BA6 Project 2 Website Portfolio





Previous portfolio website http://www.i-m.co/joshallen89/JAPA

New IM creator web portfolio: www.i-m.co/joshallen89/nucawork

New Wix web portfolio: www.wix.com/joshallen89/nuca

Show Reel: http: http://vimeo.com/42406870


How I made my Portfolio Website and Show Reel  
Above are two links for my new portfolio website also a link to my former portfolio website which I had made some months before. In the new site I want to have a collection of work from each project from the past two years. It is always good to keep your portfolio as up-to-date as possible by adding new work and removing old work.


Show Reel

To make my show reel, I first went through all my work and chose all the files that I wanted to include, I then opened Photoshop to make all my individual slides. I then made the animation in Final Cut Pro.

Website
For my website portfolio I have been looking at two different options, I could either build from scratch using Dreamweaver or I can use an online site builder, which has the same amount of custom ability but without the need for the knowledge of coding.

As I've already built several websites using HTML and Java script I have opted for the online site builder. The two online builders that I've decided to use are IM creator (http://www.i-m.co/start) and Wix (http://www.wix.com/), there are other web builders out there but I've chosen these out of reputation and recommendations, I will be building my portfolio with each site so that I can compare the two web builders strengths and weaknesses and ultimately choose which one is best for my site, also and how it compares to building yourself through, and JavaScript using Dreamweaver.

With the online builders they offer many different templates which you can use for free, or you can start with a blank page, so you can be as creative as you like or as safe as you want, but for that people have no experience with coding these sites provide a fantastic alternative, as they are quick and easy yet still have a nice professional look to them, in particular Wix gives you the option of using HTML 5 or flash, but in the other web builders that I have used don't give you that option. As with all web builders they are application free which is great in one respect, which is that you don't have to install programs to your computer but on the other hand, are more prone to crashing, so make sure you save lots! The other downsides to web builders is that they will charge a premium for their service which includes hosting and domain names as well as your website which is able to have well coded galleries fade effects content management systems and various other perks, which could get you spending over £100 for a year but they will host your website for free in that if you don't mind having their banners, as opposed to new building yourself in Dreamweaver and only paying £20 for two years for your domain and hosting.

My first task of building my site is to collect all my work that I want displayed, and all of the graphics that are incorporated with the design, once have selected all of the images I want and need to make sure all the images aren't over a certain size, because if you're images are over 1MB then it'll make your site very sluggish and slow-moving. So I made sure that all my images were of a certain dimension that would fit the screen and that the DPI was no higher than 72 which is standard for web use and video.

IM creator site
I decided that I would use IM creator first, as this is the one I heard of first. After you sign up for IM creator it gives you the choice of starting from scratch or to choose a template from their vast library of websites, I chose to start from scratch as I already had a design planned, the interface itself was a little complicated to get used to but once I did the customisation that you get with IM creator is definitely its strongest asset. I did find that it crashed a lot and when it came to uploading images it was very time-consuming and would often fail, and when it came to your navigation menu it was very restrictive, but with that aside I did manage to make my site and this is what I made.

Wix site
When it came to making the Wix site I was a little anxious as I was quite happy with the results from the IM creator site, but after signing up and starting my new site I was instantly blown away by the sophistication of this web builder, as it gives you the option at the start to make your site in either flash or HTML 5. Also the interface for the web builder is far more responsive and simpler to use, and thanks to its HTML 5 you are able to have far more effects and little details that make the site more professional looking. Unlike the other site I was able to have a sweeping effect from page to page which made it feel like it was one continuous page, also I was able to have my brand appear on all of my pages, from a design point it gave me the chance to create something interesting with the other pages forming around my brand. When it came to uploading my images it was quick and easy,
Homepage
For the design of this page I wanted it to sum up myself and my work, in doing so whoever is looking at my site will know what it is I do and be able to see a sample of my work in the form of a carousel gallery, grabbing their attention. Creating my portfolio website is a good chance for me to brand myself with my own identity,

Gallery
For each of the galleries I have chosen to have a complete collection of my best work starting from the very first project in year one of my degree, as I want this website to plot my progression and to archive all my work. I have categorised it into project numbers so that it is easy for the user to navigate through my work in chronological order, I have also included work that I did during my work experience and my personal work.

About
on my about page I chose to include my education and my experience so far, which is in context with what is in the gallery.

Contact
For the contact page I wanted to keep it as simple as possible, with a bit of artwork and a contact sheet, I feel the contact sheet looks more professional than adding an e-mail address that is a good way to protect your personal information







  



  






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