Portfolio layout mockup.

[Anogar]

http://ragonadesign.com/portMock.png

Thoughts?

[dentricrio]

Smart and good colours, so is the portfolio bit going to be scrolling along the page? I like the font nice to see rockwell style being used.

[stu_t]

as borat would say.....

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEE :D

[Ectheo]

(Borat)High Five!(/borat)

[evildrummer]

Overall I like it but there are some things I dont like.

a) the top emptyness, the whole top half seems empty and plain
b)What are the pages going to look like?
c) Are you going to have descriptions of each item? Where you going to put them?
d)The bottom arrow pointing down, what is it going to do? Is ut going to shrink the navigation? if so why? or should it be pointing up so more info slides up

[Anogar]

Overall I like it but there are some things I dont like.

a) the top emptyness, the whole top half seems empty and plain


My vision for the functionality of the site is that if you like an item, you can drag it out of the main array of pieces and pin it to the top or bottom of the site as a floating thumbnail so that you can review it at a later time.



b)What are the pages going to look like?
The pages (I assume you mean contact, about, and resume) are going to be small and modular. Those buttons will create small, unobtrusive windows. I don't need a lot of space for a contact form, a brief resume and a link to a .pdf, or a very brief 'about me' section.

I think it's sort of funny when people think that viewers are coming to their site for much other than to look at their work; that's almost always the primary thing they want to see, so I want to very much make it the focus.



c) Are you going to have descriptions of each item? Where you going to put them?
That's a good question. The 'more info' button on each item, when enlarged, will cause that bottom title bar to slide up and reveal a more complete description.



d)The bottom arrow pointing down, what is it going to do? Is ut going to shrink the navigation? if so why? or should it be pointing up so more info slides upThat bottom navigation will not be visible by default. As I mentioned, I really want the work to be the focus of the page, and so I'd rather not have that screen real estate taken up by default. So, in order to have gotten to the view that I have, you'd have needed to click an 'up' arrow, and the 'down' arrow that is visible in the mockup will slide it back down.


is the portfolio bit going to be scrolling along the page? I've started some very rough flash work of the functionality, you can check it out here: http://www.ragonadesign.com/

(I took my old site down and I've set my index to a dev page.)

Thanks for the comments!

[fasterthanlight™]

I'd like to see more put into the background, also it would be to your benefit to get rid of any glossyness, it doesnt suit the brown.
You should also design some sort of "frame" for the screenshots

Just checked out what you've got on your homepage so far in terms of flash, I'd like to be able to see the items that are beyond the limits of the stage without having to click through the displayed items. :)

[Anogar]

Just checked out what you've got on your homepage so far in terms of flash, I'd like to be able to see the items that are beyond the limits of the stage without having to click through the displayed items. :)

How do you imagine the functionality of seeing items that are off the stage? I'm interested. :)

[built_by]

I imagined the site being able to scroll through your items automatically without clicking. it wouldnt have to be anything fast. it seems alright. i think your name could be highlighted a bit more though. i found myself searching for it on your page mock up.

[Pasquale]

AH that's why you wanted the font :)

[protonxp]

add some vector art like the one in the box of this image to the top left corner and bottom right corner like this

http://blog.dsetia.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/vector_juliana.jpg

[fasterthanlight™]

How do you imagine the functionality of seeing items that are off the stage? I'm interested. :)

Well right now you need to click on a thumbnail no matter what to move the container right? That could still be implemented, but add some code so that when your mouse is nearing the edges of the site, it effectively scrolls the container onEnterFrame, no clicking is necessary. And if you do that I'd disable the click-to-move functionality for the one or two images closest to the stage boundaries

[Anogar]

Well right now you need to click on a thumbnail no matter what to move the container right? That could still be implemented, but add some code so that when your mouse is nearing the edges of the site, it effectively scrolls the container onEnterFrame, no clicking is necessary. And if you do that I'd disable the click-to-move functionality for the one or two images closest to the stage boundaries

Mm. I appreciate the idea. I hate scrolling without rollover, I think it's terrible from a usability design standpoint. You're sitting there moving your mouse to click on something, and then the damned thing has moved and you're fighting with the crap to try click on it, or if it moves nice and slow so that you can click on things easily, well it's too damned slow to get anything to move fast enough to satisfy your desire to see more, and it's just bad. :|

[fasterthanlight™]

well then create some interface buttons that you can click and hold and it will do some nice easing tween action. or maybe create a "map" of the displayed items, determine how many items are being displayed, create a bunch of small 20 x 20 squares and stack them horizontally like you are doing now, and add a click and draggable square that the user can use to scroll throw the thumbs on a small scale?

[thesparky007]

brown buttons on a brown bg doesnt give me the feel that I'd want to see in someone's portfolio..... a greater contrast between the colors and the elements of the design would benefit it better

and i want to wait till i can see the functionality to comment on it

[Anogar]

brown buttons on a brown bg doesnt give me the feel that I'd want to see in someone's portfolio..... a greater contrast between the colors and the elements of the design would benefit it better

and i want to wait till i can see the functionality to comment on it

Yeah, I agree with that. I'll be changing the color on the buttons. Any burning desires on the button color front?

[thesparky007]

Yeah, I agree with that. I'll be changing the color on the buttons. Any burning desires on the button color front?
may be some calm greenish to nice yellowis/orangish color?
sorry for being so specific :P

[ditt0]

As fasterthanlight said, the gloss is extremely strong and I don't particularly like the serif font.
I don't want to be rude, but there is no real layout in the page. Except for the links at the bottom, you have too little to give the impression of a structured website. Even if you're going for a minimalist design..well, you still have to make a great impression on the visitor from the first page. And also you need some kind of identity, maybe a logo, a defining touch..something for the visitors to remember you by.
I'm sure you can do much much better than this:)

[Anogar]

Thanks for the critique. I've done quite a bit of tweaking, I'll post another version eventually.

This page is going to be entirely focused on interactivity, usability, and the work that it is presenting. At the moment I'm sincerely hoping that once I get it skinned and functioning (along with a clean but fancy page draw to get that 'wow' first impression) my users will forget about traditional page layout and design and just focus on how good interactivity is, and be able to peruse my work with ease.

It'll work! I swear! (Just wait. :D)

I'm gonna kill the gloss, by the way. Just don't need it.