What can I put in my portfolio from past employment?

Design Discussions design employment
1

For MANY reasons, I’m ready to move on past my first design job. I’m in no position to up and quit, so I have to do this quietly.

My question is, what can I include in my portfolio without asking permission from my current employer?

I did not sign any particular non-competing clause or anything similar when I first began working, and to my knowledge, there is nothing similar stated in my employee handbook (although I will be re-reading that ASAP). I am thinking that anything that has been readily accessible to the public should be permissible to show? By this I mean I plan on showing the greater majority of the Graphic Design work that I did while I have been employed there. I DO NOT plan on showing anything that is confidential or alludes to the manufacturing of the products I have worked on. I would say that 70% of my time spent at work is doing graphic design, so I feel it would be the best way to represent the experience I have gained since college. I do have a Bachelors Degree in Industrial Design, and I intend to seek out a job that gets back to the “meat and potatoes” type of ID work rather then a Graphic Design job.

2

I would focus your portfolio on the type of work you want to be doing. Showing work that has been publicly released should be fine. Good luck!

3

On this topic, is there a standard rule for the usage of sketches and renderings for projects that have been published/built/gone public? Speaking specifically about coming from a consultancy in the interior/retail design industry.

Is is ever appropriate/necessary to talk to your current company first? I can only imagine that would be an awkward conversation…

And what about projects that bit the dust before being realized? Is this work forever off-limits? What about if you remove any branding, logos, company colors, etc…and then present it as a “toy store” or “cordless drill concept” and not address it by brand/company name?

And finally, what is most important for a prospective new employer to see…finished products/stores/prints or all of the work that lead up to it? Do you go in with a bunch of professional photos, or examples of the down and dirty behind the scenes development work…or of course, both? I suspect both, but is there an appropriate ratio?

Thanks!

JK