Wk 1 Ch 1&2 Why Mood Boards Matter 7/13

Inspiring Portfolio Websites; 

Erik Marinovich's Portfolio

In Erik Marinovich portfolio he show cases his type and lettering designs in a sleek and simple way. The whole layout is nice and clean and easy to fallow. 
Erik Marinovich Portfolio

BrandClay Portfolio

I like how Brandclay is easy to go through. The layout is straight forward and I love the style that you see in both the pieces in the portfolio and the website itself.
Brandclay Portfolio


In Dan Sweet Design portfolio all the graphic elements come together and show this rough side of design but the elements don't distract from his work. The navigation is easy to follow and the website feels very open Dan Sweet Design's Portfolio

Dan Sweet Design Portfolio

I really like the scrolling feature in Heck House's portfolio, it's almost like a time line for all of the projects while also giving some detail about each one. You can really get a feel for the retro type that is used and how it is incorporated in the different pieces.Heck House Portfolio

Heck House Portfolio

This portfolio is very inspiring, it has a different kind of viewing structure. The work pieces sway either left or right and makes it easy to go threw each project. D-NYCE Portfolio

I really like how the navigation on this website doesn't move when you scroll. Having this fuction makes it easy to look at and is also pleasing to the eye.Jas Hands. com Portfolio

Jas Hands Portfoli

D-NYCE Portfolio

Article;

I some how came across this article about things to think about when putting together your portfolio; Portfolio Help  

Why Mood Boards Matter

Mood boards or inspiration boards are used as a tool to show a client that there is an understanding of where the project is going. Mood boards communicate a visual and tells the client that it's understood what they are looking for. Creating a mood board prevents confusion and it helps the client get involved from the very beginning, to makes sure time isn't wasted on an undesirable look and feel.

  Mood boards are used to show a look, feel, and an atmosphere and is a cluster of elements that come together. The process of creating the mood boards comes after the wire framing and before the mock-ups. The elements that are usually shown on mood boards are photography style, color palettes, typography, patterns, and look and feel.

  There are two kinds of mood boards, the loose collage and a refined style guide. The collage is quick and time effective. You can add screen shots of other sites as reference. But this kind of mood board may be difficult to understand and some elements may be distracting.In a refined style guide the elements are pretty detailed and formal.This kind of mood board is clear and concise and to the point.


When starting the mood board its best to have a clear idea of what need to be shown in the elements. Writing down adjectives will help control the mood board in a way that is desired. When presenting the mood board to a client it is important they know that this stage in the process is required. Make sure that the client is aware that their input is welcome and will help you get an idea of what they are looking for. 
Letting the client know the reason why you picked each element will discourage them from personal preferences. Remind the client that nothing is set in stone yet and that mood boards are just a tool to make a quick decision to make a quick turn around. 


Chapter 1 and 2
One of the major thing surrounds making sure that your user gets the picture about your website, and gets where they want to go. In the book it's suggested;

•  to use only half the words you where going to, then half of that. 
• People need sites that are self-evident, obvious, and self-explanator

Main idea is to get rid of the asking questions, a user can feel loaded down with questions of how to navigate the site making it harder for them to get where they are going.


 The titles of links need to be obvious if it seams like it could be something else it could be assumed. Also things that are clickable need to be shown so to avoid confusion. To make a search box easier it shouldn't ask the user how they want to search, it will only complicates things. All the sites components should be recognizable instantaneously. 

Users may not always move on quickly, but either way an easy site makes everything seem better. when there is less unimportant things available it leads to an effortless navigation through the site.

•  Less time goes in to looking at a web page then we think.
•  Only an effective website is able to work instantly at a glance.

 The way we think people use a web site is different then how they actually use a website. Users generally; 

• glance at each page
• only scan limited words
•  portions of the page aren't even seen.

 This is normally dependent on the kind of page it is, what the user is trying to do, and how much of a hurry they are in. 
Very little time is spent reading, the only words that are read, are the ones that catch out eye. Users only read up to a few paragraphs or print out an article because it's easier on the eye. The reason why we scan is to save time, in a hurry, or just want to keep moving.We know we don't need all of this information, we know we can get away with only a fraction of what is there.We want to only read the relevant tid-bits that we find, and we are good at this. Mainly when we scan we look for certain words and phrases or trigger words 


Users don't often time wait for the best option but rather the first reasonable option to save time. 

• Because they are in a hurry 
• There are no negative effects of guessing wrong 
• No improvement of chances of looking for the best option
• Less work 
• The right guess makes it go faster 

We don't figure things out, especially if we know of a way to get what we want done. People will use things even if they don't completely know how to use them. Users rarely even read through instructions. Even I use search engines to go to a web site I've visited many times but for some reason went I want to go to dictionary.com I might just go to Google first. That's just they way my mind works it seems faster when I'm on the web to do what is familiar. The reason why we don't seek out easier ways to do things is because it out right means nothing to us. We don't even think about it. We rather to it a hard way, we discover an easier way that's cool to but the user isn't going to look for it.When a user is comfortable and confident and feel smart when navigating a website they are even willing to come back and keep using the web site.