syllabus — ART 394 — PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN THE STUDIO
Artist
Website
brief
description:
It
is important to maintain documentation and information about you and your work
online.
For
the purposes of this class you should include the
following on your website:
· At least 8 images (typically at
72dpi screen resolution but any size in inches). The 8 images are an absolute
minimum; they should represent at least 6 different artworks (2 can be details
or alternative views). If your work is time-based, you may combine images with
video clips.
· Caption information for your
images (I suggest using the information from your portfolio
image list
ex: title of work, year completed, media, dimensions in HxWxD
format, optional description or statement)
· Information page: this might
be an “About” page and/or a Bio and/or an Artist Statement. Give the viewer
some information about yourself or your work.
· Contact information (optional; you
may decide how much or little to include; I suggest an
email address or link to email you)
I
will be looking for:
· An intuitive navigation through the
website (good organization of content and images, understandable titles for
pages/buttons/links)
· An aesthetic that foregrounds your work as the most
important thing (this usually means a simple, uncomplicated design and
maximizing the size of your images when possible)
Additional
notes:
· You may want
to include some way for viewers to purchase your work.
· A URL is
usually provided if you use a portfolio service for a template and hosting
(usually featuring the service name), however most will allow you to purchase
your own URL and add it to the site (check with your service first!). It is
usually best to use your name as your URL if possible.
· Google will
not find your website right away. They have a process to “crawl” and
index
new websites, but it can take between 4 days and 4 months.
· You can add
Google analytics to most sites. This allows you to track traffic to your site.
· When choosing
a template or creating a site from scratch, keep in mind that people
increasingly view your site on a phone or mobile device. Many templates allow
you to format the site differently for computers and mobile devices.
· Many services
allow you to change the icon in the address bar to your own logo or icon.
project submission:
Submit a direct
link to your website as part of the course FINAL. Double check that your link
works properly.
This assignment
will not be accepted late.
website hosting and design sites:
Free online portfolio services
The
free versions of these services provide a limited amount of space and a limited
template to upload to; most will include ads. Beware of “free trials” that will
make you pay later.
Commercial
online portfolio services
For
a relatively low fee, these services provide basic templates to upload your
work to and allow you to customize your pages.
http://imcreator
*there are often
discount coupons online for these services
Greater control
of your own website
This
requires you to register a domain and pay for at least one year of hosting
service, but is the most flexible, long-term solution.
Build it from scratch
You can also build a website from
scratch using various software programs like Adobe Muse or Dreamweaver. You
will need hosting, a URL, and an FTP client.
additional resources:
Artist
Registries
These
are websites that host a large number of artists who
each have a limited portfolio page or small selection of images. Some are
curated and some are not curated so anyone can sign up. These are not your own
website, and use of a registry will not fulfill this assignment, however it
might be something you are interested in joining.
http://registry.whitecolumns.org