Day1: Reviewing previous portfolios & Goals

I started this project by reviewing the pros and cons of the two portfolios i have made in the past two years.

The first was full of minor issues which were addressed in the second portfolio, which itself brought forth areas of improvement. Although original signposting, navigation and analysis problems were addressed, my second portfolio was static and dull and it was difficult to understand my skillset.

In my third year portfolio, i want it be more of an online cv, ready for the professional workplace with exciting visuals and easy navigation. It should show off my skillset, and i want to reduce 'nesting' issues as well as the lack of visual signposting.

I also aim to create separate mobile and destop websites through either browser recognition or selection, which means that i could include flash and demonstrate my skills more.

From the index page there should be a welcoming with possibly selections for mobile/desktop as well as links for projects, my cv and contact information. My skills would be included in the CV section which would make it easy for users to get to what they want quickly. I recently read 'Undercover User Experience Design' which highlighted the importance of content editing. My curent portfolio has a bit of a content overload, and i feel that they should standalone more. This was because my primary user was my tutors and examiners, and i wanted to show my awareness of my own process and my ability to review my own work. This isn't as necessary going forward, and i could rework this to be much shorter and possibly categorise it in a 'what next' box to show what i would do moving forwards. 


My goals for this project are quite steep: completion within 3 week. However, it is a revamp of design and an edit of content so i believe this to be fairly possible. I already roughly know what i want, and i am able to work faster having done it twice before. 

I will be using some tutorials and resources with this project:


http://www.noupe.com/tutorial/30-hand-picked-flash-and-essential-actionscript-30-tutorials.html
http://www.flashtemplatesdesign.com/
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/css-layouts/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/09/03/40-creative-design-layouts-getting-out-of-the-box/


I have also heard a lot about the wireframing and prototyping capacities of adobe fireworks: a program i havent actually used before, and i am going to teach myself how to use it in this process.


Next steps:


Design concept & prototyping
Content editing