Help an artist with his style?

January 16, 2007 11:42 AM

PortfolioWebsiteFilter: I need some examples of aesthetically pleasing websites!

Ok Hivemind, so despite being an artist (and therefore, apparently, creative) I want to build a website to document my art portfolio for colleges and future job opportunities and I just can't figure out what basic layout would work the best for ease-of use and generally looking nice. I have a solid knowledge of HTML (archaic, I know,) and am learning CSS quickly and without any issues.

So, sidebar, header bar, or no over-all structure, instead individual pages?

Anyone have any good examples of a good-looking website (particularly ones with a large amount of graphics and style) ?

Also, any resources on building a sturdy (for lack of a better word) and easily-maintainable sites?

Thanks in advance!

Oh, and if any sites are given that require slightly more than what I know, let me know if you can! I'm in no way opposed to learning more about design, development, or programming!

posted by InsanePenguin to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

The CSSVault has a nice collection of sites that show off a variety of styles. You can also check out the CSS Zen Garden for a variety of styles applied to the same page.

You could have something similar - build up the portfolio pages (if there are a few different media you're working with, you might want to have subpages for each, with a navigation bar horizontally laid out at the top, or vertically along the side depending on what dimension you need to maximize.) Then, come up with a good-looking default CSS style for the page, and a few nice alternates, and somewhere unobtrusive, allow users to change them around.

As for tools, I like Dreamweaver for its ability to get out of the way when I'm working with the code, but in my experience the built-in renderer is iffy and you're best off previewing in external browsers.
posted by mikeyk at 11:53 AM on January 16, 2007

If you don't want to build it yourself, have a look at Big Black Bag. They have some sample websites here and a page comparing their services to their competitors here. The prices on the comparison page aren't very current, but you can follow the links and see what other creatives are doing on their sites. Good luck!
posted by LuckySeven~ at 12:11 PM on January 16, 2007

I've always really liked the design of David Watson's CADTutor. [That's why I've linked it before.] And not only is it a pretty site; it also has some resources on web building.
posted by koeselitz at 1:25 PM on January 16, 2007

http://orlyolivier.com
posted by krautland at 1:32 PM on January 16, 2007

This one is dead simple, no flashy code, lots of space:
http://www.insectlabstudio.com/index.php/
posted by algreer at 1:35 PM on January 16, 2007

Snagt is a nice one.
posted by fletchmuy at 1:55 PM on January 16, 2007

Keri Smith's, also an artist
posted by Brittanie at 2:04 PM on January 16, 2007

http://www.clintbalcom.com/


Although it is in a transitional phase right now, it is stellar design. Look for the "In the meantime, you can still view our previous portfolio(s) here" link.
posted by idledebonair at 4:15 PM on January 16, 2007

I took Tufte's one day class this year and he said the gold standard for website with graphics is "google news".
posted by bukvich at 4:17 PM on January 16, 2007

Please... please, avoid flash based designs.
posted by Memo at 5:10 PM on January 16, 2007

Here is a flash page that got good reviews a while back.
posted by hortense at 6:22 PM on January 16, 2007

Definitely check out Noah Grey's site (he of Greymatter fame).
posted by jbickers at 7:35 PM on January 16, 2007

Here is a fickr gallery of over 300 websites. Some of them are the most beautiful I've ever seen.
posted by milarepa at 9:06 PM on January 16, 2007