The aim of my online portfolio is to attract the attention of selected target audiences, so that I can gain leads, work and ultimately employment. I believe the main three audiences I must be targeting [in order of importance] are: potential employers, academic staff and friends & family.
My primary audience would have to be potential employers as employment in the web design industry has been my ultimate goal since enrolling on the course. I believe my portfolio will be my most important tool in interviews and can be the difference between employers choosing me over my competitors. This means I need to be selective with the work I include and showcase my best pieces. I have the chance to make my portfolio original and innovative which will hopefully make me stand out from the crowd. I also think the employers will be interested in the brief for each piece of work, as this will show that I can come up with appropriate solutions to fit the brief.
My secondary audience would be the academic staff as they will be the ones with the power to determine whether I pass or fail the module. This means I need to show an array of skills which I have learnt on the course and use them to good effect. Leading up to the this I will need to show development and reasoning behind my ideas, as well as the willingness to give and receive feedback in a positive manner. I also need my portfolio to include pieces of college work that demonstrate significant points amongst my learning curve. My portfolio must also be W3C standards compliant and my HTML and CSS must validate. This has been a constant focus throughout the course.
Finally, my tertiary target audience will be my friends and family. There are a number of reasons why I would like my portfolio to be attractive towards this audience; I feel one of the main reasons is to generate leads. I believe that if my portfolio is perceived well, friends and family will have belief in what I do and it will encourage them to spread the word to others. As well as generating leads, I would like my friends and family to be proud of what I do and the quality of work I produce. I need to ensure my portfolio is easy to navigate around to ensure all members of my family and friends [with different levels of computer skills] can access everything easily.
To summarise, I need to take into account all of the above to ensure my portfolio meets all the requirements of my target audiences. To ensure I do this, I have put together a list of project goals to act as a guide.
Showcase my best work.
• Include some explanation of the briefs.
• Show some innovation and originality.
• Include pieces of college work that signify my biggest learning points.
• Ensure the portfolio is easy to navigate around by all age ranges with different levels of computer skills.
• Validates to both HTML and CSS W3C standards.
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