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Design Portfolio Bootcamp - Essentials for Career Building
- 1. 1 / 9 Design Portfolio Bootcamp Summer of Tech
- 2. 1 / 9 Design Portfolio Bootcamp Summer of Tech Hi from Dave & Matt Tonight we’re going to cover 3 essentials for career building ● Designing a great Portfolio (Get a job) ● Working in a Team (Keep that job) ● Designing for Others (Aim for the next job) Dave Sparks Owner dave@sparksinteractive.co.nz Matt Algie Creative Director matt@sparksinteractive.co.nz
- 3. 2 / 9 What even is a portfolio? Not just a pretty picture Less of this More of this The one on the left is very beautiful but the one on the right tells us more about the thought process of the designer
- 4. 2 / 9 What even is a portfolio? Showing process and problem solving Potential employers want to see how you arrived at a solution. Include prototypes, wireframes and even rough sketches
- 5. 2 / 9 What even is a portfolio? Sell yourself and your abilities Student portfolios are about showing off the work you are most proud of. Be confident, sell yourself and your abilities and give it your best shot
- 6. 3 / 9 Best foot forward Simply the best Select your strongest work, 6 to 12 pieces is about right, don’t use your portfolio as an archive of everything you’ve ever designed
- 7. 3 / 9 Best foot forward Mix it up Go for a variety of work but make sure it all works together cohesively. The pieces should flow nicely from one to the next
- 8. 3 / 9 Best foot forward Non-client work is ok It’s ok to include side projects and other non client work. Jessica Hische features illustration and lettering personal projects in her portfolio
- 9. 3 / 9 Best foot forward Looking a bit empty? Do some research on a company you find interesting and create a campaign for their brand. You’ll probably learn some new tricks along the way
- 10. 3 / 9 Best foot forward Freelance if you have the opportunity Do a few freelance jobs if you get the opportunity - just be honest about being a student. Avoid websites like Fiverr & Upwork, they don’t respect the true value of design. Even your worst logo is worth more than $5. Far better to approach family and friends with the offer of mates rates or do a neighbourhood letterbox drop. Internships are also great opportunities to practice your skills and build your portfolio.
- 11. 3 / 9 Best foot forward Fake it until you make it Even the big kids do fake projects - check out the link to this case study by Fantasy Interactive
- 12. 3 / 9 Best foot forward To include or not to include “If this is the only project a potential employer saw, would they be seeing my best work?” Unlikely David Carson ever showed this at a job interview
- 13. 4 / 9 What, why and how? What makes your portfolio different? Hiring managers probably see portfolio after portfolio from your classmates with the same student projects in them. What makes yours different?
- 14. 4 / 9 What, why and how? Why did you create your portfolio projects? Write case studies for your projects that explain why you approached them the way you did, what your process was and how it all turned out
- 15. 4 / 9 What, why and how? How were your portfolio projects created? Talk about any user research you performed, demonstrate your understanding of the requirements and show your sketches and wireframes
- 16. 4 / 9 What, why and how? Show your process & fill in any gaps
- 17. 4 / 9 What, why and how? What were the results?
- 18. 5 / 9 Make it personal Show who you are and how you think Prospective employers want to know what makes you different from the other candidates
- 19. 5 / 9 Make it personal Tell a compelling story Go beyond the projects and give a sense of who is behind them. This comprehensive Bike Share case study by Simon Pan is an excellent story
- 20. 5 / 9 Make it personal Share your personality Don't be afraid to share your personality in your portfolio projects - showing you’re a fun person is sometimes more important than your actual skill
- 21. 5 / 9 Make it personal Embrace the freestyle fun of student projects Unlike most real-world projects you’ll encounter later on in your career, student projects are generally free from constraints, have some fun!
- 22. 5 / 9 Make it personal Show that you’ve worked with others Behance makes this easy with the multiple owners mechanic - get your friends together and start posting some projects
- 23. 5 / 9 Make it personal Personal branding - don’t let it overpower or distract from the work
- 24. 6 / 9 Practical tips Show the product in context Less of this More of this
- 25. 6 / 9 Practical tips Make it interesting Don’t follow the same format for every project, think about what style of presentation is best for each piece. Consider resources like Lstore
- 26. 6 / 9 Practical tips Avoid elaborate animation Keep it clean, simple and non-distracting and let the viewer click through at their pace
- 27. 6 / 9 Practical tips Proof read & sense check Nothing destroys your credibility faster than a portfolio full of grammatical errors and misspellings
- 28. 6 / 9 Practical tips Get a second opinion You’ve looked at your work a hundred times and no longer see the details so before you finish your portfolio, get another set of eyes on it
- 29. 6 / 9 Practical tips Perfection can wait
- 30. 7 / 9 Platforms Behance - Free - Probably the best solution for most grads Dribbble - Free - Has somewhat lost its aura in recent years Build your own - Not necessary for designers but shows initiative Wordpress - Some ok free themes Wix - Ok but lacks design polish & street cred Instagram/Facebook - Good secondary promo channel but difficult to show/tell process Squarespace - Popular with creatives but monthly payments are extravagant
- 31. 8 / 9 Being part of a team There is no i in teim Do the work Get help and learn how to improve
- 32. 9 / 9 Designing for others Feedback is no picnic Take a deep breath and wave goodbye Make it work, but make sure it works for your portfolio
- 33. ------ Design Portfolio Bootcamp Summer of Tech Thanks for listening Remember these 3 essentials for career building ● Designing a great Portfolio (Get a job) ● Working in a Team (Keep that job) ● Designing for Others (Aim for the next job) Dave Sparks Owner dave@sparksinteractive.co.nz Matt Algie Creative Director matt@sparksinteractive.co.nz
Editor's Notes
- Portfolios are not just a bunch of pretty pictures. They should be rich case studies that talk about the design process of each project. The one on the left looks very beautiful with it’s colourful flourishes but the one on the right tells me more about the thought process of the designer
- Potential employers want to see how you arrived at a solution, especially at these early stages of your career. Include prototypes, wireframes and even rough sketches. Prove that you can solve a design problem and you’ll prove that you’re worth employing.
