Portfolio Design Study: Design Patterns and Current Practices « Smashing Magazine

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Portfolio Design Study: Design Patterns and Current Practices « Smashing Magazine:

"A general question that comes up often is whether to design a visually appealing dark website (that is, use big bold typography and vivid colors to give the user a colorful and memorable experience) or a softer lighter website (one that has a simple structure and clean typography).

Surprisingly, according to our studies:

* 82% of portfolio websites have a light design with neutral calm colors. The backgrounds of these websites may be a light shade of gray or yellow, rather than pure white (e.g. Happycog, SimpleBits, 80/20 and Concentric Studio).
* 29% of portfolio websites have very vibrant, striking colors (e.g. 45royale, Hicksdesign, Duoh, Frexy and Odopod)
* Dark websites are much more likely to have big typography and strong visuals (e.g. Adaptd, OrderedList, Carsonified, Blue Flavor, SidebarCreative and pod1).

Of course, picking a dark or light design depends strongly on your personal approach and individual goals for your portfolio. Saying that the “trend” strong favors light designs would be inaccurate because each type serve its purpose in its particular context."