Week 8 - Interactive Portfolios/websites & optimizing effeciantly

Today while reading Building Design Portfolios I was able to find some good examples od interactive websites. Successful design studios redesign their sites very often to maintain a good reputation and stay current also to show your most recent work. A potential employer evaluates web portfolios by first considering the material they see in the site, did it take long to load is it difficult to navigate that also includes how easy and visible it is to turn off the sound of a website. Many designers just skip this step and much rather not add music to their website.

Reading chapter 8 of Designing a Digital Portfolio about printed portfolios it was said that after scanning, shooting, and agonizing over lost details, it can suddenly dawn on you that the best art is the original version - the file forgotten on the disk. However you can never use it exactly as it is. One of the best ways to repurpose published work is to create a PDF. Some tips for creating good PDFs: (Pages 141 & 142)

• Avoid scrolling
• Shoot original files
• Use TIF files
• Optimize JPEGs
• For a fast attachment, merge your PDF's
• Make your PDF a project
• Create a cover page
• Watch your file sizes
• Name your PDF sensibly
• No headshots

Optimizing all image files i order to fit the requirements of transmission.

Self Promotion

I was reading this Self-Promotion article and it was like reading the struggles I was facing and here I was beginning to think that I was the only one going through this. Self designing is very difficult, I would know I have faced it these past couple months. It is important to be honest in how you present yourself. To ask yourself questions like what you like and dislike and that will answer questions and give ideas in order to create a portfolio that truly represents you and the work that you do.

There are some key points given by Mary Virginia Swanson useful to determine in advance of creating your website:

a) Your graphic identiy or BRANDING must be clear and simple:
b) Your business model - what are you selling? Your prints and/or skills? And/or are you introducing new work about which you will continue to inform the audience? If you teach, do you want to list upcomng workshops? Do you have a book for sale? Do you want to share the comments of others about your work as testimonials?
c) If selling prints, do you want to reveal your technique in making and/or printing the work, and the pricing/editioning structure, or ask that interested parties contact you for this information?
d) If you have gallery representation, will you, or are you, contractually obliged to refer all inquiries to that business?
e) If you have a representative for assignment work, will you, or are you, contractually obliged to reer all inquiries to that firm?
f) Your contact information: do you need to publish your studion and/or mailing address and phone number, or choose not reveal such personal information?


One day I asked my Typography Profesor at Quinnipiac what his feedback was for my business card and he advised that I did not have to submit all of my information at once, that it would be a good idea if I just handed them a card where they had to go to my website portfolio and when they become one of my customers then I will share that information so that they can feel comfortable working with me.

Week 7 - Tips for Job hunting and Promotions

While reading Building Design Portfolios it was said that one should aim for having a strong design then to prepare for the interview and presentations. Job hunting requires first research of the company you have submitted your information. A résumé is important because that is where the viewer will be able to see in writing all the things you have done and have your contact information on there hands without having to look further. The cover letter is where you will very friendly encourage the reader to look at your portfolio. Follow up materials are thank you notes and follow-up phone calls. Promotions that you sent out could be mailers, books and monographs, CDs, and PDFs. This are known to be "limited-edition portfolios" because designers distribute as reminders or enticements. I also learned that your promotional piece does not have to be very expensive just good enough to catch the most attention and this will show the viewer the ability to produce innovative work without a big budget. In the examples that were given my favorite was one by Japanese designer Hirokazu Kurebayashi's promotional piece it's an elegant professionally printed package for a corporate audience. First in a plastic sleeve then opens to expose a black cloth bag silk-screened bag with the designer's name and holds a four sided black cardboard envelope containing twenty-seven printed samples. (Images Displayed in pages 56 an 57)

Cleaning up after your scanning is what was discussed in chapter seven of Designing a Digital Portfolio. The problems with digitized art are put together in a short list:
• Tonal problems
• Combining and editing
• Size and resolution
• Sharpness

All of these issues happen with all types of digital art. If the concepts of tone, color, resolution, and sharpness are well understood then you can apply them equally well in any digital file. Here is another list about working on the right types of files, and in the right order: (Page 120)
1. Change your file type.
2. Adjust brightness, contrast, and color casts.
3. Clean up and retouch your art.
4. Save a copy of the image.
5. Adjust document size and resolution, if needed.
6. Sharpen, if needed.
7. Optimize and save in a compressed format.

