The other day it was 50 degrees outside. It’s January. It’s New York. What?
The sun was out, the wind was cold, and the ducks were quack. So, outdoor time it was! Here are some photos; All photo credit goes to Traci Stiffler. [This is where I would link to her website if she had one.]

I’ve done this enough times to come to grips with the fact that this website probably won’t last until next year. I’m OK with that. The web changes, and so should my web presence. My portfolio website is always a place where I try out new things that’ve learned, and things I’m not able to do with clients. CSS3 shadows! Slide up image info! Multiple background images! Oh my! The point is I: feel good about it. Let’s talk about it, shall we?

Simplify the Content.

When I started penciling sketches for a new PMD site, the first blip that came out of my head was the word “simplify”. My sites of the past always grew too fat and bloated. They pulled my content in different directions, spread it out, or simply looked like it was trying to do everything. The reason was simple—they were trying to do everything. All of my previous websites were created for a grade, for a class, conforming to the idea of “this website has to market you to lots of different people!”

So I crammed it full. Posters. Logos. Brochures. Websites. I tried to fit it. Contact forms. Resumes. Facebook feeds. The flare and extra stuff was watering down the content. Well, no more jack-of-all-trades.

With this new site, I’m trying something different. Instead of my whole portfolio, I’m just showing logos. Just the ones I like. It’s more focused. Nearly the entire homepage is calling you to look at them some way. Need more info? Here’s a paragraph about me personally, and some excerpts from my resume. Want to contact me? Sure. There isn’t even a captcha. This new site’s content was thought about long and hard to be sleek, and I ditched the rest of the crap that I had held on to for far too long.

The Design.

I wanted to be sure I didn’t overdesign this site like I had done before. I decided on an ultra slim layout, in order to limit my access to horizontal space. I don’t really need the space anyway. I’m not posting photographs, so I think the ultra-slim style suits logos nicely.

An added feature of the ultra slim design is that it fits great on a tablet screen, or on a re-sized browser window. I hate horizontal scrolling, so this is a plus in my head.

I had wanted to skimp it down to 3 pages. Home, portfolio, and contact. I went a little crazy and added this blog and an about section, though.  I also quickly threw away the idea of having separate pages for logo details and alternate views. It’s just one more click for a user to have to get through before they get to what they want to see. I wanted to let the logos speak for themselves, not have to be explained. If I want to elaborate, that’s why I have this blog!

Above you can see a sketch for building a way cool, CSS3 animated, roll-over, side-out thumbnail logo info feature. After I built it, I basked in the glory which comes with doing something you’d never tried before. Then I realized that it was too complex. There was too much info. I was yet again filling up my site up with pointless cool features. It was neat, but it didn’t coordinate with the big picture. I took a deep breath, saved the code, and got rid of it.

The Forecast.

I’d love for this site to last me the year! Since I’m only showcasing logos, I won’t be updating the main site as often as I normally would be. I’ve built my own framework, and left the blog up to wordpress. If all goes to plan, this should be the face of patmcneildesign for at least another 12 months! Until then, check the blog for blips and blurbs about daily life, design, and just stories in general.

What do you think of the new site? Do you love it? Hate it? Want to ask about the octopus? Leave me a comment or send me a message on my contact form!