Portfolio Project Brief Draft

PORTFOLIO BRIEF

(presentation, email, and online)

Objective:

The main objective of this project is to create a cohesive set of well-executed portfolios that will ultimately help me obtain a job and impress future possible employers. I will find a system and way of organization that will resonate across all three portfolios (presentation, e-mail, and online). Each portfolio will reflect my personality and style as a designer, but will also be presented in a professional manner. The strongest pieces of my design work (either class, extra curricular activities, or internship pieces) will be arranged to present myself as a professional designer and show the range of capabilities I have using multiple programs. Much thought and time will be had on this project because a portfolio isn’t just a container for showing my work; it is a design piece in itself as well.

Criteria for Success:

In order for these portfolios to be successful, the pieces in the portfolios must have a consistent organization. This would mean that the same pieces would be in the same order in each of the three portfolios so there is consistency among them. The display of each one will be clean and simple to reflect my personal style and to appear professional to potential employers who look at it. The prints in the presentation portfolio will be printed by outside printers so the quality is the best it can be. The e-mail portfolio will not exceed 5mb to make sure anyone it is sent to be able to open it, and it will be able to easily be transferred by e-mail. In order to keep track of the process of the portfolio creation and to make sure I am accountable for completing tasks on my timeline, postings will frequently be made on my personal blog.

Items Included in the Project:

There will ultimately be three different portfolio presentation pieces. The main portfolio will be the presentation portfolio. A leather bound case will be purchased at a later time in a size that will be acceptable for transporting and displaying to employers. This portfolio will be given the most time and attention, although the others will be made at the same time. The content within each portfolio will be the same for all three. The pieces chosen will be well executed and recent as well as show my design abilities. The pieces will be arranged starting with my strongest piece, and ending with another strong piece so the beginning and end of the presentation is memorable. The rest of the pieces will be arranged in a way that shows a wide variety of design skills, and a diverse selection of types of design pieces.

Timeline:

- February 4 (sat) - project brief/timeline done

- February 4 (sat) - review all work, choose some for portfolios

- February 11 (sat) - choose online portfolio site

- February 14 (tues) - class review project brief

- February 16 (thurs) - class speaker TBA

- February 16 (thurs) - have all content chosen

- February 19 (sun) - have presentation portfolio ordered

- February 23 (thurs) - have portfolio content reviewed before placement in case

- February 25 (sat) - order prints of pieces for presentation

- March 1 (thurs) - have all content placed in portfolio, ready for presentation

- March 3 (sat) - AIGA get a job bootcamp

- March 15 (thurs) - have email portfolio template set up (subject to change)

- April 5 (thurs) - class meeting

- April 5 (thurs) - have online portfolio set up (review after class)

- April 21 (sat) - email portfolio finalized

- April 24 (tues) - class portfolio review

Completion and Execution:

The presentation portfolio will be used in professional settings such as a job interview. The people that will be viewing this will be potential employers, as well as other professionals who will critique it so I can make revisions. The online portfolio will be on a website that allows a portfolio to be put up (that will be determined later). The link to this portfolio site will be beneficial to send to potential employers once an interview is set up so they can view some of my work before the interview. During the interview I will then have the chance to further explain my pieces because they will be familiar with them already. The same idea will go for the e-mail portfolio. This one will especially be useful if the interview cannot be in person, or I want a more direct way to show someone my portfolio. The e-mail portfolio will also be beneficial because it shows my design abilities, rather than just displaying my work on a generic site. In all of the portfolios, the content will continue to change the more I design new work. I will be sure to update each portfolio with new and better work once some of them get older.