Firstly, I have a website. I do not like it. It looks childish and amateurish. I want it to look professional, but look fun and playful at the same time. Now, I am competent enough in Flash to make my own website, but if I make it in Flash, I know that will cause trouble for people who may be using an iPad or iPhone to view my website (correct me if I'm mis-informed though!), and I want my website to be as accessible as possible so I'm not ruling anybody out. Plus, many people in the old graphics industry tend to love their Apple products!
But I'm afraid I don't have many web development powers of my own (having only dappled in HTML and such in my teenage years. Does anyone remember Teen Open Diary? Man, I used to love that website, I had the Cheers theme tune play whenever someone visited my page!), so I'm left with several options:
a.) Teach myself some web skills (the question then crops up of: what do I need to learn? Java? HTML? CSS? XHTML? Dreamweaver Scary stuff!)
b.) Settle for a website that offers templated designs that I can customise (but I would like to put some animations on my website, and my research so far has revealed that not that many places cater for that!)
c.) Pay a web designer to do my website (which can be expensive, and I don't want to rely on another for when I want to update my website).
I think some more research is required, but as you can see I'm just getting myself pretty darn confused with the whole dilemma. Although I have done a little research, I have had a mild search through the interweb, and found a few websites of graphic designers/illustrators that I quite like.
BUMBLEBEE
I adore the illustrative style and the fun colourful-ness of this website. It makes the Bumblebee look fun and playful. I really respond to the layout of the site and how it is all set in their house. The subtle pieces of animation look awesome and are exactly what I would like to incorporate in my own website.
I'm less keen on how they choose to show examples of their work. While I really like the TV screen and the small buttons to switch between related pieces (its very organised and clear!); I feel their work should be shown at a larger scale to give the viewer a chance to fully appreciate the work.
A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING
Simple and straight to the point. Its a bold move to talk to a potential client in the tone that this graphic designer does - but I really like it! And if I like it, they're bound to be others out there who respond to it as well!
THE BOY FITZ HAMMOND
I was shown this illustrator's website by a colleague in work, and I really admire his work. Once again, so playful and fun with a good sense of humour! He has a lovely varied style, and I like the way in which he has chosen to display his work. I liken it to a blog post which you can click on and see more. He gives you a taste of all of his projects (as well as various ways of searching for something you are particularly seeking)
and if you likes the look of something you just click to see more. It doesn't rely on fancy slideshow webby gadgets, its simple and requires little mouse-clicking - he lets his work speak for itself. I like that.
MEOMI
How cute is this website? I simply love all the little bits of animation, and its tree house setting. Very similar to the Bumblebee website I mentioned earlier - but it appears to cram a lot more information in its pages. I like a busy scene, but I think the content needs to be simple and clear to other viewers. I believe most web users are impatient, and dislike spending their time trying to locate a certain bit of information, or just reading too much in general. Not that Meomi is particularly guilty of this, I just find the home page a bit cluttered and theres no easy way of knowing where each button takes you.
AARDMAN DIGITAL
I think I'm just putting this is here because I like Aardman so much (who doesn't?). I like the animated buttons, which is something I'm keen to include in my website. Its only something simple, but it just adds a little bit of action to an otherwise dull web page.
JON BURGERMAN
Once again, I really like this guy's work. But his website (similar to The Boy Fitz Hammond) lets his work do the talking. Lots of images and little chunklets of text. I think this is a good formula.
TOGETHER DESIGN
I really enjoy the small animation that reacts to what buttons you press - I think its a lovely touch that makes visiting the web page more of an experience for the viewer. The layout is also different from most websites I've visited. Originally, when I designed the website that I no longer like, I believed it was best to never make the viewer use the scroll bar. But since working at Splinter, and looking at lots of designers' websites, my opinion has completely changed, and I quite like scrolling through a designer's work, rather than messing with a weird slideshow thumbnail gadget that may take ages to load; and also limits how large you can display your work and the amount you can show. Together Design implements the no scroll bar rule well though, reserving a very large space to showcase its portfolio of work.
PASCAL CAMPION
Annnd finally, the website of another illustrator shown to me my a colleague in work! Such lovely work! A nice simple website that utilises the thumbnail-separate-window-for-work technique very well. Although I'm not too keen on doing this with my own portfolio… but knowing me I'll end up doing the complete opposite and have one of these cool thumbnail do-dah things!
So there we go. Its been good to go over my list of notable websites. I feel its given me a clearer view of what I want and what move to to make next.
I think I will research some blogging websites such as wordpress or typepad (don't worry, I'm still keeping my blogger account though!!) and ask whether they will allow me to use roll over buttons and slight use of flash animation…I have my doubts but I won't know till I find out! I will also try to find a forum and see if I can obtain any advice there too!
Anyways, who knew Claire could find the energy to write a blog post after a day at work? It just goes to show that I was just being plain lazy, and now I have no excuse!
In the next couple of weeks I hope to write some posts on some lady illustrators I have stumbled upon, and I just want to gush over their work! Yippee!
Have a good night, imaginary readers!
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