My portfolio website - review please?

Dave!

Hey guys,

Just wondering if ye could take a look at my portfolio site, and let me know what you think!

www.davidmcginn.ie

The main flaw that I know about off the bat is that the home/index page is a loada sh*te, and should have alot more stuff on it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Design isn't really my forte, but it's the area I'm more interested in, so I'm hoping to improve.

The site is intended for employers, as I'm looking for work in web design or development.

I'm not very happy with it in general, so I was messing around with a new design the other day... Either of these look good to you?

http://www.davidmcginn.ie/dm1.png
http://www.davidmcginn.ie/dm4.png

They're at least grid-based, which the current one is not

Cheers!

lil_lisa

I like your current colours. I would look at your consistency though. You seem to have a few different ways to get through pages and it can be a bit confusing. On your 'about' page, I would change 'wanna' to 'want to', its more professional which is important considering this site is geared directly towards professionals.

I would consider moving everything slightly centre on your main page and contact, like below:



Is your font in bold? I would look at making it Arial or Times New Roman. In my opinion, font should be the simplest thing on your site. Its also much more professional looking.

One last thing, I would maybe make the font on the buttons for your portfolio a little smaller (visit site, view mockup).

Hope this is helpful!

p

You really need to improve your visual design skills. Right now, it really looks like it was designed by a developer.

1. Learn a lot more about typography. If you don't have a budget check out these sites for high quality free fonts:
http://www.fontsquirrel.com/
http://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/
http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/
2. Learn about grid based design:
http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/five-simple-steps-to-designing-grid-systems-part-1
http://960.gs/
http://www.subtraction.com/pics/0703/grids_are_good.pdf


Do this quiz so. What you get wrong, you need to learn more about:
http://www.andyrutledge.com/creativity-is-not-design-test-2.php

Dave!

Cheers guys

You're right p, my design skills are very weak at the moment! I don't have an art/design background, and have never been that way inclined, but I do find it more interesting and appealing than being a code monkey! So I'll just have to keep reading up, and practicing!

Any specific tips that you give in that regard? For example I've read that looking for inspiration everywhere is a good idea (obviously) -- look at the desktop in front of you, and try to pick a colour scheme out, which could be used for a site. Stuff like that.

lil_lisa

I always look kuler.adobe.com for good colour combinations. Even just picking one or two.

sheesh

first the good things

I love the top of the page (the red) I like the colours and the gradient and the dark colour beneath

the problem as i see it is that the design is not finished nothing in the left hand or right hand
and no footer

I think you need to create sections within the home page that refer to you and your work