New Portfolio

[solitarycow]

Hi guys,

I'm having a bit of a situation. I resdesigned my new portfolio site. You can see it at

www.howster.com (http://www.howster.com)

The debate is, whether or not I should include the version 1.0 site in my portfolio section in the new revision. Some of my colleagues say that the work in the old site is old and outdated and not representative of my abilities, and to toss it out. A design firm would never hire me if they saw that in my portfolio. Others say it shows progress.

Can I get you guys' opinion?

[lunatic]

I think you'll get better comments in Showcase & Critiques so I'm moving your thread there.

:hr:

Personally I don't think it can hurt to have a link to your old site on the new site. Shows growth (like you mentioned) as well as shows how long you've been at the business and what you've learned along the way. Plus you aren't forcing anyone to look at the old site right? Its just there if they want to.

*edit* also to be honest I had to guess which item in your portfolio was the old version. As more and more stuff gets put into your portfolio that site will get buried and you won't have to worry so much about it influencing someone . . . My :2c:

[Anogar]

When I first read your question, I thought that you should definately include your past portfolio. However, I now disagree with myself.

Your new portfolio showcases some very high quality work, while your old one contains some material of questional quality (the carpet guy, for example) and it is clear that you are much better than that now. While it does show growth, I don't think that the old portfolio design is exciting and interesting enough to showcase it. Your new professional webpages are more interesting than your old portfolio, I say leave it out.

[solitarycow]

What if I include some sort of disclaimer saying that it is really old and crappy work. Haha. I guess it's still special to me because it was a site that I designed in college when I was first starting out. It turns out that I won the Klingensmith Award for it, which is the highest award handed out to a student for their portfolio.

[LunaSolar]

I am real opinionated on this subject, as I HATE most "online portfolios".

People have like 50 things in them going back to their sixth grade HTML homework.

No offense but.... who the %^&$* cares?!?!!?

Show me 3 to 5 things from each catagory you offer:

Sites
Logos
Illustration

Whatever you do, include it, but 3 to 5 examples of each, and MAKE EACH ONE COUNT.

Sorry, I was kinda itching to rant on that.

[lunatic]

I think that may be a good rule of thumb but wouldn't be appropriate in some cases, for example a really big design firm that has received awards for 30 sites they've made or something. Plus, there could be categories within categories - corporate sites, educational sites, small business sites, etc. A hiring company may want to see 3-5 sites from each category.

I guess my point is that it would be hard minimize if you've done buttloads of very successful work over the years.

However I totally agree with you about not showing everything you've done since the 6th grade. :thumb:

[Anogar]

I think you need to think about the purpose of the site.

1. If the point of the site is as a personal showcase that you can show to your fellow students, friends, family, etc, then leave the old work.

2. If the point of the site is to find a permanent position somewhere, then it's six of one, half dozen of another - do whatever feels right. Your potential employers may say, "Gosh, look how much he's improved! I bet he'll just get better." or "Wow, I wonder how big a team he's working with on these new projects, those old solo ones are just not up to par." It all depends on the person hiring. (I personally would go for the "gosh, look how much he's improved" camp).

3. If the purpose of the site is to solicit new freelance clients on a job by job basis, then you absolutely need to remove the old work. When they look at your site, they're trying to figure out exactly what they're buying. You don't want to put anything other than your best work, because that's all they're going to want to pay for. They don't want to think that when they give you a project, they might get Stan the Carpetman back. (Sorry Stan.)

Cheers,

-Ryan

[Pharoh32]

I think you should keep it. I like the idea of showing progress. I don't think you really need a link to the site though. Maybe just some screen shots that highlight the good points of the site's design. Let them see what you wnat them to see.

Nice job on v2.

[matthewjumps]

exactly i agree with Pharoh32 (http://www.kirupa.com/forum/member.php?u=25254) - dont give them a link to the whole site...control what they see of ur old portfolio...just a few screenshots will suffice to demonstrate ur progress...

[Anogar]

I think a few screenshots is a good idea if you're trying to get hired by a company. I still think that if you're trying to get contract jobs you shouldn't have it at all though.

[v2ikematu]

pretty nice site. transitions were suprisingly fast and unlaggy. didn't fancy the design but that's just a matter of my taste :)

[audrius'05]

I am real opinionated on this subject, as I HATE most "online portfolios".

People have like 50 things in them going back to their sixth grade HTML homework.

No offense but.... who the %^&$* cares?!?!!?

Show me 3 to 5 things from each catagory you offer:

Sites
Logos
Illustration

Whatever you do, include it, but 3 to 5 examples of each, and MAKE EACH ONE COUNT.

Sorry, I was kinda itching to rant on that.

I would put the best of what I’ve done and even thou if it would turn out to be over 30 items for each category, however for some people like lunasolar obviously would be a little problem- people don't have to go thru all your work if they don't want to. There are ppl out there who may consider hiring you and they might go thru all 30 items.