A designer's portfolio site: It's like the auto mechanic's car

I've heard this quite a bit from web firms that have an old, ugly, outdated website showcasing their work. The message being "we are too busy making our clients' websites great that we have no time to invest in our own." Being a mechanic in an ex-life, however, I would like to put this myth to rest and take away the excuse for not enjoying your job.

When I was working as a mechanic, I saw two distinct sets of workers: those who decided on this career because they could make a paycheck, and those that truly loved cars. I also saw a very distinct way these mechanics worked.

Now, it is true that the family minivan always went a little over on the oil change, or maybe you had to push the window as you held down the automatic windows button sometimes. But what al the great mechanics, the one's who got into cars for the love of cars, had was their "baby". And these cars were beautiful. I saw '33 Ford roadsters with small block Chevy motors sporting a three-deuce intake under Holly carbs. Or the precise number matching required to put a 55 Chevy to its original stock from the paint down to the door lock.

You should see the same love in a designer's portfolio site. Don't let them sell you on the "always under construction" excuse. A portfolio will always be under construction, but a designer that loves design, will be maintaining it and not letting it get stale. It is their project. A place where they can do whatever they want. If somebody really loved what they are doing, how could they possibly pass that up?

Related Articles

  • Auto Mechanic to Web Developer

    Long before I got into this crazy world of web design and development I was an auto mechanic. Now, you won't find this anywhere on my resume, but every now and then a client will ask about my past and how I got into this field in the first place. I tell them it was because I was a mechanic, which is usually followed by blank stares or doubtful looks. But here's why I loved both:

  • 3 things I’ve learned as a print designer that made me a better web designer

    The grid system: Any good typography or page layout class will stress the importance of an underlying grid system. Organizing content with columns, margins and gutters will allow the designer to use whitespace and hierarchy to lead the user around the page. Unfortunately in web design this idea is often underutilized. Many web designers didn’t come from a print background and feel a grid to be to generic of limiting. The web medium already has limitations that a print medium does not.

  • Best of Both Worlds - A CSS Love Story

    or how I learned to stop worrying and love the liquid layout

  • Sex doesn't sell. Intelligence does.

    "When she was good, she was very good. But when she was bad, she made film history." (tcmdb.com)

    It should be fairly clear from the large type on my homepage that I am a fan of Mae West. But how do I defend putting a film quote on a graphic design website? There is one big similarity. Separating from the usual and expected.

  • Transcending CSS

    This is a review of the book Transcending CSS - the fine art of web design by Andy Clarke. In a nutshell this was probably the best book I have read on CSS that doesn’t really teach you any CSS. Confused? Good. Now I have your attention. Let me explain.

Copyright © 2009 Plaid Dog Design | Nashville Website Design and Drupal Web Development All Rights Reserved. | Proud member of the following directories