Designing my website.

When I was first faced with the task of designing and creating my own website to advertise myself as a make-up artist I was a little apprehensive. ICT has never been a strong subject for me and when I had attempted creating a website from scratch in the past I found it to be a very complex, frustrating and time consuming process.

Once I had overcome the issue of having the incorrect software on my MacBook I was able to begin. I had thought that the beginning stages would be very daunting; I was envisaging a stark, white, blank screen crying out for text, images, hyperlinks and other complicated elements. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by iWeb and how easy it was to use. I particularly liked the fact that templates were available for people less confident with the software, and also blank pages for those who wanted to put their own stamp on their website and get a little more creative.

I struggled at first to get a feel for how I wanted my website to look; I didn't necessarily want a plain black or white backdrop, however, I found that a lot of the other, more detailed backgrounds looked almost childish and very unprofessional. In the end I settled for the background suggested for wedding photographers in the template, potentially a strange choice, although once the images and text had been altered I was quite happy with the way that it looked. If there was one thing to be learnt from designing a website to display portfolio images, it is the importance of having a selection of high quality, professional standard photographs. As I had done a reasonable amount of photo shoots towards the end of the first year, my fashion editorial images were quite strong. It was the images relating to my work in SFX and theatre productions that appeared to be somewhat lacking. I am not entirely sure how to overcome this issue as not every theatre show will take the time to have professional photos taken, however, it is a problem that I will aim to overcome on future work experiences.

Another obstacle that I needed to overcome was my lack of confidence in talking about myself. In order to create a good artist profile that would give an insight into my skills and abilities and encourage viewers to contact me, it was important not to be too modest or afraid to sell myself. I still consider this element of my website to be a work in progress as I am currently not entirely happy with what I have written, however, it is certainly a good start.

Another element of my website that I feel requires more consideration is my welcome page. I understand the importance of having a photo or series of photos that can act as a trade mark when selling yourself as an artist; something that ties together a website, business cards, social media pages, marketing material, etc. Unfortunately I just don't feel that as of yet, I have an image strong enough to use. For the moment I have used my Bollywood inspired fashion make-up, however, it is not a professional standard photo and does not show off all of the skills that I have and would want to market.

Finally it was important to consider the information that I included in my contact details page. Obviously a certain amount of information needs to be included so that potential clients or employers can contact you to offer work, however, I am unsure as to whether or not I feel comfortable putting my personal mobile phone number up on the internet for everyone to see. On the one hand, I am aware that I can be notoriously bad for checking my emails, whereas I check my phone messages frequently. On the other, I would not want my personal mobile number to be used inappropriately. It may be worth considering getting a second professional mobile number once I have graduated and am moving into full time freelance work.