Bling Bling. Time To Think About Design

How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul By Adrian Shaughnessy


I think Jessica Helfand had a very good approach to what we consider graphic design. There is a lot more going on underneath a visual image when you are walking down the street.

One example I can think of is this billboard I always pass when I am on my way into Boston. It has a very simple design, which is easily read and understood by the viewer. It was a Rolex ad. There was a title, their slogan (a crown), and a giant image of one of their high-class watches. Besides what the typography is trying to communicate (I don’t know the typeface offhand), when we look at a visual image it also speaks to our culture and how the individual was socialized. When I think of a Rolex, a flow of thoughts comes to mind. I think of success, businessmen, mobsters, and casinos. All these ideas have been planted in my mind from movies, advertisements, and from conversations that have accumulated over my upbringing. That is only one way to view it from my perspective, from my area of being raised, from my upbringing. For someone else, it can be a sign of greed and corruption, which is very contrary to my own perception of a Rolex.

This is very important when you are brainstorming and thinking about different designs for a client. You have to formulate a way to effectively communicate the information with “harmony and balance” while at the same time considering what kind of people the target audience is while considering their potential buyists. A design that would be highly effective in one area could have less of a desired effect due to societal differences than another area. You can bet you don’t want to offend the people you are targeting for the simple reason you weren’t aware of their cultural norms. If you don’t create a design that speaks to the people then it is meaningless.


I have always been a good listener. My hometown of Martha’s Vineyard has a seasonal economy, try which is fueled by tourism in the summer. Through this fact, I have had the great opportunity to sit and have conversations with people from all walks of life. Many of my close family friends hail from different countries all over Asia. This has taught me to be open to different new ideas and allowed me to work on communicating my own.

I have also worked on Vineyard Haven Harbor since I have been 16. I have had many responsibilities from driving boats, checking moorings, docking 140 + foot mega yachts. That is only half the job. The other half of the job is dealing with the customers. From the beginning I assist the captain by giving explicit docking directions. Then, I take care of the needs, reservations, and concerns of the owners. This is like talking two different languages. You have to be very precise, using nautical jargon, to communicate with the crew and captain to ensure the safety of the boat. Then, you have to turn around and talk to the owner and explain to them the actions that have transpired. This can relate to how you need to be able to talk about your own work with a client in the design field. You need to be able to communicate your ideas in a way that someone unfamiliar with the terminology will understand.

I have also have learned to keep a high level of integrity with my job. I have grown up on these waters, so I am more than confident that I know them to a Tee. I have had boaters come into the harbor and tell me they thought I was wrong in regards to fishing techniques and spots. They said that I was too young to know what I was talking about. Later that day I noticed the same gentlemen fishing fairly close to me. As I looked over they weren’t catching a thing, while I was hooking up to a fish on every pass. Even when I was young I did what I believed was right and trusted the things I know. I think that this will only help me as a designer.

Chapter 2:

This chapter offered insight to different working environments. Working for an independent design studio is a lot like my job now, just in different fields.

In my job now I am on call 24 / 7, often spending whole 18-hour periods looking after the boats during a storm. I help contribute to keeping the image of the company I work for, Vineyard Haven Marina, alive and well. People unfamiliar with the marina might not know, but you can ask anyone who has been there and they will know me as one of the faces making sure their stay is painless. To hear from people, some of whom have become good friends, “thanks again, you guys are the best marina we come to,” makes all the long hours and o.k. pay worth it. This resembles the type of atmosphere you would find in an independent design studio. You have to work under pressure for little money, but at the same time you are being apart of something bigger, something recognized by many. I have a special bond with my co-workers because of this, and I like being in that “family” atmosphere. It can really make the difference when your in a make or break situation. These are reasons why I think I would be able to work in this type of situation.

All the boating and fishing knowledge I have acquired has been through watching, listening, and then doing. I have no taken classes on how to tie knots, or how to chart a map, but I have been able to get these skills through other people. This is something that a designer strives to do with every job. Learning a skill, or better yet a process, from someone who has done it for years is a great opportunity. I would not be able to do the work I do at my current job if I didn’t learn under my father and other fishermen. This leaves me open to the option of an apprenticeship, since I have learned that way before I can see the benefit in the long run of establishing such a relationship.

This chapter also has some good points for going about getting your foot in the door. Word of mouth is always a good way to self promote. Even if you find a job that doesn’t quite suit you, you should go in for an interview and show your work anyway. This can only improve your interview skills and leave an impression on the interviewer. Who knows, maybe you are not right for a particular job, but maybe a fellow designer has an opening that you would be good for.

Technology moves at such a fast rate that we are constantly trying to keep up with the newest programs and techniques. It’s the nature of the field. It is depressing to think that the things I have learned over my four years at Quinnipiac University will be outdated soon after I graduate. On a brighter note, it’s not just the skills I have learned, it’s the process and mentality in which I approach my work that I can take away from school that will be the most important in my endeavors as a designer.

Research? Why would I need a thing like that?

