Save Time, Save Me

Sara Eiseman couldn’t be more straight forward when she said “organization isn’t sexy, but it will make your life easier” in the book Digital Design Portfolio. Well she couldn’t be more right. I have to admit that I stay away from organization like the plague or an angry ex girlfriend. For me, organization is like going to the dentist, I know that its necessary, but I am still going to cancel the appointment two or three times and I will only end up going when my teeth hurt.

Sara focuses her organization on his it pertains to Digital Portfolios. Before you can assemble your portfolio you obviously need to organize your work. You cant build a portfolio if you don’t know what you are going to include. For me this starts at actually gathering my work. Thankfully unlike the dentist metaphor I am extremely poinent about backing up my work, two or three times preferably.

As most or all of my work is on the computer I was able to organize it into files depending on the application with in a matter of hours. In fact this has surprisingly been the quickest thing that I have done for my portfolio so far. It took me longer to set up my website template then to get the work to put in it.

Resume, plain and simple, or so I thought

So when I started my resume I though that I knew what I was doing. I had attended resume workshop in the business school, I had slaved over my mission statement and neatly organized my credentials in tables on Microsoft Word. I had even set up my recommendations in advance. That concept of a resume however went right out the window the second I walked into the door in Pattie Belle’s class. 

Now this resume is coming close to being my arch enemy. I am currently on the twelfth draft and I still hate each one. Since when was there color, design elements and logos on a resume. What madness is this? 

After reading the section in Building Design Portfolios I do feel as though I have to tools in order to create a great design resume. I have to admit that the idea of expressing myself visually and not just in black Times Roman font type does appeal to me. The pressure though of actually getting exactly what I want down on paper is starting to take a toll. I find myself second guessing every decision and then once I print that decision, well needless to say I am back to square one. 

In the end however like I have said time and time again, the resume, just like the design portfolio (both web and print), are only tools. These tools are going to do nothing but get my foot in the door. The real aspect of getting a job comes down to the interview. Now no matter how much you actually practice for an interview, going through sample question after question, even practicing a mock interview, you cant be certain how it is going to go. This lack of control to an extent is what intimidates me the most. 

One thing I have decided to do and have ordered are my leave behinds. I am going to be doing Moo Cards. From the second I saw them in class I knew thats exactly what I wanted to do. I love the idea of leaving behind almost a thumbnail of your work for something to keep. This tool allows me to showcase my work without actually showing anything. Thumbnails leave so much to a persons mind that it is amazing how different people can generate different images with a well done thumb nail. 

What To Do

Throughout this semester I have focused the majority of my blogs on my design portfolio. What is it going to look like, how is it going feel, what is the navigation like. Looking back however I never started answered the most simple question. What is an actual design portfolio?

Sara Eisenman focuses the majority of her chapter on this main issue. Not answering so much what a design portfolio was, but what it is today. Design portfolios have evolved over the years. In todays digital age with the mass acceptance of the internet application like safari and firefox have replaced the print portfolio, which was the once commonly excepted form of a graphic design portfolio. 

With this being said however I could not help but wonder why do a print portfolio at all. Although I obviously need my portfolio to bring to a perspective client or employer doesn't the practice of assembling a print portfolio seem outdated to an extent.

Even with this in mind I took a trip to Hulls this week in New Haven to check out the print portfolios they offered. Keeping Sara Eisenman’s suggestions in mind regarding hard shell or soft shell, complex or simple, or even color choice. I couldn't help to compare myself, as embarrassed as I am to admit this, to Harry Potter picking out a wand. In the end I decided that I to set everything I had learned to the side and pick out a portfolio that defined who I was. What better way to show a potential employer who I was then to have a portfolio that expressed me. In the end I went with a black leather case, soft shell, that fit my clean image I wanted, but still allowed me to explore with very forgiving layout pages. 

