Mastering Visual Portfolios (MVP)
Mastering Visual Portfolios empowers your portfolio creation process. The course fosters understanding of what a portfolio is, how to select pieces for your portfolio, and how to market yourself and your portfolio using social media and websites.
There are 6 modules to this course and they will run for a total of six weeks. The first 2 modules are free. Anyone can audit and take the lessons. Modules 3-6, which coincide with the midpoint and final weeks of the course, require registration. You can sign up for a Tdot.co Plus or Pro membership to take all the modules, get access to your own portfolio site (a real WordPress site on this network) and receive feedback from the course instructor.
Course Overview
What you need to know
This six-week course is designed to help artists, designers, and photographers create impactful and professional visual portfolios. You’ll explore the history and evolution of portfolios, understand modern formats, and develop a personalized portfolio that highlights your unique style and best work. By the end of the course, you’ll have a polished portfolio and the skills to share it effectively across digital and traditional platforms, culminating in a capstone project where you’ll receive feedback from instructors and peers.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand the history and significance of visual portfolios.
- Identify the best format for their needs and personal style.
- Curate, organize, and maintain a professional portfolio.
- Effectively present and promote their work to their target audience.
- Develop and implement a digital marketing strategy to gain visibility.
Target Audience
This course is ideal for photographers, designers, artists, and other creatives who want to showcase their work in a professional and personal way. No prior experience with portfolio creation is required.
Instructor
Mike Simpson is the founder of Tdot.co. He’s an innovative designer and creative educator from Toronto. Focusing on graphic design and e-learning, Mike is passionate about websites, blogs, and working with education technology. He loves photography, hiking and sports. Mike has taught at schools such as U of T, George Brown and Centennial College.
This winter he is taking up snowboarding with his sons. Wish him luck and do check out his courses: Mastering Visual Portfolios, Creating Websites with WordPress and Photo Graphics with Photoshop. Mike says: “See you on the slopes and in the courses!” ❄😀
Required Technology / Prerequisites
You do not need to own or subscribe to any particular device or software to participate in this course. We teach how to design and manage your portfolio and your ultimate platform or tool choice is entirely up to you.
However we recommend the following for the main tutorials:
Web software
WordPress is preferred. Use your own host, use wordpress.com or sign up for our affordable plans. Our Tdot.co Pro membership includes up to two sites! WordPress, also known as WP, can even be used as a local installation on your computer without any hosting at all.
Alternates: You can use Squarespace, Wix or any other CMS. Though they are not as powerful or flexible as WP.
We don’t recommend building from scratch using HTML but if you can code go for it.
Design / Graphics software
Photoshop is recommended. You can use PS on desktop or web-based (it’s pretty good in the browser). Adobe Photography plan is affordable. Adobe CC full plan is not necessary.
Alternates: Photopea is a great free, web-based alternate that works exactly like the real thing. It has most of the same tools as PS and has a similar UI.
Also consider using Canva or other design tools. PowerPoint and Google Slides can work, as can a software like Microsoft Publisher.
Join our membership program today and you can also take courses such as: Creating Websites with WordPress and Photo Graphics with Photoshop.
Sign up and skill up
Join us: take a course and create a site.
Our members are growing their digital media skills and creating their own WordPress sites on our network. Creatives in our programs are developing design projects with Photoshop and building their portfolios (new course “Mastering Visual Portfolios” starts the week of Jan. 20, 2025).
Register for a premium membership.
Sign up for a Plus or Pro membership today.
