We spill the beans on fancy-pants technology, big naps, and why we like to say no more than yes.
What is PopSlice all about?
PopSlice is like a clean, minimal, well-lit gallery. We've made it easy to hang your work. Our job is to showcase creatives' work—not our brand or fancy-pants technology. (Yes, our developers wear fancy-pants when coding).
Why should I pick PopSlice?
Effortless simplicity. Besides easy-on-the-eyes designs, we believe simplicity is our secret sauce. If you have all of your content ready (images and copy), you can have your PopSlice site live in less than 20 minutes. We get that time is important to our customers. Why should anyone be frustrated by an application? A PopSlice site is easy to launch and keep updated. Also, our logo looks stunning on a muscle t-shirt.
Why should I use PopSlice and not create my own site from scratch?
If someone believes they have the skill or money—by all means they should create their own site or hire the best web designer they can afford. But they should ask themselves, "Do I have the time to do it myself, or do I have the money and patience to hire someone?" It always, and I mean always, takes longer than you think. So, go ahead and build that custom site. But while you're waiting, would it hurt you to put up a PopSlice site? Our accountant says you can afford it.
Who's behind PopSlice?
We're a designer owned and operated startup. Besides PopSlice, we run an UI/UX design firm: SemiBig Creative Industries. We've worked with Cisco, Intuit, and Shape Magazine. Our studio is located in Oakland, California (pound-for-pound, the best food trucks in the lower forty-eight.) "Simple Designs by Simpletons" is one of our mantras. "Pass me the hot-buttered biscuits" is another one that we live by. (You could say we're more than a bit food obsessed.)
What makes you guys qualified to create an online portfolio tool?
As owners of a design firm, we live and die on the quality of our work. We hire talented designers for our client work. (And of course take all the credit.) We're genetically equipped with a strong point of view and a big bag of opinions about designers and their portfolio sites. So after seeing a few thousand designer sites in our lifetime, we feel that we know a thing or two about portfolios—that and Victorian-Era horsehair dolls (we're heavyweight collectors).
What do you think are some basics to having a successful portfolio site?
For the love of all things Scorsese, be a storyteller. Have a point of view and pepper the site with your personality. Be brief, but write like you're having a conversation with your smartest friend. One thing we see a lot of is a lack of editing. You have to be ruthless when curating your site and leave your weakest work on the cutting floor. You have seconds to catch someone's attention. Besides, the only person who wants to see all of your work is your mom—and she ain't paying the rent.
What new features will you be adding to PopSlice in the near future?
We've got a few tricks up our sleeves. But for the near future, we'll be adding features sparingly. It's something we work at every day: saying no more than yes. No to new features that in the end no one really uses and adds bloat to a tool. Listen, we just want to make a product that's so easy to use you could have a four-year-old put up a PopSlice site. We're not for everyone. We've always held on to the belief if you try pleasing everyone—you're going to need to take a big nap.
What do you have under the hood?
Popslice.com is propelled by PopSlice the application. Hosting wise we're serious about reliability and security. PopSlice is hosted on the Rackspace Cloud, an industry leader in hosting technology.
Will PopSlice really make my pixels prettier?
Yes. In fact, we're going to make your pixels feel like they fell out the pretty tree and hit every pretty branch on the way down.
So you're foodies? Prove it. Where do you recommend to eat and drink in the East Bay?
Like our girth, here's our ever expanding list: Brown Sugar Kitchen, Bake Sale Betty, Rudy's, Soi 4, Cactus, Blue Bottle Coffee, Pizzaiolo, Pican, Oliveto, Ici Ice Cream, Little Star Pizza, La Farine, Pepples Donuts, Tacubaya, Peet's, Venus, homeroom.