Today I went to the Tetley for Craft Studio's portfolio workshop. The event couldn't have come at a better time as I have an interview coming up for iTunes that specifies I must bring with me my most up to date portfolio and I only currently have a website. I was hoping to get some advice on the best way to lay out my work and how many annotations to put in the presentation and any other tips on the layout and flow. At the event, I got the chance to present my work to 2 designers, Chris and Dan.
Dan gave me some great advice on how I should lay out my portfolio and also how to bookend the slides with an opening and finishing slide. He then suggested using the same flow and layout across each of the different projects for continuity. He also showed me a few good examples of previous designers portfolios that he thought were well executed.
When it came to talking him through my portfolio, he said to make sure not to go through the work too quickly and not just assume that because you're presenting to designers they automatically know your design decisions. This may be your 20th time looking and talking about the work however to the person you're talking through it, this is their first time ever seeing it or hearing about the brief so taking it all in takes a lot longer and every design decision still needs to be explained clearly.
He said that all my work was neatly presented and looked really professional and that the way I talked through the work gave off the impression that I took pride in what I'd produced and that it really shone through.
We then swapped around and I showed my portfolio to Chris. He found my Danny DeVito publication really funny and said it was a great way to start the portfolio because it broke the ice, allowed my personality to shine through and would be really memorable to employers, helping me stand out against other applicants. He also said that the way I spoke through each project was really good as I was very clear and concise, covering what the project was, the challenges the brief presented and how and why I responded to it in the way that I did. He said my portfolio was really good but if possible I should break up the illustration a bit with more 'design' work as my HUB project was really good but at the moment it's like a stand-alone piece. He said not to worry that my work was not very digital because most of the time employers are looking for bright, enthusiastic ideas people because at the end of the day they already have 1000's of employees who can make an app better than you can.
The workshop was a fantastic opportunity to have a practice run talking through my work with designers who had never seen it before and also made me realise which images I'd missed out and needed to include in the presentation such as full views of the BEAR cards and the Danny DeVito book as a concertina. When I get to my competition entry slides I should introduce them as the winning entry as both designers asked how I'd got on in the competition. Overall it was a really beneficial experience and I now feel really prepared for my upcoming interview.
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