Your Art Website: Draft Version

One of the requirements of this class is to end with a working website that shows off your artistic work. But don’t stress! A website can be as simple or as complicated as you make it. I suggest starting out really simple in the beginning so that it “functions” and doesn’t need a lot of bells and whistles to do so. You’ll make a first pass at a website, we’ll look at them as a class after they’re due, and then you’ll refine it further and turn it in again toward the end of the semester.

Turn in by submitting the URL here in bCourses.

STEP 1:

Visit these sites for inspiration (we will also view in class!)
They are mostly alumni undergraduate Art Majors and graduate students:

• Erica Deeman (Links to an external site.) (MFA’22): Decided to create project categories by title instead of by medium.
• Shirin Towfiq (Links to an external site.) (BA’17): Note how each work has a project description to help the viewer understand what they’re looking at. Her work looks great but should really have a CV and direct email address instead of a form to fill out to contact. I think she uses Square’s “Nevins” template.
• Simon Tran (Links to an external site.) (BA’15): Decided to use his alter-ego Ghost Ghost Teeth as website name. Also has a tab called “Design” that showcases how their artwork intersects with design projects.
• Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo: (Links to an external site.)Showcases large images of their work in order to put more attention on the visuals.
• Jin Zhu (Links to an external site.) (MFA’16): Also has sections on work made for others, and writing projects.
• Craig Calderwood (Links to an external site.): Note how Craig puts news and info right at the home page and gives a sense of her personality.
• Purin Phanichphant: (Links to an external site.) Has a really interesting mix of art and design projects integrated together, because he sees his practice as encompassing both.
• Sara Emsaki (Links to an external site.) (BA’17): Note how the link to her CV goes to a separate Google Doc that’s easier to add and edit. I think she uses Square’s “Nevins” template.
• Xandra Ibarra (Links to an external site.)(MFA’20): Uses a strong image to grab the viewer from the beginning, and then divides up their work into categories. Her video works are linked to embedded Vimeo files that are hosted externally from her site.
• Edgar Fabián Frías (Links to an external site.) (MFA’22): Has a lot of text-heavy descriptions for projects and activities, and their website is a strong archive of their very involved artworks and collaborations. A great example of a very informative website.

STEP 2:

Make a basic website or modify your existing one. If you don’t have a website, here’s a few suggestions, or you are also welcome to use a platform that isn’t listed below:

• • Weebly (Links to an external site.) (free! but sometimes has ads that get put on your website 🙁 )
  • Squarespace.com (Links to an external site.)
  • Cargo.site (Links to an external site.)
  • Wix.com (Links to an external site.)
  • Other People’s Pixels (Links to an external site.)

FOR EVERYONE, including those that already have a website:

• • Name your website with your actual name in it (for instance: stephaniesyjuco.com). It can’t be some strange funny name that has nothing to do with your name (for instance: fussybubbles.com). You have to be found and recognizable to someone looking for you.
  • Your website must include these first three sections (in green), at least. Choose the word that you think best describes the section based on the examples I give below. You are also welcome to have more sections based on what you decide to showcase.
    • Projects / Artwork / Portfolio: Your artwork. Put at least three projects/artworks (hopefully more!) in them to start with. Include title, date, dimensions, medium, and brief description. You can also create categories of work if you feel like you want to subdivide into multiple areas and not just have a generic “artwork” section: i.e. Painting / Sculpture / Video / etc.
    • Artist Statement / About / Bio: Put something in here. Even if it’s just a start, at least it’s something). Re-read the section in our Art/Work book that covers artist statements to get a refresher.
    • CV: Use the draft you already wrote and add/change it based on new information you think should be in it.
    • Contact: Your (non-Berkeley) email address — put this somewhere! You can make a section for it, or you can add it to your CV, etc. The reason to not use your Berkeley email address is because it will expire.
    • Links to any social media accounts (Instagram, etc).
    • News: Optional section only if you think it’s useful for you.

SOME TIPS:

• • How to include videos in your website: it’s preferable to embed video links into your website from an external site such as YouTube or Vimeo (preferred). Some websites will let you upload your video directly into the site but there is a data limit, which maxes out pretty quickly. If you intend to show a lot of videos on your site, I recommend using YouTube/Vimeo and linking/embedding from there instead.
  • Avoid using the contact “form” that some websites let you use. I’ve found these to be a barrier for actual communication and it’s easier to list your email address directly.
  • Don’t include your phone number, for privacy’s sake.
  • Consider sharing your gender pronouns in your bio (she/her, they/them, he/him) if you’d like people to be specific in how they address you.

Good luck and can’t wait to see your websites!

Rubric

Some Rubric

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