PERFECT YOUR PORTFOLIO
You know you're good, but how to convince others? This is where to go to find out how to create that award-winning portfolio that will really help to get you noticed. Learn inside secrets from how to mount and display your work in ways that grab attention, to how to present each piece both physically and visually. It's all here!
SS1 would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to DIGIT Magazine for letting us use their previously published words of wisdom... happy reading!
A portfolio is your passport to a brighter, happier future - or a one-way ticket to full-time frustration when it comes to landing that dream design job. Digit spoke to the industry's top creative directors, and unearthed the portfolio pitfalls to avoid.
Many young designers find it hard to believe that they may actually be able to earn a living doing something they love. Yet, getting that first break into one of the most dynamic, deeply competitive industries in the UK is not just your launch pad into your future career, but also a continuation of the learning process itself.
Even the most practised and skilled creatives find landing a job stressful, which is where having a great portfolio can open doors - and keep them open. Portfolios - or books - are a vital tool. In the early stages of your career, or if you're an established staffer considering a career change, they're the only tool you have aside from your personality and natural creativity. According to The Creative Group, some 63 per cent of creative directors and studio heads said they considered a portfolio the single most important factor when hiring creative talent.
Frustratingly for newcomers to the creative industry, the world of creative agencies is not a job-hunters market. In a world where advertisers and corporations are moving 80 per cent of their design business in-house, where belts are tightening as budgets fall, and where anyone equipped with a computer and a DTP or DV package thinks they're a designer or editor, standing out from the crowd can be tough.
If you are to do more than simply make up the numbers, you'll have to cut through the noise. Your portfolio of work must become a homing beacon that lures the best directors on the lookout for tomorrow's bright young things.
There are three stages to creating the perfect portfolio - each equally important. Skimp on one, and you flunk them all. Creating an exciting showcase of your work means care in its preparation and the considered selection of its content, plus a strategy for building the thing. Even then - after agonizing over the detail - you're still not done. Crunch time is in the presentation of the portfolio, and keeping your nerve during the follow-up.
Prepare your portfolio
The process of building a portfolio is the most intense part of advancing (or starting) your career. There is a whole swirl of vital questions that can make it a fraught process. How many pieces should I include? What if I have loads of work? What if I don't have enough? Which pieces should make the cut? Here are some guidelines that will boost your book.
Less is more Every designer has volumes of work. Choose around ten pieces of your best work that really show off your skill. Research by The Creative Group reckons that art directors typically know whether someone is qualified after just nine pieces.
Be critical of yourself Simply put, you have room for only ten pieces, so do not include anything that is compromised in any way. This is especially true for multimedia designers, where technical errors can blow it.
It's all about impact Within the pieces you choose, you need to select three wow-factor pieces. Place a blockbuster at the front of the portfolio, revive interest with a piece placed in the centre, and leave 'em wanting more by ending on a high note.
Don't give too many details As helpful as it may seem, avoid including numerous versions of the same piece of work - it's confusing for the viewer, and can also detract from the completed work. Generally, it's best to stick in only the finished piece and talk about how you arrived at it.
Select for the job Regardless of the job you're applying for - photographer, illustrator, interactive designer - place in your portfolio only those samples that match the job you're applying for. You can always add other work that is good - but not relevant - in a separate section at the back of the book to show how versatile you are.
Explain yourself Include work that you can explain the brief, challenges, and your role in its creation. They should also be pieces you are enthusiastic about, and that you can expand upon verbally if asked.
Next Page
