I’ve sadly ignored updating my blog and my Facebook site page over the last month as I have really been nailed down (not even tied, but nailed). Apart from about 4 smaller websites/portfolios and larger NDA flash stuff, I’ve also began my Honours year at university.  After achieving my Bachelors with distinction I decided I’d stay on and see if I can get top grades again. In my honours I have to show what I am capable of with a yearlong project, which is why I’m making http://beakw.com/. I’m hoping to progress fast through it but with the amount I have on just now it’s only getting allocated the time it requires, not the bells and whistle time I’d want.  So once I’m over this current hurdle of work I might take a couple of weeks off from it all to focus on getting those top grades.

Just a couple of days ago I launched a Facebook page for Beakable.com seen here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Glasgow-United-Kingdom/Beakable-Web-Design/144184688922. This will be used for tracking of current and finished web design work as well as linking back to any articles that Beakable may feature in from now on. Hopefully viewers will join and give both positive and negative feedback on my work and comment on the progress of Beakable.com.

After the large influx of sudden visitors from smashingmagazine.com there was an increase in the amount of people viewing and clicking the Submit button on my contact page. I guess it was a case of seeing a button and clicking it to be enthralled by what was to proceed.
Sadly and I’m sure to many people’s displeasure nothing would occur, well when I say nothing, I mean the clicker would gaze upon nothing and my inbox would receive another blank or quickly filled in email.

But now, behold, I give you a button. A button which will most definitely perform and hold up to high expectations. A button that won’t only send me an email, but will give the clicker the much desired button clicking delight they seek.
Feel free to test it out, input is now required in the contact form before you’re able to click send but if you dont have anything to say feel free to fill it with garbage.

I was over the moon recently to find that Beakable.com had been linked to from SmashinzMagazine.com (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/30/50-fresh-portfolio-websites-for-your-inspiration/).
Under a post titled “50 Fresh Portfolio Websites for Your Inspiration” my site was amongst some amazing pieces of work that I would never have thought I’d be placed next to. The site refers to Beakable as “Iain Hamilton’s portfolio is interesting and unconventional. Maybe funny characters in the header make up the core feature that singles out this design.”
This really did make my day.

I wasn’t too sure about the changes from the frog and Jason rabbit to the snail and salt shaker, and when I do get some time I will be thinking of some new characters. However I definitely won’t be changing my header away from my cartoon styled drawings now.
It’s also worth giving a mention just now to Dustin Morris (http://www.dewtone.com) and Christine Mackey (http://www.studiom-productions.com) who both provided me with work over the last year which without a doubt took my level of design from nothing to actually being reasonably presentable now. Both of them persisted from space increases of one or two pixels to colour shade changes that over the last year greatly improved my eye for detail and positioning as well. It will be interesting to see how I improve over the next coming year.

Well it was bound to take a long time to finish when the only real time you’re allocating for your web portfolio is between work and episodes of Lost. Luckily and probably thankfully the way it’s turning out, the mind blowing shambles which is Lost has come to a halt for another eight months; which means without further ado I can finally present my portfolio at a completed level http://www.beakable.com. Although a basic version of the site has been running for the last month or so, it was still in dire need of some brushing up and tying up of loose ends.

I still expect to be tinkering away at different parts of the site over the coming weeks and hopefully improving on its overall feel.