The Web Design/Guest Showcase section of Illumination Gallery is devoted both to marketing my skills as a web designer and to showcasing imagery and text submitted to the site. My approach to web design is sparse, anti-frames. Would I describe myself as a purist? Yes, I suppose so. The reason Illumination Gallery was not constructed with frames is that I honestly believe frames get in the way of properly experiencing the web. Because of their constant presence, they distract from web pages. I believe the problem with the web is websites. Too much emphasis on websites, not enough on web pages. Most web designers assume websites are what the web is about as opposed to web pages, and thus they force the web to loose touch with its innate abstractness, its seamlessness. Frames bracket web content within artificially constructed grids meant not to enhance appreciation of content, but, rather, to never let people forget they are visiting specific websites. I am not alone in objecting to frames. As early as 1996 Jakob Nielson expressed a similar objection. My take on web design is retro. I relish the sheer starkness of HTML. Navigation from page to page on Illumination Gallery is minimal yet thoroughly functional. Go to the front page of the site, explore the different sections, see how individual pages link back to each sections' index page, and then back to the overall index page.
As a web designer here's what I offer. On the most basic level I can, free-of-charge, fully appreciating the value in terms of generating web traffic, post single pages of evocative imagery or text on Illumination Gallery. What sort of material would I consider posting? The sole qualification is that I like it. To get a sense of my taste, just browse the site. The only way I would charge money is if there was animation involved: i.e., if you wanted me to animate static imagery or text. Thereupon I would do my best to charge a fee relative to the amount of work involved and to what you could afford. On a more complex level I can design a small website composed of a title page, an intro page, an index page, a links page, and pages with imagery and/or text. Or I could design a more elaborate site along the lines of Illumination Gallery. Again, my fee would be contingent upon the work involved and what you could afford. I would assist in obtaining a domain name and web space from an ISP (Internet Service Provider). Finally, I would serve as webmaster, adding and deleting material from the site per request. If you are interested or have any questions, here are my coordinates:
Peter Schmideg
175 Duane Street
New York, NY 10013
Voice line: (212) 925-7049
E-mail: peter@illuminationgallery.
net