To begin my journey towards the creation of a portfolio website I performed a content audit of a similar website. This helped me gain insight into what the website would potentially include and guided me in my creation of a content strategy.
I identified key elements that my final piece should have, these include:
Homepage, Call to action buttons, links, Case studies, Contact information, and a little about myself.
I attempted to use google trends in order to find the keywords most searched for in the UK over the last 5 months, I chose this time period because it would be considered contemporary to my time and I was to optimize my website as much as possible to as I am discovered. My thinking is that those searching for employees or interns will be looking for the search terms I have discovered. From these trends, I found that the term UI had dropped off significantly in the past few years whereas UX is up Meaning I will lean a bit more in that direction when creating a content strategy.
These keywords will be peppered throughout my content guiding my thinking and helping build well-constructed content. In order to give me further constraints with content, I have found some websites that I like in terms of style and tone.
www.jackmcdade.com offers an excellent example of the tone I would like to capture where I can, his offbeat comments about himself. His quirky offbeat wording makes him seem down-to-earth and friendly however the renegade style of the content is not my cup of tea but fits in really well with Jack’s content strategy.
Jack has had the amazing idea of showing his top picks for movies which made me think I should include something like this perhaps with music or books. Jacks brutal honesty about things other would be insecure about is very refreshing “Fauxhawk to hide my receding hairline” this comment again fortifies the idea that jack is fun to be around he is self-deprecating and shows that he can deliver the goods through his case studies but his success hasn’t gone to his head, truly inspiring. I feel like I could perhaps see about recording a read-through of my case studies and having it beside the content in order to help usability for visually impaired people.
The portfolio of one Kuon Yagi set the type of style I like. It’s sleek and clean dare I say over-designed in some places but it captures professionalism and love for web development. He uses modern techniques such as paralaxing and delivers a fresh flowing experience.
His icons are a thing of beauty and carefully numbered each section of his about page creating a sense of narrative structure throughout. Kuon’s use of large font and icon size throughout his page feels courageous but it just works. I feel I will experiment with the same style as Kuon but perhaps tone it down a little to give a more pragmatic and utilitarians approach.
Below I will post my content strategy so far further refinement may be required, once I have everything written I can then begin to see my thoughts and pick pieces out and add others in to try and maximize impact by minimizing boredom.
HOMEPAGE:
Nav on all pages about me, contact, case studies
(Image of myself)
Call to action (story)
Contact info footer
ABOUT ME:
Hey Folks!
I’m Ian Robb and I spend way too much time on Youtube! I start learning about history and before you know it I’ve autoplayed my way to videos about how aliens built the pyramids (Probably not true but a guy can dream)
Passions
UX/UI, Web Dev, and branding
I love to design, but not just pretty websites, I love to problem solve and design solutions. I just like to be helpful.
(Image as a child.)
As a child, I enjoyed taking my toys apart to figure out how they worked. This resulted in the ambitious project of trying to construct my own robot. But I got busted by my parents and had to get rid of all my wiring and circuit boards.
Case Study 1
Branding
When designing a brand it’s important to create something unique and identifiable.
Before the designing can even begin I like to establish some keywords linked to the brand image. I wanted to show that not only is my work bespoke but beautiful.
A period of inspiration follows, the time taken can differ depending on what kind of company the brand is for.
(inspiration pics)
Once a few concepts have been sketched out on paper I can hash these concepts out digitally.
(Concepts image)
Sometimes further refinement is necessary after gathering feedback from colleagues, They have to be honest or the design process risks being flawed. In this project in particular I received some really good feedback, I was informed that some of my designs looked like an estate agent which is missing the mark entirely. Don’t take it personally when this happens don’t attach your heart to your work in this way, the feedback isn’t to criticize you but to improve your work and help the client get a better product.
(feedback image)
After watching a documentary about Native American cave art I saw many images of people’s hands and suddenly it hit me. Everyone is born with a unique fingerprint, it’s both bespoke and beautiful. A brand and a website are like a digital fingerprint a unique identifier. With my concept now strengthened I was able to work it into my previous work and create something I was proud of.
What I learned through this process was to not be afraid to start from square one sometimes a concept will look better or sound better in your head than it does in the real world and that’s ok, take the risk and start again or salvage what you can. It’s all part of the design process.
Case Study 1
Re-Branding
When I was studying at college I decided to see if I could take what I have learned and make some money from it, take a chance, and if the door gets slammed on my face what the hell at least I can refine my approach.
A few doors later I discovered a nifty website called Upwork. The site didn’t accept me and I didn’t have enough experience in the industry, but they made one fatal mistake. They allowed me to see projects wanting proposals and gave me their contact info also.
The company was a London-based CBD peddler so I decided to give it a try and see what I could come up with under pressure.
I was trying to aim for a concept of “Mind and Body” from what my research told me about the product it felt like a really good fit. I was able to come up with three strong concepts and quickly sketched them out.
( terrible sketches)
I know what your thinking, “This guy can really draw”. The terrible drawing doesn’t really matter I used these sketches as a placeholder to trigger my mind back to the concept I was thinking of.
One hour later I had three ideas sketched down. Now it was time to make them real.
(Digital images)
With three proposals in hand I wrote my thinking out along with my brands, I had butterflies in my stomach and a sense of achievement in my chest. I had completed a project under pressure for a company that was in the market for my product.
They responded within 24 hours, I was impressed I have respect for an efficient company. The butterflies returned as I opened the email.
They had already chosen a different brand. I was too late.
I learned that I can work creatively under pressure though so my spirits were high. They rejected my proposal but what a successful person never fell on their face. Luckily I have a thick skin and the faith to continue. I will always be carried forward with the thought of try again, fail again, fail better.
WireFrames:
