I can see a lot of work went into this, but I do have a few suggestions:
> Your drawings and paintings are already so colorful (I like them) that you absolutely should not place them on a colored / textured background. I feel like it detracts and confuses rather then enhancing the drawings.
> Your text font is difficult to read. All caps is never a good idea. Text on a colored background is also not the best in my opinion. There are plenty of good, readable fonts for free that are also really well designed. I would try to work on that. I noticed that there is inconsistency in the sizing and justification of the font - sometimes it is full justified, other times it's not. Decide on one style of size / justification and keep it throughout.
> Lots of inconsistencies in general in the title text and page numbers. Some have drop shadows (....ew), others don't, some are bigger, some are smaller... Develop a text hierarchy please! I think the size of your title font is much too large and maybe that's because it is competing with so many other colors and blocks and textures. Simpler is better and easier to understand.
I got rid of the colored backgrounds and I'm thinking of using helvetica for all my texts, not just the titles. It should be more readable that way. I was told that Bank Gothic was"the font" for these kinds of projects, but perhaps I just don't know how to use it.
I really like the House project... but I think that U have to reduce text and be more brief ... and leave the colored background... keep it simple... emphasis just on ur work ...
I agree about the large fonts, especially the titles such as HOUSE and INDEX. I also agree about the excess use of bright colors. I don't mind the colors in the images of the work though. I especially like the opening spread of drawings (pages 3-4) but the large text begins to distract. I also think that there are ways to introduce color that can help to enhance the work, such as the yellow fade behind the section and perspective on page 14, which i think is successful. I do feel that the section drawing is too close to the edge of the page though. I also think that the page numbers are at lease 2x too large. You should really think if you need them at all.
I'm also a bit fearful of the cover. I'm not sure what's going on and it looks way too busy. I think part of it is the font for the text reminds me too much of that blueprint font that everyone thinks that architects use all the time. If you feel that the text is needed, maybe it becomes a block of text that acts like one of the blocks of color, something like a Mondrian painting using three colors and a block of text...
I think one of the bigger issues is that there is too much going on on most of the pages. The work needs space to breath. The eye needs a place to rest as someone is looking through the portfolio. Think of the each spread as a site and the images and text as objects to be places on this site. Also, bank gothic is the standard architect font and should be avoided at all costs...
Second portfolio crit
Hi, I'm back for a portfolio critic. I want to thank all of you who helped me see and correct my mistakes. I learned a lot coming to this forum. :)
So here it is:
http://issuu.com/winterfrontkendall/docs/portfolio_rough
It's still in process, nothing final yet. But I'm hoping for this to be my final crit as I already have to submit it before feb1st.
technicolor, yo!
I can see a lot of work went into this, but I do have a few suggestions:
> Your drawings and paintings are already so colorful (I like them) that you absolutely should not place them on a colored / textured background. I feel like it detracts and confuses rather then enhancing the drawings.
> Your text font is difficult to read. All caps is never a good idea. Text on a colored background is also not the best in my opinion. There are plenty of good, readable fonts for free that are also really well designed. I would try to work on that. I noticed that there is inconsistency in the sizing and justification of the font - sometimes it is full justified, other times it's not. Decide on one style of size / justification and keep it throughout.
> Lots of inconsistencies in general in the title text and page numbers. Some have drop shadows (....ew), others don't, some are bigger, some are smaller... Develop a text hierarchy please! I think the size of your title font is much too large and maybe that's because it is competing with so many other colors and blocks and textures. Simpler is better and easier to understand.
Best of luck!
Thanks Stephanie.
I got rid of the colored backgrounds and I'm thinking of using helvetica for all my texts, not just the titles. It should be more readable that way. I was told that Bank Gothic was"the font" for these kinds of projects, but perhaps I just don't know how to use it.
Hummmm.... no more help?
I really like the House project... but I think that U have to reduce text and be more brief ... and leave the colored background... keep it simple... emphasis just on ur work ...
I notice that text and the excessive use of color is hurting the work. Well, that's a comfort.
Is there something you think I'm missing?
I agree about the large fonts, especially the titles such as HOUSE and INDEX. I also agree about the excess use of bright colors. I don't mind the colors in the images of the work though. I especially like the opening spread of drawings (pages 3-4) but the large text begins to distract. I also think that there are ways to introduce color that can help to enhance the work, such as the yellow fade behind the section and perspective on page 14, which i think is successful. I do feel that the section drawing is too close to the edge of the page though. I also think that the page numbers are at lease 2x too large. You should really think if you need them at all.
I'm also a bit fearful of the cover. I'm not sure what's going on and it looks way too busy. I think part of it is the font for the text reminds me too much of that blueprint font that everyone thinks that architects use all the time. If you feel that the text is needed, maybe it becomes a block of text that acts like one of the blocks of color, something like a Mondrian painting using three colors and a block of text...
I think one of the bigger issues is that there is too much going on on most of the pages. The work needs space to breath. The eye needs a place to rest as someone is looking through the portfolio. Think of the each spread as a site and the images and text as objects to be places on this site. Also, bank gothic is the standard architect font and should be avoided at all costs...
Here are a few links to what i was talking about for the cover, some sort of combination of these two...
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1280&bih=920&tbm=isch&tbnid=C2j_-NKnnvy5yM:&imgrefurl=http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/27/if-famous-painters-were-web-designers/&docid=Wbm3Hv1SIWsznM&imgurl=http://media.smashingmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/images/art-paintings-designers/mondrian_today.jpg&w=480&h=505&ei=lrfqTvqRA8mdiAL2rKGKBA&zoom=1
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=920&tbm=isch&tbnid=5FyUhbp5M3n42M:&imgrefurl=http://dkrouts.deviantart.com/art/Typography-Piet-Mondrian-grid-220537133&docid=JU4wVCq_36_hCM&imgurl=http://th04.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2011/193/e/4/typography_piet_mondrian_grid_by_dkrouts-d3navjh.jpg&w=786&h=1017&ei=r7fqTpCGBI_UiAKugNXSBA&zoom=1
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