Behance Portfolio Review

So upon entrance, you was given a number in which group you was in...


I was in Group 5, in which we found out soon enough that Nathan Bolton a former third year was going to be our reviewer for our porfolio..

At first we was happy about this, but then we thought that this is probably not as beneficial to us as he knows the work we do & also knows the briefs so therefore will compare his work to ours etc...

Also me & Sam was in the same group with another boy that attended Huddersfield Uni doing graphic design. 

I was very shocked at how much we had in terms of facilities compared to other universities & felt very lucky to have this as it is a massive part of me been a hands on designer.

We began getting feedback on our portfolios, this is the information I wrote down that I thought would improve my own portfolio...

• Show in context, in the situation it is suppose to be in.
• Try to add some captions about the work, so they can fully understand your outcome without you been present.
• Maybe add a title page for each brief - then small intricate images with a small caption on the following pages.
• I asked if I should put personality within my portfolio such as the edge & colour, Nathan said that because all my work is of a similar aesthetic, he thought it worked really well. 

We then started asking follow up questions:

Do you attach a PDF of work when asking for a visit?
Yes send a PDF with email with approximately 2/3 strong briefs.
Put a quirky subject to catch their attention.

Interviews
Take physical work to interviews!
 
Print work
With print work try and apply this to a small part of the work rather than focusing the brief around it as the tactile element is not often carried out in the industry and therefore this is a big factor when applying for jobs.

Studios
Thompson
Rabbithole
Lord Whitney
Passport
Analogue
Dots Printhouse


Go to any events, to make contacts.

I am "can do"

Afterwards they opened their studio for drinks & to showcase some of their work.
And after a wander round looking at their work, I catch Marks eye to have a chat with him... 

I opened the conversation with the idea of would they appreciate a student just turning up without an email to let them know... He told us he wouldn't turn us away but we might not get anything out of it... We expressed that we would feel uncomfortable just turning up accordingly and then he said well if your uncomfortable then it would give off bad vibes!

He then asked where we was from, and Nathan came over we expressed our views about someone new seeing our work... And he mentioned us arranging a time for us to bring our portfolio in for them to have a look over.

I asked him if he would like it if we brought work in progress, or would he be too busy for that and he said that he would love that they like giving ideas on rough work and thats how they work within the studio so would be a good experience for ourselves. He seemed very impressed with the idea of taking work in progress & said that no one has done that before.

From this conversation, it has been a massive confidence booster as it took a lot of courage to hold a conversation with a stranger with a idea of speaking to someone who I have to make a good impression with. This is because sometimes I don't think about what I am going to say before saying it and then gibberish comes out!

So therefore, we are going to email him again to arrange a time to visit the studio in the normal environment.