Hi there,

 

I'm currently making a portfolio for an illustrator friend and was wondering whether it was worth making it responsive? I've done a few responsive designs in the past but for small local business (something that a personal would actually look up on their mobile).

 

Would it be a bit pointless to make my friends site responsive? After all, the whole point of it, is for him to showcase his artwork, so you would never really get the intended experience on a mobile, responsive or not.

 

I was just wondering what your thoughts were on the subject.

 

Cheers!

 

 

Hey,

I guess it all depends on whether you already have a design in mind.

sometimes making it responsive can limit some designs but I make all mine responsive as standard.

 

Like you said, you wouldn't get the full experience viewing the portfolio on a mobile so maybe it's worth leaving it off until he/she says so.

Even more reason to make it responsive. Art should be accessible to the masses - especially mobile users. A desktop image doesn't represent a 6ft installation, so why should a mobile version lessen it?

 

I'm in a few arty farty circles and having done a variety of illustrator, artist, etc.. sites, these image heavy sites can be quite demanding. With the right planning (and because you already have the experience), you can pull it off. Just look into how to serve the images effectively. For that purpose I recommend http://adaptive-images.com/. There are loads more methods and I've explored a lot of them, but this way is a good all rounder.

Bear in mind that use of phone and tablets to browse the web is increasing at an alarming rate, so very soon "desktop" layouts could become the exception rather than the rule.

Bear in mind that use of phone and tablets to browse the web is increasing at an alarming rate, so very soon "desktop" layouts could become the exception rather than the rule.

 

That's true. If your friend is illustrator and wants to get benefits of it, he should show himself from the best position. In case when his potential clients will get on his site via mobiles and watch it crashing, the reputation will be spoiled.

 

That's true. If your friend is illustrator and wants to get benefits of it, he should show himself from the best position. In case when his potential clients will get on his site via mobiles and watch it crashing, the reputation will be spoiled.

 

If I understand what you're saying here, I'd beg to differ. From a marketing angle, that's shooting yourself in the foot. If you already have an audience - say Damien Hirst or Banksy (see his website), you can take a risk and cater for a particular crowd. Depending on the medium, the digital version is a representation of the actual work. Mobile users are extremely important as far as I'm considered. I think a reputation couldn't be established if you omit it from certain platforms e.g. not tailoring for multiple devices - whatever they may be.

Bear in mind that use of phone and tablets to browse the web is increasing at an alarming rate, so very soon "desktop" layouts could become the exception rather than the rule.

 

Well I agree, but not "very soon".

 

It's not like computers are going to be replaced by portable devices as the default means of viewing a website within the next five years. To be fair it's all speculation and one's belief. For example, I think smartphones, despite experiencing terrific advances with their web browsing capabilities, are still living in the shadows of PCs for surfing the web. I don't think people who intend to use the web purposefully and frequently truly rely upon a mobile device, they know full well this is what a computer was made for.

 

In regards to tablets, even though sales have sky rocketed over the past few years with the iPad at the top of the mountain and with rivals Samsung (and others) gaining pace quickly, I still believe they're more a novelty than anything. I still remember vividly people thinking, "it's just a massive phone, what the hell am I going to do with that?!". It'll take a while for them to become the means of getting information. Again, this is just my observation, anything can happen!

 

With regards to your question MojoBar89, if you're trying to comply to modern expectations and do a decent job then make it responsive without compromising the original design (if you had your heart set on it). Responsive designs are an absolute must with companies these days - it's almost standardised practice. Plus it's not hard to do, doesn't take too much time and it's kind of nifty.

Well I agree, but not "very soon".

 

It's not like computers are going to be replaced by portable devices as the default means of viewing a website within the next five years. To be fair it's all speculation and one's belief. For example, I think smartphones, despite experiencing terrific advances with their web browsing capabilities, are still living in the shadows of PCs for surfing the web. I don't think people who intend to use the web purposefully and frequently truly rely upon a mobile device, they know full well this is what a computer was made for.

 

In regards to tablets, even though sales have sky rocketed over the past few years with the iPad at the top of the mountain and with rivals Samsung (and others) gaining pace quickly, I still believe they're more a novelty than anything. I still remember vividly people thinking, "it's just a massive phone, what the hell am I going to do with that?!". It'll take a while for them to become the means of getting information. Again, this is just my observation, anything can happen!

 

It really depends on each site in turn. Recently I've been working on some sites that have more visitors from phones/tablets than traditional devices, that came as quite a suprise when we analysed the stats and shifted our priorities!

 

Depending what you believe in the press sales of tablets are already outstripping PC's:

 

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/tablet-sales-on-the-rise-to-surpass-pcs-by-end-of-year/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9958851/Tablets-to-outsell-PCs-for-the-first-time-this-year.html