Video 9: Customizing Your Theme
In this video we'll make some overall design changes to our e-portfolio to make it our own.
I would suggest that you wait to make these changes until all of the content for your ePortfolio is uploaded to the presentation, as design choices shouldn't distract from the content.
We are going to make changes to the banner and the theme, including a change to the banner image.
I'm going to start in the editor of a random ePortfolio presentation.
Below the title of the presentation is a row of tabs which includes properties, content, banner, and theme.
We will select the banner tab.
There are two content boxes on this page; the first is the banner title and the second is the banner description.
The banner title is on the left-hand side of the page in this area.
The banner description is to the right side on the template.
On this page, you can only make changes to the texts.
My suggestion when creating a portfolio, is to make the banner title your name.
This is because you want people to see your name first thing when they open the presentation.
The banner title and description don't change between pages, so having your name as the title means that your name will be present on every page.
The only time I would not suggest this is if your professor says they want your banner title to be something else, like the course title or code.
You do not have to have a banner description if you don't want to.
If you do want a description, you can place any type of text in this area.
Make sure it is legible, not too long, and that it relates to the overall feel and content of your ePortfolio.
I’m then going to select the save button at the bottom of the page, and my banner title and description will be updated.
The next space we're going to go to is the theme tab.
This is where we can redesign the look and feel of our ePortfolio to match our own interests.
Take caution: unless you are a journalism, marketing, or visual arts major, ninety percent of your ePortfolio grade will often come from content and not from design.
You want to make sure that a) your design is legible and doesn't distract from your content and b) that you prioritize having the content in place before changing design.
There are two ways to change the design of your ePortfolio. The first way is to select a new preset theme from the ones currently uploaded to the editor.
You will notice a large rectangular box at the top of the page with your current theme and a few buttons.
We will skip these buttons for the moment and move to the list below with all the different preset themes.
Each theme is its own rectangle with the specific sections.
The first section is the select tool; this is how to apply that specific theme to your ePortfolio.
Next is the name, thumbnail, and description of the theme. Use these to get a general sense of the themes available. Next is a page with a spyglass symbol.
This is to view an example of what your ePortfolio would feel like.
Again, try to go for themes which are easy to read and don't have much visual clutter.
Black text on a white background or white text on a black background are often easier to read than colored texts on either background.
Too much visual clutter can detract from the content and make it difficult to read your ePortfolio.
Once you've selected a new theme and agreed to set it then the theme will update.
If you are not interested in further customization, or you are happy with the current theme, then you can stop here.
If you wish to make further changes, you can move to the top of the page next to your current theme and select the paint brush icon.
This icon will open a new page with further customization options.
On the left-hand side of the screen will be a scroll box with all of the different parts of the ePortfolio that you can customize and a visual representation of each section.
Once a part is selected, the page will change to offer options for how to customize.
If you are adjusting a text area there will be a preview at the top, followed by drop down menus for font type, font size, and font color.
If you are editing an area, you will have options to change colors, borders, and possibly add images which can fit the screen or repeat.
In spaces such as the banner, you may have options to adjust both the space and the text in the same window.
I suggest that after each edit you exit and view the preview of your presentation for further refinement.
A quick note before we end: if you're interested in adding your own banner image you have the ability to do so here in the editor.
If you're going to create your own banner image, you need to make sure that the image size is either 6.5 by 1.5 inches or 487 pixels by 112 pixels.
This way the banner image fits neatly into the space provided. Once I am done making all of my edits I will hit save, and my theme will be updated with all of my current edits.
