Student Portfolio Critique

Hey everyone, I’ve been lurking around on the forums for awhile. I finally decided to make my own portfolio website after creating a website for a coursera class. I’m currently a senior studying mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan and I’m hoping to work at a design consultancy. The site is still being worked on but I’ve put down the content for almost all of my projects so I was hoping to get some critique. My website is www.raymond-chen.com. Hope you enjoy!

Ray, I have noted a few things I feel that you should take note of and fix.

  1. As soon as I opened your portfolio page I was presented with several images, all without a project name.

  2. I clicked on your “About” section and you have 3 images of plant drawings while you discuss your fondness for Bioncles. I have know idea what Bioncles are? I would assume a transformer type toy. What does the plant drawings have to do with Bioncles?

  3. Under your “Projects” icon, you list six items when you have eight images on your opening page.

  4. I personally do not like your choice of font or the lack of a design theme within your webfolio. There is so much white, random images and entirely too much text that I get lost.

  5. As the viewer, I do not wanna keep on clicking deeper and deeper into your project, then week number etc, to get to the importance of the project. I should only have to click once, then see your process laid out in a thoughtful way.

  6. I’m not trying to be harsh, I just want you to understand how someone else views your portfolio who has never seen your projects or you for that matter.

  7. Try to make your portfolio represent you without being there. Your style, passion, skill set, thought process, ability to problem solve, strengths, weakness, etc.

Take a look at the link below. Watch how when you scroll over the image it states what it contains. Then you see how the design process is clearly visible yet simple. Thomas Mitchell, Industrial Designer in Hartford, CT

Hope my opinion helps,

J

Hey J, thank you so much for the reply!

I agree there is a lot of layout within the site that I have to work on and most of it is still in progress :slight_smile:. The plant pictures are just what is included in the site template so I should really take that out. With regard to my projects what parts of the text do you think are unnecessary? I noticed in the portfolio that you linked that it is mostly visuals with little description. I understand that I should let my pictures do most of the talking but I am struggling with just how much I should leave in.

I’m in the middle of finals right now for college but I will definitely take your advice and make my site more straightforward.

Thanks again!

From your about page: “I’m a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me.”

You might want to edit that. Also, I didn’t understand the pictures on that page.

I did like your Wikispeed project. Elaborate more on the solution and benefits to manufacture and the user and you’re laughing.