8 Responses to “The Portfolio of Ray Hargreaves”

1. 1 Cory Posted: Apr 21st, 2008 at 5:08 pm

   Wow. I love your portfolio and all of your work. Makes me kind of jealous… 10/10 Reply to this comment.

2. 2 Andi Posted: Apr 21st, 2008 at 5:44 pm

   I’m assuming you did the flash work as well? very nice portfolio. I hope to have something this nice someday =) ♥ Andi Reply to this comment.

3. 3 dj75728 Posted: Apr 22nd, 2008 at 9:46 am

   Very very nice. So how’s the job hunt going? Reply to this comment.

4. 4 hyper Posted: Apr 23rd, 2008 at 5:20 am

   i LOV it i would hire you but I’m only 16 T.T Reply to this comment.

5. 5 sheppy Posted: Apr 23rd, 2008 at 8:25 am

   As a guy who once had to throw together a portfolio, and currently helping a freind refine his, got a couple critiques. 1. Dazzle em during the load screen. If you must do flash, not every connection is the same and the maount of time spent on that screen varies. Not sure how it is for graphic designers but for 3D artists, if you can’t show something brilliant within 10 seconds, you’ve lost the chance. Right now the load is a bit minimalist and this is a lost opportunity since they’ll BE on that page no matter how far into the portfolio you go. 2. On the main menu, show a little more. Once again this is minimalists and clean, but it’s hard to tell where they will go from there. Maybe a slight slideshow with various stills would be excellent. 3. In your design page, make one of your first commands on the click to clear the art area. Layering the designs on top of each other starts to get messy after a while. Other than those things, good job. And good luck. I never went for a GD job personally but know plenty in the field. Hell, I may be going after one real soon though. Reply to this comment.

6. 6 dj75728 Posted: Apr 23rd, 2008 at 12:20 pm

   i LOV iti would hire you but I’m only 16 T.T HA! You’re younger than me !!! I started to think I was the youngest commenter here ^_^; . Reply to this comment.

7. 7 Ray Posted: Apr 23rd, 2008 at 8:52 pm

   Author Comment In your design page, make one of your first commands on the click to clear the art area. Layering the designs on top of each other starts to get messy after a while. Seeing each design in overlapping layers was a decision I made very early on and felt very comfortable with. However, it’s quickly become the most polarizing issue of my portfolio (I had predicted the music section would take the biggest criticism for usability issues but have only heard good things about it). I’ve always felt layering the designs gives a greater sense of unity and accomplishment, instead of a bland feeling of empty space in the background. Plus it’s just fun to dab around with different combinations, as an artist would mix their colors. But I’m not saying all this because I’m stubborn, I’m explaining my thoughts and reasons for the style before I give you what you wanted to hear all along. It’s clear there needs to be some way of clearing the page, so I’ve added a button that will do just that. Hope you all enjoy it, and thanks for all of the kind comments. I’ll get to more of them later on. Reply to this comment.

8. 8 sheppy Posted: Apr 24th, 2008 at 2:15 pm

   Seeing each design in overlapping layers was a decision I made very early on and felt very comfortable with. However, it’s quickly become the most polarizing issue of my portfolio (I had predicted the music section would take the biggest criticism for usability issues but have only heard good things about it). I’ve always felt layering the designs gives a greater sense of unity and accomplishment, instead of a bland feeling of empty space in the background. Plus it’s just fun to dab around with different combinations, as an artist would mix their colors. Well, truthfully, I didn’t look over the music section as much. Mainly because I didn’t think that was what you were trying to sell yourself on. It’s a cool addition and definately points out hobbies and interests but I’m not sure if it’s something people look for in a GD. I can see your point with trying to break up just having the layers on top of each other. Truth be told, I’m not overly familiar with flash so I’m uncertain how complex my next suggestion may be. How about setting the previous layer to a certain opacity. Such as 75%-66% opaque? Then, as more artwork is clicked, it further adds more transparency to the previous layer. The idea is that you get some of the unity you were seeking without the clutter of having clicked all 16 layers. Also, maybe a button to clear the previous artwork should the viewer want to. Not sure how complex that would be. As I said, VERY unfamiliar with flash. My software proficiencies is photoshop, Maya, ArcGIS, etc. Been meaning to learn it sometime though. And as I said, you can take or leave any of this advice. Just giving it anyway. I’m sure you can relate since you KNOW how many damn critiques art classes throw you through. Reply to this comment.