Opinion on my portfolio site?

[NatseOklim]

Just "finished" my portfolio site, only one page of images up (18 pieces) so far but i'd appreciate everyone's opinions!

[ghostdeini]

clean layout... I'm really digging the two drawings of the women in the middle row

[mr fluffernutter]

It's very dull and bulky... Maybe remove the grey backgrounds if you're going for a minimalistic style. They're rather distracting and dull right now.

Everything is so large right now. I'd increase the font weight and lower the size for the navigation menu. Maybe add some colour, like red or orange, for a rollover.

Your artwork is quite nice though.

[NatseOklim]

Actually I had the same comment about font size from someone else so that will be changing soon, it's intentionally simple though because I am categorically not a web designer so i'd prefer people to practically ignore the site design and concentrate instead on the work, i'll certainly have a think about your suggestions though, I have another year of college to go before I have to seriously think about showing it around to help find work!

[yuljo]

You could probably cut down the point size to 12, change the grey to someother color and get rid of the white background since your work has alot of white space. Also you might want to think of some other solution besides pop-up windows because you end up either closing windows every artwork or accumulating multiple windows.

I would suggest sketching out some more ideas until you get to one that suits your style more.

[notesee]

I'd take out the grey backgrounds, I think the minimal feel would come off better without it.

[HeavyBear]

I don't agree on taking the point size down to 12, that would be too small. As it is the navigation is clear and easy to use, two things you dont want to lose. Maybe just a couple of points down would be enough. You could try rendering your title in a different typeface or even freehand style to differentiate it from the nav text.

Agree about the grey. I know you want the framework to be 'invisible' next to the work but the grey doesn't do this quite well enough, its says 'dull' when your work is anything but. Think how a gallery presents work, elegant signage, discreet lighting.

And yep, from a usability point of view pop-ups are not great. Dynamic layers could be the way forward.

[djrajio]

[NatseOklim]

Thanks a lot for the comments guys, i'm certainly gonna take them all on board. In fact this are much more constructive than I was expecting actually, thanks again!

[Selegna]

^^ i like that style up there..

[NatseOklim]

The ones I put online are too small actually, I need to change them. You can't read the text and tell they're more than just dirty pictures. The text is actually quotes from the "Song of Solomon" from the old testament, basically a sex poem from the bible.