Objective

To develop a digital portfolio in the form a personal website for self-promotion purposes. To showcase new media and interactive design skills for the purpose of obtaining employment as a graphic designer.

Secondary objectives

To utilize Adobe Creative Suite as layout and production tools.

Description

Design a digital portfolio in the form of a website. Publish your website under your own domain name. The website must be compatible with the look-and-feel of the self-promotion materials you designed for Project 1.

The contents of your digital portfolio should contain at least the following:

• 10 or more pieces from your portfolio
• link to a functional website you have designed
• résumé page
• "about" page
• contact information
• blog (optional)
• philosophy statement (optional)
• personal information (optional)

You may use any of the following tools to create your digital portfolio:

• Adobe Portfolio (see example)
• Cargo (see example)
• Bootstrap + JQuery Lightbox (see example + instructions)
• Bootstrap + Flickr + Galleria (see example)
• Custom HTML + CSS (see example)
• Wordpress (see example + instructions)

Procedure

1. Research for inspiration: Research existing portfolio websites and publish your research on your blog for peer review (see Blogging Assignment). Collect screenshots of key pages and link to the sites (be sure to caption each image and cite the source). Then link your favorite blog entries to your Process Page. Review your peer's blogs for additional inspiration.

2. Web gallery production: Review your paper portfolio and rasterize your best portfolio samples. Upload your images to the Wordpress Web Portfolio you created for Exercise 1 and post a link from your Process Page for peer review and critique.

3. Template research and testing: Review the portfolio templates you've tested for Homework #3–7 (also see the domain registration FAQ). If needed, do additional tests until you're satisfied with the results. Post the best three tests as links from your Process Page for peer review and critique. Taking into account the notes from the critique, proceed to purchase your domain name and contract with the web hosting service of your choice. Tip: Lynda.com has an excellent tutorial to Adobe Portfolio (personal Creative Cloud account required).

4. Web development (v1.0): Based on the critique of the above, refine your web gallery, then add your résumé, contact information and other pages. Publish your final website using your own domain name and hosting service. Publish screenshots of your site's current state for archival purposes. Also link to your live site from your Process Page for critique. Be prepared to justify your design decisions.

5. Web development (v1.1): Based on the critique of the above, revise your website as needed. Publish new screenshots of your site every time you make major design and/or layout changes (do not delete older versions). Present your updated site for in-class critique.

6. Final Review: Continue updating the website as you create new work. Review your Process Page and make sure you have an accurate record of your process. You will not receive full credit for this project if any of the above elements are missing.

7. Extra credit: Submit your project into the annual student show by printing your screenshots (use this Illustrator template) and mounting it on foam board. Your project may win a cash prize and be published in a showcase of student work on Parkland's website.