I posted this in the portfolio section but it hasn’t got much response, I was hoping for some better answers here.
In our portfolio class, we are encouraged to create a “teaser” to send to potential employers along with our resume and a cover letter. Printing individual envelopes, cover letters, resumes, and creating this teaser is very very time consuming, and it is hard to keep the craftsmanship consistent on everything without making a few of them.
To me, sending an email along with an attached pdf of my resume and link to a website is more practical and serves the same purpose. This is my first attempt at a website. i don’t know how to use flash, so i stumbled through just getting an html site up. I only put up 3 projects, because I felt like, if this is a “teaser” I didn’t want to reveal everything, because when I go to an interview I won’t have anything new to show. I’d really like some feedback, not only on the website, but more importantly …
1-Is it better to send hard copies of resumes and work samples through snail mail or does a simple email do the job?
2-Should I be worried about revealing ALL of my work on my website? Even though I wouldn’t have any new projects to show, I would still be able to go into more depth with the process of each.
you bet it is time consuming. it can take the better part of a day to wordsmith a kick-ass cover letter. take the time. a teaser file small enough to e-mail works good with a resume. my full folio resides on whalemail.com so i can control who sees it.
I looked at you site and at your work. It looks nice but I did notice that the wording was a little hard to read. I also noticed that you have a typo on the first page. The are the kind of things you want to check for before putting something online.
As far as the question about a hard copy and a electronic copy your going to get a different answer from everyone on this. Some people dont like to have the extra clutter on thier desk where as others like to see a phisical mock-up, or copy. Me personaly I like to get teasers. It shows me alot about the designer. on a teaser you can see craftmanship and creativity that you just can’t get from a website. Think of it like this you want to stand out from the other designers. A great way to do this is with a nice creative teaser that has your style and mark on it.
The comment about it taking lots of time. Well hate to break it to you but thats the design world. take one day and design you teaser and have it prented (from a good place Kinkos is ok but dont do it yourself). The next day spent the whole day putting a bunch of teasers together. This saves you the trouble when it comes time to send one out. You can also do this with letterheads and envelopes.
I looked at you site and at your work. It looks nice but I did notice that the wording was a little hard to read. I also noticed that you have a typo on the first page. The are the kind of things you want to check for before putting something online.
As far as the question about a hard copy and a electronic copy your going to get a different answer from everyone on this. Some people dont like to have the extra clutter on thier desk where as others like to see a phisical mock-up, or copy. Me personaly I like to get teasers. It shows me alot about the designer. on a teaser you can see craftmanship and creativity that you just can’t get from a website. Think of it like this you want to stand out from the other designers. A great way to do this is with a nice creative teaser that has your style and mark on it.
The comment about it taking lots of time. Well hate to break it to you but thats the design world. take one day and design you teaser and have it prented (from a good place Kinkos is ok but dont do it yourself). The next day spent the whole day putting a bunch of teasers together. This saves you the trouble when it comes time to send one out. You can also do this with letterheads and envelopes.
your sites looking good. however fix the typos up etc.
also there doesn’t seem to be any navigation/links once i check out one of your projects. at the least there should be a link back to your home page and contact details.
First - don’t worry about anyone stealing your work, I was paranoid when I got out of school too but unless it is some breakthrough thing no one will bother stealing it.
Second - to be honest I laughed when I saw the big picture of yourself on your website - it communicates vanity and lack of professionalism - and you don’t want other potential employers laughing at how vain you are. Go to a decent firm’s site to get some inspiration and try to do the “less is more” approach.
“A designer does not draw pretty pictures”…but here is a huge one of myself on my homepage. Sorry, but it just looks very student, not professional if that is what you are going for.
I’d suggest replacing your portrait with a cool shot of one of your products. That will spark the viewers interest and lead them into more of your portfolio. Granted, it’s a nice illustration, but does nothing to promote your work. And that’s what an employer wants to see. Not if you can model in an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog.
That said, I’ll definately develop some mailers. Use 4by6.com to have them printed postcard size or something. Sure, you’ll need to invest some money into it, but they’ll look sharp. Make sure that the graphic design of you printed resume, printed brochures and website all are the same. Treat this just like another design project.
