Portfolio Site for William Keyser

My grandfather has a lot of work. His original site didn't scratch the surface of the more than 200 pieces he's created and documented during his career.

The original site could only be browsed by discipline - sculpture, painting, furniture, and ecclesiastical. This worked, but there would be a problem if more pieces were added

I realized that if put the work in order of date, and kept them in categories by discipline, everything but the oldest or newest work he completed in that category would be hard for the viewer to discover.

The solution: Providing multiple ways to browse - by time and by discipline - gives a chance for each piece of work to be discovered and enjoyed in different contexts, and allows the visitor to see the evolution of his work from the 1950's until now.

After some brainstorming, I came to the conclusion that for the website to capture a lasting legacy of his work and professional life, the visitor needs to be able to learn more about his thought process, what was going on in his life at the time he was creating it, and the impact it had.

William's original site had an about page and a resume page to list his many accomplishments, but to act as a legacy and truly provide context for his furniture, ecclesiastical pieces, and artwork, this text needed to be integrated more naturally into the browsing experience.

The solution: I created multiple places for William to add information about his process, artwork, life, and accomplishments throughout the site so the visitor has the opportunity to understand who he is as an artist and where he's coming from.

I drew upon these patterns I see in his work to inform the stylistic decisions I made:

• Dynamic. There is a lot of sweeping, jutting, energetic lines and dynamic shapes that evoke movement in his work, even though they stay still.
• Structural. His wood work is built with planning and care and is structurally robust. Even the paintings he creates have structured lines and shapes, and often  incorporate materials like metal and wire mesh.
• Geometric. His work has a lot of emphasis on interesting, geometric forms and not much filigree or organic details.

The decision: I incorporated thick, contrasting borders and lines, as well as dynamic, geometric shaped containers for elements.

I put together a list of display typeface choices that I felt created a look that complemented his art and the timespan of his career.

Together we eliminated ones that drew too much attention from the work, or had letterforms he didn't like the look of, such as the stacked lowercase 'a.'

The decision: I used Newake by Indieground Design for headings and IBM Plex Mono for the body text.

I wanted to choose a monochromatic palette that did not draw attention away from his work, but amplified and complemented it as well.

The Decision: I chose a tan and white to add to an almost black, dark grey in order to create an open, gallery-like energy to the space around his pieces.

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