On this page, we will examine some important considerations for your portfolio, such as file size and quality, the privacy and protection of your work, and accessibility and referencing.
Uploading content to your portfolio
When uploading files to your portfolio, there are some factors to keep in mind.
Compatibility
It is recommended that you upload files in commonly used formats like PDF, JPEG, PNG, and MP4 to ensure that they can be opened on different devices and platforms without issues.
Quality
'Stretching' a low resolution image will result in loss of quality
Some file formats can lead to a loss of quality. If you would like to display images in high resolution, choose formats that preserve high quality, such as PNG for images with transparency, and JPEGs for photographs.
Images may need to be edited to ensure that they are the right resolution and size for the platform you are uploading them to. For example, mobile phones these days often take such high resolution images that they are too big for use on standard websites. This can lead to files taking a long time to load.
In addition, if you have concerns that others may take your high resolution images and use them without permission, you may like to consider other options that will make it difficult for your images to be reused by others such as watermarks.
File size
Keep the file size of individual high-resolution images below a couple of megabytes (MB) to ensure that your content loads quickly and easily.
Accessibility
Informative alt text might be 'A green chair showing measurements: height 80cm, width 40cm, depth 45cm'. Note also that the fonts used in the image are simple and the contrast is strong.
It is good practice to ensure that your work will be accessible to people with a range of needs. Here are some tips:
Images with alt text: ensure all images in your portfolio have descriptive alt text to aid users who rely on screen readers.
Readable fonts: use clear, easily readable fonts and avoid cursive or overly small text to enhance readability for all users.
Avoid colour-only indicators: do not use colour alone to convey meaning, as this can be challenging for those with colour vision deficiencies.
Colour contrast: maintain strong colour contrast between text and the background to improve visibility and readability.
Heading hierarchy: use a logical heading hierarchy to help users navigate your content more easily and understand the structure of your portfolio.
Just as you would for any other assignment, if you use ideas, theories, artwork, images, or computer code from another author, you need to provide a citation and a reference. Check your assignment instructions to see which style you need to use and use Easy Cite to guide you on formatting your citations and references.
You should also be aware of your responsibilities relating to the use of copyrighted materials. In Australia, under the fair dealing provision, students and researchers can rely on using a reasonable portion of a copyright work (e.g. 10% or 1 chapter) as part of their research or study. For more information, visit the Copyright page.
Aside from avoiding academic integrity and legal issues, referencing and attribution are just the right things to do. Crediting shows respect for other people's creative integrity and intellectual property. Additionally, make sure that their work isn't used to send messages the original artist would not agree with.
Promoting your portfolio
Sharing your portfolio on social networks like LinkedIn and Instagram can be a great way to promote your work and showcase your skills.
If you wish to share your work with an audience beyond your instructor and fellow students in the course you are enrolled, the fair dealing provision for research and study does not allow posting someone else's copyright material to public sites such as Portfolium, Pebblepad or other open sharing or publishing platforms. For example, sharing copyright works as part of a public facing digital portfolio is not covered by fair dealing for research and study and will require the permission of the copyright holder.
Is your creative piece 'inspired' by someone else's work?
Ideas, styles, slogans, names and facts are not protected by copyright.
An infringement of copyright is when you do something which only the author/owner has the right to do without their consent (i.e. copy, reproduce, adapt, transfer, etc.).
For it to be considered an infringement, the part reproduced needs to be a "substantial part in essence" of the original work. A "substantial part" is not defined in the Copyright Act and is measured on the quality rather than the quantity copied.
If you can recognise the source of the adapted work, the creator probably will too, and they may assert their rights if they have been infringed.
This can be a tricky topic to understand, so be aware of your responsibilities relating to the use of copyrighted materials.
Privacy of your work
It is important to understand the Terms of Use of any portfolio sharing platforms you sign up to use. For many portfolio sharing sites, you retain copyright of any original works you create and post to the site, but you need to be aware of what licence you are agreeing to, that is, what rights you are giving the platform in relation to your work.
You also need to be aware of what activities the platforms allow or prohibit. Most portfolio sharing platforms will prohibit you uploading others' copyright protected material. Make sure you read the platform privacy information carefully.
If you have concerns about access or use of your work, consult your educators to understand how they want to share your work; some privacy settings might restrict their access.
