Discussion - How many drafts of your portfolio exs

Click here to see full post: http://blog.graphicriver.net/general/discussion/discussion-how-many-drafts-of-your-portfolio-exsist/

Omg! that entire post basically explains how I am exactly. I am never satisfied with anything I make for myself, and I usually don’t have a real clear goal set before I dive in and start making something.

And yeah, one day I complete something I wanted the day before, and right after I will come across some new amazing site and love how they did a certain thing a certain way, and then I have to redo what I just finished, or had been working forever on but now decide on that new idea. So I save snippets of code, or psd’s, and stuff that eventually becomes an archive of stuff I forget I have, and in reality will never use EVER so there’s no need for saving them. Maybe if I was aware of what the files contained or something I might find a use, but not unless I open them all up, which I don’t.

So yeah, I know what you mean. Not so much with portfolio designs, but with my blog design(s). As for portfolios, I have about 5 right now that exist or existed one time and are still intact somewhere. Not to mention the 20+ previous portfolios I’ve had and don’t know what happened to exactly lol.

Anyways, No you’re not alone.

Think we need to start some sort of self help group for OCD Designers – something like ‘Obsessive Compulsive Designers’ ....

I think it’s a healthy mark of a creative mind, to never be satisfied with what you’ve done, knowing that your next design is going to be your best. Knowing that you can always do better.

But when you design for yourself it can be helpful knowing when to stop and say ’’Okay I’ve now run over budget, and making any more changes for this fickle client is going to stop HERE .. or um here or um…”

Graphic Designers have the same problem when getting down to designing something for them selves. You only have to look on some of the job bidding sites that have briefs that run along the lines of “We’re a top notch/award winning Graphic Design firm looking for someone to design our company’s site for us…” It seems that creative block when designing for ourselves happens to the best of us.

With regard to my company’s website, it’s a constant work in progress and I won’t even dare to count how many revisions it’s undergone between my partner and I. So as a temporary measure I’ve taken the easy way out and settled on a pre-designed them for my blog.

Right on the money. I continuously see designs or elements of designs I like and think “Man that is AWESOME . I have to have that too!”.

I’ve begun to learn that less is more though, so once I finally finished my latest site design (www.katepayton.com) which took me about 3 months of out-of-hours time, I refuse to change it, except to update content.

I do, however, save those omg-totally-awesome things I see and incorporate them into site designs I do for clients though!

Right on the money. I continuously see designs or elements of designs I like and think “Man that is AWESOME . I have to have that too!”.

I’ve begun to learn that less is more though, so once I finally finished my latest site design (www.katepayton.com) which took me about 3 months of out-of-hours time, I refuse to change it, except to update content.

I do, however, save those omg-totally-awesome things I see and incorporate them into site designs I do for clients though!

lol, I save so many of those totally awesome things, and I begin to not understand why I bother because I have so MUCH stuff like that saved and hardly ever do anything with.

I supposed I do it so that I have them as a reference, or perhaps inspiration who knows.

It would be nice if it were simpler to design things for myself all in one shot, and I’m done with it, and happy about the result, and not re-do, alter, modify, or create a new replacement design from scratch. And then I could just move onto the next project. But I guess design just doesn’t work that way, and I can live with it.

lol, I save so many of those totally awesome things, and I begin to not understand why I bother because I have so MUCH stuff like that saved and hardly ever do anything with.

I think there’s a simple explanation, you’re a creative and you like eyecandy.

I remember going to a talk by Kit Hinrichs (from Pentagram) and whenever he found something inspirational (be it a rock or toy or… whatever) he would keep it and file it in these well labeled drawers he had for that purpose. He’d use some of those ‘found’ objects as springboards for his creative works. That always inspired me to keep being a bit of a magpie – if it attracts me and I can maybe use it later, I archive it.

Our creations/website designs are like women… (or if you’re a woman, they’re like men… or if you’re into the same gender, then they’re like (insert gender/genders)...)

We love many different types of women… and we’re always moving from different woman to different woman… so when it’s time to become committed to one woman… we breakout in cold sweats… ignore her… barely recognize that she even exists and all the while cheating on her with other women until the day we are bound in holy matrimony… usually ending in divorce some time shortly down the line…

designers are pigs…

Our creations/website designs are like women… (or if you’re a woman, they’re like men… or if you’re into the same gender, then they’re are like (insert gender/genders)...)

We love many different types of women… and we’re always moving from different woman to different woman… so when it’s time to become committed to one woman… we breakout in cold sweats… ignore her… barely recognize that she even exists and all the while cheating on her with other woman until the day we are bound in holy matrimony… usually ending in divorce some time shortly down the line…

designers are pigs…

lmao! I guess you could look at it like that haha.

I certainly suffer from this. What is the answer, I’m not sure.

It is Analysis Paralysis. Inevitably you have to accept that many design solutions exist which will meet your (or clients) needs, and that you have to choose one of them.

If you get on with it and release something, then at least you have a working solution. You can always iterate, improve and adjust. We should take advantage of the fluidity of the web medium and iterate much, much more often rather than orchestrate grand and difficult design maneuver’s.

Wisdom borrowed from: Getting Real

Glad I read that because I was starting t think I was the only person like that. Granted ive only made 2 websites so far which have been for myself, but for whatever reason I was pulling nothing but blanks, everything I did just didn’t quite work out right & would run across something else I thought was awesome… But when making something for someone, it came with ease (So to speak)...

Sometimes I think designers/anyone is harder on themselves & expect more & better quality because we know what we are capable of. Or, (This is me) have WAY to many ideas & thoughts floating around & not quite sure where & how to start it all…