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Building a Portfolio

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Why Context Matters

2:24 with Devin O'Bryan

Without context, some of the best work may go completely unappreciated. This video will explain how your narrative will contribute to your portfolio experience.

New Terms:

  • Personal Narrative -- a prose narrative relating personal experience usually told in first person; its content is nontraditional. "Personal" refers to a story from one's life or experiences.

Further Reading:

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    [MUSIC] 0:00
    Context matters, and here's why. 0:04
    When you create context for 0:07
    your work, your users will be more inclined to connect with it. 0:09
    And just as a reminder, context is the circumstances that form the setting for 0:13
    an event, statement, or idea, and 0:19
    in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed. 0:22
    Context generates empathy. 0:27
    This occurs when you deliver to your users not only the end result but 0:30
    what it took to get there. 0:35
    This journey is your personal narrative, which is defined as prose, 0:37
    relating personal experience usually told in the first person. 0:43
    It's important to note the length of that narrative will vary 0:47
    according to your discipline and the audience that you want to reach. 0:51
    For instance, a developer will likely have a shorter narrative and 0:56
    a design researcher would likely have a longer narrative, 1:00
    due to the nature of what that discipline's users expect. 1:03
    But don't think for a second that the choice of words isn't important. 1:07
    Be brief no matter the discipline you wanna reach and 1:12
    be very intentional with your word choices. 1:16
    Because according to a recent Canadian study, 1:20
    the average attention span sits somewhere between 8 and 12 seconds. 1:23
    A great example of brevity is Kevin Yang's Dribble. 1:29
    He's very disciplined about giving an explanation on what the work is and 1:33
    why he created it. 1:37
    Here, he points out that the entry was a response to filling a skills gap 1:39
    with UI design and his love for food. 1:44
    Nothing overly complex, but 1:49
    we need to peak into his life a little with this explanation. 1:51
    Your users, before the page even really loads, 1:56
    are hoping for the very best from you. 2:00
    They crave a real story, they wanna find that story and 2:03
    the insights gained from your process. 2:06
    This is the real benefit of your portfolio, and 2:10
    that story's insights will help generate empathy. 2:13
    I'm excited to chat with you in the next video on how to address failures and 2:18
    successes. 2:23

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