For some time I've been working on putting together a bLog-oMotives piece on the variety of online portfolio and directory sites available to designers - especially those working in the area of identity design. LogoPond, a logo design inspiration and critique site, was one of the resources to be included in that future piece. This morning my blog was getting a great deal of traffic from LogoPond so I thought I would investigate what was going on.It turns out that my logo design work is the new "Featured Showcase" on the site. Over the past couple months I've been adding examples of my identity efforts to my own LogoPond showcase page. In fact, later today I plan to spend a bit of time adding a few more examples.
LogoPond allows designers, of all experience levels, to upload samples of their work at no cost. Some logos are works-in-progress for which designers specifically request critiques from site members (although members often seem to provide criticism whether requested or not). Other examples, as in my case, are finalized designs being posted as a source of possible inspiration for design students or those already active in the profession. In addition, site members may create their own profile page.
One of my pet peeves about the site, and many other online design critique venues, is that LogoPond allows individuals to post criticism anonymously while hiding behind a screenname with no public profile displaying any credentials to back up their supposed expertise. Posting of random comments, with no constructive design-related value, is of little use to a designer who may be requesting legitimate input. I actually had a cowardly anonymous poster refer to me as a "homo" in a recent personal attack masquerading as a "critique." Such comments reflect poorly on the design profession in a very public way. It felt to me as if a very professional design industry web presence had been reduced to little more than a middle school playground.
With my individual logo uploads I include a brief description of the specific logo project featured, list any awards the design may have received and mention books in which the design has been published. I then post a link to a bLog-oMotives entry, Creative Latitude article, or other online resource related to the logo.
LogoPond also has its own online forum for the discussion of identity, or design, related topics. Recent online discussions have hinted at a future LogoPond book and the possibility of a similar site focusing on illustration. The web presence also provides a page of additional related resources.
More on other Internet design portfolio sites and directories in the future.
© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
1 comment:
Hey, that's awesome. I'll go check out logopond now. I love those sites where you can display your work--another one that I like alot is Coroflot. Do you know much about that one? This is my profile there.
What other designer-networking sites should I know about?
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