Internship Mailer - Which projects to axe?

I know that a portfolio is judged by the worst project in it, and I have the feeling I need to axe a project or maybe two to have a shot at getting the internships I really want. Which do you guys think should go? link is in my sig

List of projects from newest to oldest:

Piggyback Baby Monitor- Passive Photography Assistant
Chevy Talus Camelbak-inspired car (would be labeled ‘for fun’ if included)
Park City Argentum - Premiere Youth Soccer Club Graphic Design Identity
Diffuse - Tea Leaf Kettle
Refresh - Automotive Scented Gel Canister (Prior Internship)
Skota - Collapsible Handle Stool (Ikea Branding)
Nest_One - Bird Starter Home
Tweak - Dynamic Picture Frame (Before the new Mac aesthetic came out)
Clamshell - Easy Trash Take Out (Fresh take on cheap plastic can)

*I’m considering axing the Tea Kettle - I like the concept but am not happy with the design. I like the Baby Monitor, but not everything is resolved yet…Should I keep it anyway? Finally, I think my cars are decent, but can I justify keeping them in if I label it a ‘for fun’ project?

As far as what is shown in your corefolio (I don’t see the “refresh” project anywhere) the weakest seems to be the “Chevy Talus” and “Park City Argentum” simply from the standpoint that no process is shown, only the final sketches/products. The final sketches/products are good on their own, but it leaves me wondering how you got there. Remember, much rides on the story behind the product and where it came from, not just the final rendering. If you’ve got the process in your mailer, then you may want to keep them if you feel they are on par with or better than other projects.

Your mini portfolio seems strong and balanced, and I think it shows your process well.

I would keep the tea kettle and baby monitor - the tea kettle shows how you took a wide variety of ideas and ‘boiled’ them down to the final idea, the baby monitor appears to be a well-grounded product that most could easily imagine on the shelf at your favorite retailer.

Thanks for the feedback Lotus, I appreciate it. I have over 250 sketches for the Soccer Logo, so I’ll add those. For the car, I omitted all the crappy sketches and only a few decent ones were left to include - I’ll probably omit it, I guess. Based on your feedback I’ll probably include the baby monitor and tea kettle and swap in new renderings when I redesign them (if that ever happens).

Anyone have different suggestions?

a former teacher told me when i was asking which projects i should put in my portfolio that he won’t hire someone that cannot decide which projects to show.
I still think its a wonderful cynical advice. You know your projects and your abiities best. :smiley:

of course how to present it is a different problem… haha.

No, that’s good advice actually. I’m pretty good about trusting my gut, so I think I will at least omit the Tea Kettle until I’ve redesigned it (and the car altogether).

I omitted all the crappy sketches and only a few decent ones were left to include

I like seeing designers crappy sketches (to a certain extent). I really like Carl Liu’s book as he includes a wide range of sketches, from final renders to small scratchy doodles. It shows/represents your thought process if you include the early little doodles.

Yeah, usually I don’t filter sketches like that, but I did that time. Any other advice anyone?

For me, i’m not to taken on the wire birds nest. I would make a great porfolio piece however if you made it then photogrpahed it working. At the moment it looks like a ten second doodle.

Good luck btw.

Chris

I think i would axe the Sköta project, I just don´t find it as interesting as the rest of your projects.

As for the birds nest, Its my favourite in your portfolio! But like Cholden wrote, A real model would make it ideal.


Anyway, for me its a race betweem the talus and the Sköta. I think that the talus would win if there was something more between the persona and the finished result. (which I think i will have to do on my own carfunproject now that I think about it)

Thanks bngi, I’ll consider that. I’ve already axed the Talus, think I’ll keep the Skota for now…