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- Thread starter macgfxdesigner
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Matt, I've seen quite a bit of your work here over the last year or more, and I have to say that I like your work more than I like your portfolio. This is both great, and not so great. 
It's great because that means you do good work. It's not so great because it means that your portfolio isn't showing that, at least to the level it could.
There are a couple things I would do:
It's great because that means you do good work. It's not so great because it means that your portfolio isn't showing that, at least to the level it could.
There are a couple things I would do:
- Make all your portfolio pages the same size. This will mean scaling up or down some of your work. It would be nice to have a "plate" to view each of these pieces on- a medium gray would work great. In your physical book, I'd keep the actual pieces in there, because touching the work is so very important, but you can't do that with an electronic copy anyway, so sizing up or down things won't hurt *nearly* as much.
- I'd work on designing your résumé. As of right now, it doesn't feel like you have a "look" at all, and feels like it was assembled in Word. This is great for nearly every other profession...but your job isn't any other profession. Your résumé should say something about you.
Matt, I've seen quite a bit of your work here over the last year or more, and I have to say that I like your work more than I like your portfolio. This is both great, and not so great.
It's great because that means you do good work. It's not so great because it means that your portfolio isn't showing that, at least to the level it could.
Thank you for the great compliment and about the work not showing the level "I could do" that is one of the reasons I am looking for a new job, my current job is 100% template driven designed by me about 3 years, my boss has my in a bubble creatively and won't let me out of it. I need to spread my wings and grow and use my full creative abilities.
There are a couple things I would do:
I like your suggestions, going to work on it and about the resume, it was designed in illustrator but kept very traditional I have read resumes need to be simple straight to the point... nothing fancy
- Make all your portfolio pages the same size. This will mean scaling up or down some of your work. It would be nice to have a "plate" to view each of these pieces on- a medium gray would work great. In your physical book, I'd keep the actual pieces in there, because touching the work is so very important, but you can't do that with an electronic copy anyway, so sizing up or down things won't hurt *nearly* as much.
- I'd work on designing your résumé. As of right now, it doesn't feel like you have a "look" at all, and feels like it was assembled in Word. This is great for nearly every other profession...but your job isn't any other profession. Your résumé should say something about you.
I like your suggestions, going to work on it
and about the resume, it was designed in illustrator but kept very traditional I have read resumes need to be simple straight to the point... nothing fancy
I like your suggestions, going to work on it
not exactly.
resumes, especially for a designer, need to show a mastery of typography and information design. they need to be very very readable, very very clear and very well executed. no offense, but yours is none of those things. resumes do not need to be superfluous, or ornamental, but they do not need to be generic looking either, which is what yours looks like; it looks like a generic word template. it looks tossed together, with little hierarchy and consideration for page composition or typeface choice. the type to me looks very large and horsey, and basically the whole thing is very unsophisticated.
what i would do it go make a document in indesign with two lines of text and try 100 different combinations of 2 typefaces to see what works best together. i personally use Interstate small caps and Sabon for my faces as i think they play off each other really well. next you should look to set up a couple of clear columns on the page where the text should live. you should look carefully at your leading; and also be very, very aware of details such as old style figures, the weights (and shape) of your bullet points, the weight of your hang-line, etc..
as far as your portfolio goes, you should have 10-12 of your best pieces; 15 at the absolute outside. a portfolio is NOT an archive of all of your work, it is a slice of your work that you feel best represents your strengths and interests. if you want to have an expanded portfolio to show people at a face-to-face interview then you can consider that. A portfolio is NOT an electronic document of all the work you have done in whatever format and orientation they happen to be in made into a PDF in acrobat. that is a collection of stuff. a portfolio is a short story about you work, and needs to live inside a designed, considered space (document/pdf/website/book/whatever). all the work for Shane looks basically the same and should be pared WAY down. i would rather see a portfolio with just 6 great pieces than with 12 pieces, 6 of which are great and 6 nearly identical, somewhat generic looking ones. you also do not need to title the sections as freelance, etc. showing a screenshot of a slide of a keynote presentation inside the program itself is a huge no.
having said all that, there are virtually no real rules in design, just guidelines and opinions and experience.
I agree with the previous comment of making them all the same size. I would even go further than that though. Here's my suggestions to "optimize" your portfolio.
1) Put relevant information on top of your resume. Are you trying to sell yourself on your educatoin or on your previous employment? Put the work experience first, then school after.
2) If I got your resume I would not hire you. Not because I don't like your work, but because I don't like the resume. A 2 page or 3 page resume is becoming common (in my opinion), but a 42 page resume is an overkill. It looks like you showed him every piece you ever made.
2a) Organize your work outside the portfolio. Get your campaigns together and pick the strongest pieces out of each.
2b) Delete the pieces that are common or do not show your best work.
2c) Simplify your portfolio by creating a collage for each campaign. If someone is interested in your work based off of your initial resume, then send them more pieces. You feel comfortable saying " references available upon request", you should feel comfortable saying "full size proofs available upon request" or "full size portfolio available at www.mywebsite.com" Don't make them drudge through 42 pages of a hi-resolution portfolio.
just my 2 pence. I wasn't saying that to offend, just some things that bugged me about it.
chris
Have you tried opening your resume on someone else's computer?
