9 - Hello [Again]

Yet again my weekly readings have brought me to the topic of print portfolios. This week it is Sara Eisenman’s book, Building Design Portfolios, which I find to be the most engaging on the subject. While few words are written in the 50 pages I was assigned it is the pictures of professional print portfolios and student portfolios that grabbed my attention and focus this week.

Stoltze’s Design portfolio was the first professional portfolio to make an impression upon me. Simple yet elegant, the portfolio simply features photographs and thumbnails of the designers work nicely balanced against the white space of the portfolio pages. The balance against the white pages causes the artwork to really jump off the page. The pages of the portfolio vary in size as many conform to the 5.5”x8.5” dimensions of the metallic binder, while other extended beyond the binder using conveniently placed folds. As I just alluded to, the entire portfolio is encased in a metal binder. While slightly expensive the binder is sure to last long and protect your work. Stoltze Design goes even further with their portfolio by their content into three separate metallic binders based upon the subject for which the work was performed.

The second designer’s work to grab my attention was Deborah Norcross’s. Her portfolio is also simply designed and maintained within a metallic box similar to Stoltze. While her portfolio I s fantastic it is her promotional piece which engaged my attention. Deborah Nocross has been designing CD covers and album artwork for Warner Brothers for year now so the majority of the work she has been doing, and is known for, is relatively small. In order to effective display her work she created a promotion package filled postcard pieces of her portfolio. The package is very simply but it allows for each one of her pieces to gain proper attention while correctly presenting herself as a designer.

As I continued through Eisenman’s book I came across the student portfolio of Sophie Nicolay. Nicolay’s portfolio was in no way unique in design. I am not attempting to say her work was anything less than excellent but instead I am commenting on Nicolays casing of her portfolio. Nicolay's portfolio casing, while not cheap, can be purchased at any art store. The organization of her work within the casing was done extremely well and made her portfolio look very professional and impressive.

Lorenzo Geiger’s student portfolio commanded my attention immediately. As you may have noticed I am a fan of simplicity and Geiger’s portfolio is simplistic yet intricate at the same time. His portfolio is simple, small, and slender. Used as a handout, his portfolio contains exquisite pen and ink drawing for CD’s, labels, and stickers. His portfolios looks similar to one I wish to accomplish at the completion of my portfolio class. Until I reach this point of completion stressing out is my new profession.

Interesting Links:
Art Supplies - Hulls New Haven

8 - Organizing and Optimizing my Design Life

Once again my weekly readings brings me back to my portfolio. This week, designer Sara Eisenman discusses the essential steps to creating an organized and successful web portfolio. To learn more about this process please refer to Eisenman’s book, (pg 74 – 94). While Eisenman’s words were extremely helpful my attention was focus on the advice found in designer Building Design PortfoliosCynthia L. Baron’s, Designing a Digital Portfolio.

This week in Baron’s, Designing a Digital Portfolio, Baron discusses the tips towards collecting work and presenting it to you clients. Collecting work is a process, which I have been dreading. Unfortunately, as a design student, I have made the unfortunate and common mistake of saving my previous work in various different places on my computer. If I could offer advice to younger design students it would be to stay organized and be careful about saving your work. Although it seemed easy at the time to simply save something to my desktop, I know realize the faults of my laziness. After slowly weeding through the unorganized mess that is my files pace I was able to collect work, which I felt, was worthy of my portfolio. Unfortunately now I had another long process of refining and optimizing my work for my portfolio.

As you progress as a design student you learn new tricks and design principles and when you begin looking back at your older work you start to realize that there is a better way you could have approached this or maybe done this a different way. This is how I felt looking at many of my older pieces. I now saw details I missed or an area of a project I could have approached better. My design style had changed and because of this I now desired to change many of my old pieces. While refining your work is a good practice do not delete your older original piece. Your old artwork is reflective of yourself as a designer. Redesigning old work and then presenting it in comparison with your new design can show your progression as a designer and will allow a potential employee your though process, progression, and your desire to achieve better. Presenting old sketches of design will help as well.

So now you have your work, new designs, and old designs, what’s next? The next step to concern yourself about is presenting that work in your portfolio. When working with a web portfolio, which appears to be essential these days, one of your largest concerns is going to be optimizing your work for web. Web portfolios are great. They allow you to ha e your wonderful designs viewed by anyone with an internet connection, however what is lost with web portfolios is the quality of work; scanned items can lose textures and details, high quality images can lose resolution, etc. When designing your online portfolio allow time for yourself to go back and edit work to ensure the quality is preserved when viewing it online. Also when interviewing for your job, do not simply rely of a web portfolio. Print portfolio are always added bonuses for potential employer.

Interesting links I have come across this week:
SxSW Web Awards 2008
SXSW - Designer Portfolio Award Winner - JLern Design

7 - Another Perspective on Portfolios

Once again we are brought back to talking about the importance of our portfolio. From pages 40 – 74 of Designing a Digital Portfolio, Sara Eisenman discusses the usage of print portfolios, job hunting and self-promotion as a designer.

