Evaluation- Interactive Project

Evaluation for 'My Portfolio'

I find it hard to know how to begin writing evaluations, but I guess I'll start with my project as an overall. Generally I am very pleased with the results, I am a little frustrated that I could not do some of the things that I had originally contemplated- I'll touch on that later. Considering the project was five weeks long, I planned, designed, created and completed a website (my first). This is quite a large achievement, I finished a six-page portfolio which included pages which allowed people to interact and understand my work.

I planned and developed thoroughly, using my project book. I do regret not generating a few more ideas to work on for the design, but also I know that the design I picked reflects my creativity. I've said before that I wasn't too confident with the software,  I feel that this project was about getting to know the basics. Now I know the basics I am more than eager to learn new methods and skills. The sites I researched amazed and impressed me, so much can be done through flash, jquery and HTML5. On my portfolio I had the idea of having a slideshow gallery on my index page, just to display some text and interesting photos which will really grab the audiences attention. I also considered having an entrance page in which I would have a graphic or photograph. I am really interested in words and how they can be manipulated, this is an idea which I would like to explore in future interactive projects. I did touch on this in this project through my titles. I photographed and used scrabble pieces to make up words- this directly reflects on my interest.

Another way which I explored typography and text through my portfolio and development was by looking at fonts for my page. I eventually decided on Times New Roman, however I altered the character spacing so it appeared a little more interesting. 

 I am really amazed by the scope of creativity which can be displayed on the internet- especially when considering the contrast between some of the first websites to the interactive spaces we see today. Exploring existing examples definitely motivated me into thinking of innovative ways to  create a portfolio.

My design is quite simple but I think it is successful. The feedback I received from  peers and teachers told me that they liked the strong used of colour and thoughtful layout. If I could improve anything on my design I would consider trying to use a photograph as the main content of the page, with the nav, footer and header overplayed onto the image. This is a definite change to my use of black colour.

Dreamweaver was initially daunting, but with some explanation of HTML and CSS I soon found myself picking up the basic codes and being able to put it into practice. Next time I would love to try experimenting with the DIVS arrangement  and try using a two column layout. As I have seen with my research, interesting things can be done with layout and I'd like to implement this. I am planning to take web design as my pathway, therefore I am planning to create mini projects where I practice with layouts and coding- in the long run this will help me massively. My general achievements with the coding and styling has encouraged me that I am able to accomplish things which I never though I was able to. The image below demonstrates my final index page.

My project book is a general reflection of all my thoughts. Looking back over it now I am a little frustrated  with my vagueness on some areas. Whilst I was creating it, during the project I didn't realise that I had not included much on interacting with the audience and gaining feedback. My next steps now it is completed would be to look at ways too gather some thoughts from an audience . I would then take this information and use it to improve my website.

I am generally really happy with my design, especially for a first attempt. I have surprised myself with technologies and I feel I've made something which reflects my personality.