I have decided not to create a website to show my portfolio but to use a more traditional portfolio exhibiting technique using Adobe InDesign. This decision comes from my personal brand choices and aims. Website design has never really been a passion of mine or really stood out to me in the world of design and therefore I have no reason to create a flawless website showcasing my work. I do however understand that presentation is key when showing design work. InDesign allows me to make my own graphic design style and export my portfolio in a variety of different formats without having to waste time making a website. There are aspects to digital design that I like and in fact, most graphic design formats are digital but I feel like I can best show my work and eye for graphic design without a website and InDesign is the perfect program to use. Also, if I were into website design, I can see how programming a website and having a professional web address would be very impressive but I simply don’t have the knowledge or time to create a visually stunning website from scratch. Although there are plenty of free website builders to use, they make it easy to make great websites but are very clearly a drag and drop, template based system therefore, take away from the overall wow factor of having your own website.
For the front cover, I have chosen a type face that has impact. This is what I want to draw attention to, so I’ve also gone for capital letters for the boldness. The font is also quite modern and the Sans Serif makes it look clean and shows stability. The background image portrays my design direction and shows my identity because I like designing for the changing world and creating interesting, sustainable, future oriented products. I have lowered the opacity of the image to soften the visual effect and add more emphasis on my name. The colour I have used is a nice electric blue that again has the opacity lowered to make it easier on the eyes. This blue colour relates to calm, fresh, trust and eco power which projects my brand identity.
The blue has been continued on the contents page as well as the bold titles. Having this as an ongoing theme will give my portfolio some continuation and it will seem more finished. This page is very minimal, which again shows my identity as a designer whilst also not cognitively overloading the reader. It makes use of empty space to show what’s important.
The ongoing themes have been brought into the main bulk of the portfolio meaning if a page were to fall out, the reader would immediately be able to see which portfolio it fell out from. I have also used the rule of three here by exhibiting three pieces of work at a time. This looks very aesthetic and therefore addresses a possible career direction as graphic design is very appealing to me.
Some big projects will require more space. This shows what this would look like, keeping in fashion with the rest of the document.
