MSU online course helps students build a digital portfolio and marketing skills

Sunday Aug. 14th, 2011

BOZEMAN– An online course from Montana State University helps MSU students and off-campus professionals build and organize a Web-based portfolio website of their work.

By the end of the fall semester, each participant will have a customized website live on the Internet. The course, “Portfolio Design and Preparation” (HORT 491), is open to students of all majors and professionals of all backgrounds. It offers three undergraduate credits.

“Students and professionals of all levels are expected to provide portfolios of their work throughout their careers,” says instructor Page Huyette. “Whether searching for a first job, moving up the career ladder or providing samples of work for a coveted project, compiling a professional, updatable portfolio is crucial for career success.”

In addition to building skills in software such as Photoshop and WordPress, students will learn standards for scanning, image size and website design consistency; skills for editing and organizing hand-produced and electronic work samples; and how to customize web templates and plugins for online publishing.

The course is offered fully online, and students from throughout Montana and beyond are encouraged to enroll. The course runs from Aug. 29 through Dec. 16.

Huyette is a landscape designer with more than 20 years of experience in multiple design fields, including as a set decorator for films and commercials, a designer of websites and promotional marketing materials, and as a consultant to expanding design firms in the West.
To register, visit http://eu.montana.edu/online/courses/ (the course is listed under Horticulture) or contact Extended University at (406) 994-6683 or distance@montana.edu.