Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Eventually, some creatives show a knack not only for creative concepts but for
mentoring, managing, or directing the creativity of others. Their hands-on moments
decrease as their responsibilities expand. What happens to the rela-
tionship between their career and their portfolio? Addressing that
question says a lot about the individual. Some maintain a choice
portfolio comprising every good project in which they've had input,
perhaps feeling—with or without justification—that the work
would have been a lesser thing without their touch.
Historically, those who felt uncomfortable with that
approach, who felt that their staff of artists and designers really
deserved pride of place, ended up with a frozen portfolio stashed in
a closet. Case closed, zipped, forgotten.
Former ace designer Ken Loh has reached that career turning point. But luckily
for him, the online world has redefined the concept of a portfolio, as it has nearly
everything else. Being at the top of a chain has changed what he does on a daily
basis. But in return, it gives him the freedom to turn his creative enthusiasms and
connections into a different type of portfolio: one that advertises his continued
engagement in visual issues, and provides a way to keep his hand in the game.
I don't do much hands-
on designing anymore.
I miss it, but when you
have a talented staff
like I do, it's a lot easier
to let some of that go.
—Ken Loh
Navigation and architecture
Plug in Loh's URL, and his “Latest Updates” page appears. A literally “playful”
opening displays one of a constantly rotating subset of Loh's truly staggering collec-
tion of toys. The highly organized top of the page becomes a cornucopia of content as
you scroll down. At first glance it seems chaotic, but you quickly realize that the page
is actually tightly organized in a multicolumn grid. Each column holds all the most
recent updates of one aspect of Loh's busy online world.
Loh was not only a designer and art director; he was, and is, a master of
website coding. His website has been featured on several blogs for its excellent design
and CSS implementation.
The site is built with CSS and JavaScript: a skillful compila-
tion of feeds from all of his social networking sites,
gathered in one place on the “one ring to rule them
all” principle.
Each subsite has a particular pur-
pose. Thing is, none of them do a
good job of telling the visitor who I
am on their own. It just made
sense to integrate them all into
one lifestream.
—Ken Loh
