The logo looks "cool" enough, but the strategist in me wants to see how it'll be applied to / used within a larger brand scheme. Is there any chance that we might see a stationery package, some kind of ad or other collateral piece, to see the logo (and your other conventions) "in context"?
I have been doing some preliminary work on business cards. It can also be seen in context on
my website, which is almost fully functional.
I don't usually evaluate brands by their web implementations, since branding is often rooted out of the average (especially B2B) website by important considerations of the medium. Search engine optimization, clear and standard navigation, correct rendering on alternate/text/auditory browsers and systems, variable screen sizes and resolutions, light-based color contrast (and color blindness), and etc, all tend to squeeze out the finer details that make a creative piece branded.
It's gotten to a point in which a great many websites have become templatized; sacrificed creativity in favor of maximized usability. The main evidence of brand being a logo, color scheme, perhaps a few detail points like backgrounds, bullet shapes/colors, icons, and prominent images (like front-page slideshows).
Whether templatization is a good thing or not is a different topic. But for the purposes of your topic:
If you're looking for compliments only, you might consider reading no further. If you do read on, please consider my 2 cents as unsolicited advice that you should feel free to throw away if you don't agree. I won't be hurt.
I believe the logo's use in this setup is a bit too overt. It seems to draw attention to it in a rather unnatural way. People tend to read websites in an
F Pattern, and the logo, being an object of significant prominence within the design (perhaps too significant?) disrupts that pattern by drawing attention outside the pattern.
I don't know how you intend to use the logo in other works, but, for the site, I would suggest disconnecting it from the navigation bar and using it in a less prominent way. Ideally, the logo's placement should be subtle - used as something people will recognize as an identifier of work, but not a part major of that work itself.
Think about your message first, and design second. The layout, to my eyes at least, screams "You are on James Hodge's Website!" with "View the portfolio," "Here's how to contact the artist," and etc only as secondary elements. Is this really the prioritization you want -- especially given that most people will probably know they're on your website?
I also find that it helps to design a complete campaign along with a brand. Even if other elements never get used because of time or budget, they're helpful to have, and you can mix and match components -- as in the case of an ad appearing on the front-page of a website, or a corporate brochure layout being reused for an email campaign.
Good luck!
