When Al Sumstad entrusted me with the honor of creating his multi-disciplinary portfolio website, I knew I would have to think outside of the box. Al is not only a concept artist and illustrator, but also a layout designer—and his portfolio needed to showcase his experience in each of these fields.

I kept the basic visual vocabulary of the website clean and minimal, so as to let Al’s vast and varied portfolio of illustrations, concept art, and layouts have the spotlight. A full-width banner on the landing page shows off the artist’s line art abilities, while square image frames serve a dual purpose as an alternate way to access the Digital Illustration, Concept Art, and Traditional Art portfolio pages (which are also accessible via the top-level menu).

The most interesting challenge I encountered while building this website was the logistical side of displaying so many large image files (many of which are also very visually complex) in a way that loads quickly and avoids visual clutter/overwhelm. Through the use of optimization plugins and a responsive image gallery, I was able to create a portfolio website that does justice to the art that it showcases.