barrettcreates.com reached its five-year anniversary about a month ago. I cannot believe it has been that long since I first launched my online graphic design portfolio. What is even more unbelievable is that I have kept the same design that entire time.

The Old Website

My original plan was to create a portal page that gave the user a choice between my Flash portfolio and an HTML version. However, I never got around to creating the HTML option or the portal for that matter. Seems to be a common theme among most designers I know. We get so loaded down with designing for everyone else that our own projects get put on the back burner.

Unfortunately, the last time I tested my Flash site, I realized that it did not work on all operating systems and web browsers anymore. That was not acceptable. I set out to solve that problem.

The New Look

I am happy to announce that I have finally put together an HTML option. Not only that, but I have resuscitated my dying web design skills in the process. Key improvements include:

• The addition of this blog. This has been the biggest challenge for me so far. With the help of WordPress I was able to integrate my blog into my website. I will likely have to work out some bugs, but I am excited to use my blog to create a more interactive environment, talk about my design process, critique other design work, discuss design trends and whatever else I think is relevant to the subject.
• User-friendly layout. Though Flash is, well, flashy, I think it has a lot of downfalls. Most notably, it is not user-friendly. It takes up more disc space and does not work on all computers. I do not like requiring people to download software in order to view my website. I also grew tired of watching my animations. People visiting my website were coming to see my portfolio, they were not coming to witness my mediocre animation ability.
• No more popups. I am not talking about ads — my website has never had ads of any kind. I am talking about my actual portfolio appearing in a popup window. I do not know about you, but I use a popup blocker when surfing the web. I get irritated when I visit a website, click on a link and get the message “Firefox prevented this site from opening a popup window.” This makes me consider, “Do I want to view this page bad enough to unblock it in my preferences or should I move on with my life?” The fact that I was doing the same thing to my own visitors seemed insane to me.
• Real text. HTML and CSS deal with text much better than Flash. I am still experimenting with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but I’m pretty sure this new site is a step in the right direction.

Today is the big unveiling! I went for a simple/no frills look — the purpose of my website is to showcase my design work. I did not want the design of the website competing with my portfolio. The style still works with the rest of my promotional materials and has a more personalized feel than the old website. What do you think? Do you have any suggestions to make it better? Do you like the old Flash version more? Feel free to chime in; I would really like your feedback.

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