Portfolio GuidelinesNew Media Campus

Portfolio Process1. Design and Assess

ß Who is your portfolio for?

2. Design and Plan

ß What are you going to include in your portfolio?ß 10-40 examplesß Websitesß Multimedia presentationsß Various software examples

3. Develop

ß How are you going to organize your projects?ß Website? – Divided into 3 sections: About Me, Contact, Portfolioß CD-Rom? – Folders divided into separate software examplesß Printed Portfolio? – Neatly organized with header pagesß Mini CDs? – Like the CD-Rom

4. Implement and Prepare

ß Create the portfolio

ß Obtain feedback from peers and mentors

5. Evaluate

ß Have you received job offers?

ß Is your portfolio up to date with recent work?

Samples & Portfolio Analysis

Go to each of the samples provided here and answer the following questions:1. What do you like about each of the portfolios?2. What do you not like about each portfolio?3. What do you find is consistent with all of them?4. What do you find differentiates one from the other?5. If you were a company, and you wanted to hire one of these individuals to create a

website for your company, which one would you hire? Why? Which is the one youwould least likely hire? Why?

6. How do you think your portfolio stands out from these portfolios?

http://members.rogers.com/paulcieniuch1/portfolio.htm

http://www.burkesterworks.com http://dest_1232.tripod.com

http://ca.photos.yahoo.com/longdreaded http://www.3dbarrera.com

http://www.combobulated.com http://www.nmcstudents.com/nathanm

Final Project Guidelines - Creating the Portfolio

At the end of each course section, students should add selected assignments to theirportfolio. The portfolio should consist of all assignments to demonstrate student work usingthe software programs taught in this course.

DEFINITIONA digital portfolio is a collection of work designed to provide a richer picture of your work.Digital portfolios should demonstrate a wide range of your work. Using this tool, you shouldcollect a set of “entries” or “samples” consisting of work you have completed. This work canbe in any medium – text, graphics, audio, or video – and may contain the final product of aproject as well as your process in developing that product.

The portfolio should be a demonstration of your abilities and what you can do!

The portfolio should contain students’ work completed over the course of Multimedia andwork completed individually. The portfolio should be neatly organized into folders and sub-folders and burned onto a CD-Rom, complete with student’s name and contact information.OR, the student should design a website complete with a variety of assignments with menusand sub-menus.

The portfolio should contain many examples of student’s work demonstrating student’sknowledge of graphic software editing tools and art design skills. The software applicationsthe student should include are:

• Director, Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, or any other graphic art tool used.

The industry, such as graphic arts, multimedia, new media, advertising, web designcompanies, will specifically be looking at a portfolio for:

Technical Skills• Navigation between the pages of your interactive presentation or website

o E.g.: Does the “BACK” button work? If I click on “HOME” button, do I go tothe homepage?

• Understanding of menus and sub-menus• Tweening animation• Compositing techniques• Audio and video coordination• Perceptual abilities• Application of technology• Smooth integration of various software• The portfolio is compatible on MAC and PC

Creative Skills• Visual art skills• Art design skills• Creative problem-solving techniques• Animation• Congruent themes• Unique idea content• Construction• Variety

TIPS…

The final project should consist of elements created in the software programs used over thiscourse. These programs should include Director, Flash, Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

The best way to start off a final project or “demo reel” is to brainstorm. Come up with aplan of which projects you are going to use, the navigation of your reel, and the design ofthe interface.

Do research. See what others include in their portfolios by going online and searching for“multimedia portfolios” on any major search engine. This will give you a good idea as towhat types of portfolios you will be competing with as you perform future job searches.

Remember: simplicity is key. Potential employers go through dozens of demo reels daily.You do not want users to have to go through five different links to reach your projects.Organize your files in a simplistic manner so it makes it easy for the end-user to find yourprojects. A good way to do this is to test your portfolio on someone who is not comfortableusing a computer. If he/she can find your projects, then you have done a good job oforganizing your files!

Once your demo reel is complete you should have it available in two formats, one as awebsite on the Internet and one as a CD-ROM.

CHECKLIST

Have you included the following checkpoints in your portfolio:q Website versionq CD-Rom version, which also includes your website version

CD-ROM VERSION 1 – Simplistic Versionq Make sure your CD-Rom can open on a PC and a Mac; if not, be sure to have 2

versions.q When you design your CD-Rom portfolio, pretend you are designing it for a

grandparent. Keeping in mind, your grandparent is unfamiliar with Cd-Roms, andunfamiliar with Folders and Sub-Folders. This way you are going to make itextremely easy for your grandparent to use your CD portfolio. Anybody will be ableto use your CD portfolio!

q Neat organization - Files are neatly organized into separate folders.q Example of file organization:

Tells theuser

exactlywhat to

do!

