I’ve been meaning to post this for a while to get some feedback, but have always been a bit reluctant to show everything.
Its my full student works portfolio as I have just graduated and started work, and this was designed with the possibility of being a stand-alone printed version that is self explanatory and can be left behind after an interview.
I also have a small 12 page teaser that is sent prior to an interview.
Any crits and feedback on how to improve this would be great as I am always looking to adjust and refine it.
wow, great stuff. One of the most comprehensive and well-put together portfolios I’ve seen a while. I’ll try to give some more detailed comments later (running out the door now), but just wanted to say “great work!”.
R
PS. also love that Issu flash PDF interface. I already signed up! I’ve been looking for something exactly like that for a while now!
I agree, really nicely done.
The “fuggy” photoshop lines in some of your sketches I am not that big a fan of though. Makes it look a little messy. But overall, great layout, good projects.
Very, very impressive. Your process of translating raw insights into a defined strategy is fantastic, and something I am always looking for–and rarely find in portfolios.
content is really nice, the delivery method leaves something to be desired. I just feel that making it look like pages spilled out across a table or a piece of film taped up looks kitsch at best. The way you flip through it like a book is nice.
Many thanks for the positive comments, it was nice to get such welcoming feedback regarding my work, appreciated.
Of course the way the portfolio is presented isn’t 100% perfect in its digital form (mainly because it was designed with being printed in mind), so I am slowly building a site which will house all the content and work in a more appropriate style, similar to that of the one I linked above…but obviously much better
Very nice. Just to be picky, I would agree with the photoshop technique on the sketches…I’d like it a little more subtle. But otherwise, very nice, especially just coming out of school. Good job, you should have no problem getting work.
IS that a good length for a portfolio and would that be somethign which you send to prospective employers? or would you send a teaser sort of thing, adn bring that big one to interviews?
could you post your teaser so I can compare the two. I am a junior getting ready for internship interviews and I think your portfolio is awesome, just curious about length…
Its been a while but here is the link to my teaser.
This was rushed, so might not be the best teaser ever and it wasn’t really intended to be viewed in Issuu. (as you could probably tell)
I recieved a few PMs about my portfolio, just wanted to post a quick explanation of why I did it in that format and length.
1)The aim was to create the possibility of my portfolio being a stand alone document that I can leave with companies if they ask (happened to me quite a few times already). And I found the response, from my now employers, to be quite positive when you offer to leave the portfolio document with them as it shows your commitment and it helps them remember you after the interview.
2)I also made the descision to create a portfolio document rather than use the presentation boards and/or 60+ page A3 design development folios from 3 or 4 design projects. This was because, to potential employers, you look way more organised taking in a single, bound document rather than a mass collection of cheap and crappy plastic folders and scrumiging through them during an interview. It might be more expensive to print off a 45+ A3 design portfolio and get it bound like I did, but you should think of everthing you spend as an investment in your career (sorry that sounds cheesy but its something my dad always tell me). I also think that condensing your design process into really meaningfull steps helps employers understand how you think and the maturity of your design process.
3)Undergraduates or freshly graduated students don’t have a huge body of “proffesional” work to use, therefore we have to make the most of what we have.This is why I tried to explain the process deeply for my most important or time heavy design projects, hence the length and hence why some projects are explained more so than others.
4)Graphic layout is cruciual to the flow of the portfolio. Because I was a fresh graduate and didn’t have a huge body of proffesional work to put in I had to make every bit of work cohesive within the document, as this was key to making all my design works gel together and represent me and my skills as best as they could.
It is also the case that when we do projects for university sometimes the presentation of one can often be much better than the other, even though the design work or the idea could be better. Making sure all your design work is presented and explained in a logical and cohesive manner with a similar graphical style gives a more equal weighting to each project in your portfolio and gives your best ideas or work more chance of shining. This might mean spending time redoing some parts or finding an appropriate graphical style, but it all pays off in the end. The more time and effot you put in, the better the results, but you need to be carefull to manage the time you spend on your portfolio otherwise you could just end up “polishing a turd”. And remember that there are 1000s of other design grads out there trying to get a job just like you, so you need to get the job done fast and to a good standard to get your work shown before they do.
If you are going to do a portfolio document like I did, it is best to leave your sampler / teaser document untill the portfolio is finished. That way you can just pick and chose from the content you used in the main portfolio document, meaning you can keep the same graphical style and layout. You have done most of the image editing and presentation already in the main portfolio document.
Length of the portfolio document really matters on how many projects you want to show and who you will present it to. As a grad I think ideally, maybe use 6/7 projects maximum. And explain the process quite well in about half of them. Its pointless showing process on every project in depth as they are all bound to cover the same type of methodology and employers will get bored having to sit through endless pages of similar design process. The key is to show your diversity and strengths in design. Aim to show you are good at everything but specialise in particular things, that way you bring about your individual designer identity and it helps potential employers remember you more. I was told that its good if they remember that you are particulalry strong in a few areas such as user research for example but know how to do loads of other things in case you have to multi-task. Again, this helps leave an impression on them after you leave the interivew, which is vital.
Hope this has helped anyone who had some questions.
Now I better get back to eating my Christmas turkey.
Merry xmas!
