When creating a online platform to showcase your skills and talents there are a number of factors that you need to take into consideration in order to present yourself professionally.
Before I created my starting template for my website I researched a vast variety of successful websites from other photographers and creative artists. It is important to view existing websites for well known creatives or other businesses as the layout, colour pallet and presentation of their work gains them professional work.
Research ~
Knowing exactly what is on trend through exploring other websites allows you to taylor the specifications and design aspects of your own website.
Here is a list of components that I used to establish my starting design:
Consistency
Colour palette
Typography
Imagery
Simplicity
Accessibility
Functionality
Context
Responsiveness (desktop and mobile)
Review ~ One thing I believe is crucial to a successful online platform is to have a selection of users try your design, both on desktops and mobile devices. The more variety of users you manage to get to try your website will benefit the easy accessibility, as they can highlight areas of improvement that you may not have thought about due to being so closely involved with the making. After numerous feedback sessions over the period of 2 months with my peers and lecturers I had refined my website design, removing and tweaking fine details and ensuring that the website is always responsive no matter the device it is being accessed on.
