a couple of things...

your work is solid, everybody can see that. nothing to add there, really.

but.....

.....if this is to be a portfolio site, that should be made more clear. For example, I had to scan the page to see where it was I was going. Before I saw "Portfolio" on the right, I saw "design" on the left, and thought that's where I should click. In other words, you need to either set up a portfolio-only page (it can be much simpler), or you need to work on your hierarchy.

....and when I got into the portfolio section, again, there is no hierarchy. You have the work, but my eyes are tired at the end of the day and I didn't notice the navigation on the bottom right. That stuff needs to be the most prominent thing on the page, not the least.

I know you've worked hard, it's obvious. I've never even tried to put together a web page. But there are some similarities in portfolios and web pages, including hierarchies and clarity, etc.

thanks.....

i'll talk to my programmer guy to see what my options can be....

i might redo the home page too.......

i dug up some old projects from back in the day and tweekd them a bit to help people realize i can sketch/design aside from the build aspects...

i'm gonna take a few days from working on it....... need to focus on a few other things for the moment


stay safe
b

i do agree with /6 about some of the hierarchy... i didn't have a problem finding the portfolio page... but the tiny little category tabs at the bottom of the portfolio page could use some beefing up... if i hadn't been on your page before i'm not sure that i'd know how to use it...

that being said, looking at your work i still have a really difficult time believing that you're having such a hard time finding a job... i think that you should move to LA to work for Marmol Radziner (who is currently hiring, btw)... or maybe to philly to work for Onion Flats... or somewhere else to work with some other hot shit design/build firm... you obviously have the skills...

or find a school that is looking for a design/build professor... or one that is wanting to start a design/build studio...

I think the comments will be the same as before.

There really shouldn't be any programming that you can't do. Once you separate the shopping cart from the site, it becomes a very basic html site. I'd honestly suggest making a very simple template and working from there.

Scrap the site as is and make something minimalist. Your work will speak for itself. Honestly, I think the site is really detracting from your real work (this time I had the browser floating and I couldn't even see the portfolio section).


Take a look at these:

http://www.jamesjean.com/ - Very simple, no confusion of where the navigation is. Let's the work stand on its own.

As an FYI, you can actually use the code for the JJ site, as long as you keep the credit in the code. http://www.squidfingers.com | http://www.podlob.com - this guy has had super stuff for free for many, many years. I'd seriously think about just doing something like that.
It's a great little nav system he's got setup there. Wouldn't take but a few hours to make it look like what you wanted (assuming you can get around a little code).

http://www.non-format.com/
http://www.peter-wendy.com/index.php
http://www.subtraction.com/
http://www.collegedesign.co.uk/words/?a=3
http://www.theconsult.com/
http://www.linearchitecture.com/


Note that I am not suggesting all of these are super sites, but they work pretty well, are clear to navigate (all navigation should remain in the same spot throughout the site), and let the work be the focus.

Structure: Buttons should remain consistent. Right now you've got html/css buttons as well as js rollovers. Doesn't make sense to me.

CSS - play with this to make the nav clearer, it is hard to tell if there is a rollover state or not.

Images - these should be in a simple presentation, either below or to the right of the navigation (as a general rule).



Clarity: keep the nav in one area, with sub navs clearly shown (but not affecting the main nav, like a drop down menu, slide down menu, etc. - all keep the hierarchy of the menu simple).


Cheers

i'll look into that...... maybe just taking out the cart and changing the home page and moving the buttons.........

stay safe......

i'm off to live with the parents for a few weeks...(yeah, tell me about it)


b

hey...nice work...my personal opinion is that websites documenting one's work should be as transparent as possible. unless you have great web design skills, i would let your work do the talking, and not the website. while you should definitely incorporate your style, i would say you should try to redo your site from scratch, and not use your energy tweaking this one. go for something intuitive and legible.

for instance, people read top to bottom, left to right. your row/column system challenges that. im not really sure what to click. maybe have the column of pics appear once you click on one of the projects in the row. im sure there are many ways to achieve your aesthetic, but don't sacrifice clarity.

lastly, if your going to be showing someone your digital portfolio, i would tell them your site is 237am.com/portfolio and avoid the confusion of your 237am site.

If you are somewhere buried in the archinect links list that is an accomplishment in itself. Evidently you have to win the pritzker to be recognized by the corporate cool-cat archinect editorial board.

how much for the table with lights?

great theory! .;.))))

You know I really enjoy the work, but I still have a hard time with the navigation and I'm really hungry for a little text. Not a bunch of airy BS but a general description about the work.

Nice Corvette