It’s Time for a Couple of Changes, or “This is Not a Redesign”
Now, I have no idea where the post is, and I’ve forgotten who wrote it, but I do remember that it’s called “Good Designers Re-design, Great Designers Re-align”. Or something like that… In any case, that’s advice that I intend to take to heart.
You see, I’ve come to a conclusion of sorts: my portfolio needs an update.
Now, I’ve been adding the work that I’m proud of, so it’s not like the work in my portfolio is particularly old. Also, the branding is solid enough, and the graphics are good. I’m happy with the overall structure of the design.
The problem is that since I made the portfolio, I’ve experienced quite a few changes. When I made the current iteration of ezequielbruni.com, I was working as the web design division of a generalist IT company. My clients were primarily Mexican, and web design was all that I did.
As I have repeatedly (and perhaps tiresomely) mentioned on this blog, I’m a freelancer now. My client base is international and largely English-speaking. I’m an author too, and sharing what I know is important to me. It’s also a big part of my marketing strategy… (heh…)
So here’s what’s not going to change:
- Colors (or the distinct lack thereof)
- Graphics (I like them)
- Overall structure and layout of the site.
- The part where my name is shown in really big letters. I might change the slogan, though.
And here’s what I’m most likely going to change:
The Underlying Code
My current portfolio layout was my first experiment in the field of responsive web design. Since I made it, I’ve discovered a variety of coding techniques that have made my life a bit easier, and my responsive designs… better.
And of course, since it was experimental, the current code is messy, hack-ish and filled with the mistakes of the ignorant. I am determined to do a hell of a lot better this time.
The Language(es)
Since I’m no longer marketing primarily to Mexico, I have decided that I can safely save space by removing the Spanish content from the site.
Another reason is that I’m going to use this portfolio to promote the things that I write as well as the things that I design. Since everything I write is in English, it doesn’t make sense to promote it in Spanish.
The Bit About Me
The “paper” thing has to go. Well, maybe not entirely, but some of it is definitely going. I’m certainly going to focus more on actual information about myself than my design philosophy.
The Design Portfolio
I am having trouble making a decision regarding my design portfolio. On the one hand, having the images simply show themselves on top of my existing page has its advantages. It’s simple, fast, and people can get a feel for my design skills.
On the other hand, lots of people like to see a little bit of description text that outlines what you did, as well as why you did it that way. (Not to mention, it’s probably better for SEO…)
I’m thinking of giving each portfolio piece its own page, like I did with Enigma Art (site incomplete, logo not my idea) and The Red Rose (site complete, logo still not my idea…).
Another idea would be to use AJAX to load content from a sub-page in a modal window. It’s easy enough to do, I imagine, but the question is, how would that translate to the mobile version?
If anyone would care to convince me one way or the other, I’d be grateful 
The Services Section
I may choose to combine this section with my design portfolio. After all, if I’m to use this website to advertise two distinct sets of services, it wouldn’t make sense to have this particular content in its own section.
The Brand New Author Section
And, of course, there is the matter of promoting myself as a writer. I’m thinking of pulling in RSS feeds to show the latest headlines of this blog, Fireball Magazine (Well, the articles I write for it at any rate…), and possibly both of my Tumblr feeds.
Additionally, I’m planning to insert a section containing links to my work on websites that I didn’t create, such as my tutorial on Web Design Ledger.
The Contact Section
Lastly, I’ll most likely add links to the rest of my social network profiles. Yeah, not much change there.
Winter Awesome Stuff is Coming
When I get around to making wire-frames, I’ll post them to give you all a more visual look into the future of my portfolio site. Until my next post, PARTY!