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A quick slide-deck about what a portfolio is, why it's important, and the basic elements. For Super SOCHI Lunch Hours: 9/20/2013
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Portfolios: An OverviewSuper Sochi Friday Lunches: 9/20
What is a portfolio?
• A showcase of your background, your work, your skills, and, to future employers, your potential.
• A place for you to display your relevant work
• A way for you to start building a professional “identity”
• A place for you to show off your style and a bit of personality
• What sets you apart? What makes you unique?
Do I need one?
• Do you want to be a UX designer? You should definitely have a portfolio
• Design is a very creative process that may be hard to talk people through
• Design is very visual
• Do you want to be a UX researcher? You probably want to have a portfolio
• Help people see your interests and methods
HELP! I DON’T HAVE A PORTFOLIO!
• It’s ok!
• Part of being at UMSI is to become involved in professional projects that are relevant to your future career
• But everyone has different backgrounds, and not everyone has done “UX” work in the past
• The majority of us that came in last year didn’t have a portfolio coming in, and set one up near the end of the semester
• A portfolio is only as useful as the amount of relevant work you can put in it
• So a portfolio with nothing is not very useful
• Most internships don’t start springing up until January/February, so you’ve got time!
Why is a portfolio important to an employer?
• First thing you give employers is typically a resume
• But that’s really static…boils things down to a couple of bullet points
• The portfolio works as an extension of your resume
• The relevant skills and positions you include on your resume should be on your portfolio, + more
• It will likely be seen by two primary parties:
• Hiring managers
• “Ok, is what this person has on his resume legit? Is this person who they say they are?”
• Looking for a quick overview, looking for your creativity
• Once a hiring manager is satisfied, the portfolio (along w/ resume) goes to the UX manager/supervisor
• Will be interested more in the details, methods, outcomes, etc.
• Could be brought up in a phone interview
• In-person interviews, could be asked to do a portfolio walkthrough
So…what goes into the portfolio?
• Core elements:
• Projects
• What have you done?
• ‘About me’
• Who are you?
• A resume
• Something to download, pass along
• Contact information
• How can we get in touch of you? E-mail, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn
Projects
• You may not have any finished projects to put up right now
• Start documenting your work
• 501? 582? 539? Alternative Spring Break…Design Jams…
• Take screenshots! Capture photos! Save your documents! Keep a diary!
• The end product is nice, but employers like to see process
• What was your role?
• 501…you’re all project managers!
About me
• Can just be some static paragraph about what your background is and outline what kind of position you are seeking
• Or could be more…a blog…photographs…quick thoughts…etc
Remember…
• Aim for clarity!
• Just enough depth to show what your involvement was and how you achieved your goals
• Easy to navigate
• Easy to contact you
• Emphasize your work…creativity and pretty things are important, but secondary
• Especially true for UX research stuff
Some technical stuff
• Where do you put your portfolio?
• Doesn’t have to be super complex
• Uploading designs, sketches, into a profile in imgur, deviantART, coroflot, behance
• Or…you could get more of a ‘structured’ website
• Free hosting services: wordpress.com, weebly, blogger.com
• Limited control over style, and typically the url is appended with their name
• If you want your own domain name:
• Buy hosting: arvixe.com, dreamhost.com, anhosting.com, etc.
• Ranging anywhere from $6/month to $60/year
• Important things to consider: cost, support
• Get a domain name: midphase.com, Squarespace, Namecheap, etc.
• ~ $10 a year and up
• .com, .net, .org, etc.
• Some hosting services will offer free domain registration
Some technical stuff contd.
Domain name
Hosting
Software
Software is what people see:• wordpress.org• Drupal• Joomla• Or build your own!
Things to think about:• How much control you have• How much effort you want to spend• Themes, look and feel, etc.
Resources
• Check out other people’s portfolios!
• Google search for UX Designers, UX Researcher, or whatever role it is you’re trying to get into
• http://sima.si.umich.edu/portfolios
• http://wp.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/29/ultimate-guide-to-using-wordpress-for-a-portfolio/
• http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/build-a-killer-online-portfolio-in-9-easy-steps/
• http://99u.com/articles/7127/6-steps-to-creating-a-knockout-online-portfolio
• These slides are available via slideshare:
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