I have been designing web pages since I was 12, about ten years. I helped design the (now defunct) web page for Taft Middle School in Lincoln City, OR, which one a Discovery Channel web site award for design. I have had many personal pages which have disappeared over time. My first major website was the original Filthy Cabbage Depository web site. I'm maintaining a few web sites, including this one, and the others can be viewed below.
The main thing that I try for when I design a site is simplicity. I don't skimp on content, but I'm not a fan of flashing text or poorly placed animated GIFs.
Rejuvenation
www.rejuvenationmassageandspa.com
This site began around 2000. This is an example of a site that is used mostly for informational purposes only. The layout of the site was designed to follow the brochure handed out in person at the spa. Basically, it is a menu, with prices and descriptions of all of the services the spa offers. The site is graphically lean for ease of use.
Aunt Mary's Toaster Bistro
Following the trend of the store to which this site represents, the colors are bold, the graphics and pictures are plenty, and there is a lot to look at. The original Filthy Cabbage site also had many picture and graphics, but I've taken a new approach. With the first site, I chose to design all of the buttons myself (very time consuming and difficult to change with the design software I was using) and use as much original artwork as possible. This time I decided to go for usability and easy updating. The new site is not static. This is an example of a web site that changes often both in look and in content.
How to Die Music
How to Die Music rounds out the Farpiece family. My friend Josh and I are designing this site together. That is, I'm doing the programming and Josh is doing the design work. The first idea for the site was pretty basic; the navigation was on the left and the body was on the right, seperated using frames. Neither of us liked the concept, so, borrowing an idea or two from the Bloodshot Records page, we ended up with the navigation at the top of the main page with the body down below. The key to designing a web page is making it look good without making it too simple or too complex.
