Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Classic concept blunders
What can go wrong in a concept? Plenty. Here are some that even well-schooled designers
occasionally fall into:
I'm too flashy for your job. Avoid a portfolio interface that is so intricate, it feels
like you've forgotten its purpose for existence—your projects. The more bells and
whistles you have that don't connect to the work itself, the more impatient the
viewer will become.
Hide and seek. Lots of really interesting work is being done on experimental
interfaces. Unless you are an interface god, don't experiment on your portfolio.
Make your navigation easy to find. Why would you want to put barriers in the way
of people seeing your work?
Low contrast. Because of the difference between Macs and PCs, two colors that may
seem quite different on a Mac may be perilously close to each other on a PC. Check
your color combinations on different computers and monitors before you commit
to them.
Glass ceiling. All portfolio designs should be modular from the beginning—easy to
update and replace. Don't design a site that cannot be changed without breaking
the page. Before you finalize your concept, ask yourself, “What if I had to add
three projects or a new category here?”
In-jokes. Something may be very cool to a small number of people in the know, and
totally pointless or even ugly to those who are not. Show anything you're not sure
of to your mother (or someone like her).
Johnny one note. In most cases, it's a mistake to make your portfolio look and feel
exactly like a project in it, unless that project is a self-promotional piece. Besides
the lack of variety, it implies that you are a creative wannabe.
It's all about sex. Well, it isn't. Unless you want to work for porn sites, avoid
suggestive comments or images in your concept. That doesn't mean that you need
to eliminate all racy content, particularly if you are a game designer or animator.
But the wrapper for such work is more appropriately brown paper.
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