Elevating a Portfolio

Editor's Notes

• #5: Pink, purple, blue touches = Comprehension, size, contrast, color, hierachy, your ability to share your message is key/
• #7: One of the best ways is to categorize your work rather than forcing the visitor to scroll through a maze of clips. filter the type of work they would like to see. If you plan on frequently updating your website you may even want to have a recent or new work section for your latest projects.
• #8: Connect with the web audience by showing your personality and your passions. Think about what type of work interests you.
• #9: In this page you can provide your educational background, profile, goals, interests and even have a link to your online resume. It’s also a great idea to have a photograph of yourself so potential employers can see who they would be talking to. Don’t forget to smile!
• #13: Blog:  As you write, you learn more about yourself and the topic. I have posted tips on how to encourage students to publish blog posts, think of blog topics, and connect their content.Clips:Michael Pollen linked to his articles appropriately by providing a headline, publication, summary and date of each article. Aggregate PDF copies and links to your articles. It is important to capture PDF copies because link stability can be an issue.Video Web Series: A few ways to show your work is by creating a YouTube channel (e.g., Peter Hadfield), sharing social media releases or starting your own web series.
• #14: Flickr slideshowPeople are attracted to images. Anyone who uses Facebook can attest to the lure of images. Most people have access to a camera, and thus, there is no reason why you can’t post a photo portfolio such as this slideshow created by using Flickr.If telling stories on the human condition is your dream job, show me humans. Photographs that display emotion bring the viewer into the photo. Selena Larson included her photo from Africa to show the work she desired. Stephen M. Katz and Poh Si Teng designed their portfolios with a similar intention.
• #15: According to a comScore study, released in February 2011, 82.5% of the U.S. Internet audience viewed a video online. When a video is present on a product page of LivingDirect.com, consumers spend 9% more time viewing the page compared to when no video is present.PR executive Graeme Anthony, put together a creative and engaging resume on YouTube, outlining his portfolio, skills and other details. Using YouTube Annotations, he created an intro video (embedded above) that showcases a series of other videos describing his qualifications. His methodology enables users to click through to sections they are most interested in viewing.Add background information about the video Create stories with multiple possibilities (viewers click to choose the next scene) Link to related YouTube videos, channels, or search results from within a video
• #16: new app called Vizualize.me will instantly turn your LinkedIn profile into a stunning infographic, all through the power of code — no graphic design skills required. Pulling all your career information from your LinkedIn profile via LinkedIn’s API, Vizualize.me creates clean graphical representations of your skills, work history and even your connections in an easy-to-scan format that hiring managers and other gatekeepers love.The infographic layout focuses on the user’s name, title, biography, social links and career timeline — it also enables a user to add more graphics, including stats, skill evolution, proficiencies, quotes and interests over time.Besides the career timeline that is fully generated via the LinkedIn connection, the other graphics can be a bit tedious to create, as all of the details must be entered manually.In the end, though, a very attractive infographic resume emerges. This is, by far, the most visually pleasing option of all of the apps we reviewed.
• #18: Angela Grant clearly communicates her desire to get paid for her talents on her homepage. Students should do the same. For example, Aaron Lavinsky created a separate tab listing his photography costs.