I had originally wanted to do a clean, building-style as shown in this blog post. Such an attempt to ‘reach for the skies’ I found to be too simple. I wasn’t enjoying working with the pixel art or the 3d stylings, so I scrapped it for the time being and went back to the drawing board.
I began to think about what things I like most – I like physical websites, ones that seem real. This interest also crosses over to films – I’ve always had a love for props and other ‘viral’ items which make a film more realistic. While they are largely irrelevant, films would not be the same without it, and two films which feature such props to excellent ends are Memento and Se7en.
Memento
The notes in Memento, as well as the photos taken, are all from the protagonist to himself. Leonard Shelby has to send himself scribbling, desperate notes before he forgets what he was thinking.
Se7en
In Se7en, the antagonist John Doe records his life in diaries. The team for the film had to write all the books, and it took $15,000 and two months to write them.
Inspired by this ‘physical’ style with realism, I set about making a simple but effective site that fit the style. I worked out a few styles I thought might work, before settling on the ‘paper strips’ design. I set about working out the wireframe, first on paper and then in Photoshop.
I then opened up Dreamweaver and set to work creating the website over a few days. Unfortunately I forgot to take screenshots of the development of it as I worked out each part and applied my knowledge to craft it into what I wanted.
The Portfolio area is still a work-in-progress as I try to work out how to display my work. I will probably split each area (Graphics, Web, Photography) off into a page all of their own. I am keeping the ‘handwritten’ theme going throughout.