Response: Portfolio time

In class last week, we were asked to bring a collection of pieces we might want to include in our portfolio. I was both looking forward to doing this and fearing doing this. First, I like to think that I take criticism pretty well. However, showing off a design isn't like completing a math problem/test. In general, there is no right or wrong answer, but designing is much more personal, and often it means putting at least a little bit of yourself, your heart and your imagination into each assignment.

For my portfolio, I decided to include work from both my time in grad school in the advanced design class and some clips from my time working at a newspaper in Mississippi.

I pretty much knew what I wanted to include from Mississippi because in the fall I attended the portfolio review for students at the Society for News Designs.

The pieces I included from there were: 4 Lifestyles front pages, a department page from the daily paper, the wedding magazine I designed in Winter of 2011 and my resume. (See examples of some of these below.)

I chose 4 Lifestyles fronts that demonstrate good use of grid, typography and creating a package with images, sidebars and the stories. I also did a department page because (although its not really called that) to demonstrate my ability to organize a page based on hierarchy of stories and to follow a template (the community calendar).

So, I brought those plus a couple of extra Mississippi pieces, just to see how people felt about them.

The pieces from my magazine class I have already shown on here, but I pretty much brought everything I've posted on my blog since it is one of those that I will be more likely to redesign for inclusion in my portfolio, especially since everything from Mississippi is designed in Quark, which I don't have on my home computer.

After reading the feedback, I was surprised by how tough everyone was on the "1 to 10" scale. Even at the professional critique I went to at the SND conference the reviewers were a little bit more gentle! The funniest part of reading the critiques (which I did enjoy) was how back and forth they were. It was like reading a tennis match. Some people said, I needed to improve my use of typography (I agree) and others said they really liked my use of typography. Some thought my creativity was a 9 and others a 6. The range was not super wide but there definitely was one.

I think this just goes to show that it is good to get feedback on your work because it helps you see areas where you need improvement and areas where you are doing a good job, but in the end, designing is different for everyone and what some people love, other people don't and what some people hate or people really like - within reason, of course.

So, whether you are reeling over someone giving you a 6 or excited about a set of perfect 10s, there is not right or wrong design. We each have to work hard, keep adding to our skills and find a job that fits our designs. Thanks for everyone's feedback!

(Well, that got a little "after-school" special, didn't it?)