The only issue i have is with the picture on the front page. I don’t think it’s a good photograph, your crotch is BAM right in peoples eyes and once people see the picture they quickly close their browsers. Atleast I know I did. I think your crotch will scare potential clients from working with you or even coming back to your site.
cheerio
OK, so do you think I should make it a flash site with the image dead centre, so no scrolling, no blank space etc.?
“If you want long scrolling, check this out: www.designchapel.com”
When you can design like them I’ll look past your scrolling and bubbles!!!..oh and crotch shot
[QUOTE=Timmytots;2356342]that’s the intention of the photography, as I say, it’s RAW. We’re surrounded by glossy photographs of models etc. with attention to lighting and composition. This is more ‘arty’.[/QUOTE]
It doesn’t look arty - it looks like you don’t care.
I really don’t think you put even 10 minutes thought into that photograph. It looks like a snapshot. It’s not arty and it’s not original, there are literally hundreds of thousands of pictures that look just like that taken by people all over the place. When I look at this photo I don’t see “RAW” I see “slob”.
I never suggested you make it look glossy and you are certainly not a “traditional” looking model. If you want to make it look nitty gritty, raw, or you need more texture and YES better composition.
Photographs can say whatever you want them to say, but there are certain things which make your message get across better (composition, lighting, etc…) Do you think good web design principles are overused, pointless, and unimportant? The same goes for photographs.
okay, your portfolio sites are actually sort of wicked, as w1sh pointed out.
please just go and make a site for yourself that is a little in line with the design skills you obviously have. I realise you feel that’s for the common, commercialist-minded folk and your site needs to be in the realm of food for the soul kind of thing, but that page with your (grungy) photo and a billion teeny-tiny links and reams and reams of teeny-tiny text is just plain wrong. if anyone ever actually reads all that stuff, come on over and shoot me.
you can make a decent site, timmytots. you can, you can - I know it!! go on, son - just do it! go on!! 
edit:
If you want long scrolling, check this out: www.designchapel.com
that is indeed a whole lot of scroll!! but I gotta say - I enjoyed every second of it… their design is really sharp, me like very much. I was actually quite sorry once I ran out of scroll…
[URL=“http://www.designchapel.com/”]
celandine,
The problem with the scrolling is that he defends his work by comparing it to other designs…But he is unable to defend why he made the decision which shows a lack of skill, knowledge for the craft, which than shows a true professional from a hobbyist. Doing it because some else did it doesn’t make it right. I bet clients (paying) aren’t banging down his door like they are at designchapel.
ha ha ha yeah I get that… and of course saying ‘look, someone else did it even worse’ doesn’t stand up as an excuse… but one thing I always try to make myself do in these reviews is stop trying to change people. timmytots is what he is, for better or for worse - he will not transform into a different designer or a different human being because of anything you or I say. (even if we resort to calling him names :D)
this doesn’t mean we can’t give an honest opinion about the work he wanted critiqued, which I tried to do. I was actually channeling your point really - saying ‘yes, designchapel have loads of scroll, but it works for them. it doesn’t, sadly, work for you’.
also I stand by my statement - the man has some darn decent work in his portfolio. I really believe the only thing holding him back from making a really good site for himself is the idea that he needs to be up in the artsy stratosphere, instead of swimming down here in the real world with the rest of us insufficiently artsy types…
ha ha sorry about talking about you in the third person, timmytots. but do you sort of see where I’m coming from?
i guess.
Hmmm, I’m loathe to post here because I feel it will only encourage you to create yet more gothic-style internet abortions, but seriously…that picture is awful. Do you really think the faux Russell Brand image you’re portraying would make you more likeable/attract more clients/get you laid more often? If you do, then I’d suggest you’re sadly mistaken.
As for the rest of the site I’m afraid it’s almost completely unreadable and, of the few parts that can be read, it’s incomprehensible, meaningless, rubbish at best.
You’re also not the first to create a dark and eery site that involves endless scrolling:
http://worlds-highest-website.com/
The significant difference is that their content is far more meaningful and intelligible.
I have to agree with some of the comments…you clearly can make a decent site if you wanted to but, at this moment in time, the major obstacle appears to be yourself. To paraphase Alberti…“A man can do all things if he actually wanted to”
Hope that helps.
i suppose i agree w/ the masses here - the site is too dark and the font size is too small. consider brightening things up by using a light grey bg instead of black, which would still allow you to use your vivid green and pink accents and provide a friendlier feel for your viewers.
i guess.
that means a lot somehow
[QUOTE=Timmytots;2356299]i’m actually going to say that with your lengthy critique you actually quite like it.[/QUOTE]
A critique is not meant to imply that I like it - I was trying to do you a favor by adding my own personal opinion to your website … and since you’ve gone and pointed out that a lengthy critique means that we probably favor it … then you are highly mistaken. I’ve seen better attempts by you before this - and this attempt is lacking on all accounts.
Don’t assume.
Try harder.
Learn from the community here - many offer great help at no cost.
‘Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.’
Samuel Beckett
i’m actually going to say that with your lengthy critique you actually quite like it.
Shorter is meaner?
I hate it.
Timmy I’ve been a bit of a follower to your threads because i like a good read, but i don’t think you are realizing what you really want to be doing on the internets.
Here are some recourses that fit your content more appropriately.
myspace.com
facebook.com
:bounce::mario::pac::pac::pac::sen::stare::beer2:
Hahah, you think the photo looks arty? Deary me, it doesn’t look arty, it just looks like a dull snapshot, more apt for myspace than a portfolio.
You seriously, seriously don’t want that photo on a portfolio.
I’m sorry, it doesn’t look arty Timmy. What we preach in art doesnt coincide with what we do in design. Art can deal with abstract and obscure concepts, and you’ll often see artists pushing the boundary of conventional practice to stir up controversy. To drop some monocles of the elitist practice of high-art, if you will.
Even though art and design compliment each other, they are totally different things. In designing something, we’re looking to sell a product. We WANT the glitzy glammy plastic conventional rubbish if its appropriate. We dont want to deter the customer and have them feel unsure about the trustworthiness of our ability. And when you gain some authority in the design field, just as you do in the art world, you can push the boundaries and be unconventional. Those people are good enough to be doing so, and can tastefully decide how much is too much.
[QUOTE=darkmotion;2356569]Shorter is meaner?
I hate it.[/QUOTE]
[ot] Dark you are brilliant[/ot]
Still talkng up your table tennis, huh?
:hang:
