today i looked on blackboard at all the personal websites created last spring. i have always been a fan of john-austen catero's work, and i have actually met with him to discuss potential work at conde nast, as my father works there and he wanted to have the chance to speak with him. i have had some classes with him and i really enjoy his style and technique-and how he uses flash for his websites.
the first image on his website is really captivating and really looks like there is movement occuring. i have some photos from a digital photography class which i would like to see presented in a way such that he used.
after taking time to look through my old pictures i found some that i thought were pretty cool that i could see being used on the first page of my site.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Blog 5 - March 1
Designing a Digital Portfolio Part Deux: Collecting and Preparing
Organizing your work:
Do not wait till last minute to create your portfolio and compile it, throughout the process of developing it, gather your work! Baron says its only hard in the beginning but once you have everything organized the rest will flow, waiting till last minute can be a result of hard work that isnt rewarded with being paid.
Collecting Material:
-everything you do should remain in your possession organized and neat-in forms of cd, print or disk ( as said in previous chapters)
-keep process materials-ask "is this project a keeper"-meaning you should hold onto all the process work - everything from sketches to mindmaps and storyboards-"your concepts can be a powerful took to help you illustrate your creative process in your portfolio
-keep editable backups of computer use- keep all forms of your work, not just the final pdf of a document, the layers and steps taken can be helpful when seen
-Students:retrieve graded work- i like this section, as i am still a student at this time. graded work has comments and critiques which can be very helpful, as their suggestions can really improve a piece of work- be responsible for your own work and get it back before the year ends!!!
-request samples when working for hire- i would feel weird asking this, but it makes sense, ask your potential employer to show you some of their work, sample copies and perhaps a sample portfolio.
-get plenty of samples-similar to the past suggestion, Baron says that "you can never have too many samples", seeing print samples can really help you get a stronger impression on the company and their work
-photograph artwork- shoot your own work as soon as it is done-this is a great idea, something i have definitely never done before. i usually just back up my work on my firewire and make sure that it is safely saved.
Strong Original Art:
STORE WORK WITH CARE!! badd things can happen (that one picture freaked me out, i often have nightmares that my firewire drive is going to one day break on me :( )
Everything from storing traditional materials, such as flat artwork, to portfolios, to process work, must be stored in a way that will preserve its image-you dont want anything that will get in its way, stain it, cause damage or be affected by weather or sunlight.
Storing Digital Output:
this has to do with the quality of the work once it is printed, does the printer have the ability to print out your project exactly how you want it? the sidebar that wrote about this really helped in that it mentioned the importance of running a CMYK bar test that shows you the quality of the ink and the colors, and how you can use the print outs as a guide by placing one piece on a sunlit wall, another in a box with a lid someplace dark, and another in direct sunlight.
Organizing Samples and Artwork:
Baron made a good point-have records of your work in case of theft, that way you can prove to the police that the work existed and was yours. He talks about storage of work: orginial non-printed artwork should be in flat files, shelves or racks, and keep a record of where it is, take pictures of the pieces and add text describing them. Documenting the work now makes the most sense and keeps you from having to remember the details of all the work at once much later.
Organizing Digital Files:
Five disciplines:
-group (use folders for each client or project series, use a new folder for each project, link the folders, have an alias file on the desktop to make reaching them easier)
-name (name uniquely, avoid generic names, name descriptively, avoid numbers, name briefly - long names can get cut off and be confusing, dont use colons, semi colons or slashes)
-show (using icons is one of the best visual methods of showing work, use catalog thumbnails they create bigger thumbnails, and can read the file dimensions from many formats- for example iView MediaPro is a cataloging software, as well as adobe Bridge in my experience )
-weed (throw things out!! simplify where you can, have a process folder for any ideas and throw out errrs when the project is finished, update when you can throughout a project
-backup ( keep all copies in one place, as you finish each project, copy the final version to a disk, or external hard drive, make a catalog of your work, FileMakerPro, media that can organize your work is beneficial because you can have a sideshow of your work, you can bring in whole folders into the catalog or bring in individual files)
Portfolio Highlight:
Gabe Rubin / Left Brain Right Brain
SOO cool!
