (only 2 or 3, which keeps it simple) 3. Client info is clear, and makes it clear what the author of the website does. Dislikes: 1. I don't understand the significance of the numbers at the top of the page (why they're out of order, and why there's only this selection being shown...) 2. The author of the website could use a copy editor.....there are some grammatical and sentence errors. 3. Flash scroller is a bit jumpy after page loads various items....

Likes: 1. Pages showing art use the artwork as their background, which is attractive 2. Description of art is clear and out in the open--not hard to find, and readable 3. There are two thumbnail options to click on: to view the full piece of art, and to view a zoomed-in photo (nice to be able to see detail) Dislikes: 1. Trajan font is overused, and the rest of the fonts don't work very well together... 2. The links in the "artists" section don't lead anywhere... 3. Navigation between artwork pages is confusing--doesn't give much direction.