The hardest person a designer can design for is themselves. I had such a hard time trying to decide how my portfolio should look. My site has been through dozens of changes. I wanted to look original, yet up-to-date. Also not copy anyone’s designs while also being able to have ease of use and updating and create the look all on my own with my own HTML and CSS skills. Easier said than done….

I will now show my sketches and wireframes and old mock-updesigns choices I came up with before coming to a final decision. As you will see from my sketches and old designs, I had the a idea in my head, I just had to streamline it to something I would like, show my work in a nice way and allow viewers to my site to be able to navigate and find things easily and not get distracted by a flashy background image or colors. I tried color combos of brown, golden, white, black. I even tried grass backgrounds, wood backgrounds (don’t judge).

Here are my design phases for t3true.com:

This version here I was going to try just good old HTML and CSS without WordPress. Then I realized that the amount of work that I will be adding doing it this way would give me major headaches in the future. [image below shows the low fidelity wireframes and the notes I took as I was planning the site out]

Actual screen shot below

These designs are when I decided to stick with wordpress. I did not want to use a ready made template because that defeats the point of me being a Web Designer / Developer. I almost used one for speed and just to show my work, but it did not feel right. So I decided to take what I liked from those templates and implement them into my site. After months and months of trials, I found Thesis Framework. I liked this framework because it came with very good instructions. It was easy to use, and gave you much control, which I wanted. Mind you my site is still on this Thesis Framework. So these are the first designs I tried out…I had wood (couldnt find the grass) and the different background choices. As you see I have my original t3true logo in its shinny form. Later on designs I felt like it didnt match my other choices of color so I tried to change it. I should of never tried to change it…

Wood Version …

Then I added a simple footer. The footer idea I liked and carried throughout the rest of my designs.

I decided I did not like the site too much. It was too dark, and I did not enjoy how it looked. So I went a new route…lighter background, but not just white.

This is where I started messing with my logo because I changed the background. This was just white with black with red accents. White header area, white image rotation area.

Here I have the black header area with black image rotation area (too much black)

Then I did white header with Black image rotation area. I liked this for a bit.

——- the current look (2011- early 2012)——-

Current look now (2013)

I also worked on a mobile version. I did not implement it because the site itself was designed to be viewed on mobile and the “desktop” version plays nice on most smart-phones. But here it is anyways..

Around 2003 when flash was hot, I was commissioned to work on some flashy sites for a client who had worked with COCA COLA. The websites had all the jingles the group made. I had made small flash sites before but I had never worked with so much music before. As you can see with the earlier designs I was trying really hard! I had to learn new things really fast! In about a months time I made 4 different type of flash sites and I and the clients ended liking the final one. Sadly I was never paid for this work, never. But it was my experience and it allowed me to learn some new things and also I learned when something is really hard I do not give up. I still like looking at these and remembering the old days of flash. Disclaimer: These will probably will not work on a mobile phone if you are viewing this one one.

1. First Version — (links will open in new tab or window) – It was an updated design from their own old site. But this was not flashy enough and not enough animations.. CLick around to see animations. Music does work.

2. Second Version – Added and eclipse and some animations, music works here.

3. Final version – Music in page, has animations and all the music worked. This version was used live for a little while.

Other miscellaneous flash stuff..

I have so many more cool ones! but I have to find them!

• Old site for flash class final, I got an A+, music might be loud!  (first version no music)
• Some city animation with rain 
• An animated interface that was going to be used for a website

How Goals and Good Intentions Can Hold Us Back