Website Research

Recently i've been looking into artistic websites and also sites of my favourite illustrators to build a base of what my ideal website should look like, since I don't yet have a website of my own I try to take care of my blog because I know creative people and potential employers could see it, and presentation is everything!

I've looked into the websites belonging to Leif Podhajsky, Sophie Parker, Kath Kidston, Ritu Kumar, and Sara Fanelli, because I think i fit somewhere in the middle of all of them (and they're some o my favourite artists!) 

I'll go through the websites and analyse it, saying what i'd like and why, and what I wouldn't like.

From: www.sophieparker.com

One of the first things i've noticed about Sophie's website is that she has a good palette, it not only is continuously reused, it also relates to her work, which is think it something that is very important because the last thing you want to do is have all crazy colours like this:

From: www.yvettesbridalformal.com/index.htm

Sophie's site is really easy to move around and very functional. For my website i'd like to have fairly simple colours and limit the amount i'd use. I'm unsure whether i'd go for pastel colours or natural colours yet, i have elements of both in my work and it just comes down to how it would suit the website at the end.

I probably wouldn't have a starter page because I think that for people that aren't used to using computers it might be confusing. It also takes time, although not much unless you have a bad internet connection it can take a while. In terms of the layout, I like the easy to navigate through picture tab at the side, i'd like that but i'd make it more functional and less pretty.

From: www.cathkidston.co.uk

Cath Kidstons work is a lot more commercial because she's so popular, but i can learn a lot from her because she is so successful. I like the simplicity of her layouts and the fact that she creates graphics purely for the use or her website, I'd very much like to set a week aside and make lots of things for my website. Another thing is that she's managed to get everything professionally photographed which does make her website much more professional, I should perhaps invest in a better camera but maybe for now get someone with a camera and some good photography skills to help me out with that. Applying pictures of her work onto actual products is obviously a plus, but i'd probably give it my best go in photoshop, or perhaps make prototypes of my work and model them out in functional situations somehow if it happens to be 3D.

From: www.ritukumar.com

A website i stumbled on a couple of years ago actually stuck in my mind because it had music playing on it, relevant to the content. It was an indian fashion website and it had some very serene quiet traditional indian music playing on it. I'd definitely consider something like that, because if it's executed properly it can be the thing that pops in your head, thus making it memorable. It also adds a nice atmosphere to the site. I actually just left it open on a separate tab to listen to the music! I'd have to be careful it doesn't distract and also be aware of copyright laws. There is also the option of making my own simple artsy music...

From: www.leifpodhajsky.com

Lief Podhajsy's website is probably my favourite of the bunch, because he does nothing to distract you away from what you're there to see, his work. I like the selection of font, layout, everything. You can tell it's a serious business, it's very professional and minimalistic. This is something I imagine mine to look like, but perhaps if you add a few custom parts, like a handwritten title since if you changed the words and pictures it could be one of thousands of websites on the internet.

From:http: www.sarafanelli.com

Last but not least it's Sara Fanelli's website. I like the way she's customised it, but for my taste i find it to be a little bit too busy for my kind of work. Come to think of it I guess it's just subjective to the work and the kind of person and artist you want people to see you as. The custom hand made links she's got is definitely something i'd go for, but in terms of the background I just don't find it that interesting. I'd perhaps have a cream colour and an illustration of my own.

I think looking a these websites has definitely given me a clearer view of where i'd like to start with my website. If i manage to buy a domain soon i'm going to set a week aside and think and draw!