Ultimately my print portfolio, just like my web-portfolio is just going to be another tool in order to get my foot in the door. Over the last couple weeks however I have really started to turn inward more, focusing on deciding what exactly I want to be. Here I am a senior in college and I am trying to figure out exactly what I want to do with myself. Do I want to be a graphic designer, do I want to be a motion artist. Funny how I have spent four years in college working on getting my major just to realize now that I have no idea what I want to do. 

Hello Again

After finishing Building Design Portfolios I have to admit, my head is spinning. After exploring just about every option possible I have finally ordered my alternative portfolio. To say that this was a journey within itself is an understatement. Now all I need to do is actually construct it, so basically I am at step one.

The portfolio that stood out the most to me was a graphic designer named Will Staehle. What I liked so much about his portfolio was how he integrated his own work into the actual presentation of his case. He used different elements from his work to put on his portfolio which gave you a sample of his work before you even open his case. This is something that I want to integrate into my own portfolio. I really want to focus on the packaging and presentation of my portfolio not just the work itself. This is something that most people according to Adrian Shaughnessy, forget to do. 

On a more positive note however my digital portfolio is done. Although Sara Eiseman suggests to do your digital portfolio in html because some people who are viewing your website might not have flash, I have respectfully decided against it. I have to admit that I am going with what I feel most comfortable with. 

One area that I know I need work in however is my written content. As I start to write the descriptions for my work I find that I more and more start to developer my work as I write. Writ ting about your own work has a cathartic feel for me. I was taken back at first how much thought goes into each different element of my design. 

El Kitsch Tasso

In East Germany in the 1980's the sale or distribution of spray paint was illegal. Politicans and goverment officals were fearful that people would go around spray painting propaganda images or political signs. In this time of goverment control however lived an artist named El Kitsch Tasso. More of an artist then a street tagger his work to this day is some of the most photographed graffiti art of our time. It was not until 1991 that he was able to legaly spray pain his first peice when markers and materials became available again. He specializes in still life lifes, focusing on nature and what is commonly reffered to as enviormental art. "I am not afraid of diversifying my technique and developing from the brush and the airbrush. All that matters in the end is the quality of the piece."

Graffiti World

My personal favorite graffiti artist has to be hands down  Inkie. He is credited as one of the first British artist and was actually the first graffiti artists I ever came across. His work incorporates a strong blend of elaborate colors and gradients all blending together in a harmonious mixture of art. The one strong visual element that he brings to the game is a the mixture of both figures and typography. This mixture brings his work to life and goes beyond the element of just art and adds personality to each painting. His work isn't just visually appealing it actually tells a story. His work alone is credited with inspiring Wild Style and Beat Street. Inkie has now tagged about every street in London and his work can be seen up and down the coast. 

Week Three

There is a reason that the saying most commonly associated with an artist is “Starving Artist.” Job security, although possible in bigger design firms, is not why people get into this field. Although design firms just like every other industry have lay offs and massive hirings, as mentioned in “How To Become A Graphic Designer With Out Loosing Your Soul” they do not offer the job security that most people desire. But in the end as in any profession, talent purists. If you are talented enough and are a hard enough worker you will be able to find your knitch in this exclusive community. 

The best resource that you have as a designer is your portfolio. Your portfolio is your non verbal expression to either your client or design firm who you are and what you are about. Your portfolio is your best promotional tool. It must speak to the clients in a family and unique way. Two adjectives that usually are not linked together. 

Another thing that these sections, both in How To Not Loose Your Soul  and Digital Design Portfolio, focuses on is exploiting your connections. Every contact could be your key to the next big break or lead. The unique thing about the design field is it is BOTH who you know and what you can do. As we have learned your entire portfolio comes down to the first impression which in many times is the smallest (by dimension) detail. Your Logo. Think of famous logos, Apple, Ve

rizon, Target, they all are branded by that logo. With that logo comes a certain standard that each company sets. Now I am not going to go and compare Apple to Target, but within that logo each company has is the defining aspect of their company. My logo which I create (after around 200 designs) is going to define me. If this is going to be the first impression that my clients and my boss has I want to make sure its the strongest I can present. Although it is important to shape to your environment and client, the logo is the one area that has to be and will be, the defining image of my personality.