10 years out...What does your portfolio look like?

I think one of my favourite stories from you was about your frog interview (I think it was that). Where you turned up with a suitcase of various parts of projects and asked the interviewer to pick something and you would tell the story behind it, kind of like a show and tell.

Obviously you will tell it better but I took this story to heart myself and for certain interviews have asked if they wanted me to talk through a specific project rather than go through my folio page by page. I found it starts a much better conversation and puts my mind at ease rather than feeling I’m just talking at them. I also have my own favourite projects so it is good to have them pick something they like which is often not something I expect them to. It can afford you to tell very intricate parts of projects that you may just not show in a folio like how you dealt with a manufacturer etc etc…I imagine when I hit the 10 year mark I’d be utilizing this approach more.

That is true. you don’t want to have a presentation, you want to have a conversation, so engaging right away, learning what they want to talk about, and then showing how you can steer that conversation to hit all of your key points… that is what interviewing for a director or vp position is like. They obviously know you can do work, they have reviewed the portfolio. The interview is showing that you can think on your feet, then you can handle feedback, pivot to an explanation that influences their perception, then crack a joke all in 5 seconds.

This is a useful methodology, I imagine it would apply to every interview at every job level as well, and not just the VP/Director positions. Nothing is more uncomfortable than a stiff you ask question and I answer question style of interview.

Totally agree! I hit 15 years this year and just started a new gig. I’m a pretty visual guys, I have gotten up and sketched out frameworks and research plans on a whiteboard during an interview.

As you move up in your career you take on more management and move into more decision making roles. The key is to show how you can be a strategic partner to the business. How do you lead design to elevate the brands, enhance consumer lives, all while driving ROI. That being said you are still a designer and creative thinker, we want to see those skills.

My portfolio has roughly 3 groups of work. First work were I have led business teams in developing long-term innovation pipelines, second nuts and bolts product design work for developing new products for our brands, and last tools, process, and practices that I have created to create efficiencies, and shepard creative thinking.

J

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/599da3982994ca56bfd1c428/t/599f1082bebafbe36adab17c/1503596708671/Joseph+Gabry_PORTFOLIO.pdf

This is 15 years, wrapped up into 50 pages.
Probably not showing enough process here.
Some sketches and illustrator work in the Product section.
Lots of final work/photos.

I’m trying to cover a lot.
Product, Graphic, and Experiential Design.

I appreciate any questions, comments, or critiques.

This is my portfolio with about 6 years of experience in product design.
My advice is to first be able to tell a good story and attune it to the party that you are in conversation with.
Then you need good supporting visual / tangible material. Show process but only when it supports the story of the project, what is more important that it becomes clear through your work what your vision and goals are as a designer.

I am still looking to improve my portfolio for next year, I will use a more distinctive layout with more pages and less and larger photographs.

Ya, you sound super happy.


R

If only our country allowed you to start your own company based on your own rules and principles, free from the judgement of others … :unamused:

How’s that working out for you?


Glad to hear it.

Variant, I have to say you just don’t present yourself well here. I think it would be difficult for any of us to recommend you for a project management/development role because I would want to work with someone who is so salty. From what I’m reading here I get the sense that you are really hurting. I wish I could convince you to not lash out here and try to build bridges. There are a number of folks here who could use PMs on project or full time basis. This entire forum is like a giant job interview. I know a lot of folks that have gotten jobs here and I’ve actively recruited a few posters on both full time and contract basis. Please, before you reply, consider turning over a new leaf and try to take advantage of what the forum can do instead of just venting. Think about it.

Can you please re-read this and see the hypocracy of your words? You’ve answered your own problem time after time. I get that you want to be arty and have your own style, but if you present yourself with the same punk-rock I’m the best everyone sucks but me attitude everywhere else like you do on here, then it isn’t the folio or industry that is the problem. You wouldn’t get a job in any industry anywhere with that attitude. Take a step back, stop lashing out and have a think about why you don’t get hits, rather than blaming everything except yourself.

For context:
https://variantone.carbonmade.com/

What complete and utter crap. If you have something of value, I’ll buy it. If you don’t, fuck off. It is really quite that simple.

You are obsolete, get over it and change. Saying murca should want your buggy whip over and over won’t make it so.

Everyone;

Lets try and keep all postings civil, lowering ourselves to a form of articulation that is demeaning and belittling has no value creation. several of these posts in different topic groups are starting to resemble what core was in the late 90’s when it began, which at times was uncivil and belligerent.

also and in the midst of redoing my portfolio which has not been touched in a few years which means its way out of date.

This is a good thread - Ill throw one one out there as well. This is not meant to be negative! Just sharing some of my own struggles through portfolio building over the years…

As a professional, how do you balance showing process?

This is something I’ve struggled with over the years and have always received feedback that they “want to see more process”.
“More” meaning what? Company IP/ sketches of new and unreleased work? Material selection? Techpacks? Pattern revisions…etc?

I understand wanting to see ownership of projects, as design/development has a different role per company, but at what point is it too much?

At a certain point during my last transition (for better or worse) I developed a mindset of “if you don’t see the value/potential initially than this is not where I belong”. I would rather speak to process than show it on a portfolio - Is it foolish to assume that with “XX” years experience it should be obvious that there is a process and that the product and material shown should speak for itself?

Jim, I think what Singletrack just posted in the latest projects thread is a good example. Is this similar to what you are showing and people still want more?

My experience was that folks still wanted more. Perhaps it’s different with softgoods where there is patterning, techpacks, material choices, fit…etc

Not a concern now, but something I’ve been wanting to ask the forum for a while.

I think for XX years out, process should show no matter what. Even if you are now in a higher level role, you probably have done all those patterns, tech packs, mockup, at some point over the XX so have bits and pieces to show.

The biggest difference I think is that compared to a more junior portfolio you don’t have to show the depth PER project, since you have the breadth ACROSS a large variety of projects. That is, you can show final samples for projects ABC, tech packsfor project DEF, sketches for projects GHI, etc. and people get that you can do it all.

Just looking at your website quickly, Jim, I have to concur however I’m not seeing lots of process… Only one page with a few doodles, and many of the projects link out to a final product page with no process showing at all. Not sure if you are presenting something a lot different in interviews but the online picture I’m getting is a bit incomplete.



…I’ve recently done a few updates on my website as well and have tried to communicate the same breadth and depth. Even more tricky, I’m not only doing product, but also graphics, packaging, illustration, etc. sometimes all within one project, sometimes as discrete projects…

R

Thanks R, makes sense - The portfolio is far different than what is show on the website, In fact website is in serious need of maintenance - I dont think I’ve updated it since 2015/2016. Maybe its time…

Below is the 2016 portfolio in question:

This is what I presented during the “need to see more” period. Since this 2016 revision, a lot product has come to market (Some shown on the “teaser” page.