I got the basic layout for my portfolio done. I really like how it looks, but other people aren't impressed by it. I like the simplicity, but others think I should do way more.

http://www.zentatsu.com/portfolio

[Go to "View" -> "Page Style" in firefox to see some other color choices.]

What I want to know from you: What would you do to improve the visual quality of the site? I'd rather shy away from trends like excessive drop-shadows, rounded borders, and excessive gradients. What color scheme do you like the best?

Also, take a look at the sexy semantic layout.

I like it. It's simple and to the point.

One thing I might do differently is change the menu style. Have the half-box over each option to start with, and change colors on mouseover maybe. I'd also add some whitespace between the menu and your body text, maybe a single black line.

Other than that, it looks good. Proof that you don't need Web2.0 tabs, gradients and what not to make a decent site.

A portfolio site is supposed to communicate who you are and your vision. Not just by summing up what you have made in the recent years but also by how the site looks and works.

In my humble opinion this site would only work if kirby's design choices (or vision if you will) are also about simplicity. And I doubt it is. Though I personally like the design, it isn't very creative. I seem to remember Game Design was more or less what you wanted to do. Game design needs a lot of creativity. Your site doesn't really show that off well.

I'm currently building a portfolio site myself (I hope to have it finished within a week or two). My ambition is also game design and therefore I'm creating a portfolio-site with various interactive playfull elements in the design. It also shows that I have a basic knowledge of all aspects of creating a game, which is usually desired in a game designer.

I'm not saying your site should have all kinds of interactivity as well, but it could use a bit more out-of-the-boxness.

My name is out of the box.

:emo:

I'm not really a coder of any kind, so I can't really spruce the site up amazingly. I'm not sure I really know how to equate a website with the playfulness of a videogame.

As I said, it doesn't have to be fully scripted or anything.

From what you've shown so far, you show you know html and css to some extend.

You could for example make it look more like a scratchbook, with all kinds of game design related sketches such as diagrams representing game mechanics, level layouts, character descripts, interaction moves. Just all cluttered around the borders of the site. This would immediately say more about what you do, without having even looked at the actual works.

Of course a cluttered border would give the wrong impression if you were in reality a really neat working person, but I hope you catch my drift.

This is of course just one of many possible examples. And this requires no coding skills whatsoever. Another example would be to perhaps make the site look like a game mechanics flow chart, etc, etc...

Oh and to return to your origional post. I do agree that just adding rounded corners and gradients and whatnot, wouldn't really add anything. And the preferred colour for me is orange.

Oh, hehehe, and a good example of what not to do is the link in my signature ^^ (What was I thinking when I made that?)

I'd make the content font smaller.

i like it, I'd like more websites like this... but when I tried to make a simple website for a company, they just didn't get it.

[url]www.fripac-medis.de[/url] - look how it turned out! look at the font... (not my idea!!! But I didn't care...)

If you want to make money with it, I think today you still need to satisfy those guys in marketing :/

But I don't have that much experience that you should listen to me. And your way is the better in my opinion.

I think the w3c buttons look a bit out of place, perhaps put em on some special site.

i really like that one can change the color scheme, tough I like the original one most. (green)

The default color is definitely the best. As a layman, I would say make the content text smaller, maybe increase the border sizes to get more whitespace, and separate the content and menu more.

I can't say I'm particularly impressed. If you want to look at some inspiring CSS designs, be sure to check http://www.csszengarden.com/ (use the navbar on the right).

EDIT: Or better yet, use this: http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/alldesigns/official/

I've gone through zen garden.

And I don't know, I don't want to impress employers with flashy graphics and web 2.0 bull****. I want to work for people who are just as passionate about useful design as I am.

I'm reworking my main site, and will come back to this sometime later next week. I've lost my patience trying to make it not "basic."

You don't have enough empty space. Empty space is important in layouts, it creates breaks in the content and makes it more accessible by taking away the feeling of hard work, that a long text page can create.

Solely about the colors, their names don't seem to match up well with the way they look. "Blue" looks more aqua, "Dark Blue" look more normal blue, and "Dark Green" looks no darker than the light background parts here on Massassi. Plus, aqua just looks weird on web pages (see bradish theme). More subtle, non 16 color monitor, colors might look a bit more professional. The oiginal color is good in that regard.