I’ve been developing my current identity over the past year or so. It began last summer when I launched this web site with a new logo mark and type. The Word Press theme remained black and white for several months while I considered an approach to designing my own theme. Over the next few months I created a resume and portfolio with the same bland gray scale theme. At some point I incorporated red into the mix and trickled the change across all my designs. I’ve nearly completed the identity design for myself, and figured I’d share the results.
Revised Portfolio
I’ve updated my resume and portfolio. The new version is 24 pages in length, replacing the previous 9-page version. Here are a few of the changes I made:
- Added color and adjusted logo type.
- Added more screen shots of my web site designs in a larger size.
- Added XHTML and CSS code samples.
- Added case study for Independence Investment Education.
- Printed and stored in a portfolio.
- PDF uploaded to my Portfolio page.
Hire me
In addition to the portfolio, I’ve reprinted my cards with an added dash of love. On the back, the cards read “Hire me :-)”, mainly just to fill the back with something. That empty space has always bothered me. Every time I receive a card from someone else, one of my initial reactions is to look at the opposite side of the card. After all, the front is only half of the surface area. It always seemed like a waste to leave 50% of the card blank.
Realigning This Web Site
Still in progress is an update to this sites content. I’ll probably take another week to complete the desired changes. Included in my plan is:
- The addition of a contact form, probably this one from Dustin Diaz.
- Revisit the copywriting for each page
- Update the sidebar content on each page.
- Adjust the colors (specifically links) to display better for people with Deuteranopia. (Thanks to a tool by Bernhard Jenny called Color Oracle.)
- Branch the CSS files to isolate my browser specific styles. (Thanks to a technique by Ethan Marcotte in Web Standards Creativity.)
So, now that I’ve got myself a consistent visual Identity, it’s just a matter of sticking to it.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Corey Schario // Mar 28, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Nice to see the site coming along! I’m mainly posting, because I completely agree with your thoughts about the majority of companies / people leaving their business cards half empty. I tried to ensure that people wouldn’t accidentally skip through my card by applying a backside to it. Here’s what I came up with it. front &
back
2 Jason Robb // Mar 28, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Thanks for the kind words, Corey. I’ve noticed a lot of the companies that know what they’re doing always have something on the back. In fact, I’d even say you might not even be able to tell which side is the front, because there is so much thought put into both sides from the start.
The “Hire me” idea seems appropriate for me, well, because I’m looking for a job. I am considering changing it to “Hi” once I actually have a job.
Oh, apparently the “http://” needs to be at the front of links. Kind of nuisance, oh well.
3 Justin McGonigle // Apr 1, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Looks great guy! I like your logo a lot…
J