Build Quality Digital Portfolios With MediaPad Pro
Mediapad Pro - Photography Video Portfolio ($14.99) by MEDL MOBILE is the app to use for creating professional multimedia portfolios on the iPad. Users can create interactive digital portfolios containing: videos, photos, audio clips, and websites.
To create a portfolio, users must first create an account. This account is only used to edit the portfolio, so no personal information is required.
Users access the settings through the icon located discreetly in the bottom left corner of the screen. In the app settings, users can add their name, email address, phone number, and agent name to be displayed on the portfolio homepage.
There are two banners that can be customized. The top banner is shown on the homepage when the app is first opened, and the bottom one is shown on the view content page. Just tap on the image and select a banner image from the in-app document library or your iPad’s photo library. Additional options to change the background color and app themes are also found in the settings.
To edit portfolio contents, enter the “Manage My Portfolio” area. Users will be prompted to make a category where they can add their content. An unlimited number of categories can be created, but they cannot be deleted. Be sure to double-check spelling and naming of categories before creating.
Portfolio content is separated into four areas: photos, videos, audio, and webpages. Content can be added from computers through iTunes file share or manually from the iPad photo library. To add content, just tap on the top icon for that content type, select a category to add to, and choose the file.
A word of caution to users: Be sure to enter the file name you want to be displayed, otherwise the generic name (something like img1234) will appear.
Once a file has been added, it cannot be edited. After adding content, users can customize slideshow effects. Transitions and time limits for files can be added. The order of the files can be changed by tapping edit in the top right corner.
Another useful feature is the ability to pick and choose which categories are shown in the portfolio. If users have multiple categories but only want one or two to be shown at a given time, they can turn the others off and bring them back later.
One of the features with the most potential is the guestbook. After people see your portfolio, they can sign your guestbook. Entries require a valid email address. There is an option to send an automatic thank you email, but in my testing this feature did not work correctly. Hopefully this issue will be fixed in a subsequent update. Adding an option to email guestbook entries would also be useful.
While MediaPad Pro has many options, it also does have some limitations.
Users are able to add different types of media files, but in presentation mode, content is only shown with files of the same type. It is not possible to show videos and photos interchangeably. Viewers choose to see the media type one by one from the content screen.
The content themes and backgrounds are rather limited. Themes use many different fonts and colors, but there is no way to change font sizes, weights, etc. More customization would be helpful to create truly unique portfolios.
In the end, creating any portfolio is time consuming and MediaPad Pro is no different. But the time spent is not in vain. In the end, users have quality professional portfolios on hand at anytime.
The app transforms your iPad into an effective marketing tool. I would recommend this app for anyone looking to market themselves and their work to others.
