Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Content
Bennett is a self-employed web and graphic
designer, and his portfolio site is by far his main pre-
sentation form. Most potential clients base their deci-
sion to use his services on the site without a face-to-
face portfolio presentation. Given its importance, he's
given a lot of thought to what brings a prospective
client to his site, and what they expect to find there.
As a web designer, he needs to show a range of site
design projects in addition to his own site's obvious
object lesson. As a print designer, he needs to show his non-screen work in a way that
indicates his sensitivity to traditional issues. And that means shots of finished print
work, to avoid confusing one type of medium with the other.
Bennett never forgets that ultimately it's all about the work. Every project
image is of stunning quality and shows a different aspect of the whole, framed and
cropped individually to show off the defining design elements. He shoots only high-
resolution photos, and he spends the extra time in optimization to maintain the exact
color levels he needs. Each image is compressed to exactly the optimum file size: big
enough to hold even delicate details, but small enough to load as fast as possible. He
describes the key to his process: “I will set up a document to the actual pixel size of
the final image I want for my portfolio. From here I will copy and paste my hi-res
project photos and images into the document. The advantage of working like this is
that it allows you to play around with the images position and size so you can crop
into it where you feel it looks the best.”
It's a juggling act trying to get the
balance right between the image
looking sharp and crisp and it not
being too large in file size. But it's
worth the effort, as this is what
decides the speed it will load on a
user's system.
—Thom Bennett
Future plans
Bennett created this redesign to make his site easier to update and to provide
more visual impact with each image. One of Flash's drawbacks is that it creates sites
that can take constant effort to stay current, in contrast to a standard HTML site that
can often be updated with minimal fuss. Like Jonnie Hallman in Chapter 1, Bennett
has separated the wrapper from the content—he
updates using XML and linked images. As a result, this
site will likely remain present for the foreseeable
future, hopefully to gain its own share of approbation
from potential clients and other design professionals.
I hope my website shows users that
the graphic and website design
work I create is both considered
and intelligent.
—Thom Bennett
