Another Makeover

Again I find myself undertaking a major overhaul of goldendog.com. To me this is a particularly odious task not just because all this effort does not generate an invoice but primarily because, try as I may, I cannot gain the perspective required for a critical appraisal of my portfolio. The more years I rack up in my career, the harder it gets to edit. So here I am again, slogging through yet another makeover.

What is prompting me this time?

The late 1990s brought with them the luxury of greater bandwidth and, like many of my peers, I went Flash crazy on my third makeover. I created animated stories about my work with voiceovers and background music. A few years ago I again modified the site to be leaner and more accessible with HTML pages styled with CSS but the portfolio samples were still presented in Flash shows. Not conducive to quick updates, the shows are stale and out of date.

Interestingly, this fifth version of my web site has returned to the roots of my first, which was launched in 1994. Then I had a “Gallery” section comprising individual pages for each portfolio sample featuring an image with a brief description. Ta da! Here I am in 2010 producing basically the same concept.

So what’s changed this time?

Since 2000 I have been designing dynamic web experiences but always as a member of a team, which has included talented programmers to write the required code. Courtesy of yet another technological leap, designers like me can now create a dynamic web site without a programmer or an advanced degree in computer programming.

Static web site updating requires laboriously changing every affected page and uploading individually onto a server to make them live. Dynamic requires changing only the affected piece. As soon as the updated piece is live, it is automatically changed everywhere, even on other sites. For instance, my new sketchbook automatically displays my latest tweet. My LinkedIn page automatically displays my latest sketchbook entry.

Dynamic will allow me to keep my web site fresh and updated. My portfolio will once again be individual examples, but adding my latest work and telling others about it will become as natural a part of the conclusion of the creative process as is sending the final invoice. An additional benefit will be to allow visitors a richer experience by providing the ability to have a dialogue through comments.

I chose to use the free application WordPress because I felt there would be enough future support. There are other options available. Still nothing is ever as easy as it first appears. I have been recording my progress tweet by tweet @bcotier #GDPmakeover.

My next musing will be on WordPress.