1) Put relevant information on top of your resume. Are you trying to sell yourself on your educatoin or on your previous employment? Put the work experience first, then school after.
2) If I got your resume I would not hire you. Not because I don't like your work, but because I don't like the resume. A 2 page or 3 page resume is becoming common (in my opinion), but a 42 page resume is an overkill. It looks like you showed him every piece you ever made.
2a) Organize your work outside the portfolio. Get your campaigns together and pick the strongest pieces out of each.
2b) Delete the pieces that are common or do not show your best work.
2c) Simplify your portfolio by creating a collage for each campaign. If someone is interested in your work based off of your initial resume, then send them more pieces. You feel comfortable saying " references available upon request", you should feel comfortable saying "full size proofs available upon request" or "full size portfolio available at www.mywebsite.com" Don't make them drudge through 42 pages of a hi-resolution portfolio.
just my 2 pence. I wasn't saying that to offend, just some things that bugged me about it.
chris
Have you tried opening your resume on someone else's computer?
I'm sorry. I should clarify. I didn't mean that you work doesn't show the level of what you can do, it's that your portfolio, as it is currently formatted, isn't showing that. If you organize your portfolio, pare it down as shecky has suggested, and format it, it'll look good.
To iterate, the portfolio (as an object) is not as good as the work inside.
new idea
I am actually rethinking of an idea how to represent my portfolio, as some of you know I am into photography, so my new idea is to have everything printed and take photos of each sections "company, freelance, real life example of work in the real world" but do the photos in a an artful way. Then make a book of that and a PDF version but also have full size samples when going on interviews...The portfolio would be creative that way, not the "norm"
good idea?
I am actually rethinking of an idea how to represent my portfolio, as some of you know I am into photography, so my new idea is to have everything printed and take photos of each sections "company, freelance, real life example of work in the real world" but do the photos in a an artful way. Then make a book of that and a PDF version but also have full size samples when going on interviews...The portfolio would be creative that way, not the "norm"
good idea?
Check opening the PDF in different computers
I was opening the PDF in both my PC(work) and Mac(Design) I had a hard time viewing, some pages where not showing up. Just test the files out on different computers.
Also good post, you probably helped 20 people who wanted to ask the same thing, with the tips here people can apply it to their situation.
I was opening the PDF in both my PC(work) and Mac(Design) I had a hard time viewing, some pages where not showing up. Just test the files out on different computers.
Also good post, you probably helped 20 people who wanted to ask the same thing, with the tips here people can apply it to their situation.
I think you have some really nice work but would agree with the previous posters. It would be nice if you were to able to add a template for presentation etc.
Having some negative space around your pieces will do a lot in terms of appearance and presentation.
When displaying brochures, it is nice to give them a realistic 3D effect so the client or potential employer has an idea of what the final piece looks like. Here is a nice little quick tutorial to give that effect:
http://www.stockvault.net/tutorials/photoshop_showcasing_your_work_use_perspective.php
Something else to consider is to add some subtle text to your template indicating the media and client.
Having some negative space around your pieces will do a lot in terms of appearance and presentation.
When displaying brochures, it is nice to give them a realistic 3D effect so the client or potential employer has an idea of what the final piece looks like. Here is a nice little quick tutorial to give that effect:
http://www.stockvault.net/tutorials/photoshop_showcasing_your_work_use_perspective.php
Something else to consider is to add some subtle text to your template indicating the media and client.
All good ideas, and as the OP adds in a follow-up posting, photographing the actual printed materials (done correctly) would look the best along with some clever cropping/composition could make the portfolio sing!
This is a very rough example using one of the pieces in your porfolio:
And as mentioned before I would trim down the samples to show only the best parts of a project like the one above ... no need to show the inside pages which I feel are not as strong as the cover.
One little bit for your interest. There is a VERY good designer here in Vancouver (Canada) with the same name as you (Matthew Clark).
You should check out his work for some inspiration - I often do. I've worked on one or two projects with him and his company and I must say they do some outstanding branding work.
His Bio:
http://subplot.com/subplot/people/matthew_clark.php
His Company's Portfolio:
http://subplot.com/creative/index.php
You should check out his work for some inspiration - I often do. I've worked on one or two projects with him and his company and I must say they do some outstanding branding work.
His Bio:
http://subplot.com/subplot/people/matthew_clark.php
His Company's Portfolio:
http://subplot.com/creative/index.php
hahahaha
the more I look my current portfolio more I dislike how its presented! Thank you for all the great ideas, this weekend I am going to redo the whole thing in a whole new way! stay tuned!
the more I look my current portfolio more I dislike how its presented! Thank you for all the great ideas, this weekend I am going to redo the whole thing in a whole new way! stay tuned!
We'll be happy to tear that one apart, too. Err...I mean, comment positively on it.