Rubins portfolio site "proves that the two sides of the brain can exist in perfect harmony...its unusual layout decision and color palette dazzle, whiles its intuitive navigation and clearly presented content make it easy to appreciate"
I looked at this website, finding myself so mystified by Rubins transitions and navigation techniques i really enjoyed the flow from one image to the next. His style is dark and dreary- a look i often appreciate and admire. i like how its not all neat and linear, he really takes on a new approach.
Organizing your work:
Do not wait till last minute to create your portfolio and compile it, throughout the process of developing it, gather your work! Baron says its only hard in the beginning but once you have everything organized the rest will flow, waiting till last minute can be a result of hard work that isnt rewarded with being paid.
Collecting Material:
-everything you do should remain in your possession organized and neat-in forms of cd, print or disk ( as said in previous chapters)
-keep process materials-ask "is this project a keeper"-meaning you should hold onto all the process work - everything from sketches to mindmaps and storyboards-"your concepts can be a powerful took to help you illustrate your creative process in your portfolio
-keep editable backups of computer use- keep all forms of your work, not just the final pdf of a document, the layers and steps taken can be helpful when seen
-Students:retrieve graded work- i like this section, as i am still a student at this time. graded work has comments and critiques which can be very helpful, as their suggestions can really improve a piece of work- be responsible for your own work and get it back before the year ends!!!
-request samples when working for hire- i would feel weird asking this, but it makes sense, ask your potential employer to show you some of their work, sample copies and perhaps a sample portfolio.
-get plenty of samples-similar to the past suggestion, Baron says that "you can never have too many samples", seeing print samples can really help you get a stronger impression on the company and their work
-photograph artwork- shoot your own work as soon as it is done-this is a great idea, something i have definitely never done before. i usually just back up my work on my firewire and make sure that it is safely saved.
Strong Original Art:
STORE WORK WITH CARE!! badd things can happen (that one picture freaked me out, i often have nightmares that my firewire drive is going to one day break on me :( )
Everything from storing traditional materials, such as flat artwork, to portfolios, to process work, must be stored in a way that will preserve its image-you dont want anything that will get in its way, stain it, cause damage or be affected by weather or sunlight.
Storing Digital Output:
this has to do with the quality of the work once it is printed, does the printer have the ability to print out your project exactly how you want it? the sidebar that wrote about this really helped in that it mentioned the importance of running a CMYK bar test that shows you the quality of the ink and the colors, and how you can use the print outs as a guide by placing one piece on a sunlit wall, another in a box with a lid someplace dark, and another in direct sunlight.
Organizing Samples and Artwork:
Baron made a good point-have records of your work in case of theft, that way you can prove to the police that the work existed and was yours. He talks about storage of work: orginial non-printed artwork should be in flat files, shelves or racks, and keep a record of where it is, take pictures of the pieces and add text describing them. Documenting the work now makes the most sense and keeps you from having to remember the details of all the work at once much later.
Organizing Digital Files:
Five disciplines:
-group (use folders for each client or project series, use a new folder for each project, link the folders, have an alias file on the desktop to make reaching them easier)
-name (name uniquely, avoid generic names, name descriptively, avoid numbers, name briefly - long names can get cut off and be confusing, dont use colons, semi colons or slashes)
-show (using icons is one of the best visual methods of showing work, use catalog thumbnails they create bigger thumbnails, and can read the file dimensions from many formats- for example iView MediaPro is a cataloging software, as well as adobe Bridge in my experience )
-weed (throw things out!! simplify where you can, have a process folder for any ideas and throw out errrs when the project is finished, update when you can throughout a project
-backup ( keep all copies in one place, as you finish each project, copy the final version to a disk, or external hard drive, make a catalog of your work, FileMakerPro, media that can organize your work is beneficial because you can have a sideshow of your work, you can bring in whole folders into the catalog or bring in individual files)
Portfolio Highlight:
Gabe Rubin / Left Brain Right Brain
SOO cool!
Rubins portfolio site "proves that the two sides of the brain can exist in perfect harmony...its unusual layout decision and color palette dazzle, whiles its intuitive navigation and clearly presented content make it easy to appreciate"
I looked at this website, finding myself so mystified by Rubins transitions and navigation techniques i really enjoyed the flow from one image to the next. His style is dark and dreary- a look i often appreciate and admire. i like how its not all neat and linear, he really takes on a new approach.
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