Hello!

So I've finally decided to start putting together a Web Design portfolio. I've been "designing" websites for a very long time, mainly coming up with concepts of the way the page will look, and mocking it out in photoshop for fun. I've never tried to ACTUALLY build one out before. I'm going to dive in head first now and I just have a couple simple questions.

 

Background: I am a beginner graphic designer and I do UI for apps at my current job, however it's 100% design and then I send the PSD or AI file off to the developers who build out the app. I have some very very basic knowledge of HTML/CSS but I haven't really used it that much, and would be unable to actually build the apps that I design currently, I want to get better at that and would also like to expand to web design as well.

** Note: These are guaranteed to be stupid questions to you guys personally, but humor me anyways? **

 

A ) These projects I'll be creating for my portfolio are 100% made up. That being the case... is it acceptable for me to use images that are not my own so long as I credit the photography? Let's say I made a fake website for a band or something and need some photography of a dude holding a guitar, can I find one online and use it, and notify the viewer of where I got the photography? Do I need to contact the photography first? Should I buy stock Photography?

 

B ) Is it possible that I give the viewers of my portfolio a "live" preview of the dummy websites I create? Or should they just be images?

 

C ) Is it acceptable for a beginner like me to use a program like Macaw? I found it online not too long ago and it seems really helpful, but I don't want to create any bad habits for myself if there is something I should be doing instead.

 

If there's any other flaw in how I'm thinking about this please let me know!

Thanks so much guys!

 

-Jamie

 

 

A. You need permission to use images so I'd always use stock images - a couple of hundred pounds will get you a good set of images to use

 

B. You need the live sites so people can click and explore

 

C. Yuk. If you want to build sites you really need to learn how to code. And to make sure the sites are perfect on a phone, tablet and desktop. And have all the bells and whistles that people want these days: contact forms, social media, sliders, galleries and the ability to edit their own content.

In regards to stock photography, there are many excellent websites which offer high quality (free to use) stock photos, However search for the stock photo you're viewing using google image search and watch as pages and pages appear of that photo used on a variety of websites. This isn't an issue for template or prototypes, however if you take on a client, you have to source original images, paid for stock photos, or if you're into photography (or know a photographer) you can arrange your own stock photos, otherwise you will come across as being cheap, a designer that uses free stock photos to save a few £££.

 

That said, I know of one website which offers high quality, stunning free to use stock photos of a beautiful place in Europe. Very few know about this website (google image search confirms this), shall I share the link? Not a chance!

Edited August 25, 20169 yr by patrickhaye