- Student portfolios are about showing off the work you are most proud of. It’s like meeting the parents of your significant other for the first time, nerve-wracking, but if you have to do it you may as well go all out. Be confident, sell yourself and your abilities and give it your best shot
- You should only select your strongest pieces, It may be tempting to put every class assignment you've ever done in your portfolio just to fill it, but there’s a risk that a couple of average pieces will spoil the overall impression. Employers want to see a variety of work though, Dave would probably want to see more than 3 or 4. I think 6 to 12 pieces is about right - just don’t use your portfolio as an archive of everything you’ve ever designed.
- Go for a variety of work but make sure it all works together cohesively. The pieces should flow nicely from one to the next
- Personal projects and other non client work is ok to include. Jessica Hische includes illustrations and lettering from her personal projects.
- Employers will take into account the fact you’re fresh out of design school and have minimal experience but your portfolio doesn’t need to be limited to your classwork. Do some research on a company you find interesting and create a campaign that you think would be effective for their brand. You’ll benefit from the exercise and probably learn some new tricks along the way.
- I fully recommend doing a few freelance jobs if you get the opportunity - just be honest about being a student. Avoid websites like Fiverr & Upwork, they don’t respect the true value of design. Even your worst logo is worth more than $5. It’s far better to approach family and friends with the offer of mates rates or do a neighbourhood letterbox drop. Internships are also great opportunities to practice your skills and build your portfolio.
- Designing a fake marketing campaign for a company you like or perhaps a favourite band is good way to practice your skills and create work to showcase. Even the big kids do fake projects - check out this amazing case study by Fantasy Interactive - I’ll put this file up on slideshare so you can click on the links some time :)
- A quick gut check to determine whether or not you should include something is— ‘if this is the only project a potential employer saw, would they be seeing my best work?’ This image is by David Carson, renown designer of the 90s. It’s unlikely he ever showed it at a job interview
- Try to see your portfolio through a hiring manager’s eyes; they probably see portfolio after portfolio from your classmates with the same student projects in them. What makes yours different? Sometimes relating your work to a personal experience helps set it apart.
- Write case studies for your projects that explain why you approached them the way you did, what your process was and how it all turned out. Help the audience become more emotionally interested in your work by providing a reason for its existence, who commissioned it, what were the business goals, were they achieved
- How did you come up with the idea, who else worked on the project. As a designer you’ll be judged in large part by your process. As you describe the problem and eventual solution, walk people through the process you took to get there. Talk about any user research you performed, demonstrate your understanding of the requirements and show your sketches and wireframes.
- If you look through your process docs (that includes research, sketches, renderings, wireframes, prototypes) and find that you are missing some steps in between, fill in the gaps to round out your project and story.
- What were the results? End your project by referencing it back to the problem statement and talk about how you did (or didn’t) accomplish your goals. How were results measured and how successful was it? If you can’t get real data—and it’s hard for student projects—interview your users to get an idea on whether or not your design achieves its desired outcome.
- What impression about yourself do you want to get across to the audience? Prospective employers want to know what makes you different from the other candidates
- Make sure your portfolio goes beyond the projects and gives the reader a sense of who is behind them. This Bike Share case study by Simon Pan is an excellent story, check it out the link later
- Don't be afraid to share your personality in your portfolio projects and on your About page as well — being a fun person who people enjoy working with is just as important (sometimes more important) than your actual skill.
- Unlike most real-world projects you’ll encounter later on in your career, student projects are generally free from constraints. This provides an excellent framework to have some fun and showcase what makes you stand out as a designer
- When someone interviews you, they don’t know what it’s like to work with you… until they do work with you. So as a substitute, show that you’ve worked with others. This real-world experience demonstrates your character—it shows that you can work with a team of stakeholders, under deadlines and constraints. Behance makes this easy with the multiple owners mechanic - get your friends together and start posting some projects
- A personal logo sometimes helps set your portfolio apart from the others but don’t let it overpower or distract from the work. Proceed with caution on this one!
- Beautiful product renderings on a white background are very visually appealing but they leave out the most important part of a design: that humans use it! Showing the product being used demonstrates an understanding of the bigger picture and helps the audience understand how your concept would be used by real people.
- Don’t follow the same format for every project, think about what style of presentation is best for each piece. If it’s physical work (printed collateral or packaging), invest in good photography. If it’s visual design for an app, show it on a device. For an onboarding flow, include an interactive prototype. These days there are some great websites that offer free or cheap mockups, this Lstore one is a good place to get started https://free.lstore.graphics
- Go easy on the animation! Unless you’re going for an animation job of course. Keep it clean, simple and non-distracting and let the viewer click through at their pace.
- Does it flow, read well and look professional. Nothing destroys your credibility faster than a portfolio full of grammatical errors and misspellings. Not proofing your content is a warning sign that your other work habits are potentially sloppy too
- Before you finalize your portfolio, get another set of eyes on it. You’ve looked at your work a hundred times and no longer see the details. Getting someone else’s reaction and opinion can make all the difference.
- Lastly, don’t think your portfolio needs to be perfect or needs to be the absolute best thing anyone has ever seen. It will change over your career as you continually improve on your previous work. If anything, when you look back at your first portfolio in a few years you’ll probably laugh at how basic it was. It’s a natural progression that means you are learning, growing and continually producing better work.