LO1 (P1 & M1)

P1

A personal media profile is used to show potential employers and universities what you are capable of creating. It can include your skill set (e.g. proficient in Adobe Photoshop), your personal and professional identity, your achievements and your CV.

Luis Konrad - Product Designer portfolio (Digital): http://www.luiskonrad.com/#hello
Stefano Tirloni - Web Designer protfolio (Digital): http://www.stedesign.com/

The purpose of this portfolio is for Luis to introduce himself to possible clients and showcase some of the work he has created. His portfolio also includes some personal aspects of his life (hobbies etc.) so that potential employees can get a feel for what Luis is like as a person, not just a professional.

A personal portfolio would need to be repurposed for a particular pathway as it should always focus on meeting the specific needs of who you are showcasing your work to. If you create a personal portfolio for applying to university, it should include work similar to that you would produce on the course so the people who get to decide whether or not to offer you a place get to see your most relevant work. If you are using your personal portfolio to apply for a job, you should adapt it so it includes work similar to that you would produce for the company you are applying to. Your personal portfolio should always be adapted to include the work most relevant to what you are using it for. Sometimes a change of platform may be necessary. I know from personal experience that a lot of creative university courses prefer to see a physical "paper copy" of your personal portfolio whereas a large company would probably expect your portfolio to be digital as it would show that you are capable of creating things digitally which is likely to be one of the key aspects of the job you are applying for. If you are sending your personal portfolio to someone instead of showing it to them face-to-face on your own device, you may need to compress the files you send which could result in a dip in the quality of your work.

M1

The benefits of a digital portfolio far outweigh those of a physical one, which can be quite limiting at times. Having just a physical portfolio means that you have to meet people face-to-face if you want to show it to them. This may not initially seem so bad if you are applying for a university course for example, as you would probably want to look around the university anyway. However if you are using your personal portfolio to apply for a job at an international or even a national company whose headquarters would be expensive to travel to then it becomes quite obvious that a digital personal portfolio would be much more convenient as this could be sent to them via email or a file sharing website from your home. You could also argue that a digital portfolio would allow you to better showcase your skills in the designing of the portfolio itself. If you are a graphic designer who creates most of their work using programmes like Adobe Photoshop then you are obviously good at creating things digitally. However. you may not be physically creative (in an arts and crafts kind of way) so creating a physical portfolio may alter peoples first impressions of you if it isn't up to the same creative standard as the rest of your work. This could result in the loss of a job oportunity or university place.