S | 6 | Portfolio Polish Project
This is a different kind of summative. Instead of starting something new, you’re going to make something you already made better: using everything you’ve learned in Unit 6 about getting a piece truly ready for output.
Project Idea
| Driving Question | What does it actually take to turn a finished-looking piece into one that’s genuinely ready for its real destination? |
|---|---|
| Learning Goals | Diagnose and correct a color mode mismatch; refine text using paragraph/area type tools; apply a transformation purposefully; re-export or save a file in the correct format for its destination. |
| Project Summary | Students select one piece from their own earlier FDD portfolio and revise it against a required checklist: color mode, text refinement, a transformation, and correct file output. |
| Major Products | A revised file, submitted alongside the original for direct comparison. |
| Making it Public | The revised piece replaces (or is added alongside) the original on each student’s portfolio website. |
| Key Project Documents | Portfolio Polish Revision Checklist (below) |
Select & Diagnose (~15 min)
- Choose one piece from your portfolio. Anything from Unit 1 through Unit 5.
- Diagnose it honestly: run it through both a technical check and a visual check:
- Technical: compare it against the checklist below. Most pieces have at least one real issue: a color mode that doesn’t match its intended output, text that was never properly refined, or an export format that doesn’t fit where the piece is actually headed.
- Visual: run the four-pass design check, in order. Proximity (do related items group together?), Alignment (does everything line up with something else?), Repetition (do repeated elements actually stay consistent?), Contrast (is anything that should stand out actually obvious?). This won’t be part of today’s required checklist, but it’s worth noting. It’s exactly the kind of second issue the reflection below asks advanced students to name.
Revise (~45 min)
Work through all 4 required revisions, documenting exactly what you changed for each on your checklist:
- Color mode: correct it for the piece’s actual intended output (for example, switch a web-only RGB piece intended for print to CMYK, or fix an out-of-gamut color).
- Text refinement: apply paragraph/area type tools (alignment, indents, spacing, hyphenation) to any text in the piece.
- Transformation: apply at least one transformation (scale, rotate, reflect, shear, or Live Corners) purposefully, not just accidentally.
- Re-export/save: save or export the finished revision in the file format that’s actually correct for its destination.
This is a revision, not a redo. The goal is a measurably better version of a piece you already made, not starting over from scratch.
Wrap-Up / Save & Submit (~8 min)
Organize (File Management)
- Ensure that Google Drive for Desktop is syncing to your computer.
- Create a Project Directory (Folder) in your Google Drive
Google Drive/My Drive/Digital Design/YYYY-MM PROJECT NAME - Try to keep all of your project files for this project together, so your work is not interrupted due to technical issues.
Storing all your files in the /Downloads folder in your computer is a BAD idea. If any of these files are lost/deleted you will have to reconnect them. Put them in your project folder directly. This will also be helpful in the event of any computer issues.
- In your project directory, maintain subdirectories for every category of resource you will be using.
| YYYY-MM Project Name |
| 📁 Graphics |
| 📁 Sketches |
| 📁 Photos |
| 📁 Notes |
- It’s also good to include directories for related files
| 📁 Project Files |
| 📁 Exports |
Publish your work to your Google Sites Portfolio
- Create a new page on your Google Sites Portfolio to catalog your work.
- Your work should be exported in a web-safe format in a manner that allows for the work to be embedded without requiring Google Drive permissions
- Your work should be accompanied by a detailed project description
- Submit the published portfolio page to your LMS (Schoology)
Update your portfolio page with the revised piece, and submit your original alongside it for comparison.
Compare your “before” and “after.” Which single revision made the biggest practical difference. And why do you think that one mattered most?
🗂 Organize: Put your completed Portfolio Polish Revision Checklist in your binder. Save your original piece (for comparison) in the Project Files folder of your Digital Design project folder on Google Drive. Save your revised piece in the Project Files folder of your Digital Design project folder on Google Drive.