01 Gathering your content: Make sure you have all of your raw files (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, 300 dpi photo’s).
Organize them all into a folder and maybe even sub folders within that; sketches, type, print, web.
02 Building a layout: You can build your layout in what ever program you want but I would suggest InDesign. It will help keep things organized and this is just the kind of project it’s meant for.
Focus on Consistency:
All projects should have a title, date, application (magazine spread, website, etc), description and or ‘challenge & solution’(and possibly roughs, work throughs and alternate versions).
Consistent spacing around images, text, borders, consistent FX (drop shadows, transparencies, etc). The elements on your page will be different dimensions, the text different lengths it’s your job to make it look consistent.
Design it as part of your identity system. Everything from your portfolio, business card, website, stationary (resume cover, letter, contacts and invoices) should look like they belong together. How you achieve this is up to you, think about your elements (logo placement, text, font’s, color’s, spacing, paper choice) and work with them.
Remember, your portfolio layout shouldn’t detract from your work it should be the frame around your work.
03 Selecting the right work: Clients and employers hire you not because you can make type look pretty or because you can render beautiful illustrations. They hire you to solve problems, their problem’s. “it’s not about being clever; it’s about finding the truth that connects the product to the user” -Wayne Best, KBP creative director (the truth can be clever though).
Having technical skill, talent and style are important, but without strong ideas and concepts they will always fall flat. Substance over style. “People don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it” -Simon Sinek
04 Placing your work: When it comes to actually putting your work into the format you’ve built you want to again be consistent. If business cards are actual size in one spread they should be the same in the next. Same goes for interactive/ web work. If your doing screen shots use a browser border with the same aspect ratio for all of them. A common mistake in portfolios is images that are too small or too few. People want to see detail, consider spreading a project out over a number of spreads (really important if you only have a few projects)
05 Size and Resolution: Most times emailing your portfolio won’t be an option (usually mailboxes don’t accept anything over 5MB) but you do have a few options. Send them a link to your website and/or make a pdf download link available online. You can downsize your images when saving your pdf in InDesign (72dpi) but let the person know it is a screen resolution version. There are also services like ‘yousendit’ to email large files without having to worry about mailbox capacity.
06 Print it: Print off a few pages to check font size, type contrast, leading, kerning, hierarchy, color, spacing. Also do rough print out’s of all your text to check for grammar, missing words and flow. After all this is done do a thorough re read and SPELL CHECK, there’s nothing quite as embarrassing as having a potential employer point out an avoidable error in something you’ve created.
07 Review it: Flip through it and be critical. Is this your best work, can you make it better, if so do it. If you don’t love it fix it or take it out. If you don’t have enough of the work you want to do, make it. Go over it with anyone you know in the field. Always veer on ‘less is more’, only put in only your best work. Make it relevant to the position your applying for. Maybe you’ll need 2 or 3 portfolio’s or maybe you’ll just include a section in the back of unrelated design work. Either way make sure what they see first is work that is relevant to the job.
08 Research: Do your research! If you’re applying for a job know what they’re looking for and what they’ll want to see from you. An potential employer will be investing allot of time and money into you so do your research; what they’ve done, what are they’re doing, what type of businesses they deal with. You don’t want to waste their time or they will remember you but for the wrong reason. You might end up applying for a job there again at another point and they will have a file on you.
09 Practice speaking about your work: Don’t just explain how you made the work or what programs you used, explain your idea’s and inspiration. Being able to talk about you work to employers and clients is key, they want to know you can put thoughts into words and what your thought process is. It also gives you an opportunity to give them an insight they might not see at first glance.
What was the challenge and how did you solve it, why did you choose to execute this idea in that way, how you got that message or content to the surface. What was the outcome, did it increase sales, generate more interest, how did your solution benefit the client.
10 Be prepared: Just like the boy scouts and girls guides always be prepared (and never make excuses why your not). Have your portfolio ready to go at all times, you never know when your going to get a call (have a blank resume and business cards ready too).
11 Portfolio Cases: There are allot of options out there, really it’s about the work that’s in it though. You don’t have to spend allot. That being said a good quality portfolio case is an investment and will serve you (and the environment) better over the years. Also think about other options for printing your portfolio, maybe you want to make it a book, a magazine? There are allot of great cheap options for self publishing and binding (lulu.com). Just weigh the pro’s and con’s.
12 Keep learning: Develop your work after you’ve graduated. If you’re not good at drawing take a life drawing class, if your type is week buy some typography books, if your going to be dealing with clients maybe you need a business class. You’re never going to know everything but you can always be better.
*download the full PDF, includes more information (and some pretty illustrations)
