Web Design Portfolios

As an editor, I am always looking for references for all the publications I have been doing, and after some years I came to the conclusion that there is just one place to look for all I need: the web. And you got to know how to look for things, not to waste your precious hours to find the references you need. This book is just about that. You want the best in terms of navigation, graphics, programming, etc. This is the compact reference you need to use as a buyer of services, reference for clients, inspiration and challenge. We have collected 200 portfolios from more than 30 countries, to give you a broad view of what is available out there. But the book and the fun don't stop here, since you can go through many of the great pages linked to these ones, including the designers and offices that designed them.
You will see that this book focus on creative areas and there is logic for that. First of all are areas where people indeed use the term portfolio, which is the showcase of a production, intending to advertise or amuse potential clients, and other visitors. Secondly, creative areas such as photography, illustration, graphic design, etc, demand many times (or are desired to have as a differential) specific solutions to empower the work shown. Third, there is much more freedom for them to create without thinking about a corporate image or links with specific standards. That allow them to experiment more and discover many times new ways of navigate, display (and play with)
works, and finally reach viewers attention in ways that would be in principle unimaginable.
Doing this book I came to the conclusion the photographers are taking the step forward and creating (and paying for it) exhilarating online showcases. So if you are in this area and are not online, run, and fast. It is understandable in my view why graphic designers have great sites, as they are the ones directly interested in showcasing their work as its best. And they are mostly capable of doing it themselves. There are even ones that just use their site to show their creative capability. Finally, there are all those who believe that the Internet is the medium of the present, and not the future. To believe that the web is the door for capturing people's attention is to believe in the importance and the difference that this medium can make in these professional's lives.
One thing to pay attention to in this book is not just the portfolio, but also the people who did it. Just remembering that the best thing today is that there is basically no distances any more between producer and buyer. It is online and it is all Software. A visit to the sites producers' will prove to be an inspiring trip, as much as the one navigating through this book.
What you also get in this book, is a set of parameters that are rarely seen somewhere. Including the costs in hours. Moreover, you get the designers contacts, and the credits for the programmers. These last ones, rarely mentioned in publications are co-responsible for this revolution, and are seldom recognized for that. They know what is a challenge when a new idea has to be put in practice.
The selection process for a book like this is not easy at all. First of all because the amount of material you have available to see is in certain aspect infinite, as people not just upload new sites daily, but redesign them as well. Secondly, we do not work with submissions or payment. That makes the book much richer, as the reader gets a hrst class selection, and not just a group of people that could afford to be there.
But that makes it much more challenging as well. And we do it tirelessly. We have also looked for ones that have been awarded, but that was not the main focus.
You will see that most of them are done with Flash, and I feel that this is something to be seen as natural.
One may argue about the time you will need to see the page. But patience is a virtue many times on the net.
And connections are always getting better. I go online in many different countries due to my trips, and I know the difference that exists between countries and the services available. In the end, the important thing is the quality of the material selected.