Only 3-5examplesper folder,to keep it

neat!

When you burnyour CD-Rom,

make sure yourfull name is thename of the CD.

You can alsoinclude yourResume &

Cover Letter inthe mainsection.

CD-ROM Version 2 – Highly Effective If It Works!q This is an “Autorun” Version, meaning that when your CD-Rom is loaded it will

automatically load the CD.q Please see notes on Creating an AutoRun CDq Using an AutoRun Portfolio, you can create an interactive portfolio using Director of

Flash that will be a resemblance of your website, and will also include a link to yourwebsite. See Andrew Kaytor’s CD-Rom portfolio as an example.

q If you create an AutoRun CD Portfolio, be sure to read up on the Website version soyou don’t miss out on including anything!

Website Versionq NOTE: If you don’t like the suggested titles such as “About Me” “Portfolio” “Contact”,

or any of the other titles, feel free to come up with your own words that representsyou. Your website should be a complete reflection of your personality.

q The website portfolio version should have a sitemap that looks like this

Homepageq This is the most important page. Be sure to keep it clean and simple. You don’t want

to scare the end-user into never coming back.q Basic Outlineq Simple graphics, make sure it is very cleanq 3 buttons: About Me, Portfolio, Contactq This is also a good place for a:

o mission statemento your favourite saying that describes youo a graphic or logo (that you have designed) that represents your image

About Meq Include your Mission Statement. You mission statement should be 1-2 sentences

about who you are. Good mission statements will be:o Expressive so that it inspires others and motivates otherso Convincing and easy to graspo Proactive so that it radiates a positive image of what you are abouto Short and sweet

q Include a link to your Resumeo Look on www.sasknetwork.ca for more information how to format a resume

q Include a brief cover lettero State who you are, what you like to do, what you hope to achieve with your

portfolio

Homepage

PortfolioAbout Me Contact Me

Resume CoverLetter

Graphics &Design

Interactive

Portfolioq Please look at “Multimedia Thematics” Document for suggestions on formattingq Your portfolio page should include one sentence of instructions explaining to the user

what to do. (e.g.: Click on a thumbnail to enlarge the sample)q Your portfolio should be separated into 2 sectionsq In each section, include a clickable thumbnail of each piece. When the user clicks on

the thumbnail, it should be able to blow-up and expand into the full-scale version.q GRAPHICS & DESIGN

o Include logos, posters, anything you have designed that is stationary (e.g.:Photoshop Collage Assignment)

o Include 3-20 exampleso Be sure to include a wide range of selectiono OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT - Pick two pieces from this section, one you like the

best, one you like the least. Write 2 paragraphs on why you like/dislike thechosen piece, and if you had your choice and the time, what would youchange.

q INTERACTIVEo Include websites, any interactive presentations where the user must become

involved in the piece.o Included 3-20 examples.o Be sure to include a wide range of selection including different example types

and different themes used within the examples.o OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT - Pick two pieces from this section, one you like the

best, one you like the least. Write 2 paragraphs on why you like/dislike thechosen piece, and if you had your choice and the time, what would youchange.

q PORTFOLIO CHECKLIST – Be sure you have included samples that illustrate thefollowing skills:

o Marker and frame navigationo Frame by frame navigationo Tweening animationo Fading in and out effectso Rotation effectso Cycle effectso Sway effectso Waft effectso Samples that illustrate perceptual abilitieso Creativity in terms of themes and colour use

Contact Meq Extremely simple: Name, City, Emailq OPTIONAL: Address & Telephone. This is private information and does not have to be

included.q OPTIONAL: You may want to include a picture of yourself or a graphic/image that

best represents your personality.

Multimedia Thematics

Design Considerations for an Imperfect World --http://www.bignosebird.com/gentech.shtml

What to put into the Design of a Website --Many elements go into successful Web site design; we can cluster those elements intosensory, conceptual, and reactive aspects. That is, design isn't only what you see, it's alsowhat you think and feel as you navigate a Web site. This article explores some of the basicprinciples of Web site design, and provides many links to other resources for furtherdetailed study. http://www.wdvl.com/Authoring/Design/

Graphics Tools, Techniques, Examples and Resources --Resources, demos and tutorials on the basics of graphics design and construction, includingintegrating images into your web pages. Graphics add spice and style to web pages, andcan help your visitors visualise what your site is about and how it's structured. This pageintroduces you to the basics of graphics design and construction, and shows you how tointegrate images into your web pages. There are many links to other resources for furtherdetailed study. http://www.wdvl.com/Graphics/

How to use Colour --http://www.wdvl.com/Graphics/Colour/

How to Use White Space --There is no proper percentage of white space. If a page looks or feels crowded, it probablyneeds more white space. In general, more white space lends an upscale feel to a piece.More utilitarian documents use less white space.http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/designprinciples/a/morewhitespace.htm

Freeware Guide to Design Elements for Multimedia --http://www.freeware-guide.com/dir/web/design.html

Top 5 Mistakes Made by Designershttp://www.techtv.com/callforhelp/webworkshop/story/0,24330,3419351,00.html

SamplesLocal Websites that Use Colour, Theme, Graphics, Text and Art

GOOD ONEShttp://www.zu.com/http://www.thephoenixgroup.ca/http://www.browncommunications.com/http://www.dblack.com/http://www.mindseyeinteractive.com/http://www.wascana.sk.ca/http://www.inroad.net/http://www.crystalnewmedia.com/http://www.cheshiresmile.com/http://www.vividworks.com/http://www.albertafilmworks.com/http://www.brbmg.com/http://www.loopmedia.com/

http://www.cognos.com/

BAD ONEShttp://www.royalfest.com/http://www.equifind.com/userpages/horseys.html

Creating an AutoRun CDCD burningDirector Projector files are platform specific. You can not play a Macintosh projector on aWindows system and vice versa. You can, however, create a hybrid CD that contains bothMacintosh and Windows projectors. This requires CD burning software which has the abilityto create a hybrid CD. Toast, by Roxio has the ability to create hybrid CDs. Please see theinformation Roxio has provided on their web site How to create a hybrid CD with Toast:http://www.roxio.com/en/support/toast/toasthybrid.jhtml

The AutoRun featureAutoRun is a feature that can be implemented when the CD is burned. Note that theAutoRun feature can be disabled on each individual system, in which case an AutoRun-enabled CD will not automatically launch. On Macintosh systems, the AutoRun feature(called AutoPlay) can be accessed through the QuickTime Settings control panel.

For more information about disabling the AutoRun feature on Macintosh and Windowssystems refer to the following articles on Microsoft's and Apple's Web sites:

q How to Enable or Disable Automatically Running CD-ROMs:http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/Q155/2/17.ASP&NoWebContent=1

q Configuring QuickTime for the Mac OS:http://www.apple.com/quicktime/resources/qt4/us/help/st/pgs/stConfig.htm

AutoPlay on Macintosh OSXThe AutoPlay feature was silently dropped under Mac OS X. For usability purposes, areadme file can be added to a CD's root folder to instruct the user about what to do. ManyMacintosh resources recommend this for OSX as well System 9.A number of workarounds to enable AutoPlay on OSX have been posted on various onlineresources. For supported procedures regarding the AutoPlay feature, check the MacintoshDeveloper website: http://developer.apple.com.

AutoRun on WindowsThe AutoRun feature on Windows is implemented by putting an INF file in the parentdirectory of the CD. Create a text file called "AutoRun.inf" using a program such as Notepad.Include the following text, replacing "whatever" with the name of the application you wishto launch:

[AutoRun]open=whatever.exeicon=whatever.ico

q The third line (icon=whatever.ico) is not required. It allows the drive icon of the CDto be changed. How to make a custom icon for 16-bit and 32-bit projectors:http://www.macromedia.com/support/director/ts/documents/fmkb0611.htm(TechNote 611) explains how to create custom icons.

AutoPlay on Macintosh System 9.x and belowOn the Macintosh, the AutoPlay functionality is not executed as a program or as a scriptlaunching an application (like the INF file on Windows). This is not a feature of the operatingsystem itself but was actually part of Quicktime 2.0's feature set. The real goal of theAutoPlay feature in Quicktime 2.0/2.1 is for users to be immediately engaged, uponinsertion of a CD ROM product, in an experience of the developer's choice. Thus, any filetype can be specified to AutoPlay, including data files.

To create a Macintosh projector that uses the AutoPlay feature you must have CD burningsoftware that has an AutoPlay option, such as Toast:http://www.roxio.com/en/products/toast/index.jhtml or other similar CD burning software.

Sample