Good gosh, this took me forever. I have so much trouble creating designs for myself. I think I’m happy with this one, at least for now. This design gave me headache when I was playing with the mobile-responsive aspect. I have a menu that’s a widget in the header, and getting it to move to the right spot and be the correct width at different screen sizes took me a minute (or a few hours) to work out.
I love my SlideDeck2* but wasn’t happy with it on the main page, so I removed it, got dressed, put on makeup, and then took about 50 photos of myself before getting one I liked. Now you get a nice rundown on the main page about me and everything I offer, so that’s efficient and I think it looks pretty good. I should wear makeup more often. And get dressed.
As always, this site is built on the Genesis Framework*, and is a very heavily customized version of the Focus theme* which I decided to work with because it had some built-in responsive design which only needed tweaking because of my stupid menu.
For the design I wanted something that looked professional, but still kind of fun. I’ve had the hardest time nailing down my own personal style because I typically work for clients who like things that are completely different than what I would personally choose. I’m hoping to develop my style more as I make Blogger templates for my shop, which I hope to re-launch early next year. I do feel like this neutral design with pops of color, and a mix of bold and handwritten fonts feels like me. It’s a little crafty, but not overly cutesy, and relatively clutter-free.
Tape strips are from Pugly Pixel (free) and the torn paper brushes are from Mel’s Brushes (there’s a commercial-use fee on this set).
I had tried making the site just one longer page that scrolled, but I decided to break my portfolio out to larger images and actually say something about each project. This allows me to show off some of the coding work I’ve done much more efficiently, since fitting the details of projects in a little slideshow or lightbox just wasn’t working. I cut down the number of projects considerably, and now just show a range of work instead of every header or blog button I’ve ever designed. Since this now takes up more space, I decided to use pages like a traditional website, because the scrolling got a little ridiculous and I’m not in love with sticky navigation.
Also, I’m no longer offering logo design or custom illustrations–I might be persuaded, but probably only if you’re looking for a full-branding package (logo, website, business cards, etc.). Otherwise I’ll likely refer you to some lovely ladies I know who love logo and print design far more than I do. =]
Eventually, I’ll add a shop, either a link to my Storenvy or Etsy, or I’ll install Jigoshop and let customers purchase pre-made templates directly from my site. I’ve got several more templates and icon sets I want to make before I do that though, so it will be a little while.
And finally, I’m taking on fewer projects over the next 6 months, so if you’re interested, book me soon. I have a wedding coming up, and with Indie Gift Box growing, I have about half the time I previously had to do design work. I’m not complaining, I love both of my businesses, but I don’t love working 60+ hours a week so I’m no longer accepting every single project that comes my way.
Visit my new portfolio!
*Affiliate links, I totally dig these products, btw.
