Creating the Portfolio + Planning business cards

Creating the physical printed portfolio is an important end product to this research project. The layout and design of this particular aspect is not of highest importance in the grand scheme of things, however I still wanted a method of presenting the highest quality work produced throughout the research project.

As our display methods are limited to a PC monitor and an A2 poster, this book will allow me to physically display my work in more physical way. As well as these, I plan to print of some of the earlier development work to surround my plinth.

Once the final designs were settled on, I had to ensure each image was 300dpi, and the correct format for whichever printing method I decided on. (Blurb.com) Each file was resized and converted to jpg in order to correctly display. After testing how the images appeared on the preview prints, I fiddled with the levels, contrast and saturation of each image to ensure it would appear as intended when published. (Luckily, this didn't take ages as Blurb.com use a photo-style printing for true colour).
The designs were cropped and arranged in order to suit the format of the book. I have decided to print it landscape, as most of my images are suited to this dimension. I decided to keep the display portfolio simple and free from text. This was mostly because my images were all of varying size and dimensions, so I didn't want to clutter the book with unnecessary information. I'd like my practical work to speak for itself, free from additional font.

Above - laying out the images in Blurb

I decided to use one of the environment images as the cover for the book, cropped slightly in order to fit the page. I didn't want to put a huge amount of my time into making the portfolio book, as it was mainly the contents I was concerned with in this project. 

The image is a good precursor for what can be found within the book,, and I feel it creates a sense of atmosphere and wonder as the crop doesn't show the full, giant-including image. 

For the business cards, I chose the strongest 4 images from my portfolio, making sure to cover both characters and environment design in order to show off my work. 

For the back of the designs I decided that simpler was better, keeping it white with black text.