Portfolio Examples!

Well this has been a frustrating few days. Let's take that frown, turn it upside down and celebrate with some accomplishments.

My online portfolio / mystery-of-how-to-showcase work examples is coming along. So far I've got my online activities in an order I like. The little one sheets will zoom full screen and the booklets will have turned pages. I'm not even going to try to code flash snippets into this blog (check for updates in six months!) So here's a few screen shots:

First page of Activities!

A few pages later...

I mean seriously look how cute those little characters are! I like them all grouped together. Hooray for picture books!

Moving along, an ongoing puzzle might have been solved yesterday—well we're getting closer to solving the How to Market Sarah's Work Without Looking Like a Super Dork issue.

So here's what I came up with. The Card section opens blank with a "play" button appearing. I like this nod to the obvious especially in this seemingly portfolio for children. It is not edgy or an example of breaking design trends—it can't be, that would be absurd. So how do we acknowledge this without apologies and still seem cool? How can I show that I understand this could quickly turn into a circus without doing so? But I also shouldn't ignore that this is in the same market for those who would love to visit a circus. Does that make sense? Perhaps not...it's a work in progress.

Basically, trying to find a way to tastefully add animation to a page full of illustrated characters has proved difficult. Those one sheets you see above are animated, true. But to enlarge for the viewer is a much different feel then something "exciting". Most websites I see are so over animated it's annoying. Lord help the sucker who is still creating animated giffs (self shout out.)

I think we can enjoy a little tongue and cheek while showcasing clean work, in a variety of forms for a wide range of clients.