This lecture explains a 5 step process for putting together a visual presentation of a body of work.

1. VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE
Written by Rachel Hawkins
Presenting a body
of work
Visual Communication Skills
VDIS10015 - Lecture 5

2. VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5 2
Presenting a body of work is one of the most important skills
required by a graphic designer. It is how a designer shows their
work to their world. The quality and context of a presentation can
impact on how the work is received, perceived and remembered.
What is a ‘Body of work‘?
A ‘body of work’ is a collection of several pieces that
communicate a story.
A body of work is:
• A series of drawings that tell the story of your experimental
phase and process.
• A series of design concepts for a client to review. You might
include your process and sketches in with the concepts to
enrich the narrative.
• A collection of all your personal work in a portfolio to get a job.
• A show at a gallery
• A power-point presentation filled with research,
experimentation and the finished work
All these ‘bodies of work’ are equally deserving of beautiful and
clear presentation.
Presenting a body
of work
What makes a presentation?
The are endless opportunities for how you can present
work. It is up to the designer to be creative and
innovative. Creating a presentation is a design brief in
its own right and should be given due time and energy.
Have a concept run through your presentation will help
to enrich your design as well as assist you in keeping the
design cohesive and consistent.
Your presentation may be limited to one format however
it may reach across several formats. For example, a
good designer presents their portfolio in several ways.
They often have a printed portfolio book, a website
of their work and a leave behind piece to hand out at
interviews. The three pieces together make up the full
comprehensive presentation.
Other presentation format examples are:
Books, Posters, Models, Slideshows, Movies, Printed and
mounted image boards, Websites, Folders etc.
The following pages will outline the step-by-step
process of how to develop a successful presentation.
Throughout this lecture you will see examples of
presentations to help communicate the key concepts
of this lecture.

3. 3VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5
Presentation example - Experimentation & Painting

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Step 1. Develop a concept
A successful presentation is built around a detailed
underlying concept. It is important to develop an overall
presentation concept that encompasses the message
and information you are trying to communicate to your
audience.
What you need to communicate
Your concept may allow you to communicate information
explicitly; plainly and clearly informative with graphs
and tables. Alternatively, your concept may allow you
to present information and messages with subtlety by
expressing a mood and feeling through image and
touch.
First define your information and messages by reviewing
the presentation brief and then apply your creative
thinking skills to develop a unique and achievable
concept.
Your concept and delivery of a presentation should
always reflect your personality, sensibility, motivation
and possibly your sense of humor. The individuality
of your creativity and design work is what sets you
apart and it is important that these aspects are at the
forefront of any presentation.
TELL A STORY
To develop your presentation concept it is helpful
to identify a narrative in your work that can be
communicated. Is it your personal story? A story about
a product? A journey of experimentation? Or possibly a
documentation of time and progress.
PLAY TO YOUR AUDIENCES INTERESTS
Your presentation concept is closely aligned to the
content and purpose of your presentation. The concept
must be appropriate to your audience and this should
be reflected in the format you choose. By knowing your
audiences interests you can develop your concept to
engage and excite your audience.
All the above aspects with result in a complex and
deep concept which will give you layers to work with
in the next steps of developing your presentation. Just
remember that your concept should support your body
of work but not overshadow it.

5. 5VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5
Presentation example - Printed portfolio folder

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step 2. Choose delivery format
Once you have established your concept you can choose
the delivery format for your presentation.
The goals is to be creative and innovative in developing
the delivery method. A good presentation is unique
and engaging. You are free to engage your audience by
appealing to their senses. Don’t limit yourself to eyes and
ears. Touch is extremely powerful in evoking emotion
and memory.
You may choose to use more than one delivery format
and combine methods to communicate different aspects
of your presentation. For example; when presenting
logo concepts you could put together a neat printed
folder containing the three or so logo designs for the
clients review at a meeting. To further excite the clients
imagination, you could also present a slide show with
music that includes images of the logos superimposed
on t-shirts, billboards and bus shelters. This would help
to give the client an emotional response to the ‘vibe’ of
each logo and help them to picture your designs beyond
the 2D page in front of them.
When selecting your presentation methodology it must
be based on the intended purpose of the presentation.
There is no point in having a brilliant looking
presentation that doesn’t communicate the process and
ideas in your work.
The delivery method you choose should cater to diverse
tastes, interests and be widely accessible. You don’t want
to create a high tech presentation that an older executive
can’t work out how to view or use music that is appealing
to a very small group of people, eg. Metal.
Some ideas for delivery formats are; 3D prints, e-book,
websites, movies, slideshows, books, posters, models,
printed and mounted image boards, folders.
These common formats can be packaged in creative ways to
give them a new and unique feel and look.
Once you have selected your delivery format it is
important to take a moment to review and evaluate
your choices to make sure you are happy. Evaluate you
delivery format in line with your concept. Do the two
correlate or conflict. Could you make it better? Is it
accessible? Will it appeal to diverse tastes?

