Should Students Have a Portfolio Website?
June 2, 2008 · Print This Article
During your studies you will do a lot of work. You will get a lot of assignments, some leading to great results, others leading to less great results. What will you do with your work after it’s being presented, assessed and evaluated? Having your own portfolio website can be a good way of sharing your best work with the rest of the world.
Especially if you’re studying at an art school, a portfolio website is a good first step into the big outside world. Graphic designers, painters, writers, composers, theater makers, architects, all forms of creative students. On the other hand, sharing interesting research results, papers or case studies can be done in any kind of field, so there’s no need to stop reading if you’re not an artist.
What are the benefits?
Why would you want to do this? Some of the benefits of having your own website as a student:
- Online presence - The easiest way for people to find you and contact you is by looking up your name on the internet, and if you can’t be found, people might forget about you.
- Technical skills - You will learn the basics about building a website and managing it’s content.
- Professional look - If you do it right you can make a good impression on your teachers, your fellow students and possibly potential future employers.
- Knowledgebase - Sharing your work with others will make it easier for them to build on the results you found, so there’s no need to invent the wheel over and over again.
- Collaborations - People can see, hear or read your work. You might get in contact with others to collaborate with.
- Analitics - How do people find you? Keep track of your website’s statistics, and find out what keywords people used who visited your website. I like Google Analytics. It’s easy to install and provides a lot of information.
- Newsletter - By sending an email newsletter every time you make changes to your site or you added a new interesting project, you keep people aware of you and your work. Only do this a few times a year though, don’t spam.
No need for perfection
There’s quite a chance you don’t really want to show all your work to your friends, and that’s OK! You’re still developing your own style, forming your opinion. Be aware though: there’s no need for your work to be perfect. There’s a chance that in your own eyes it will never be perfect. Don’t wait for that moment, be honest to yourself and select your best work.
You can keep it small and simple. Don’t worry too much about making the best impression, as this is the time to learn. After a few years you will know what works well for you, and when you enter the professional field you can always hire a webdesigner to make your online image exactly the way you want.
No web design skills?
What if you would like to have your own website, but you don’t know how to put it together? It might seem like a big problem to create a website if you don’t have the technical skills to build one. Luckily there are a lot of easy to use tools available, and to use them it’s not necessary to know html or php. You have several choices, depending on the kind of website you want.
You can have a static page or a blog page with easy to update articles. A few suggestions: If you’re working on a Mac you can use iWeb or RapidWeaver. If you want to have a blog, you can use services like Blogger or WordPress.
And there are also online tools available, which let you create a website from within your browser. Like Google’s Page Creator or Weebly.
Do you think a portfolio website could help you, or do you already have one? Please leave a comment and let me know!
Are you familiar with David Allens book Getting...
Absolutely, I advise most students to set up a portfolio site - be it a blog or otherwise - so long as they have a future-facing reason for beginning one or can get away with a more general portfolio (which isn’t always the case). Domain names are cheap and a site is a fantastic way to ‘get on the map’ without needing someone else’s permission first.
But without clearly defined goals or career aspirations, a portfolio site may be better created at a more potent point. It doesn’t specifically need to be on a niche topic, but a portfolio site without portfolio could be a turn off for some of the prospective employers and contacts you’re trying to attract.
You’re right, there’s no need to be a perfectionist. It’s all about getting out there and having a base that you can inform others of.
Hi,
I have already subscribed to your email feeds. I will appreciate it if you will reciprocate with any of my blogs. Thanks for the post. God bless.
I have been trying to start a portfolio site for a while now. I’m finally at the point where I have done enough freelance work to make a reasonably nice looking portfolio. I will be going to Azusa Pacific University for a graphic design major in the fall so thanks for the reminder, motivation and purpose to get working on a portfolio!
Yes, I believe a portfolio will be beneficial to students. Some people I know have been offered jobs after employers caught their work online.
Very good suggestion! With access to the internet these days, why not give yourself a leg up in the process.
This is a great way to get yourself known on the web and keep a track of what you have been doing. You can always mention it on your CV so potential employers can check your work out for themselves.
Great site by the way!
A website can help define yourself. Start small, put a few of your best pieces on, check your website often and then you start to see a pattern. That’s your style. Add a few more pieces. Do they fit your style? Either way, you are building confidence. You are representing yourself in a graphic and talented way. Defining oneself is a process that is rewarding and helps one grow and learn and develop. It is very satisfying.
[...] you can help you promote yourself and your work before entering the professional field. Also read this post about the advantage of having a portfolio website. In that case you’re not directly [...]