The art portfolio has changed significantly over the years and still varies greatly depending on your area of expertise. Do you need high quality prints arranged carefully in a large display book? Should you design a basic website with thumbnail links to large images of your work? Should you create an elaborate and interactive Flash movie? Does the content have to be on the internet, or can I mail out a CD/DVD? These are all good questions, and some of them have multiple answers.
The decision on portfolio type will depend on who is looking. A traditional artist will need an old fashioned display book to showcase their work, probably in addition to a basic website. A graphic designer might want a book to go alongside an interactive portfolio or nicely designed webpage. An animator will almost surely need to have a demo reel available both online and on DVD.
Ten years ago, the trend was in interactive CD content, usually designed in Macromedia Director or in Flash. Up until five or six years ago, Flash was unable to process rasterized images or video content, so Director was the program of choice for most art/design portfolios. Some artists also had a website, but it was less common than it is now. It seems everyone has a website or blog these days. A blog is actually an acceptable format for a portfolio in some fields. For a graphic designer specializing in print, it might be fine, or for a traditional artist that wants to post and discuss new work, a blog is a great tool.
New trends in portfolios lean towards content that is both web based and interactive. There are many beautiful and creative examples out there to draw inspiration from. If you aren't proficient in Flash/Actionscript, then use tools like Dreamweaver to lay out a well planned HTML site. Dreamweaver writes the HTML for you and functions similarly to other Adobe platforms such as Photoshop and Illustrator. You can even design your site in one of these applications, and then slice it up to save for web. There are numerous tutorials available through a simple google search.
Check out the following link for inspiring portfolio design:
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