In this chapter there was also given an Image-editing cheat sheet which will come in handy when I all the digitizing of my work. Keep in mind future plans like the revisions or the start of a new portfolio.

Master List & Flowchart

Organization of content for my portfolio




Flowchart

Week 6 - New book new ideas

The new book that I am reading is Building design Portfolios by Sara Eisenman. This book talks a lot about how one should present there work. Just by the design and cover of the book you can tell thought was put into it the way that it’s shaped because of the title and because it has a magnet as to protect the pages from ruining and giving it some style. The first chapter was about making a working portfolio by working they mean one that catches the audience attention and it also showed different types of portfolios and there are so many to choose from. The layouts are well organized and have many ideas as what to do.

– Digitizing traditional work

While reading Designing A Digital Portfolio chapter six was helpful in teaching how to Digitize all the work that will go into my portfolio. In reading this chapter I picked up a lot of ideas about scanning and what types of scanners are good for a certain project. One of the most important things to remember that it is all about the paper, depending on that it will reflect a good quality output. It is best recommended to go directly from camera to computer if you it is something that will look better rather then scanning and then modifying any color changes. Also encourages to use a good-quality scanner for my digital portfolio.

“In the end, your portfolio is all about your work. Digitizing that work successfully is the first step to a quality portfolio. ” This will let the viewer know that you are knowledgeable in doing this scanning and printing work and are ready for more challenges.

Week 5 - Creative Process includes organization

This week I read about the process a designer should take in order to do a job well done.

An interview by Saul Bass encountered a problem, by young designers and students: “They are not privy to process; he noted. They may have the illusion that these things really spring full-blown out of the head of some designer. This is a very unsettling perception for young people, because they struggle with their work. They have a go at it… They redo… It gets better… It slips…It gets worse…it comes back… It comes together. And maybe it’s something that’s pretty good, even excellent. But they say to themselves, ‘Gee, it comes hard and it’s so difficult. Am I really suited for this?’ This is a questions that we all face at one point or another as a designer or not.”

(Quote on pg. 135 side bar)

Recipe for a healthy jobs well done.
- Talent
- Industriousness
- Dedication
- Love of your craft

What is your ‘style’ like? Or better yet what was said to replace the word ‘style’ with ’voice’. What kind of voice do you have to offer. How could we know what we each are.

- First creative conviction – Have to believe in something!
- Second is personality –
- Thirdly is a question of awareness of fashion

Being original is important to make it out in the real world. This depends on your clientele and how many you will be able to have. This however is not always the case because according to the British designer Julian House said: “I don’t believe in originality as an absolute, – I think it’s more to do with interesting twists on existing forms.” It’s okay to borrow the idea but to illustrate it in a way that it hasn’t been seen before. Once the client is there in the beginning of meeting with them it’s said that it is good to do a brief. This represents good communication with you and your client, their needs and what the results could turn up as. Briefs do not always work in favor of you as a designer, a good example of this is Swiss designer, Bruno Monuzzi his project to only use two elements for a poster and came up with a great masterpiece.

Before you even begin a brief do not forget of the research that you have to do also remember to look at your competition and what they have. Not to copy but to know what needs to be done differently. A brief is important because it sets requirements:
- Purpose
- Commercial considerations
- Budget
- Time
- Media channels
- Etc.


I have always been somewhat organized with my work through out my years as a college student. I am able to find documents, pictures and tons of bookmarks that I did not even remember I had saved in my hard drive.
In Designing a Digital Portfolio while reading chapter 5 I found out a different way of organizing digital files the five disciplines that were given were: Group (Use folders and link them) , Name (Unique naming, and Descriptively, Briefly, Inclusively), Show (Use thumbnails and customize folder icons), Weed (Simplify, and Update), and a Backup (The most important and I include myself on this one that I tend to forget to backup).

My 3 Site Comps

This week I have been working on sketches doing some research and here is what I came up with for the three compositions for my future portfolio. My goal was to have a site that is easy to navigate as well as to show elegance and a visual design.