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Ask DN: Hiding portfolio content on small screens

almost 6 years ago from , UX/UI Designer

I've noticed a trend recently of designers hiding their content completely on small screens (these examples are all developed by Aristide Benoist... can that be considered a trend? lol)

Example

This isn't a critique, I'm genuinely interested in what others think about the practice – is it just a matter of being able to control how people view your work? I know Christopher Nolan would die if you told him you were watching Dunkirk on your iPhone X, but you CAN still choose to watch it.

Jenny, Ben, Aristide, if you're reading, would love to know your reasoning behind the decision!

4 comments

  • Mitch WarrenMitch Warren, almost 6 years ago

    This is interesting to see, it's like we've stepped back in time before responsive design. Granted, it is a pain to code responsively - the testing alone takes ages and something always looks weird on some screen somewhere. I miss the old days of fixed width.

    Although simply choosing not to design for mobile seems lazy to me... however, when I think about AMP pages, brutalist-ish trends and shorter attention spans, I wonder if any of it even matters anymore.

    2 points
    • Kevin HaagKevin Haag, almost 6 years ago

      Had a quick conversation about it with Jenny on Twitter and here's her reasoning behind it:

      "...this is what @googleanalytics stats look like for my portfolio, and looking at this – is it really worth the effort to do the extra work for a portfolio? My answer is No."

      Coming at it from a data-standpoint, it makes sense to me

      1 point
      • Mike StevensonMike Stevenson, almost 6 years ago

        Alright, but how many of those desktop users did exactly what you originally did and resized the site to see how it would respond? If you’re marketing yourself as a web designer, I think that you should have basics like responsiveness baked into your online presence. Just my opinion.

        4 points
  • BAKA .kidBAKA .kid, almost 6 years ago

    lol. mobile coming soon.

    i noticed a couple of these say that they look better on bigger screens, or on mobile, but seriously, whats the point. if i was looking to hire someone and their website made fun of my window size choice (i like to run tiled windows on both my screens most of the time for anything that isn't a design program) then they are not getting an interview.

    i don't understand why they have made this choice. yes, some of the work was probably created to be shown at a specific size, but it just seems obnoxious to me

    1 point