Art Buyers Talk About Websites That Work (Part 1)

“Navigation should be very intuitive. Some people resort to a lot of hidden elements and trickery, like hovering, or a little hot spot on the page. But if it's not identified, how on earth are we supposed to know what's there? Maybe the site is austere and pristine, but no one is going to know about it if it’s too slick and you can't really figure it out.” – Peter Calandra, print producer, Publicis Seattle

"It's all about the image quality, but I will spend a lot more time on a website that's fast loading, easy to navigate, intuitive. If I'm waiting for images to load or if it's a Flash movie or crazy music, I don't have patience for that. And I'm assuming that artists are only showing work they love, so as far as the demarcation between commercially produced stuff and personal work, I don't care. Behind-the-scenes stuff, blog stuff… that's not really so interesting to me.” – Andrea Mariash, senior art buyer, David & Goliath

“[I like websites] where they've presented a series… kind of a storytelling. You really get a sense of what somebody shoots. I love to see more images. Also, clean and simple design, nothing too crazy or flashy. Flash websites are OK, but I'm really just there to see the work. I love when they've got thumbnails that you can scroll over and the images change and pop up. I don’t like the fading between images because it wastes time. I love websites that have categories. Another good point for websites is having fairly decent sized images.” – Justine Barnes, Art Producer, Cutwater, San Francisco

“I like to see an acknowledgment [when a site includes] personal work, so it's not confusing the issue: “Here's what I do, and this might be what you know me for. But here's the personal work.” It also depends what level that photographer is at. If we’re talking about new photographers, it's confusing to me what their personal work is compared to what I would hire them for. It's sending a mixed message.” – Kat Dalager, Manager of Print Production, Campbell Mithun, Minneapolis

“I think if they shoot a lot of different things, they should have it broken out in categories–whether it’s travel, portraits, kids, food–as opposed to one big blend of things. I don’t want to go through a hundred pictures. The beauty of the Internet and websites is you can look really quickly to see if it’s just the right look and feel... so it’s important that those pictures are pretty strong. Then there are sites that have strips that keep moving... it drives me crazy. And music drives me crazy, too, because if I have like 8 zillion windows open, I’ll have different songs going on.” – Kim Witczak, Art Buyer, Barrie D’Rozario Murphy, Minneapolis

“I don’t like to be force-fed the images. Sometimes you’re presented with a slideshow and you have to go through that particular site’s pacing. And maybe you want to go back to an image but they don’t have a click-back. Give the viewer absolute control and options to opt out of looking at something, or go back to home. I don’t really mind music, it tells me a little bit more about the personality of the artist, but an opt-out button is a wise thing to do.” – Melinda Estey, Art Buyer, Young & Rubicam/Wunderman, San Francisco

“You need very clean navigation that’s visible on every single page, with your telephone number so that we can find you. And, the images need to load quickly and not be a pain. I don’t want to click around trying to figure it out. – Michelle Jackson, Freelance Art Buyer/Print Producer and Founder of Snap Indigo

“I think it's important, especially on blogs, to see the personal side. When we call in books, we often ask–especially if we're doing a reportage kind of art buy–if they have any personal work, any Polaroids or anything like that. Facebook–we follow a couple of photographers there. The only thing I would caution against is showing behind-the-scenes stuff from photo shoots, especially for Nike. I don't want to see that. What I want to see are their outtakes from a photo shoot that they may think are relevant, or is something they want to share as an artist.” – Aric Rist, Global Brand Photography Manager, Nike, Portland, Oregon

“[I don’t like] a site that’s over designed. I can appreciate the design and attention that goes into it, but… I need to be able to look at the work quickly. So, load time, some thumbnails on the side, and being able to click through the images at my own pace are really, really key. [Categories] are helpful. Small file sizes are not a problem. I can follow up to request [a high-res image], if needed. I'd rather have it load quickly so I can go through the site. I also love blogs – I have a list of blogs bookmarked.” – Sandy Boss Febbo, Executive Art Producer, Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis

“Clean, easy to navigate, simply designed. Those are the most important things for us. We don't like Flash because it's not searchable and it takes time to load. If we’re looking through a list of 40 photographers and your website takes an extra 3 seconds to load, chances are we're going to move on to the next one. So, we prefer HTML. We prefer fast-loading, light pages with good sized images.” – Scott Dadich, Creative Director, Wired magazine, San Francisco

“I like very simple sites. Photographers should not over-design their sites. It’s awful when they have all this stuff going on. I’m a book person… That’s the most minimal, simple way to see photography. I like the same thing for a website. I don’t like fancy animations, slides, scrolling. A lot of people tend to get too creative with the design. Your work should speak for itself.” – Alejandro Chavetta, Art Director, San Francisco magazine, San Francisco

“Fast loading websites are key, and thumbnails are also very important and helpful. When I find an artist I like, I send the link to an art director and a few screen grabs. A photographer should have a blog. We need photographers who can articulate their vision and sell us on their vision… and blogs are a great way for me to get to know them” – Heather Morton, Freelance Art Buyer and Consultant, Toronto

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Art Buyers Talk About...

Working With Agents & Reps

Printed Promos That Work

Promotion Frequency

Elaborate and Novelty Promos

Searching for Talent (Part 1)

Searching for Talent (Part 2)

Artist Recommendations