It’s approaching two years since I first created a web site, and I’ve decided it’s time for a makeover. With my original site, adding a new image required also creating a thumbnail version and editing a file. I was running out of space in the navigation area to list more projects. And on a new monitor I was distressed to see how garish the banner color became. So I’m re-building. I want the new design to be: 1) simple and flexible for me; 2) simple and easy to use for the viewer; and 3) responsive to browser settings such as window and text size.

anasazi1.jpg

I’ll spare you the technical details, though I’m more than happy to go into anything there’s interest in. Here I’ll just illustrate a couple of features of the current version. The following screenshots show that, for a given browser window, other elements don’t move around when switching among images of different aspect ratio, or to the text associated with the given project. They also shouldn’t move when switching projects or to an image with a caption (currently only Sourdough Trail images).

anasazi2.jpg
anasazi0.jpg

The next screenshot (at the same scale as the others) shows the re-positioning that takes place when the browser window is reduced in size. I want the site to work with small windows, but be able to open up and breathe a bit when the window is larger.

anasazi2sm.jpg

I’m still working on a number of details, plus getting ready to update existing projects and add new ones on Cottonwoods and Gallatin Valley (my local landscape). Meanwhile, I’d appreciate any comments you might have on the new site. I’d like to hear about even the tiniest, niggling frustration or dislike! There are several things that I suspect might come up, but I’d prefer not to direct your attention to anything particular, and see what strikes you. In general, what features do you like in an artist’s web site? Any favorite examples?