Many designers will say there are a fair few things to do to land the perfect job. Polish your CV, have a stunning portfolio, prep Q&A for the design company you will be interviewed at and be up to speed on trending design topics. These are all correct of course but it is still surprising to see how many designers actually fail on one or more parts. Let’s look closer at the portfolio aspect and see how you can ensure that this is at its best.
The Design Portfolio – The Holy Grail
We all know rule 101 is to ensure you have a shit hot portfolio! Easier said than done.
You may be in two camps – the first camp being is that you think your work looks horrible, dated and no one in their right mind would hire you. You’re scared of all the talented people out there on Pinterest and Behance and feel you cannot compete.
The second camp being that your over confidence allows you to see every single project of yours in a good light, even that favourite university project that you decide must go in! You think it all looks pretty cool and important to show. Surely that can be put in the portfolio? Well no…
No matter which camp you belong to, it is always hard to critique one’s work. All graphical work is subjective and this should always be at the forefront of your mind when selecting your projects. Projects based around a brief may be easier to discuss as the work has been subject to brand guidelines, set imagery or fonts. As a result, this may give your final graphic work more structure and rigidity, making it easier to explain the reasoning behind your final design. In any case, the truth of the matter is people will still be looking at your work and judging its aesthetics with an emotional response.
So what do you do?
Well the simple answer is to look at it from the agencies point of view. What would they look at and be interested in? What projects have good discussion points that you can confidently speak about? What projects inspire you and have been exciting to work on? The truth is the work you show should be the best of you, your talent, and your thought process.
If it doesn’t meet that criteria it shouldn’t go in. It should be varied and show as many skills as possible, but as cliché as this sounds – quality over quantity is always the right way to go. One way of trying to do this is to show your work to someone else and practice rehearsing and going over your projects with them. This will not only help you to ensure you don’t stutter about a project or waffle on, but it will also help to get an opinion of another person looking at your work for the first time. Another option would be to layout all your projects and let them decide what they like. You will find, it’s mostly certainly a project that you are not so fond of that they like the most.
You also need to have the confidence not to include everything you have ever done. Be confident and remove that 1stbrochure you ever got published, that advert for that first major client you worked with, and have the reassurance that the work you do put forward is of the highest calibre.
Should I present that portfolio that I’ve had for the past five years or should I refresh?
I would always say have a look at your portfolio work and be judgemental. Is it up to date? is it on trend? Or does it need a refresh or an overhaul? Some designers carry huge portfolios with samples of brochures, magazines and printed books, whilst others use a laptop/ iPad. Whilst both are fine to do, I would always opt for the latter and only bring along items that really need to be seen to get the full wow factor. Do not bring tattered or dog-eared publications or magazines that have your work printed. And if you do carry a laptop, I would always carry a cable or dongle that allows you to connect to a TV just in case you’re a lucky enough to be in a room where a larger screen is available. Last but not least, pack your power cable/ battery.
Layout and composition of your work
A good layout and composition can always transform a standard piece of work to an engaging and exciting piece of design. You can do this by showing your work clearly and emphasise key features that perhaps cannot be seen, if shown in its entirety. E.g. texture and grain of a published cover or subtle debossed elements.
Pinterest, Instagram are great ways of seeing how work can be presented and how basic images can be made to look beautiful. For graphic work that has been published, use a good camera to take photos of the piece or hire someone who understands lighting and is able to take Macro shots. If you aren’t able to do this, then look at mock-up’s that you can lay your work on. These are a cheaper alternative and allow you to express your designs through exciting imagery. There are also plenty of free mock-up sites online, but always ensure they look as realistic as possible. If you have a product to present then the same rules apply. Visit our blog on product layout at: chocatee.com/layout-blog.
The focus
Remember, your work is King and everything else is irrelevant. I have seen portfolio spreads with too many distracting elements like side bars, iconography, and thumbnail photos etc. that distract from the work being show. In some instances, a simple caption in a clean font is all you need to sit alongside your artwork and it’s also a great way to jog your memory too when you start to talk about that particular project.
Brand Yourself
You are a walking, talking brand. You you are selling your self to employers. You are presenting yourself in the best possible light and you want them to invest into what you are saying and what you are showing. Therefore, why not promote yourself by establishing a brand. So, what does that mean exactly? Well for me it’s about having a certain colour palette, layout, typography, Info graphic, imagery or layout design that is unique to you. This should be used on all your platforms, be it the online portfolio and CV hardcopy (InDesign PDF and word format). I would even say establishing a logo for yourself would be a good idea. That to an employer would signal that you understand the power of branding and make you look more credible as someone who has commercial awareness.
Also, no matter where you go for an interview, be it Agency or In-house B2B, always dress smart. I’m not saying suit and tie like Harvey Specter, but this does show you are serious and care about presentation.
On my very first job interview, the big boss looked at my shoes, which I though was rather odd. However, in a passing comment a few years later he mentioned that he always looked at the candidates shoes to measure their seriousness. Odd, but maybe just leave those converses for another day.
