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By Jiajing Sun on Nov, 2017

This portfolio was built as part of the Design Computing Studio 1 assessment and represents the first online collection of my design work. It was designed with two audiences in mind: peers and academics interested in the design process, and potential clients or employers looking for a web designer and developer.

The information architecture uses a tree hierarchy across four sections: a personal introduction, the Design Studio project documentation, a Graphic Design gallery, and a Web Design case study. This structure was chosen for its clarity and scalability — the site was intended to grow as new work was added over time.

The visual direction was shaped by the portfolios of Alexander Kaiser, Aristide Benoist, and Mathias Sterner. A black-and-white palette was deliberately chosen to let the work speak without visual competition from the container. The minimalist approach also aged better alongside the varied styles of the projects it presents.

The homepage uses full-screen scroll-snap panels with dot and stripe pattern backgrounds, each highlighting a section of the portfolio with a direct link. The studio and graphic sections adopt a sidebar-and-grid dashboard layout — a familiar pattern that keeps navigation predictable across deep content hierarchies. Detail pages follow a long-form editorial layout: a hero image, written documentation, and a supporting image carousel.

Process: The design process ran from inspiration gathering through content definition to visual direction and build. I designed, developed, and content-managed the entire site independently. Cross-device testing was conducted, though the initial release was scoped to desktop only given the volume of material and timeline constraints.

Reflection: The site was delivered on schedule, though the design phase was more compressed than I would have liked. In hindsight, more iteration on the navigation details — particularly the dropdown menus and the image viewer in the carousel — would have improved the experience. The portfolio has since been substantially rebuilt and modernised, and continues to evolve as new work is added.