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Helen Tran — Product Designer(helentran.com)
6 years ago from Max Lind, sometimes Maxwell
Aaron Sagray, 6 years ago
To each their own ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Giovanni Hobbins, 6 years ago
In her case, it's a selling point. While perhaps you aren't looking for culture fit when looking for a designer, many larger companies/brands are.
Paco Lara, 6 years ago Well, perhaps you are assuming things about me :)
I think culture and the value of who you are is important and a part of you as a profesional. I understand the concept and you have to be very... I can´t find the word in English if you put as a hero content a video or you dancing, but I think is good. Anyway, IMHO the way the content is balanced is not so awesome or super cool (just my opinion)
I can see this person has a very strong personality and also has the ability to make it a very strong point and I´m sure that is something that really work in her case but I think that is too much. When I saw the web I only could think in... EGO. But is different and here I am, talking about it with you, so I guess the goal is reached... but I don´t like :)
At the end is only an opinion and who cares...
G Lukacs, 6 years ago Calls out designer for displaying too much "ego" whilst making ridiculous justifications to defend his own ego.
In quite simple terms, what's happened here, Paco, is that you have seen someone else's (truly excellent) work and you've immediately tried to invalidate it based on the fact that she's beautiful, self confident, "not a designer", and so on.
You can hide behind the logical fallacies all you want (It's about design! It's about layout! It's about showing the right face to clients! It's just my opinion!) But in reality, she's leading design at Shopify, and you're doing agency work and UI experiments on Dribbble.
Perhaps instead of thinking up new and novel ways to defend your own ego (the irony), you should take the time to read some of the things Helen has to say, and learn from them.
Paco Lara, 6 years ago I´m not invalidating anything. That is what you say. The quality of her work is out of any discussion. And, thanks for judging my work. It´s funny you talk about fallacies and finish your post with an authority fallacy trying to invidate my opinion because my work is not so relevant as her. I´m stop writing here because I don´t want to be disrespectful.
By the way. I wrote this yesterday in one of the comment I made... Maybe I don´t like some parts of the web but I can see the value that it has and I´m sure I can learn a couple of things of how she talks about herself and how to make your personal site.
So, please, stop judging me.
Dustin Locke, 6 years ago I believe if all you want is freelance projects, you're probably better off just showing work.
If, however, you want to be considered a partner, an asset, and somebody who can add long-term value as an employee or contractor, you should show off more than just your work. We always complain about not having a seat at the table, but then we position ourselves as pencils waiting to be picked up.
I think Helen's site shows that she's dead serious about strategy, she's a total badass, she's respected by her peers, she's extremely ambitious, and she has actual visual design chops. Call it ego, but she's just selling herself as more than a photoshop monkey.
In my opinion :)
Paco Lara, 6 years ago I agree when you say about being more than a designer and sure she is amazing and awesome and super ambitious and profesional. As Nice Shoes says, the first impression is... different. After that you realize Helen is an amazing profesional. No doubt about it, but you don´t need to show you as a H&M model in a fashion comercial to prove it (ask Paula Scher, for example). So, yes, I call that ego. It´s like the classical stereotype of "the cool designer".
And not doing that do not means that you are a photoshop monkey at all.
By the way, It´s difficult to find the tone in not your native language. I´m using smileys because of that and remarking that what I´m saying is just an opinion because we are talking about the work of other person. So, I´m saying if something like me or not. Be as sarcastisc as you want :)
Maybe I don´t like some parts of the web but I can see the value that it has and I´m sure I can learn a couple of things of how she talks about herself and how to make your personal site.
Dustin Locke, 6 years ago I wasn't being sarcastic at all. Your English is fantastic. My smiley was to let you know I'm not trying to be contentious either :)
Paco Lara, 6 years ago Hey Dustin. I´m sorry, sometimes is difficult to understand how things are said. So it´s my fault :)
Elliott Regan, 6 years ago
Probably depends on the type of clients you want to work with. Image is huge.
Hannah Chalmers, 6 years ago
Although placing 2nd in a fitness competition may not seem relevant to you, to me it shows she has hobbies and interests outside of work, and she also shows hard work and determination that led her to come 2nd in her first attempt at something.
G Lukacs, 6 years ago This.
So much of this criticism just comes across as terminally insecure. It's quite upsetting to see people so intent on tearing down work that's so obviously great.
It´s something interesting... but clients are really interested in your personal live? I´m not sure. I think who you are is also important but not more important than your work. When I´m in the other side and need to hire a profesional to do some work I don´t care about her last fitness competition.
Anyway, This is not a critic. I like the website and everyone is free to choose the way to be exposed to the world :)