Geoff Thibeau

Since its launch in June 2008, the first functioning version of geoffthibeau.com has overgrown its original design. There were many features I wanted to add that were near impossible to implement seamlessly. The sidebar was quickly becoming a distraction, and dear old Bob had an embarrassingly misspelled balloon.

I had to rethink what I felt was most important.

The Process

The Early Bird Gets Shot At First

Initially I jumped into designing, but didn’t really find any satisfaction in what was being drawn. Everything felt forced and unnatural, so I took a step backwards and developed a word list.

The Hainsworth Equation for Success

Using Stanley Hainsworth’s method of brand identity, I started to develop four or five words that would describe who I am and how I want to be perceived. These magic words would form a canon that would guide my web presence: if a design element didn’t fit into one of the five descriptions, it was cast aside. The five are funny, human, particular, passionate, and different.

Get It Together

Once I settled on five descriptive words, with sub classifications, I went back to developing some simple sketches.

You may notice some words written above certain sketches; those were written after drawing them out. I felt they too closely resembled other sites I had seen, and were therefore not acceptable. It was my way of slimming down the options without literally scratching them out.

The Goal

The goals of my site had changed. I wasn’t writing as often as I wanted to, and there wasn’t an emphasis on my any of my work. I decided to reverse this paradigm. The new website would subordinate my writing by only displaying one post on the home page, and highlight my portfolio by always having my recent work in the sidebar.

Also, I wanted to allow my personality to govern what the site looked like. When choosing my face as the vessel, I knew I would be able to accomplish this and obliterate the absence of self that was ever so present in the previous design.

The Execution

With my goals and word list in hand, I started drafting the new design digitally. Passing around a rough JPG to some design friends, I gathered feedback and made adjustments when necessary. When coding the site, I felt this redesign was easier than the previous design; partly, I’m sure, because I had built two other sites based on WordPress™ and had more experience with the language and functionality of the codex. Some difficulties were unavoidable, but eventually they were surpassed.

The Future

The portfolio section is evolving into something more accessible. Its current delivery is not ideal, so noticeable changes will be coming. Also, the work itself will be updated and revisited.

Other features will be announced as they become available.