Multimedia and Web Portfolio Tips

The mid 90’s was a time when the internet really first jumped out onto the mainstream.  Since then, looking for jobs have been quite easy, and it has gotten much simpler and user-friendly for people who lack the skills to traverse the web efficiently.  Electronic Portfolios (a.k.a. Webfolios) steadily grew to become a necessity at the same time when social networking sites became popular. Here are some multimedia web portfolio tips that you can use.

The Pitch

It is really very important to take note that designs for the multimedia webfolio have to at least correlate with the skills that one is promoting.  If the designer has specific typographical skills, one should show these advantages immediately upon opening of the page.  However, if one is not really adept in compositing or placing content, a clean and smooth look is urged.  Easy access of other linked pages that would be considered relevant enough to merit viewing is highly recommended and these must look and feel the same as your opening page.  Columned tables on the top side of the starting page are a suggestion for these links, but if one can manage it (as long as it’s with the overall theme, and coding is not a hassle), drop down menus are a huge bonus.

The Play

If one is primarily a graphics or 3D artist, various categories of styles and themes are recommended to be shown separately.  Avoid using random background images or an overall change in the thematic atmosphere of the page during page transitions.  One has to be mindful that, even though this is basically a showing off of one’s abilities, one must also allow the viewer to take in all the information without being turned off.  In short, it has to be entertaining yet sober.

If one is basically a Video Compositor or Sound Engineer with proficient graphics skills, display all your work by placing them as thumbnails with short but highly explanatory descriptions that are visible on the immediate right side or the bottom.  Don’t clutter your portfolio by adding a million words into them.  Make it short and simple and easy to understand.

Play with your strengths.  Keep the theme of the page relative to that of your skills.  Keep it catchy by not displaying anything irrelevant.  If your page happens to be a big one, use all means at your disposal so that any and all content on your page would be most likely to attract attention.

Hereafter

There are not that many Multimedia Web Portfolio tips on the internet, and it seems that the community is divided into graphic artists (or 3D and animation) and Video-compositors (or Photography and Music).  This may be an oversimplification but it seems that both categories all have one characteristic; all web designers are knowledgeable in all fields that are termed as Multimedia.  Having a decent enough knowledge in editing graphics, sound and text are good grounds to consider reading these Multimedia Web Portfolio Tips and putting them to good use.  The future of the internet will certainly depend on how Multimedia artists compete to be on top.