You’re certainly on the righ track and have some really nice products. I have already worked with two guys that graduated from Auburn and was impressed.
To me, sending an email along with an attached pdf of my resume and link to a website is more practical and serves the same purpose.
It seems like everything eventually goes full-circle. As little a five years ago e-mail was considered a ‘tech’ way to transmit portfolio information.
Today most execs are inundated with so much e-mail per day (my wife receives between 150-200) that a physical envelop with something interesting to look at might be considered a a relief. And it won’t get ‘filtered’ out on an ‘inbox’ either; especially if you do your homework well and have it addressed an actual person (as opposed to; Design Manager, Principal Designer, etc.)
Kinda hard to take an e-mail with you on your lunch break.
As far as being a ‘time consuming’ project; the more ‘copywritting’ you do, the faster it will come to you. It won’t be the last time you need to do something like this. Communications is an incredible tool, get comfortable with it.
I say do both hardcopy and online…some design firm only want hardcopy …they prefer it …it’s more personal and something you can fell and see work quality …images online is nothing only if it’s great…do you know if your website work on all browsers…?? it’s a huge page on my browser if you didn’t know…so is you head picture I hate it …make it very small …actually take it out…make u look like you have a big ego problem that is my first impression of your website …after that I keep thinking he must be a superstar design …but the work is ok…not superstar level yet… so think carefully how you present your work and how you choose to do it…there is not one answer…different approach for different people
Thanks to everyone who has given me some feedback. I was a little iffy about the face thing to begin with, so that is definitely off the homepage. I left it on the contact/resume page, however, should it go completely?
I also added 3 more pages, and changed things up a bit, hopefully now the site will resize for different browsers so it is not too large to view. I did not find any spelling errors however, so if someone could help me out with that I would appreciate it. Any more critic and comments are very welcome. http://www.designzr.com
As far as what I have been doing so far, I have a nice little teaser with my website on a business card cd, along with matching cover letter, resume, and envelope. I have been taking the hours and hours to make each package, but was just curious if my time was worthwhile. Seems like maybe sending a package and following up with an email is the best way to go?
Thanks to everyone who has given me some feedback. I was a little iffy about the face thing to begin with, so that is definitely off the homepage. I left it on the contact/resume page, however, should it go completely?
I also added 3 more pages, and changed things up a bit, hopefully now the site will resize for different browsers so it is not too large to view. I did not find any spelling errors however, so if someone could help me out with that I would appreciate it. Any more critic and comments are very welcome. http://www.designzr.com
As far as what I have been doing so far, I have a nice little teaser with my website on a business card cd, along with matching cover letter, resume, and envelope. I have been taking the hours and hours to make each package, but was just curious if my time was worthwhile. Seems like maybe sending a package and following up with an email is the best way to go?
Shea Tillman @ Auburn has some really good pointers on portfolio design and presentation. You have to brand yourself, and that means that you have to consistently follow through on multiple fronts and strategies. Bang for buck, email will get you the most for your money. It is a more spray n pray approach, where you will probably not get as much response. However, try and send 2-3 emails with different projects, over a period of a month or so until you get a reply or a refusal. Phone calls help, if only to find out who to send emails and resumes to.
I would send mailers to more carefully researched clients. Just send 5 pages of full bleed images of models, sketches and process. That would be enough to let them know if you are good enough to call back or interview. I like to see a lot of process on websites. I don’t really think it matters if you repeat a story twice. The interviewer is hearing the story from your point of view in your voice when you are in person. I would suggest putting up as much info as possible on your website.
Again think through- what will get you the most bang for the buck. Flash might not be the best solution for everyone. Simple presentations are sometimes more effective than elaborately animated ones.
I quite liked the site but the thing that drove me nuts (and distracted me from your actual work) was the moving links - why did the link to the home page have to constantly move as you go from page to page? It’s much better to have a consistant set of links that the user knows where to find. I also think that you could do much better just having the text on the links as plain text done in html and not as an image - not only will this improve the quality, and therefore the ease of reading, but it will also improve page load time.