Site Critique: Jason Chan Art

http://www.jasonchanart.com/index.html

Jason Chan is an inspiring artist and one of the founders of the site I previously reviewed, CGHub.com. He is young, but his digital fantasy painting has already earned him awards. He works as an illustrator for concept art collective, Massive Black. Therefore, when I was looking inspiration for my own portfolio site, I went to his.

Interestingly, Chan’s gorgeous splash page does not open up to his actual site. It links to his Blogger account. This feature is a double-edged sword. While returning users can immediately see what’s new, new users have to search a little to find the actual portfolio which contains his actual, best work. This link is on the right sidebar like on most Blogger layouts. Like his blog, most of the links go to other sites. His prints must be purchased through Inprint.com, and his video demos are hosted on his employer’s website. This is beneficial because it means he can spend less time managing his online presence, and more people will see his work. However, the user then feels less contact with the artist, and there is less visual continuity between pages. It is also much more difficult to return to his main page.


The background of Chan’s actual portfolio site is a painting of his original character, an angel girl with short, white hair. The swirling clouds around her make a natural frame for the site content. This matches the splash page, but the blog lacks its visual focus. He has drawn this character enough times that the imagery would be easy enough to carry everywhere. This is acceptable, but not ideal because it hinders readability. Otherwise, Chan has stuck to a very simple design. White backgrounds make his work pop off the monitor. The font is black, clean, and sans-serif, with links highlighted in orange. Unfortunately, sometimes, the text is hindered by the imagery in some instances, usually overlapping. The menu is also text-based and stays at the top right corner of the site. The wording is also pleasingly straightforward.


Overall, Chan has created a site which complements his visual style and showcases his artwork. If any more imagery were added, it would only be clutter. He lets his work be the user’s call to action. He has also innovatively incorporated his accounts from other sites to increase convenience. Nevertheless, he could also style these pages to follow the rest of his site.