Online Portfolio Development

Robert Gordon University

Are you a curious dreamer? Are you a visual problem solver? Are you a reflective communicator? If you want the answer to these questions to be a strong yes, then the content and related tasks in this online course will help you get there and more importantly communicate this with others.

This course unpacks Gray’s portfolio grading process, looking at how to evidence the key mindsets and behaviours that we think will make you a creative practitioner.

The Curious Dreamer, The Visual Problem Solver and The Reflective Communicator. Recorded sessions are released weekly to guide you through these mindsets to show how adopting them will allow you to generate a successful folio. As well as helping you master the mindsets the course contains hints and tips on presenting and documenting your ideas in a digital space.

Your understanding will be tested through structured tasks that allow you to apply new behaviours to evidence your thinking, within the context of an online portfolio submission. This course is composed of the following four sections:

Part 1 – Defining and evidencing the curious dreamer

Inspiration – How does inspiration work? Understanding the connectivity and flow of ideas in a project.

Curiosity – Where is curiosity found? Understanding The Curious Dreamer exists where curiosity and inspiration meet.

Briefing –  How to evidence these Mindsets in your folio.

Part 2 – Defining and evidencing the visual problem solver

Visual thinking – “What if…?” Investigating how The Visual Problem-Solver thinks out loud and makes ideas real.

Making –  Embracing the “Have a go” mentality and rehearsing ideas. Exploring how context and material can drive concepts.

Briefing – Creating and producing variety by showing a range and sensitivity to the use of media & marks.

Part 3 – Presenting and communicating ideas to the reflective communicator

Briefing – Elaborating on ideas and showing reflective communication within a folio. How to evidence thinking and reflective communication – Discussing Personal statements etc

Organisation of a folio –  Telling your story and getting your point across. Creating a FLIKR account.

Part 4 – Production and documentation

Dos and Donts – Photographic pitfalls and peaks. Documenting objects & images.

Project Management – Creating a timeline and planning for the submission deadline.

Throughout the course, learners must:

• Analyse and explore the 3 key mindsets and the impact of the associated behaviours on their creativity.
• Draw on experiences to explore the means for evidencing inspiration, curiosity and visualising thinking.
• Apply this understanding to the structure of projects and the production of a portfolio.

The above will be demonstrated within the scope of the tasks undertaken, leading to individual creative outputs that will be shared during online critiques to further underpin the future development of a personal portfolio.

• Gray’s School of Art
• Engage at Gray’s