When faced with the job of building a portfolio in your final year, the task seems daunting. When doing this in Lockdown this is doubly so. At first I was concerned with my portfolio content and the quality of my final degree work which I was planning to use in there. Question started floating about in my head, such as “If my third year work is crap, then what am I going to put in there?” and “do I even need a portfolio if I am never going to find a job ever again?” as well as the age old question “What even is a portfolio any way?”. Luckily I have seen the light and at the end of this project I can safely say that I think it’s all going to be ok. I have salvaged my second year magazine project in which I was editor and created professional mockups for it, my final major project turned out better than imagined and I have a BRAND IDENTITY for myself. Who knew!
So, I’ve got the work (ish) to put in my portfolio. My very sucessful large scale collage sketchbook experiements from my third year project, POWA Magazine which shows editorial layout, A mini CCTV project from my second year displaying 35mm B&W photography and my Final Major Project, Idyllic Wellness, a virtual exhibiton featuring my digital illustrations. I chose all this work because it shows variety within what I do and also still retains my personal style strongly.
I was in two minds about what I wanted to include in my Portfolio when making it. What did I want it to represent and show off? I have a business project from my second year where I developed a prototype for an app for the brand & Other Stories. It is a beautifully designed project and I wanted to include it within my work. It just doesn’t fit with the aesthetic of my work and I couldn’t see it working in my current portfolio. Now that I have a digital portfolio and not a printed one, I have the opportunity to custom my portfolio to the job or to include it on my website – which seems like a much more likely way employers will now view portfolios.
I was relieved that I did not have to print a portfolio for this project as I felt I would need more time to get the print version right. I will print a version for myself along with business cards and create a presentation box for my work as it is a lovely item to have but as I mentioned before, from being in lockdown as well as the shift to everyone working remotely, physical portfolios now seem like they are the least important element to have. Websites and strong social media platforms seem much more key at this time.
Brand Identity with this project came very naturally and I realised a little late that I did not explore it more. I had seen Dilara Findikoglu’s website and immediately fell head over heels. A few magazine had caught my eye as well such as Pleasure Gardens. My brand came together as an amalgamation of both and I couldn’t be happier with the result. It is, as you would call it, “very me”.
This project has been unbelievably helpful and I feel confident applying for jobs as I am armed with everything I need. Things such as my website may need a little tweak here and there and I may need to learn a thing or two more about certain pieces of software to elevate my CV ( LinkedIn Learning is amazing and I am slightly obsessed) , but I feel more prepared than I ever thought I could be.