7. 7VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5
http://www.onlinemarketizing.com/marketing/images/indice-ecotech-onlinemarketizing-design-portfolio.jpg
Presentation example - Branding design Poster

8. VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5 8
Step 3. Select content
To develop a cohesive presentation you need to select
the appropriate content that will best communicate your
message.
The idea is not to automatically include every drawing,
every piece of information and every ounce of research
but rather selectively choose the aspects of your work
that will present the final message best.
When selecting content you need to consider the
length of your presentation. How long can you hold
your audiences attention and communicate all the
information? The challenge is finding a balance between
keeping your audience engaged and communicating the
message thoroughly.
Choose the right content
It is important to include a breadth of work examples
for each part of your presentation. This is the part of the
presentation that sells you and your talent. You need to
communicate your concept, the narrative in your work
and the skill required in producing the work by choosing
appropriate content. Choose pieces that communicate
your message best and are cohesive when viewed
together as a body of work. The body of work should
demonstrate your all-round experience. If required
involve other people to help you choose the content.
Often people view personal work very differently.
show your work in context
Some pieces of work in your presentation may require
explanation. In this case you should include a short
description of the work or show additional images that
give context. You don’t want your presentation to be
ambiguous as it might result in the wrong message being
understood.
OWNERSHIP
It is important that your presentation is ‘yours’ and filled
with original work. As a designer you have an ethical and
legal obligation to copyright laws. If you are including
sourced content like information, quotes or images you
must document the original source in the presentation.
When doing portfolio presentations it is fine to include
work from group projects. In this instance you need to
give credit to the project collaborators. This is a common
occurrence in the industry.

9. 9VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5
http://blog.fidmdigitalarts.com/fidm-graphic-design-student-association-hosts-portfolio-night/
Presentation example - print & Digital Magazine

10. VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5 10
Step 4. Develop a plan and Design!
As discussed in Lecture 3 it is best practice to manage
your design projects to achieve the best results.
Designing a presentation is a project in its own right.
Use your management skills to set a realistic budget,
timeline and work flow plan. Identify the required
resources including your time to complete the project.
In Step 3 you determined the work/content to be
included in your presentation. In this phase you will need
to plan and execute the presentation.
You need to establish if you will include the original
works or if they are better photographed. Photographing
the work helps to make the size manageable and
protects the originals for future presentations. Scanning
can achieve the same outcome.
Plan and consider the structure of your presentation. The
flow of the information. Do you need a contents page?
What about page numbers?
Once you have completed the planning of your
presentation and are ready to begin the execution it is a
good opportunity to review your timeline and budgets.
Make sure you have enough time to complete your
presentation and that you haven’t been over ambitious.
Consider your proposed monetary investment in the
presentation. Is it appropriate? Will it blow out?
When creating a personal portfolio the budget can easily
blow up with printers, paper and card. Be clever with
your planning in these sorts of projects.

11. 11VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5
Presentation example - folder of samples

12. VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5 12
step 5. evaluate your presentation
As a designer we always come back to self-evaluation for
self-development purposes.
When the presentation is done, take a step back from
your it and ask the following questions:
• Is your concept evident?
• Does the content support the concept?
• Is the presentation aesthetically appealing?
• Does the presentation flow?
• Does the presentation appeal to a diverse audience?
• Is the message clearly communicated?
• Is the message explicit or implicit?
• Does the content have context?
• Will the presentation engage the audience?
• Is the presentation length appropriate?
• Is your personality evident?
• Does it sell you?
Show your presentation to the people around you to get
feedback. They don’t have to be designers. Sometimes
it is better to get feedback from people that aren’t
designers because they see things differently.
Evaluate the feedback you have gathered and identify
the strengths and weaknesses of your presentation.
Identify any aspects of your presentation that could be
refined and improved.
Think of this step as the opportunity to give your
presentation a trial run. It is the time to work out the
kinks and make improvements.

13. 13VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5
Presentation example - Printed Portfolio

14. 14VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5
Presentation example - body of textile work

15. 15VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: Visual Communication Skills, VDIS10015 - Lecture 5
Presentation example - Portfolio website