I have now identified my project goals and target audience. Now it is time to consider the technological aspects and the competition that my portfolio will have.
Delivery Requirements
The portfolio site will be put on the domain name www.luke-crossfield.co.uk and it will be hosted on This* Web Host. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading StyleSheets) will be used to hand code the portfolio website. The site will be using the WordPress content management system, this will allow any of the content to be edited when I would like to change it. PHP will used for the contact form, so the website can allow users to contact me via email. Lightbox will be used to show the full size of any images that I put into the portfolio.
Competitive analysis
Most portfolio websites that I have seen online have a simple, minimalist look. In my opinion the designers have given more emphasis of showing off their work. I have chosen to look at Shaun Bellis’s online portfolio. Shaun is a former student of the FdA Web Design course, and he now is in the web design industry. His portfolio site must have been of a good standard to get into the web design industry. First looks of the website show of a simple and easy to look website. The navigation is very simple and easy to navigate throughout. The work he did on the course stands out to which would give an indication into the simple style of the site.
However it does look too corporate in my opinion. It does not have the personal feel that I think a portfolio should have. The colour scheme is bland and too safe in my opinion. White and blue shows a cautious approach to a portfolio website. The typography is very easy to read which goes well with the overall look of the website. Shaun has used a fat footer to put all his links to external websites. In my opinion this gives the website too much white space and does not implement the alignment aspect of the Proximity, Alignment, Repeat, and Contrast (PARC) principles.
Overall though I think Shaun has created a great portfolio website. The simplistic and easy to use approach would be great for a presentation scenario which is the main aspect of the project. I would be looking at creating a similar site to Shaun’s, but I am going to put some personal touches to the simplistic approach that I feel my portfolio needs.
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