This week we spoke to Carl-Philippe Brenner about his stunning new portfolio.
Hey Carl, so tell us a little bit about yourself and the company?
I am 26 years old and currently living in Bordeaux, France. I don’t know the right name for what I do, but I’ve been doing marketing since 2005, design since 2008 and development since 2010.
What were your goals in making the site?
The major goal was to reach premium clients, senior designers and senior art directors. Most of the time they love very mature websites, which are understated, relevant, and not too distracting. The second goal was to have an easily maintainable website that could also evolve.
How many team members were involved?
One, it was just me.
Can you tell us a little bit about the planning process?
The work was segmented like this: quick prototyping with Illustrator, build the back-end and the front-end with node.js and backbone.js, and finally refine the design and UX.
Did you execute any UI processes before designing?
Wireframes and prototyping.
What tools did you use for design?
Illustrator.
Did you do any user testing?
Yes I did. With my family and some friends. They were all too complacent, but it still helped a lot. With the simplicity of this website, It was generally easy to navigate and to find out what I wanted.
Where did you get the inspiration for your work?
For this website the inspiration come from both minimalism and modernism. Websites like Collate and Aisle.One, have been really useful to find the right ideas.
What was the biggest challenge you faced with the site?
The main challenge was to design and code a simple site that was also good enough to work for clients. Within a short time after I started coding the site, I realized it was inconceivable to spend more than 3 months building it.
What are you most proud of about the finished product?
It is the first website I built with node.js and I had the chance to be able to do everything I needed in the time I gave myself. Thanks to the Internet and all the amazing people who share their experience and help others with tutorials, etc. This website is a also significant step in my career by opening up new and interesting opportunities, like this interview. So it’s great, the strategy works!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with the readers about your site?
Before starting this website, I was a little afraid and excited of the work I was going to do. It seemed daunting to have to learn node.js and backbone.js in a limited time while making a relevant and simple website. I wasn’t sure about what was going to happen, but in the end it was a great experience. Being a designer and knowing how to code the back-end and front-end is really helpful. Now I can build my own web applications, and when I work with developers I have a better vision of how we can use design and technology to achieve something both cost and time efficient. I think knowing how to code for a designer is a powerful asset.
Thanks a lot Carl!
Check out the portfolio, and let us know what you think. If you have any more questions for Carl you can post them in the comments below.
