I think it's a confidence issue.
And I don't mean confidence issue as in, "I am not good enough, how did I ever think I could do this," type of way.
I mean confidence issue as in, "I haven't had real world application of my skills (read: sites that aren't for school for made-up companies) and I'd like a few sites under my belt," type of way.
So here's where I open up the floor and turn to my friends for help. If you (or anyone you know) have ever wanted a website, now's your time to speak up. Or if you want a redesign of a site? I'm up for it. Or even if you already have a site you are happy with but allow me to play with your content to create a site, that would also be wonderful. What I really want is the experience of designing for someone rather than receiving guidelines on paper and getting a pass or fail on a site.
And in case this isn't clear: I am volunteering my services, not asking for work (as in, you pay me) so think of this as a gift?
If you think you can help, please drop me a line by commenting on this post or emailing me at miikarin[at]gmail.com. The only things I require from those who choose to help are:
- A request - examples: "Design a personal site for me.", "I want a site that hosts my stories.", "I want a gallery that showcases my photos.", "I want a site dedicated to this character from this show." etc. The important part is that there must be a purpose, yes?
- Content - something to put in the pages, because I have gotten extremely friendly with http://lipsum.com and it would be unhealthy for us to continue our association as enthusiastically as before.
- Feedback - tell me to make a site the way you want me to, because I want to make a site you'd be happy with, even if you don't use it. Though honestly, if you want me to just make you a site and leave everything to me, that's fine as well.
- Patience - I have free time, but I don't have that much free time between full-time work and a bit of schooling.
Things to keep in mind: One of my greatest barriers, admittedly, is that I am not as great at designing web logos or banners, especially if I have to worry about copyright infringement. I have almost little to no drawing skills so I can't create drawings for the site and as I am not an avid photographer, I don't have a lot of pictures to choose from.
Having said that though, if you want me to design your site from top to bottom, I will be able to do so (again, can't draw anything still) by using stock photography. Or, if you already have a graphic you want me to design a site around, I can work with that as well. You can give me as few or as many graphics or pictures for the site as you want.
Last note:I will be using these web sites as testing grounds of sorts for different layouts, navigations, and coding that I haven't had the chance to experiment with.
So if any of you want to be a guinea pig for me and help me out, that would be greatly appreciated. Or if you know anyone who might want a website, send them my way. Please help me spread the word (you can link to my post if you want or give out my email). I don't have an exact number of sites that I would be fine working with, but I'm willing to make quite a few even though some of them may take some time.
If you want to discuss this further, comment or email me.