Although I have discussed the importance of a web portfolio in many of my previous posts I also believe that print is just as important. In today’s technologically savvy world almost everyone has easy access to a computer and to the internet however for those few chances that you come across an employer who does not, a print portfolio (Print Portfolio Example) will be life saving. Even when an employer has access online portfolio, a print portfolio can help secure that desired job. An essential part to proper usage of print portfolios is the presentation of that print portfolio.

The first thing to consider when presenting a portfolio is the order of things. According to Eisenman, “The first thing in your portfolio or design box should be a strong sample – a drum roll to get the viewer excited or, at least engages.” As Eisenman continues, the piece should not be your strongest, “”but it needs to catch attention and hold it.” From that point forward your work should be ordered so that it continues to build excitement and anticipation until the final piece, which you show the highlight of your portfolio. An unorganized portfolio can become a difficult puzzle for and employer to decipher.

Once you have developed a successful portfolio it is time for job hunting. The first thing to do is to prepare for your interview; practice possible questions, research potential companies, and review your own work so much so that you are able to talk about your design process in a professional manor. Another integral part in preparing yourself is developing your resume. The first step in creating your resume is to simply include as much as you think may be necessary and later go back and weed through those things that are not so necessary. If you have a professor, advisor or colleague easily accessible they can be a great reference when reviewing your portfolio.

Once you have prepared your portfolio and yourself for that next job interview its time to get your next interview. You have a couple of options when applying for jobs; the two main being you can call and ask for an appointment or you can wait for them to call you. As a new designer it’s your duty to start calling. Waiting for the design work to realize how great your work is unreliable and can take a while. Creating promotional pieces for yourself can help in the job process. Any promotional material will immediately get your name out into the design world and can leave an impression at an interview. Successfully designing for yourself allow you to gain a better understanding of yourself as a designer.

Some more great print portfolio examples:
GraphCom Group / Example 2 / Adrenaline Design

6 - Designing the Portfolio

For the past few weeks I have been ritualistically posting each Thursday morning to my blog. The content of each post has been centered on my portfolio and myself as a designer. Looking back upon earlier posts, I’ve realized that I never discussed what exactly a portfolio is, what it entails, or where it even came from.

What is a portfolio? According to Sara Eisenman’s Building Design Portfolios: Innovative Concepts for Presenting Your Work, “a design portfolio is a grouping of loose sheets collected in a portable case.” This definition has been altered in today’s digital world as present day portfolios “assume the range a range of new forms; websites, motion portfolios, files on disc, portable document format (PDF), and limited edition books or monographs.”

The earliest of design portfolios were type specimen books, or books that showed previously printed type samples if particular type faces and how those samples could be arranged on a page. According to Eisenman, one of the earliest type specimen books is Trissino’s display of Arrighi Italic in 1526. Fast-forward to the mid 20th century and the idea of type design and graphic design has evolved so much so that colleges and universities begin to offer graphic design courses. No longer was design a trade learned through apprenticeship, as it became an art form studied by students and taught by teachers. Today portfolios have continued to evolve with the inclusion online digital displays through websites, work positions on matted boards, multiple formats of artwork including digital and print forms, and elaborate cases to collect all the artists work within.

While the form of portfolio has changed the essential methods to making a successful portfolio have not. When approaching a portfolio the first thing to keep in mind is the audience for which you will present your portfolio. Design your portfolio to satisfy your potential employer. Research your employer and see what work they have used in the past and also listen research the design they are looking to use in the future. Researching your audience shows that you have a definite interest in the position and that you are willing and able to do the work necessary to getting that job.

The next important method to keep in mind is the tone of your portfolio. Ultimately your portfolio is your work and must represent you. Gear your portfolio towards the job that you want but keep in mind another essential method in building portfolios, and that is the range of your portfolio. Maintaining a wide range of work in your portfolio is essential for younger, less experienced designers. Although you may want to work in web design you may be asked to do print design. Ultimately a job is a job when it comes to being a young designer. Any job is a way to get your foot in the door as a young designer and can be the stepping-stone to a better job down the road.

Another important decision when it comes to your portfolio is the presentation of the portfolio. While it seems to be a growing trend to have an online portfolio it doesn’t hurt to have a printed one as well. Printed portfolios, just like online portfolios, can be range from the extremely intricate and elaborate to the simple. A simple form on presenting your portfolio is with the use of poster board. Matting your work on black poster board allows your work to truly stand out against the blank background. Many designers will tell you that this matting process is essential to any interview or presentation. More elaborate designs can include large books with intricate binding, for example Brian Roettinger’s portfolio book Lost and Found.

While I may be rambling onward about portfolios and the pros and cons of using a hard shell or soft shell presentation case the one thing I have been reminded through out all these books I have read and all the classes I have taken, is that it is the work itself which sells an artists. Your work is how the design world will ultimately view you as a designer. The first true process to any portfolio design is to ensure that the work you have is the best that you can do and that you are truly satisfied with it. Once you have truly examined your work and have spent time scrutinizing your own designs it will be easy for you to present them to others.