website feedback

[nca]

This is apartially complete website rebuild which I’ve been working on for a couple weeks..Somelinks are not working and there will besome tweaks, but overall I’m liking the general layout..Any feedback is welcome.

 

http://www.nickaceto.com

 

Thanks,

 

Nick

[Nick Mitchell]

I really like the layout! The “ideas” on the napkins is a nice touch, some may see this as a little gimmicky. On your resume page on the River Charette it reads par (indent) ticipants. I think you need to add a dash or just drop that word down to the next line. I really like your work on the intro page, awesome design and graphics! I know you want to show your work as quickly as possible to catch someones attention, but i would slow the vid down just a little. I found myself wanting to see it longer and look at the details, but then again this will make people (like me) want to explore your site more.

 

[Chupacabra]

I sometimes get annoyed with flash intros and yours was moving slow.  I did like the images you showed, though, especially the lines to birch trees sequence.

 

I like the general layout and the way you’ve branded yourself.

 

I would drop all the non-LA education stuff on your resume.

 

Edit: I went back and it was moving much faster.

[Paul Stark]

looks great! though the flash intro is moving way too fast for me now, not sure what it was before but maybe a happy medium?

 

[Tanya Olson]

HI Nick!

I’m with Paul – flash intro moving just a tick too fast. The flash graphics are also very light/transparent. They don’t come across very stong. I do like how the sketch geometry turns into the final graphic. It just doesn’t read strongly. Maybe a black background on the home page? That way the flash graphics would really pop.

The ‘about’ page text is a little too small / hard to read.

I really like the way the thumbnails enlarge in the projects gallery. Overall it looks good and forgive the crit, but I think it could be more engaging. I’m not sure what the solution is, but it needs to have more of your personality….

 

[Jon Quackenbush]

looks great nick!  i really liked the cocktail napkins… nice touch, simultaneously shows a constantly working mind and a sense of humor.

also, i really like the process animation on the home page…

[nca]

Thanks all for the great feedback.

 

I agree that the timing on the homepage slideshow might need some tweaking. The idea was just what Nick mentioned..just glimpses or ‘teasers.’

 

The resume and about page certainly need some editing-duly noted.

 

Jon–Thats exactly what I wanted to be conveyed with the cocktail napkins..it’s a little corny but it’s supposed to make you smile. It sounds like no one had trouble finding the link to the actual gallery..great.

 

Thanks again for the feedback!

[Jay Smith]

Looks good Nick.  The opening sequence really gets your attention.  Everyone seems to be up’ing their game when it comes to online portfolios lately.  I noticed you didn’t include past work experience in your resume.  Is this a security issue?  I’ve seen a lot of people place full resume’s on their public websites, and I just have to wonder how safe that practice really is.  I’ve read quite a few articles about online resume’s being the new target for identity thieves.

[Rob Halpern]

A different perspective:

 

Who is your client? To whom is this site speaking?

The opening flash seemed geared to marketing graphics skills more than anything else. Is that your intent?

Is this intended as a resume-linked portfolio or a business site/ It isn’t clear what business you’d be in or what job you want.

Some stuff to think about, Nick

 

Also the “biography” link on the “About” page is dead

[landplanner]

Nick:

 

Very impressive stuff, the cocktail napkin sketches are more than a nice touch !! You probably are aware of the book of back of the napkin sketches from architects …..

 

I do not know flash at all and have hours and hours of tutorials that will help me get to some point of arrival in even designing and posting a digital portfolio like yours. I have no doubt you have countless hours involved in this effort and the quality and dedication do show through.

If you can offer any guidance to us flash neophyptes about where to start and how it reduce the steepnesss of the learning curve, that would be greatly appreciated.

 

I hope things are looking up for you in Colorado. Both of us made the right choice, for now, in not going to China or greater SE Asia. I’m the guy who got a job offer there and you posted to my discussion blog before. I have landed a one year minimum/two maximum consulting assignment with an engineering firm doing facility planning for the Coast Guard in the Bay Area. Start tomorrow.

[nca]

Thanks.

 

I have tooled around with flash off and on for a few months. I would say, dont get bogged down in really complex flash operations. The stuff I have on my site is really basic flash, slideshow with no controls, little animation.

 

I probably wouldnt even suggest messing around with flash controls too much as the coding starts getting pretty complex and like others here suggested..animations can get pretty annoying.

 

Things are going well here in CO. It’s been a matter of piecing together a few things here and there to make ends meet, but it’s good. It’s been somewhat week to week or month to month here, some weeks are very busy, and some are more like part time. I’m working at two different offices now, possibly adding a third soon and doing some consulant/contract work here and there.

 

I think its just a matter of keeping your eyesand ears open and being as ready as you possibly can be for new opportunities. Thisngs are definitely looking better here than a year ago.

[nca]

I dodnt put work experience up partially because I didnt think it was relevant if I was using the site to market myself as an independent designer/contractor, also I wanted that page to be pretty brief and I could only fit so much info on one slide. I may add a link like thebiography link at the bottom right that points to a separate ‘experience’ page.

 

On a side note, I was recently the victim of ID theft..had several thousand dollars charged to my account–luckily the bank blocked the charge. I dont know where resumes fit into that equation, maybe grabbing personal info like street address, email, etc??

[nca]

I guess I am being intentionally vague to some degree.

 

I want the site to function as a extension of my portfolio/resume as well as marketing tool for independent design work.

 

My objective is to showcase design and visualization skill.

 

Thanks for the comments..

[Jon Quackenbush]

mission accomplished…

i have tried something very similar on my web page… when you are looking at my portfolio and select a different page, a huge hand comes up and slaps it on the screen… Monty Python-esque…

[Cara McConnell]

I don’t get it! Get your priorities in order. I agree with Rob and let me add: Are you trying to be a Graphic Designer or Landscape Architect? The time you put into learning Flash, Dreamweaver and all the fancy pansy software tools of the modern graphic designer, you could be learning landscape stuff, such as trying to be licensed! I create web sites, CSS, Flash animation, etc on a monthly basis and believe me…it NEVER lands me a full time job in landscape architecture office. What do those things have to do with great landscape design? Nothing!

Read the book by Malcolm Gladwell “Outliers” and choose your career path. Yes, it’s wonderful you have abilities to create original web sites, but don’t think a firm is going to hire you to do billable hours on it. Or better yet, read books by Christopher Alexander.

FYI: Nothing against you, but I haven’t met any accomplished RLA who can also design a complex web site. I don’t have to see yours to know it’s another WIX, WordPress, etc driven site.

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