Digital Design MA/MSc/PG Dip/PG Cert application portfolio advice

We look at portfolios as part of our selection process as some of our postgraduate courses need specialist skills. It is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your creativity, innovation and design skills and what inspires you.

A good portfolio should indicate something of your personality, it should be clearly structured, easy to read and well presented. It should consist of quality work rather than quantity so be selective about what you show.

We are looking to see who or what inspires you in the field of multimedia design. You can tell us about your favourite apps, websites, computeranimations and computer games and about any other cultural interests you have, i.e. film, music, architecture, dance, travel, sports etc.

Most importantly we are looking at your potential to be a professional creative multimedia designer.

What are we looking for?

• Some experience of creating multimedia applications e.g. websites, apps, computer animations, digital effects or video games
• Multimedia Software skills e.g Adobe Creative Suite
• Drawing skills
• Idea generation
• Development of ideas
• An interest in media technology and research
• Writing skills

What should a portfolio contain?

The portfolio should include evidence of your experience in multimedia software including using multimedia tools such as Adobe Photoshop,Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver, Premier, After Effects and possibly 3D software such as MAYA or 3D Max.Web sites and Flash applicationsScreen shots of your web site designs and URL links if they are online. Flash files (or equivalent) can also be included to show your interactiveapplications and games.

Digital animations, video and sound

Examples of any computer animation work, 2D or 3D, as well as traditional animations can be included. We are also keen to see examplesof your use of sound and edited video sequences.

Photography and digital images

We are interested to see examples of your photography work and your ability to create and manipulate both bit mapped and vector digital images.

Drawing

We like to see drawing, in the broadest sense, from life drawing and storyboards to experimental design sketches. Try to include some colour work too.

Project work

We are looking to see how you develop an idea and how you research and respond to a given brief. Make sure you have a project in yourportfolio that demonstrates creativity, a deep involvement in your work and your conclusion or final idea.

Written work and research

Please send an essay or a recent example of writing particularly research related . We like to see how well you write and how you think.Even though this is a practice-based course, you will have written tasks to complete over the duration of the course. 

Size and format

Option one - online submission

• Please submit your digital portfolio as a multi-page single PDF file
• Files need to be compressed or zipped and not exceed 1GB in size and submitted via www.mailbigfile.com/dmuac
• For moving images such as animation or video please use .mp4, .MOV or .AVI format
• All work needs to be saved in one folder and labelled with your name, student reference number and the name of the course you have applied for

Option two - personal website

• You can also send us a link to a website that displays your work
• The website must be public (no sign up, passwords or logins), written in English, and have clear navigation
• Your website must render correctly in Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari