The full-page design will create the most impact since your work is presented at a large scale right away. The title and supporting information are overlaid in a minimal and unobtrusive way. In web applications of this technique, methods such as horizontal scrolling, hover-over thumbnails and hover-over descriptions are used to maintain focus on the image while providing easy navigation of the portfolio.
Introductions are commonly used by designers and photographers as a means of presenting themselves to viewers prior to presenting the showcase. In print, introductions may be inline with an image representing the entire portfolio or may be an entire page in order to show off typographic skills. On the web, introductions are typographic and almost always located top and center of the landing page, followed by thumbnails representing the most recent work.
Sliders such as jQuery Carousel, Flash Galleries, or Nivo add an element of interactivity and motion to a portfolio that can generate a stronger interest in the work. As a web-only technique, sliders assist with framing the work and provide a method of navigation between portfolio pages or featured work. When viewing single portfolio items, a slider can help save overall space when several components of a project are being presented.
The grid layout is the most common and mimics a proof sheet in print form. Images are displayed in two or more columns with descriptions and links to more information displayed below or provided on mouse-over. In print, grid layouts make the most sense as a preview of work to come later in the portfolio. On their own, a grid layout in print would not have as much impact as a larger image on its own page would have and should only be used if space is a concern.
Blog style portfolio designs list each example in a single column, with the corresponding title, dates and description or case study listed beside or below the image. On the web, this style of design is easy to follow and presents each example with a full set of information right away, saving the viewer clicks and increasing the chance they will absorb the entire portfolio. In print, the way each example is laid out within the blog design can be used one or two per page to create a museum or gallery style booklet.
Thumbnail galleries present the most visual information to the viewer at once, compared to other designs. Thumbnails can be small versions of the entire work, or cropped to highlight a specific feature or texture representing the linked image. The drawback to this design method is that it forces the viewer to choose an image to click based on very little detail, and provides no information about what they are about to view. Without clever navigation, having to click back and forth between a portfolio item and the main gallery may deter viewers from looking through the whole thing. Using a slider in combination with thumbnails to show the large image in-line with the gallery is one way of overcoming that drawback.
Portfolio collages have been used in print for centuries. They feature several examples of art or photographic work placed together on a page in order to fill a defined space. This technique is best applied to portfolios presenting bodies of work, projects with several elements, or case studies. This technique can be reproduced for the web by grouping related works together, or in pre-processing to create digital collages displaying multiple elements of a design project such as a website design, mobile design, and the corresponding logo.
Minimal portfolio designs place emphasis on the examples and supporting text by using very few colors and little to no graphic elements in the layout. Examples might be a white background with gray text, where the design of the portfolio is all about the way the images are placed on the page and the fonts used for descriptions and titles. Colors should stay neutral but provide enough contrast to keep the work from blending into the page.
Artistic portfolios draw on the artist's personal style and vision to present the work in creative and unconventional ways. The use of illustration, texture, or multiple media to frame the artwork can add flavor and interest, but it is important not to create an environment for the portfolio pieces that is cluttered or that threatens to overtake the example.