Be my muse again - I need ideas and opinions for my projects!

[Izu]

xD Okay, I'm here again. My muse is completely dead and I need to come up with ideas for my project x'D

Project 1: Static Website - what should I make it about? I can use anything but PHP and MySQL, so it should be rather simple and (in my opinion boring). I was thinking about a portfolio website - thus I will have it ready for when I start searching for a job. But... what should I put on it? The requirements are at least 5 pages, using HTML and CSS, JS, ActionScript, DHTML and the other additional stuff can be used as well. So... what should I put on it?

Will be portfolio, consisting of - intro page, official CV, explanatory part of my magical abilities, projects' gallery, contact page, OFFER ME 2-3 MORE PAGES!


Project 2: Dynamic Website - I have an idea about it. Something like a twitter/facebook wall/forum thing. People can login and register and just post stuff, with comments and such. I was also thinking of making profile pages - like the ones we have on here with just the basic info. But... what do you think? Is it good enough? Interesting enough? What else should I put on it?


Project 3: Database - I need to create a database and perform some procedures, functions, etc on it (PL/SQL), but my mind is once again BLANK about what database I should create. The professor showed us some of the projects from previous years - there was a school database, a rent-a-car database, stuff like that. I need at least 2-3 tables in it, so... yeah... ideas?! I want it to be something interesting as a topic so that it would look interesting when I put it on my CV.

I've decided to make an IT company database, managing the orders, the employees, the projects, payments and so on. Might not be all that interesting, but it will look goodish on a CV, right? Showing that I can not only plan how such a company would work, but also build a database for its management. Right? >.>

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ideas and opinions FOR or ABOUT my projects? *brain-dead* . . . *blinks and tilts head pondering* hm...

[jouzinka]

For a dynamic, I say you can try and write a redaction blog system (like Wordpress) with all sorts of enhancements (like profiles and walls on those profiles and galleries and discussions under posts...), but that would likely be a lot of work. Community pages can never be a miss, I suppose.

The first I think portfolio is a good choice, especially if you can use it later. Third... I have no idea. :-(

[Izu]

For the dynamic it will be something like a... public wall? Everyone can come in and post whatever is on their mind. I will add profiles and maybe view-posts-by. A member list... stuff like this...


The portfolio is a good choice, I know, but what should I put on it to get 5+ pages - one will be an intro, then one that is going to be like a CV, then a 3rd page for representing some projects I've done, 4th - a contact form, aaand then what? I want to make it a bit bigger 6-7 pages. But my mind is blaaaaank.

[jouzinka]

Feedback? Praise from the people you did work from. I'd say guestbook, but that's not static.

Actually, I'd make a Bio/CV a standalone page and then some called Capabilities/Expertise, where you'd name all the things you're able to code and design, a standalone as well and a gallery of your works a standalone as well. *nods*

[Izu]

Hm... so official CV-thing and then an additional part of explanations what I can do, what I've done and so on, and then a third part with the actual gallery-thing?

[jouzinka]

Yes. :-)

[Izu]

What else? xD

And truth to be told, I'm currently more interested in thinking of a database - kind of wanna push myself and do it by this Saturday and turn it in (I want to be done with everything way before the dead lines which are pretty much 13th January 2012).

[Caeli]

You could add an about page about yourself / your brand / your vision for design.

[Izu]

I was thinking this to be the intro first page. So with it, the official CV, the me-blabbing-about-what-I-can-do page, the gallery-thing, and the contact form = 5 pages, which is the required minimum. But I want some more stuff...

[Caeli]

Well, one suggestion I have is to look at other online portfolios to see what they might include. Here is linkage:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/03/04/creating-a-successful-online-portfolio/
http://wellmedicated.com/inspiration/40-beautiful-web-design-portfolios/

More directly... perhaps a mock blog page? Not a "blabbing about my life" blog, but a design blog where you have sketches or mockups of personal design projects.

[jouzinka]

A page with information about how to find a web designer that the customer will be satisfied with? You know, a general series of tips how to spot a good design, good (logical) layout that is at the same time light in coding and (perhaps) good SEO (hard to, but still... try :P). If someone asks you why you have such a page, then it is clearly to help potential clients to realize that you're IT, the designer that they want (although I wouldn't include your comparison to said points), and at the same time (perhaps) that you're NOT it, the designer that they want, saving yourself the trouble of disagreements with potential customers. You can show pages already existing on the web and suggest how you'd re-do them, if you had the chance...

Awards that your pages/designs have won (can be included on the Praise page).

I don't have an idea for a database, Izu. Library database? DVD/BluRay rent database? You can combine that with the Dynamic website - making it the presentation page of the rental service. People can register, reserve and pay for renting the DVD online and then only pickup the disc in the rental. They can be able to rate movies, review, discuss them, socialize on a forum, get those profiles where other users could "rate" them as reviewers, friend them...

I'm not too inspired either. :-(

[Izu]

Thanks, Caeli, I'll take a look <3

And, Jouzi, I want all the projects to be different themes in order to get more diversity. Plus the web one will be made using MySQL, while the other one has to be made and performed on oracle apex -__-  But, yeah, I was thinking about a Dvd/BR rent thing... If I don't come up with anything more interesting and original I'll go with it. Thanks <3

[jouzinka]

I have zero experience with databases (like Oracle, I do have limited MySQL). And when I say zero, I do mean null, so... I can't even stretch my imagination to think what -can- be done, because I don't even know the capacity of it. Sorry I can't be of much use.

You'll rock it without my help anyway. *hugs* <3

[Izu]

Aw, thanks *hugs* <3

[Izu]

Okay, edited the first post with the decisions so far.

Page ideas for a portfolio?

What do you think about the database idea?

[jouzinka]

I think... I know it's far fetched, but...

What if you just did whatever it is that you intend to do at the moment, Izu, and posted the results here (at least as far as the websites go)? I'm quite sure that for people would be much easier to give you pointers about a done project that they can see, rather than a far fetched idea they can't really imagine working or possible to b.e done..

Be prepared to be bombarded with ideas afterwards, though. ;)

[Izu]

Well, I will have to find free webhosts that will do the job first. Then start working on the websites and so on. But it will take a while to have them all up and ready - for now I will use xampp (localhost, no uploading needed). But I was just searching for ideas what to do. I actually got the portfolio idea just as I was writing up the first post xD So in a way - it worked.