TIPS FOR CREATING THE DIGITAL PORTFOLIO
Theme = Your Experience with the Media
Think how you are portraying yourself through text, colors, images, video, audio. Everything from the font to the way you address your audience matters. It may seem like a daunting task to tie everything together thematically. Here is an easy way to go about it: in front of you, lay out the artifacts you want to use as well as your resume. What unique experiences have shaped your media learning experience? Once you have a core theme that connects you and your media experience, you can then consider how you want to put it in a digital portfolio with images, video, audio, text and color.
The Guts of Your Portfolio
You don’t want your portfolio to be text heavy. Balance it with pictures, videos, audio, colors. In order to make your portfolio cleaner and more professional-looking, use quality images, but make sure they are not under copyright. The best course of action is to use your own pictures. Pictures can help your portfolio come together thematically. Video and audio can enhance your portfolio, especially if you have experience with broadcast journalism, podcasting, film making, or commercial advertising. How do you want the viewer to experience your portfolio? Make sure it is well balanced and the viewer has an opportunity to understand who you are.
Finishing Touches
When you are burning your CD, make sure to name your CD so it can be easily identified on the computer. It is equally important to have your index.html page (the first thing people click on) to be visible. Consider separating it from the folder so it is clear the viewer is suppose to click on that. If you want to go above and beyond, think about how you want to design your CD case. One past Media Studies concentrator put instructions on the inside cover describing how to click to view her portfolio. That shows attention to detail and earns brownie points.