Portfolio Site Basics and Nontraditional Porfolios

Development Basics:
Once you've gotten your work and thoughts organized, it's time to put it all together in a portfolio. An online portfolio is very common now-a-days. People think that their site has to be elaborate and detailed, but really, the site should be about your pieces. Your site should allow your work to be the primary focus according to "Designing A Digital Portfolio."

Instant portfolios can be non-interactive slideshow that you can play on your website, DVD, or CD. A static page is a "simple web page that doesn't contain any interactive elements." It usually has simple navigation and maybe some thumbnail links that, when clicked, will bring you to a larger version of that image. Simple interaction takes it up one level and has some simple graphics and a navigation bar that takes you to sub level pages. Then lastly, there's the complex motion and interaction. This kind of site can have animation, video inside the page, and maybe some unusual navigation. Flash is a good program for these types of sites. The book mentions a site, www.bbkstudio.com that I found to be creative with navigation. This site is an example of a complex interaction site.

A quote from "Designing A Digital Portfolio" reads, "What do I look for in a portfolio? Good organization and, even more important, good storytelling," said by Michael Borofsky. I thought this was a helpful statement as I'm putting together my portfolio.

Nontraditional Portfolios:
In the book "Building a Digital Portfolio," the author mentions nontraditional portfolios. The book states that the only time this type of portfolio is when it fits with the company's needs. The author also recommends not to put your work together like this just for the sake of being different. This type of portfolio only works if your work calls for it.