Anson Cheung New Portfolio Website

Hi all,

Its been awhile since I last posted my website on here (when I was looking for my first job, 2.5 years ago). I’ve recently redone my website on Squarespace with almost all professional work since I didn’t think much of my student work was worth showing compared to the new work.

You can find it at http://www.ansoncheung.net

The website is mostly for finished work images, since some of the process work that I’ve done on work projects could be considered confidential. I would show any process work that I could show in a PDF portfolio.

I’d love to get some feedback from you guys on content, layout, site structure, or how the work is shown.

Thanks!

Hi,

quick note - maybe you could show more process and sketching?
I would like to see more of the thought paths and brief to product process.

On the website, i think the front page works fine. clickable pictures and titles would be nice though.

cheers!

Hey Anson,

Great work. The site design is really clean as well. It took me a while to notice the “Learn More” links, I was expecting the main image to be clickable which seemed the most intuitive way to open each project. Not sure if others had this problem.

My first thought was that I was really impressed with the quality of professional work. That being said I found it a little tough to tell what your involvement was in a lot of the projects. I know it’s nearly impossible to show process for this type of work but it might help to clearly state what your level of involvement was for every project off the bat, ie. if you were design lead for the Roku player etc.

If I was a hiring manager I feel like I’d still want to see at least one individual project that’s just you so that I have an idea of what you can do if you’re in the drivers seat for the whole process. If your school work is outdated I’d just re-tackle something new that’s your passionate about.

I’m not sure if the NASA project is still just a work in progress but it’s not doing anything for me right now, feels more like a blog entry than a full project. I noticed your coroflot version is way more juicy NASA: Common Crew Cabin by Anson Cheung at Coroflot.com . What’s the reason for doing such a stripped down version on your site?

  • Matt

Hey Matt,

Thanks for taking the time to look at it. Most people have pointed out the lack of clickable images, which I agree is an issue. The unfortunate thing is those images aren’t linkable in my squarespace theme, and I don’t know how to add custom css so that they are. I’ve looked it up and it seems that a lot of people have that issue with this theme, and nobody has a solution. I may switch to an image grid type layout once I get more work up, but until then I’m not really sure how to fix it. Do you think bumping up the boldness of the “learn more” link would help?

I will definitely make sure to clearly mention what my specific roles were for the project.

I do have some individual projects that I hope to complete soon to put up as well. I was thinking that it would be a lot easier to show process on work that I’m not worried about the confidentiality of.

As for the NASA project, I included it as more of a conversation piece rather than a solid project. Its more of an amalgamation of a bunch of work I did both in school and during an internship at NASA. I don’t flesh it out as much because its not really related to the work I do now, and I feel like its more something that people would just find interesting. Do you think its worth showcasing more of that work?

It’s really nice work, Anson.
Always dug the Rokus and nice to see the evolution in its form language.

I think there can be a healthy middle ground for how much process to show. You probably don’t have to show a ton of research you might have done or lots of sketch work. In my opinion, when it comes to “on market” work, these things are assumed and understood.
Of course there was development. Probably a lot of it. The quality of the work speaks for itself.

However, just an intro slide or two, might be really nice. Just to set the project up a bit without a hero shot of the product itself. Some well edited and chosen “behind the scenes” slide might round out the presentation and make it look less like an advertisement.

Yeah, I feel your pain in regards to the pros and cons of the grid structure and I have a similar full bleed theme as you. For now, I am sticking to my theme and I really like yours as well. Still considering changing it as well though…

I like the clean presentation and nifty navigation. I think it would benefit more to show your thought process, design exploration, granularity, and how you got to the final design solution. It should tell a story . Maybe show more than just 3 projects.

Bengt & Orrkwankit

Thanks for your comments. I think for my professional work, too much of the process stuff is considered confidential to our clients for me to tell a good story on my website. I would only be able to show little bits here and there. I would be much more comfortable showing the process work in a separate portfolio document that I bring to any future interviews. I’m thinking right now my website will serve as a showcase of finished work.

I do think that process is extremely important, so I will be sure to upload a personal project in future that shows a more detailed process on the website. It is still a work in progress, and I won’t be using this to apply to jobs anytime soon.

Thanks again for all your feedback!

Hi all,

Since gathering feedback here, I’ve made a major revision to my website, and would love to get some feedback.

Changes I’ve made:

  • added a major project, removed some minor ones that are less interesting
  • added images to go over the key features of each design
  • tried to give some overview into the project and the design objectives (as bepster had suggested)
  • tried to create more of a full screen experience
  • added a process section to each project (as people had mentioned wanting to see SOME process)

Let me know what you guys think!

http://www.ansoncheung.net/

Looks great. Can you make a custom… (whaddaya call it…the little icon next to the website name in the tabs)?

One thing that would make it even more cohesive is a consistent background to all the main images - right now its a gray gradient on all but the Da Vinci. I understand this might not be easy to do with the existing photo assets. Its not bad now though.

I’d love to see a bit more sketching, perhaps a whole screen width versus just one quarter of a screen. There’s a bit of an overly technical feeling to the projects now and more ‘humanity’ could be imparted with some sketch pages.

The Roku sketches could use more contrast to get the gray outlines out of the image.

I commend you on your written copy; I was unable to find a typo upon a first quick read (and I’m notoriously good at finding them!) The copy is precise and descriptive overall.

Favicon



My only comment Anson, (which I made on facebook already) Is that the Design Objective Icons/Area seem a bit generic. Could it have a bit more personality, or tie in to the product a bit more. Other than that it looks pretty polished.


Navigation wise. Should there be a Work/Portfolio Tab? I understand if I click your name its brings you back to the main page, but might help to have a portfolio link

Definitely need a favicon.

@Slippyfish

Noted on the background consistency. I’ll mess with that. Either all gray or all white.

I don’t want to overwhelm my website with process, so I’ll probably show more sketches in the event of an interview.

I did check the copy multiple times! Glad you noticed!

@Eman
I used the stock icons (mostly) that came with the wordpress theme. I’ll look into doing something more tied in with the project.

I’ll see if an additional work/portfolio menu item crowds it too much.

Thanks for the feedback!

Anson,

Really nice, good stuff.
One can tell that you are working on great projects at a quality outfit.
Personally I think you are hitting an exemplary balance between hero shots, behind-the-scenes process and information for a professional online portfolio.

It will be exciting to see new projects appear on your site as I feel it is still a little bit thin.
But obviously that will come with time and experience :wink:

Thanks Bengt! Really appreciate it.

Its true there are only 4 projects, as I’ve scrapped most of my student work because I don’t feel it matches the quality of the professional work. There are projects coming down the pipeline that I won’t be able to show until they hit the shelves, so there will be some additions in the coming months. And of course there’s the opportunity for personal projects too.