Marketing Yourself Is No Easy Task

I spent the majority of yesterday afternoon, evening and this morning working on what I think is probably one of the top 2 or 3 tools I need to actually do web design in a freelance capacity: my own professional portfolio website. Here's a little screenshot of it:

 

Theresa's Professional Website

I've read a lot of articles on this particular topic and found many lists that compile what are considered the best portfolio sites. Some are flashy such as this one for Kavoon and some are lovingly minimalistic such as Sofa's website. One of my favorites is this one from a company called Simple Art.

At this particular point in my career (which I don't even think I can really call a career just yet), I decided to go with something that was particularly functional and easy to navigate for a potential client. I also had some concerns that potential clients would get a certain feel from a website that was overly flashy and not want to hire me because of it. I almost want to give a "blank canvas" kind of feel to my portfolio website, that is, I want somebody to not feel that they would be hemmed in to some slick design because that's what my website is. But at the same time, obviously, I would like to express myself creatively.

I came to the conclusion that most individuals would be looking at the work I've done so far and that I would best be served by just putting samples on my website and letting a viewer judge for themselves.

Having said all that, though, I do have a design in mind that I would eventually like to go to. It's more flashy than what I have now but at the same time I think people would get a kick out of it. It does require, however, some things I don't know how to do yet (but that I'm working on). Now all I have to do is find the time to do it. Oy vey!

And so it begins...

I tried to tell my Twittering minions that my homework for my social media class was to write this blog. All I received in return were acerbic asides about how tough it must be for me. It is amazing how withering you can be in 140 characters or less. It's enough to make e.e. cummings proud.

In any event, the subject of my first post is one that I have been thinking about for awhile. Once the decision is made to become a web designer and/or developer and you have completed the requisite educational requirements to at least look outwardly proficient, do you feel you can call yourself a web designer at that point?

I take a look at the web for inspiration and I find myself feeling somewhat inferior. There are sites out there that blow me away and make me wonder if I could ever get to that point in my design aesthetic. I'm not talking about the hum-drum sites that people make from templates or are obviously just a recycling of a site designed for someone else. I'm talking about a site like Freight Train Creative. Will I ever get to that point where a design like that would pop into my head?

This is the point at which designers like myself who are just starting out need to take a deep breath and gain some perspective. Every person who is considered the best at what they do in their particular endeavor was once a rookie. They may have been a prodigal-like, over-achieving rookie but they were still a rookie. I like to think that Sir Laurence Olivier was a wreck the first time he got on stage to perform Hamlet. I imagine that after the 1000th time he'd done it, he had finally reached the point where he decided to just have fun with it and enjoy himself and it was then, and only then, that he finally became the best at what he did.

Meryl Streep, Brett Favre, Barack Obama and even the Pope were all beginners once. They all appear to have done just fine.

P.S. If you don't know who Sir Laurence Olivier is, look him up and find out. Here, I'll even help you.