Delivery Requirements
The delivery requirements for PPD4 will be as follows: • A portfolio website, built using WordPress and valid XHTML and CSS • A set of final screen designs • A site structure diagram • An assets list
Competitive Analysis
As part of the process of producing my portfolio, it is important to take a look at the competition I will be facing within the industry, assessing both their strengths and weaknesses, so that I can gain an idea of what I should be aiming to produce at the end of the module.
Specifically, I decided to look at freelancing individuals. Here are a few of my local competitors (specifically the Wakefield area):
Fresh4design (Tom Coad) – fresh4design.com
A very strong portfolio with a good range of skills on display. It is clean, aesthetically pleasing and well designed. It also features an option to download a CV and VCard, as well as many ways to get in touch. The site is also, crucially, ranked number one on google for the search term ‘Web Design Wakefield’.
Mark Till Online – mark-till-online.co.uk
A clean portfolio with good information architecture. Displays a good range of skills and has a strong portfolio.
Timothy Stringer – timothy-stringer.co.uk
A former student of FdA Web Design, Tim’s portfolio is clean and nicely designed.
Jarnail Singh – jarnailsingh.co.uk
Although there are a decent range of skills offered, the portfolio itself is fairly poorly designed and lacks impact.
Wayne Ambler – wayneambler.co.uk
The portfolio is fairly well designed, and he has a wide range of skills. However, the site is fairly slow to load and lacks impact.
Rather than just look at the local market, I decided to look internationally as well, using some of the well-known inspiration websites. Here are a few notable examples:
Jeff Sarmiento – jeffsarmiento.com
Jeff Sarmiento’s portfolio has an extremely eye-catching and unique design. It also features a fair range of work. However, he is fairly vague about the skills he possesses.
Jason Reed – jasonreedwebdesign.com
Jason Reed’s site features a prominent illustration which draws attention very effectively. The layout is clean and it has good user interaction. He also provides good detail about his skill set.
Mike Precious – mikeprecious.com
Mike Precious has a very strong portfolio, featuring a clean, unique design with good typography and good information architecture. It features alot of information about the services he provides and a strong portfolio.
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