Space Ninja

It’s done! There are some minor details to clean up, such as actually writing the description for each entry, and updating my resume to the new design, but the hard work (processing all the graphics and writing the new CSS code) is done! Yay me!

I was toying with the idea of using a CMS like Movable Type or WordPress to run it and make it easy to update, but I settled on the more simple approach of static files, since it’s still super easy to add new entries (once the graphics are made, I just add a list item to the index page, and duplicate one of the existing details pages with the correct information).

I’m particularly proud of this design. An online portfolio not only needs to show off my design work, but it needs to be strong design itself. I focused on using color and white space, which are things that tend to get ignored in my designs. Just because it’s a website doesn’t mean it can’t have good whitespace, and I’m happy with the results. I spent a lot of time looking at other people’s portfolios for inspiration, and I’m happy to say that my design doesn’t look like anyone else’s.

This is one of those designs where I followed the traditional design workup path of research, sketches, mockups, photography, and final assembly. There’s at least five false starts on my hard drive, and I’d guess around 20 hours of work in the final version of the design. I think the work shows, and it’s a clean, professional design that I’d be proud to show to potential employers as an example of how I work.

Like all my web design lately, this is XHTML 1.0 transitional and standards-compliant. Check it out!