Portfolio Critique

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  • doesnotexist0

    agree you should lead with work. i'd also find some better comps for the identity work and build a story out for each.

    consider collapsing all the graphic design work into a category of "posters" with sick comps. bus station ads, OOH ads, etc.

    for write ups, instead of sharing how you did it, share what the approach was and the ideas that went into it.

    infographics - can these be shown in-situ?

    web - screenshot some key moments. i personally don't like linking away from my site. something to consider.

    i don't know if the illustrations do anything for you.

    the work is good, i think it's a matter of presentation so that non-designers can see it and understand the space it was intended for.

    • for web, i find it nice to see a browser because it's hard to see white space on the work that's within your site. gets floaty and awkward.doesnotexist
    • +1 on last line there, i didn't mention that.Nairn
  • shapesalad1

    Use your name, not some random typed thing zwarfprod — what even is that? Hiring manager ain't got no time to decode that.

    Further more, what the heck is 'GSM' and 'BTWBE' before those numbers? Are you deliberately trying to make it hard to contact you?

    So - Start with your name with what you do. Eg,

    "Hi, I'm Sam Rombaut, a Visual Designer based in ___."

    Or "Sam Rombaut - Visual Designer, Berlin." or wherever you are.

    Or Sam Rombaut - Visual Designer, Remote, CET." if you are remote and in central european time zone.

    Next to that - a circle cropped photo of you in a shirt looking professional, smart and approachable. Or an 'About' page with your photo. It's the web, but imagine this is the meta verse equivalent of meeting someone at a networking evening, you want to show your face to create a sense of trust and honesty.

    Use the same profile picture on LinkedIn, behnace, instagram - so you provide a seamless brand identity of 'you' and hiring managers aren't questioning if they are looking at the right Sam Rombaut's behnace etc.

    Then a range of your work, in a grid, on the front page. So we can see what you do in a 1 second glance/scroll down the page.

    Think about your web Portfolio as less a chance to express yourself, more about making it a super easy UI/UX experience to see who you are what you do.

    Hiring managers have a minimal 200 applications to sieve through, you need to make it super super easy for them to figure out who you are and what you do, they don't have time to decode 'zwarfprod.

    Yes you can get away with an obscure brand name and portfolio if you are some super hot shit designer, highly sought after and in demand, commanding a 4 figure day rate. Otherwise, tell it simply and honestly.

    • but I'm special :) No, you're right, I agree. Thanks!srhadden
    • definitely needs some copy editing. get rid of the fluff.doesnotexist
    • +1oey_oey
  • Nairn3

    imho, lead with some work.

    Again, imho - the mobile version of the site's a bit clunky, forcing me to 'do something' and 'make choices' when i'd expect you to lead me a bit. This requires you to make choices. Please see first point above.

    • yeah, makes sense. thanks!srhadden
    • Agreed. There is a shocking lack of visuals for someone who is a visual designer. Even the work page is just a list of what seem like random words in plain textmonospaced
  • palimpsest0

    As regards the website I think there are too many individual projects. I want to know what services you're offering from the start. I can see them on the menu but I would like you to tell me. I would also like to see right away your strongest projects. If you give me the choice to pick on any two from the list they might not be the ones for me or your strongest and I would leave. I also think the description for each project should be more visible and given more importance.
    Other than that I like your work. I think the Beehance portfolio has more of a chance of making a good first impression.

    • "services you're offering"
      it's there on the right side, i guess its sorted by the strongest to the weakest. art should be separated
      sted
    • "I can see them on the menu but I would like you to tell me."palimpsest
    • #hookedonphonicspalimpsest
    • and yet you accept that i wrote right side when it's clearly on the left.
      #playeduagain :D
      sted
    • Reading is also about understating the context . I understood what you were referring to since there is no list sorted from strongest to weakest on the right.palimpsest
    • #hookedonphonicspalimpsest
    • yup, yeah thisrequires too much digging. Thanks!srhadden
    • @step
      If you think you played me I'm happy for you, chief!
      Have a blessed day!
      palimpsest
    • thanks @palipest lolsted
    • anyway, i'm not sure that was written by you or an ai.sted
    • Oh, you two!Continuity
  • Projectile1

    Make the logo bigger
    Make the site more design-ey
    Jazz it up

    JK I agree with the above. Nice to see you have a great variety, but what about an embedded video on the homepage that whizzes through a few top projects?

  • monNom1

    All that clicking felt a lot like work to me. (and it wasn't immediately obvious that the headings of the list took me to a visual index for that section.)

    I would lead with strong work without any user input required. Maybe stack up all the thumbnails from the section indexes with headings separating them?
    I think your posters are likely the strongest, at least as they are presented. If you can make a big continuous scroll of work, I'm more likely to see more of your stuff before I make a go/no-go decision.

    It's nice if I can dig deeper into something that interests me... Like if I see a cool poster - is it connected to a logo? a motion piece? can I click on the poster image to get more details and pieces in a similar vein? It would be nice if after I get to the end of a project, it wasn't a dead-end --suggest something else for me to click on.

    Think about how a user with limited time is going to find the thing that appeals to them as quickly as possible. My naïve thought is a stack up of carousels. You scroll down between projects/types/themes/whatever, and when you find something you like, you can scroll/drag/click sideways to access related pieces and information.

    I think the illustration/artwork stuff isn't as polished as some of the other work. I would leave it off as a section unto itself. I do like the Conde Nast Traveler cover.