Creating a comprehensive display of talent and ability takes time and planning. Be sure to know the images that will be used beforehand. Plan each stage of the creation process for your portfolio. Know clarify an understanding of the images with text and words. Text is often used as a design element in itself. Brainstorm, and draw small sketches and notes before committing to one format.
Designing the Pages
A good design aesthetic creates a good portfolio. It helps to draw each page of the portfolio beforehand to know how the final product will appear. Draw each page on a piece of printer paper. A good design scheme may involve creating sections for each category of your portfolio. A similar format may be used for each of these sections. If there are no sections, it may be good to vary the appearance of each page. The content of the image on each page or section should determine the style of the individual layouts. The colors in the photographs should correspond to the elements on each page.
Ideas for Hard Copy
Create visual variety on the pages. A good idea may be to frame the images with solid pieces of colored paper placed behind the images. Rectangular shapes will help the portfolio maintain a professional appearance. It may help to round the corners as well. Other narrower scraps may also be used to frame or emphasize text that describes the image. Text may be printed on colored or patterned printer paper and then cut out and placed on the page. Or a lettering stencil may be used. Another concept for a portfolio is to create real-life scenes with images as the background, and then work the images into the design. Print out the images on photo paper. Patterns and textures may also be used as elements in the layout of the portfolio. Also, relating the content of the images to the imagery contained within the background may be an interesting idea to use as well.
Online Portfolio
Create an online portfolio in addition to the hard copy. A number of artist websites may be utilized for this purpose. A few examples of these are artistportfolio.net, artist-xpression.com and foliolink.com. Choose the best one you can find. It is a good idea for any artist to have Adobe Photoshop for image-editing purposes. Photoshop can help modify, re-size and clean up any photograph. Adjust the color and size of the images and then upload them to a portfolio website. Include the url of the website within the resume or artist's statement that you provide to the interviewer. Good portfolio images have good contrast, brightness quality and color harmony. All of these properties may be adjusted with Photoshop.
