Hello blog readers! This week I want to talk about websites. Specifically, portfolio websites. Even more specifically, my portfolio website that I just updated! 

Let’s start with the broad discussion of websites and little things designers know about them compared to the average joe scrolling online. Websites have to be optimized for mobile devices, meaning you can design a site specifically for the phone or specifically for the web and then tailor the needs for the latter as you go. But it doesn’t just automatically fit your phone, a designer made it fit. I also noticed people never think about the small details, like the programming that goes into a button or that each time they click it registers a whole new page that was separately designed from the one they were just on. Point is, there’s so many small details that go into web design and it can very well be overwhelming! 

Now to the, more specifically. Portfolio websites are super beneficial to designers and really, all artists. However, as a graphic designer, your work could be web designs, social media, app prototyping or even gifs. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to print a gif but you can’t exactly frame it in a museum or carry it in your physical portfolio. 

The second reason a portfolio website is good for graphic designers is because the world is your clientele! Graphic designers were remote BEFORE it was cool (and a safety measure), so that means you can live in New York but have clients in Florida or California. And finally the third reason portfolio websites are good for designers is that it serves as a portfolio piece itself. It’s graphic design to show off your graphic design! It shows your knowledge and diversity as a designer. A good website is a good portfolio. 

With all of that being said, I bring you to why I am writing this blog this week. I spent over 30 hours (I lost track after that) building and constructing my new and improved portfolio website. Although I made one my junior year in a course with Sue Jenkins, I have had some tremendous growth as a designer in the past year. 

My old website, mu-art.org/secorr59, was a gifted domain and host by the Marywood Art Department. It was the first time I ever used WordPress and the Divi theme and it was a great learning experience! It was the perfect way to get familiarized with such a large and intimidating program. I really played on the brand aesthetic that I created for myself around that time, with a bold color palette and identifying shapes. I was really proud of my website last year and I still am, but since applying for jobs and getting ready to enter the design world as a young professional, I knew it was time for an upgrade. 

I figured if I am going to make a new website, I’ll buy my own host and domain and build it from scratch, unattached from the Marywood server since I won’t have that forever. 

Talking to some of my peers, I have gathered that designing for yourself is harder than designing for a client, by a unanimous vote. So for me, the hardest part about my new website was starting it with a theme that would be consistent throughout. Once I started it off, I kept going and didn’t stop for three days and three nights, and then, it started to actually take the form of a website!

The hardest designing element would have to be the project pages, I had entered 34 pieces into my digital portfolio and each of them had their own designed page. What I’ve learned through web design is the smallest details that you have to keep track of in order to maintain consistency and flow throughout your website. Its super detail-oriented and requires a thought and reason behind every decision. 

With that being said, I know there are still minor flaws on my website that I’ll continue to fix, only to see other little things that need to be altered as well. And that will occur again and again in a vicious cycle of designing. 

Overall, I could not be happier with how my new website and graphic elements turned out to be (so far). I would love for you to check it out and even compare and contrast it to my old website! I think that has been the most rewarding part.