Blog #1

Prompt: "Write a short (<300 words) evaluative analysis of the DESIGN of ONE of the portfolio websites. If there is one that is particularly effective, then make sure you explain why using the language of design from the Kress and Lawson readings (and/or any other aspects of design you may have learned about as a student from previous classes in design). If something is not effective, explain why."

I chose to do an analysis on Rebecca Sherril’s website. The reason I decided to do hers is because she does some things very well and other things ineffectively, which will allow me to explain my reasoning better than one I find mostly poor in quality or mostly good in quality.

The first thing I noticed was the home page’s “cover.” It has a moving gif, a succinct tagline that explains what her focus is, and her name. All of the above show proficiency over imagery and writing via masterful integration of multimodalities. The downsides that I see are the Wix banner at the top, and the cropping of the ““,” as they distract from the cohesiveness of the cover.

Prompt: Write a short (<300 words) evaluative analysis of the DESIGN of ONE of the portfolio websites. If there is one that is particularly effective, then make sure you explain why using the language of design from the Kress and Lawson readings (and/or any other aspects of design you may have learned about as a student from previous classes in design). If something is not effective, explain why.

I chose to do an analysis on Rebecca Sherril’s website. The reason I decided to do hers is because she does some things very well and other things ineffectively, which will allow me to explain my reasoning better than one I find mostly poor in quality or mostly good in quality.

The first thing I noticed was the home page’s “cover.” It has a moving gif, a succinct tagline that explains what her focus is, and her name. All of the above show proficiency over imagery and writing via masterful integration of multimodalities. The downsides that I see are the Wix banner at the top, and the cropping of the ““,” as they distract from the cohesiveness of the cover.

Figure 1: Home Page Part 1

Something else Rebecca does very well is her about and contact me sections, as it has great framing, usage of the rule of thirds/focus, and overall design aesthetics. This is so much so the case that there is nothing that I think could improve it.

Figure 2: Home Page Part 2

Unfortunately, there are some things that are not done very well from my prospective. The cropping of “work” in “coursework” and in “work,” the difference in positioning due to the titles of the works, the overuse of white, the usage of arrows as a means of sending the viewer to links, and the font are ineffective from my perspective.

Figure 3: Works Page Part 1

Additionally—although a little nitpicky—the references in each of the actual pieces does not have the proper formatting, which has the potential to dampen the effectiveness of the pieces.

Figure 3: Works Page Part 2 

Part 2

Prompt: What design elements from this portfolio will you use in your own portfolio? Why?

I believe the “About Me” and “Contact Me” sections of Rebecca’s website are something that I will use in my own portfolio because my current ones are lackluster in comparison. I am also toying with the idea of adding some gif images and or a stream format for the homepage, rather than just a cover. The reason I am not certain about those two choices is because they could be distracting/add clutter to the website, making things less effective than they otherwise would have been.