Posts Tagged ‘portfolios’

Designing portfolios: resources + case study

Friday, September 18th, 2009

If I had to sum up my portfolio redesign project, it would be “slow going, with flashes of inspiration”. When I’m stuck in a rut, it helps me to draw from my bookmarks of design inspiration and explore new ways of thinking about what an online portfolio should be. Here are a couple of great reads for those looking to carve out their own online space.

Chris Spooner of Blog.SpoonGraphics recently shared 10 Solutions to Easily Create Your Online Portfolio. Chris put together a list of sites and communities that make it easier to get an online portfolio up and running with a focus on your work.

Smashing Magazine just released its initial Portfolio Design Study: Design Patterns and Current Practices. The team spent more than 75 hours researching the visual design, structure, layout, navigation, and design details of each section of an online portfolio. There is a lot to take away from this initial study, plus there’s more to come: SM will be publishing the second part of the study in two weeks.

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Posted in Design, Tutorials, Web | 1 Comment »

Using Google Maps to design portfolios

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

When I came across this on swissmiss, my first thought was: what do maps have to do with portfolios? The creative cataloging site Heavy Backpack explains:

Using an application, like CASA’s Image Cutter or the Automatic Tile Cutter, you can create your own map tiles for Google Maps. This means that you can replace image map tiles with any image tiles you like including other maps, or more importantly for designers and artist, replace them with portfolio images!

microtyp.org Portfolio
microtyp.org

This is a really interesting concept for portfolio design. It certainly speaks to the creativity that designers should have and it’s great to see “old” tools being used in new ways. But I wonder how users would react to this kind of portfolio design — if enough people are aware of how Google Maps functionality works, or even if they would realize what they need to do as a user. Only one of the featured portfolios made use of a help panel:

Stas Kulesh Portfolio
http://stas.kulesh.co.nz/

What do you think, is this a viable way to design portfolios? Or do usability concerns outweigh creativity?

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Posted in Design, Trends, Web | No Comments »

Reading recommendation: Redesigning Your Own Site

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

As someone who has been “in the process” of redesigning my online portfolio since January, I was encouraged by Lea Alcantara’s look at redesigning your own site over at A List Apart. This article is a great reminder of the time and effort that should be taken when it comes to your personal brand, from colors to fonts to readability. If you’re like me and stuck in the redesign process, or maybe you’re just getting started and aren’t sure where to start, check out the insights Lea has to share about designing for yourself.

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Using WordPress for your portfolio

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

I’m always thrilled when I hear about new ways to use existing tools, even if “new” really just means new to me. So it was great to see Smashing Magazine’s latest article about the capability of WordPress for portfolios. We use WordPress for beyondwords, and I also use it for my personal blog. But the “Ultimate Guide To Using WordPress For A Portfolio” shows how you can take advantage of the tool for more than blogging.

WordPressLet’s face it: designing your online portfolio can be a scary process, especially if you don’t have strong web design skills. Smashing Magazine helps the process along by sharing WordPress themes for those who don’t want to fully customize their site and giving tips on how to set up your main page and project pages.

They also showcase designers who are already using WordPress for their portfolios. I’ve been brainstorming for the last few months about how I want to update my portfolio, and this is just the kind of inspiration I needed to dig in.

Check out the full article for more resources and eye candy, and our previous portfolio tips and resources. If you’re a professional writer using WordPress for your portfolio, let us know about your experience!

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Posted in Design, Web | 2 Comments »

Designing your online portfolio: some tips and resources

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

For professional writers, online portfolios can make a difference when it comes to landing an internship or job. Employers want to see concrete examples of your skills, and handing over a branded personal card with your portfolio’s URL on it is one way to make yourself memorable while giving them a glimpse at your talent. Whether you’re a writer, editor, designer, or all three, an online portfolio can help you organize your experience and get a handle on why you love doing what you do.

So how do you go about creating an online portfolio? I would recommend starting off with a piece of paper and a writing utensil of your choice. Jot down class projects, previous job-related projects, or personal projects that you have done that represent your top skills (tip: you can refer to your resume to match up projects with experience).

Before you get to the process of actually designing your online portfolio, you should have a sense of how it will represent you. This means thinking about portfolio sections, sample documents, color choices, typography, and graphics. It also means thinking about what your “about me” statement might include. What are your professional goals? Do you have a writing/editing/design philosophy? Why are you a professional writer? These are just a few of the questions that may guide your statement. Think of it as a cover letter for your online portfolio, one that welcomes visitors and introduces them to you and your talent. (more…)

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Posted in Design, Web | 8 Comments »

What’s in a brand?

Thursday, May 1st, 2008

I was listening to NPR on the way to work yesterday when I caught them talking about Starbucks. Seeing as how I am a fan of coffee and also heading to Seattle next week, my ears perked up, no pun intended.

The story was about how Starbucks is struggling and how in the past, they came out of rough times thanks to the strength of their brand. But there are doubts that their brand will be able to help them out this time around, as in their quest to become bigger and “better” as quickly as possible has led to a watering down of their brand (and their coffee, but I digress).

Just think about it: you see the Starbucks logo staring at you in the bookstore, in the gas station, in the grocery store, in the airport. And while convenience can be really great for some things, in Starbucks’ case it is only hurting their original quest to sell a really good cup of coffee. People are turning to independent coffee shops or McDonald’s to get their coffee fix, often at a lower price.

So what does this have to do with professional writing? In my line of work, we are all about the brand and protecting the strength of the brand, from using corporate font faces, standardized logo placement, color guidelines, and more. I think this is common practice across organizations, creating the corporate identity and sticking to it.

But shouldn’t we also be thinking about our own professional identity? (more…)

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Posted in Design, Web | 3 Comments »