My portfolio (Work in progress) www.grjd.com

Hi All,

Here is my new portfolio:
www.grjd.com

It is very much a work in progress, but what are your thoughts?

Thanks,

Greg.

P.S. Don't mind the music, I'll be changing that... :)

I love the music - keep it even just for the fun.

Looks great, same feeling than being in a game

and the leather will keep us warm

fun

I really like the warmth of the site as well. Really enjoyed the repeating smoke clip behind the star on the front page.

One small thing to think about, when I moused over the feature work on the bottom of the page, which also looks quite nice by the way, as I moved from left to right, the description box for the particular job was tucked behind the previous one. Would it be possible to stack them on the same level? If they're being created dynamically, could you set the level variable to be the same?

It's a great start, look forward to seeing the completed version.

Lincoln

Thanks! Yeah, I noticed the same thing w/ the mouse level issue. I tried to have it swap depths on rollover, but it didn't work because they are on different layers. I'll resolve it before i start blasting out resumes, although i am currently happily employed as a designer at a software development company :-).

It's great to have a steady job isn't it!

I'm in a similar spot, I work for a great company, but try to maintain a bit of work outside of the 9-5 day for my own sanity. It also sharpens the mind and design skills.

I look forward to seeing the example work you've done, your portfolio site is quite nice, hope the clients you had gave you the freedom to design their sites.

Thanks Lincoln. I wish i had the freedom to be more creative at my job. For the most part, I can be...but I have to balance it w/ being professional. Here is the latest site I did for the company I work for www.mobiletoolbox.com. I think it's creative, but still professional. What are your thoughts?

I like it quite a bit. Has a very playful, yet professional feel. Too many sites have an over techy feel and don't really convey the fact that they're selling anything. Very well done.

I like the layout. The colors a sublte yet effective (is that a coporate green or just a color for the site?) The products/services are well defined, which is the most important part of any website like this. I figured out what you do quickly and without much "thought".

I've worked on a couple sites where we were unable to find an affordable, stylistic package of photography, and fell back on photography like the images you have of the people on phones, looking happy, and jumping around. I think there's a mint to be made by the person with the foresight to come up with a new way of handling photography like that. We, as a design community, are starting to homoginize photography to a point where sometimes the a site's look is marginalized by having images similar to too many others...

In the same breath, I'm guilty of just that. It's far easier to just use what works, than to try and risk allienating the prospective customer in the name of "art"...

Agian, I really like your site, and get the impression you have a fairly professional atmosphere there while stilll retaining the fun aspects of a tech company.

Do you do mostly coding or concepting for the sites? Soulds like you've done a few revisions or designs by the way you stated you previous email.

Lincoln

Very insightful response. I agree, sometimes using stock photography dilutes a site…and, obviously guilty of it at times. In terms of what I do, well…pretty much everything. From a blank canvas in Photoshop to the final product on the web. I work w/ all developers, so if there is anything too heavy on the coding side I send it off to them. And yes, I seem to redesign our products sites every 7 or 8 months. Although, I think that the current design of Mobiletoolbox should stick for a while…But who knows!

That's one of the best parts about having a web based job, after a few months, there's always the possibility of a redesign. Our company has had an awful website for the past 3 years, and we're finally under way with a comprehensive redesign.

Sounds like you've got a pretty nice gig with the company. How long have you been with them?

I know what you mean, i want to redo our corporate site it's pretty lame (even though I made it about a year ago ;-)) Yeah, I really can't complain about my job. I have been here for about a year and a half...although it's hard to believe. I hate the city I am living in (Windsor, Ontario...right across from the Happiest Place in the World - Detroit). The plan is to work in the states, but I am not in too much of a hurry being as I have a good job here now.

That's pretty funny. Jobs are always the begining and end of my plans for life. Ivisited Windsor on my way to Syracuse, it's nice. Much nicer than Detroit...but then agian, most places are.

If I had my choice of places to live, Vancouver BC would be at the top of my list. Had a chance to visit the city about a 6 years ago and fell in love with the area. I'm not sure what the design community is like out there, but I'm sure it's like every large city, pockets of great design surrounded by a lot of people comprimising their ideas for the almighty dollar...like I do!

Maybe we could swap citizenships for a couple years...

: )

Windsor is very blue collar, not a very good representation of a quality Canadian city like Vancouver. I actually had an opportunity to head out there for a job once, but the plans fell through. Well, not so much the plans falling through but the company going bankrupt ;-). I'd be all for swapping citizenships...haha

Sorry to hear about the Vancouver deal going sour.

Back to the topic of the thread, your site, how much content do you have to place on the site? Mostly web work?

Well, I am going to split it into three sections. Web, Print and Logos. That’s primarily what I do, and I have a pretty healthy collection of each. It should look decent when it’s all done; however finding time to complete it is quite a challenge!

I understand completely. I'd love to give my site an overhaul, but with the holidays coming up, it probably won't happen for at least a few months.

Regardless, when you do find the time, keep up the good work.

Lincoln