One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to update my web site. I’ve fooled with it a number of times over the years and sometimes I wonder if it is always necessary. This time, though, I think it was necessary and I hope to not make any major overhauls over the next few years. When I went from a more traditional portfolio site to something that highlighted my blog, the idea was to keep the front page looking new. The problem was that I had swung too far the other way…my portfolio had taken a back seat and it almost seemed like I wanted to hide it. This time, I tried to get the best of both worlds. While my blog is important for including new content, my illustration portfolio should be the reason people come to my site. The front page now prominently displays all of my portfolio pages plus widgets that show my latest blog post and Twitter feed. Also, I wanted to beef up my portfolio some. I included some more information about each illustration on the side of each image. Plus, I used a plugin that allows people to see a much larger image of each illustration. The images on my other site were way too small and the detailed images never did the illustrations justice. You can see an example here. I think it makes each illustration more dynamic.

With this complete, I need to make some changes to my Big Cartel store to reflect the new look. Other than that…its back to creating!