Print is Not Dead

PrintIsNotDead

When people ask me what my favorite design piece is, I say my portfolio.  Why you ask? Because I had to work with the most difficult client ever, ME! Nothing was right and there was always another reason to reprint my pages.  I struggled with my branding and how I wanted to be perceived as an artist and a designer.  I researched countless blogs and websites to find the right one to help me create a one of the kind portfolio. However, what I discovered is there is no one way.  Everyone has their own way to showcase their work, which means your portfolio should be about you and your style.  Your portfolio should be clean, concise, organized and diverse; an ever changing example of how well you work as a creative. Creating your first portfolio is very overwhelming and scary, believe me we have all been there, here is a blog post I wrote when I was in the bringing stages of creating my print portfolio.

Take the time to look at all your pieces, pick out 8-10 pieces you are passionate about, and start your designing.  If you pick work you are passionate about, it will be easier to discuss your process, inspiration, and goals for the final work.

To help you all prepare and create the best portfolio, I have put together a post of several videos I found to help steer you in the right direction.

Chanelle Henry gives us some building blocks to think about before you sit down with your sketchbook to plan out your print and web portfolio.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duY-vfcQTj8] The most important advice I can offer is to use your print and online portfolio to demonstrate your ability to solve visual problems. Whether you freelance or work in-house, the people who ask you to do design work for them want to know you can solve their visual problems.  Therefore, use your talent to show your process, content, and skills in a visual manner. Good luck and remember, if you have questions post them in the comments and we will answer them, and if we can’t, we will ask one of our many reviewers to help us out.

Jeremy Cowart shows us how planning the layout and the flow of your portfolio helps create a movement and feeling to each page that will influence the overall style of your print portfolio.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfNQRKbjCqA]

Roberto Blake walks you through what to think about when you are the planning your portfolio.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzTEuiAubV4]

Karen Kavett tells you her do’s and don’ts to think about when planning your portfolio.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wi9opoEIXg?list=PL99CB3991F6281872]

 

By Mayshanna Pandora Briscoe
Published February 20, 2015