Apple iPad 2 as a design portfolio

15 August 2011, Technology

Apple iPad 2 as a design portfolio

For sometime I have been flirting with the idea of using the Apple iPad to display my portfolio to clients and with the release of the iPad 2 I have decided to delve a bit deeper into the pro’s and con’s of switching from the traditional printed portfolio.

Pros to an iPad 2 portfolio

1. Save money on printing, paper, ink, spray mount and folio costs.
2. Time and convenience - updating a digital portfolio will be quicker and easier.
3. Good icebreaker when meeting clients.
4. Great for displaying digital media for web design and animation.
5. Shows clients you’re up-to-date with the latest trends and technology.
6. Portable and simple to use.
7. Capacity to store large amount of files.
8. Switching to paperless is greener for the environment.
9. Can store multiple portfolios on a single device.

Cons to an iPad 2 portfolio

1. Your client’s emphasis maybe on the iPad 2 rather than the portfolio piece.
2. Screen size may be limiting, loosing the impact for larger portfolio pieces such as poster work.
3. Print and branding clients may prefer the touch and feel of a printed piece.
4. Difficult to show to more than one person.
5. Lack of descent portfolio app’s.
6. Similar to showing portfolio on a website.
7. Colour differences between screen and printed pieces.
8. Price of £400 upwards.

When presenting to a client with web/digital requirements, I definitely feel switching from a laptop to an iPad 2 portfolio makes logical sense. However, when presenting to clients with print and brand requirements then the sole use of an iPad 2 for presentation simply won’t cut the mustard, especially with higher profile clients who will expect to touch and feel your work to assess their impact.

As a designer involved in both print and multimedia, the clearest solution to me is to invest in an iPad 2 as an additional portfolio tool rather than the sole portfolio tool, using the traditional print based or iPad 2, or even a combination of both dependent on the client requirements.

Comments

We always welcome comments on our blog's so feel free to leave a comment or get a discussion going!

Andy said on 31/08/2011 13:08:11

Hi guys, We actually use the iPad (not iPad 2, yet!) when we are going to meet the smaller business clients to show them the themes which we use for their websites. It's a very effective technique although one of the major "Cons" which you have pointed out above is the clients become more obsessed with the iPad and focus less on the content, especially people who aren't as tech savvy. We simply save the themes as a photo and use the photos app, as there are very few decent portfolio apps out there. Andy

reply
3
0
Arrow
Simon said on 31/08/2011 14:17:32

Hi Andy, Yeah we find the same thing. We sometimes feel we should be getting commission from Apple! Although if you are in a place with free wi-fi it does become particularly useful being able to browse to any sites or pieces they may like online, helps with trying to get info out of them on the look they are going for. As with everything pro's and con's but we think the pro's outweigh the cons this time around....

Post a comment

Please keep comments constructive. Key words in the name field will be removed.

Name(required)
E-mail(required but never shown or shared)
Website(optional)
Comment

Unfortunately some people just like to cause problems so we need you to answer the question below to make sure you are indeed you, as oppposed to some Matrix'esque style super agent!

How many wheels does the van have?



Security Van

Get connected with Jeff

Twitter Logo Facebook logo