- What not to include in your site

  • I thought I’d share this list with you guys…

1.) Unidentified icons
(Also known as “mystery meat”) “I want to shake designers sometimes. Why is it a good idea to create navigation buttons that no one can understand?”

2.) Music
“I’m listening to iTunes and I don’t appreciate your clashing with my music.”

3.) Flash intros
“Use Flash if it helps sell your work–if, for example you’re a web designer and you want to show that you can use Flash. But don’t use it just because it seems like a cool thing to do. I’m busy and I want to get to the portfolio–a Flash intro only slows me down.”

4.) Entry pages
“Why would I come to your site if I don’t want to enter?”

5.) Too complicated
“Clean, simple designs are the best. Make it easy for me.”

6.) No contact information
“Make sure your name and profession are on every page. Wherever I am in the site I should know who you are, what you do, and how to get in touch with you.” – Include a mailing address and contact info.

7.) Bad copy
“I recently saw 2 examples of this from 3D artists. One said, ‘Don’t mind the typos–I’m fixing them when I move my site to a new server.’ The other said, ‘Welcome to my site. I threw it up one day when I was bored, so don’t expect too much, but you’ll find examples of my work here.’”

8.) Trying to include everything
“Be very selective and show only the best of the best. Choose only the work of which you’re most proud.”

9.) Including unrelated stuff
“If you’re a short-story writer or photographer, your design portfolio is not the place to showcase your work–unless you’re somehow marketing your writing or photography skills as part of the design package.”

10.) Bad structure
“Lay out the portfolio in a way that makes sense to your visitors, not you. How will your target customer or employer navigate your site? What will they be looking for? If you don’t know, find out before you lay out the site.”

11.) Can’t download resume or bio
“Do you exist only in cyberspace?”

12.) No personality
“You must use your portfolio to communicate what makes you special–not just to showcase disparate pieces of work. Decide on your marketing message and then design a site that works with that.”

13.) Getting lost
“The navigation bar must be visible at all times and you must be able to find your way back from wherever you are.”

14.) Monster files
“I won’t wait for 3 minutes for that great animation to load on my machine! And what’s more, I’ll leave because I get irritated easily.”

  • disclaimer: This article was pulled from Dynamic Graphics magazine. The list is from Blue Sky Resumes’ Louise Fletcher.