Legacy
- King Robertson
- Apr 11, 2021
- 1 min read
This is certainly not the first, nor last, portfolio blog to ever exist, and learning from those that came before me is important for understanding how I can improve.
In particular, I am looking at a portfolio blog produced by one of DU's former students, Christian Ghattas.
The Homepage of Ghattas' blog
Ghattas' blog feels quite cozy, but also a touch too formal. The colors he chose are mostly light, earthy, and cool, seeming to harmonize with his background of a beach. However, many of his panels containing text and images are a stoic grey. While it matches the cool feeling of the pallette, the grey is a bit too contrasting to help everything mesh together. The fonts that are used feel like an excellent choice for his style, with smooth curving lines for most of the text, while links and other points of interest are highlighted with a teal-colored, serif font. Having all of the text framed with images, either with the beach background or the links having background images, is a great way to break up the page, and it also makes the page feel like it's living somewhere, and not just a colored container.
One aspect I greatly enjoy about this blog is the transitions between pages, the smooth fades in and out when you click on a link help the entire website feel like one larger whole. Rather than being a network of pages, it feels like one distinct page with many areas to visit. This is something I would like to try with my own blog, although I want mine to feel more claustrophobic, like a labyrinthine castle.
I can understand the conflicting impulses of wanting the page to be appealing to the audience vs. wanting the page to be appealing personally. For all that I intend on making my portfolio pleasant neutral tones, in truth I'd still prefer it to be red and black like my blog, because I simply like those colors more.
King, good point that the earth tones make Christian's blog look warm and inviting --- and also like a real place and not just a container or page online. However, also good point that the grey gets repetitive and a bit dreary. He could use more earth tones drawn from his palette to make his web design look more inviting. I love the fact that you want to design a labyrinthine castle with your portfolio. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it.