Professional Portfolios for the Creative Professional
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The document discusses professional portfolios and how to create an effective one. It covers choosing portfolio options like hard copy or virtual formats, selecting relevant projects to feature, and properly presenting the work. The key points are to know your audience and goals, choose a platform that best showcases your skills, curate a selection of high-quality projects, and organize everything in a clear, professional manner to highlight your qualifications and experience. Maintaining an up-to-date portfolio is presented as an important asset for finding work.
Professional Portfolios for the Creative Professional
- 1. Professional Portfolios Real Projects = Real Results Louellen S. Coker Content Solutions
- 2. Louellen S. Coker Founder, Chief Content Coach Web: www.yourcontentsolutions.com Blog: www.yourcontentnotes.com LinkedIn: louellencoker Facebook: Content Solutions Twitter: @ContentNotes
- 3. Real Projects = REAL Results • Dissect portfolio options • Choose your platform • Choose your projects • Present your project • Pull it all together
- 4. Goals of your portfolios • Intrigue • Call to Action • Showcase • Get a Gig
- 5. Define YOU (aka your brand) • Who are you? • What qualifications and experience do you have? • Do you seem trustworthy and reliable? • Are you looking for work? • Can I see some examples of previous work? • Can you alleviate our current need?
- 7. 20th century definition “…a representative collection of one’s work. As the word’s roots suggests (and as is still the case in the arts), the sample of work is fashioned for a particular objective and carried from place to place for inspection or exhibition.” —Wiggins, quoted by Barrett
- 8. 21st century definition “Portfolios are living, breathing things that change and evolve with your purpose and your audience. ... With careful planning, organization, and ongoing assessment, your portfolio in its various forms—hardcopy and digital—will be an indispensable asset.” —Coker, intercom, February 2007
- 9. Forms of portfolios Hard copy (Traditional) • Archive • Presentation • Sample • Elevator (Business Cards) Virtual (Web 2.0) • .pdf • Website/Blog • Social media • Coffee shop (skins on devices)
- 11. Best practices • Keep it simple • Keep it organized • Keep it succinct • Keep it optimized • Keep it targeted • Keep it consistent
- 12. Tools • Software for capturing/creating pieces – Open source – Office products – Adobe Suite products • Wireframing/Organization tools – Mindmeister for mind-mapping (www.mindmeister.com) – Jumpstart for wireframing (www.jumpstart.com) – Toodledo for project management (www.toodledo.com) – Basecamp for project management (www.basecamphq.com)
- 13. Tools, cont. • Online services • Social Media – www.elance.com – LinkedIn.com – www.qfolio.com – Facebook.com – www.wordpress.org – Slideshare.net – YouTube.com – Flikr.com – Wordpress.org/Blogger
- 14. Finding the Muscle • Elbow grease • Training – Blogs and Forums – www.lynda.com – Use help – Blogs – LSC Help Desk – Workshops – Trial and Error Hire some help
- 15. Case Study: .pdf
- 16. Case Study: HTML & .pdf
- 17. Case Study: CMS (Joomla!)
- 18. Case Study: Social Media
- 20. First steps, FIRST • Know your audience • Know your goal • Know your work • Know your capabilities (and how you’re different!)
- 21. What projects do I consider? • Those that the hiring person wants to see • Those for which you won an award • Those created in your day job • Those created for volunteer organizations • Those created specifically for your portfolio • Those created for fun • EVERYTHING and ANYTHING
- 22. What projects do I include? • Pieces that speak for themselves • Pieces that translate across platforms • Pieces that show skills • Pieces that show interpersonal skills • Piece that is the product of a difficult situation
- 23. Leverage proprietary information • GET PERMISSION • Limit to outward facing information • Redact if necessary • Collect as you go
- 25. Leverage your work • Select pieces that are relevant to varied audiences • Reflect about process • Blog in deeper detail about process • Show level of professionalism
- 27. Put your best foot forward • Optimize your files – Print = CMYK 300 dpi (.tif, .psd, .eps) – Web = RGB 72 dpi (.jpg, .png, .bmp, .gif) • Error FREE • Professional • Relevant • Appropriate
- 28. Essential elements • Cover Page – must have name; may have your mission statement, short introduction, or bio • Table of Contents • Navigation – some method to guide a reviewer through your artifacts • Artifacts – your best (mostly) • Reflection – optional
- 29. Reflection • Metacognition – thinking about your thinking • Not always necessary • Important – For contextual clues – To show growth – For those in educational settings – When being assessed
- 30. Pull it all together
- 31. Present your work • Determine a presentation theme • Organize your works in a logical manner • Compile your artifacts in a consistent manner
- 32. Protect intellectual property • Watermark • Limit scope • Low resolution • Remove “copy & paste” ability • Put your footprint in the metadata • Copyright
- 33. Protect yourself • NEVER leave your portfolio behind • Make copies of portions of the artifacts in your presentation portfolio • Organize your artifacts in a less expensive presentation folder • Consider including a thumb drive with soft copies of included and/or larger works • Maintain consistency when possible
- 35. Questions? Wri$ng Design Web Solu$ons
- 36. Wri$ng Design Web Solu$ons