Designing A Digital Portfolio by Cynthia Baron

Chapter 3 –

In this chapter Barron emphasizes the importance of research. When I thought about being a designer I totally let this aspect fly right over my head. Yet, now when I am told about its application it makes perfect sense. When you are sending your portfolio to different companies it is important to look at the companies and what kind of work they do. They are already established, so it should be easy to find things they are connected with. This is key to find out what kind of work they do so you can tailor your portfolio around those types of pieces. You also want to be sure that you are doing the work that you like and are good at. It is pointless to get a job you are going to hate or make you look bad. It is important to find a company that you will fit in with. You also can look at company statistics to see if they hold any opportunity for you. How the company operates and what kind of people work there may have an affect on which jobs you will wish to cater your portfolio to.

There are many places that you can look to find information on various companies and employment opportunities. Magazines have is a great resource to flip through and gather information about various companies and their mode of operations. Quinnipiac University has their hands in a lot of places. At the very least, it has countless graduates that are already working in the field. Along with teachers who stay in contact, gathering a group of contacts from my college career could prove to be very useful down the road. You can speak with fellow designers in different areas to get feedback on your portfolio or information about up and coming jobs. Tie that in with smart web searching (using Boolean operations) and I have valuable resources that will help steer me to the right company that works for me.

Chapter 4 –
In chapter 4 Barron beings to discuss the different kinds of portfolio formats and how employers view each type. It is juggling formats for what situation your in to get the best quality image. CDs are good for portfolios because it is a very common medium. The ability of a CD-RW to rewrite information as your portfolio changes is a huge plus. A DVD and DVD-RW is good to show high quality animations or demo reels. This is due to their huge capacity and ability to be changed easily. Your very own laptop might be one of the safest ways to ensure a smooth presentation but it is not the safest. It is dangerous to be carrying around your livelihood from place to place. If anything happened to your computer, like dropped it in a puddle while it was raining, could really hinder the growth or your career. On the other hand, you know how your machine works. You are able to test and rehearse the presentation so you know it will work flawlessly. You have to take into consideration if you will be presenting on your laptop screen or a project of sorts, because viewing it on your screen may not do your work justice. If you can eliminate potential issues with using other peoples machines and use your own machine to display your work, then it is a plus in my eyes.

Emailing your portfolio to a potential client or employer says a few different things. First off, it shows your initiative. It sets up an intimate setting where just you and your potential employer/client can go back and forth. It lets them know that you want to work with them and that you took the time to figure out who they are and what they stand for. A personal website is another online medium that will allow you to use more self-expression. This way, the viewer can get a feel for your style and personality through the way you decided to package yourself. You can also add all of your portfolios from other parts of the field easily so they can see in one swoop all the skills you have.

One of the comments in the chapter saved me a lot of heartache. I have been learning photographer since freshman year in high school. I have compounded a fairly large bank of digital photos that I have taken over the years. It is something that has strengthened my design eye and allows me to be expressive in a medium besides the Adobe Suite. The comment reiterated the fact that you must be precise with your portfolio, and if need be, make multiple portfolios for different areas of work. Layla Keramat made the point that just adding photos to a design portfolio isn’t going to aid you in convincing your potential employer that your good at design. It doesn’t do your photography justice or your design work. Rather, make two that specialize and show off your strengths in each area. This is definitely the route that I am going to take. I will have a separate photography portfolio that I can update and use when needed instead of confusing people with unrelated material.

This chapter also brings up good points about making multiple portfolios of work that looks best on each medium. After you conceptualize a theme and get a cohesive feel to your body of work you can create the same material in different mediums. This way you ensure all mediums are cohesive in relation to one another and you can select what one would be the most useful for what type of presentation you will be conducting. This also leaves the ability to redefine your identity as a designer through developing your previous work to fit a new portfolio. You might be on a job where you learn a skill or ability that allows you to go back and make previous work better or change the feel to a more concrete concept. This is good to keep in mind if you hit a crossroad in your career and decide to switch areas of design. This way, you will be able to redefine some of your work and add it with new material for a new portfolio.

New Light On Old Thoughts

Designing A Digital Portfolio by Cynthia Baron


Chapter 1:

Right off the bat this reading “Designing a Digital Portfolio” by Cynthia Baron shed a new light on what I thought about portfolios and how to create them. In high school I wasn’t sure what path I was going to take, so I wasn’t even thinking about a digital portfolio. I was thinking more along the lines of a resume I sent it to scholarship organizations and such. You know, just a plain old piece of paper with a list of activities, accomplishments, ECT.

When I decided I was going into the design field, that idea was shattered. It has turned into a very specific task. I never realize the importance on your word choice and titles. But it makes perfect sense when you think about it. You are creating something that is going to define you to the world. Your not making it to put on your wall, you are making something that people will see and draw conclusions about you. How you sound, word choice and phrasing all play a role in how the reader of your portfolio will interpret what you have done. You want to be able to express what your strong points are and what your goals and expectations are to ensure you find the most suitable employer for your skill set. Showcasing your work with a touch of your personality is what really gets your foot in the door. Being able to articulate your thoughts and take ideas, schemes, and research and make them into something concrete is what secures you the job.

For me, deciding what I want to do and portray in my portfolio is still up in the air. I’m leaning towards website development and / or print design. Magazine layouts are also fun. I haven’t had too much time to dabble in 3d modeling, but that is another area that I could see myself strapping down and become proficient in. Either way, choosing something and making sure those pieces in my portfolio the most predominate will help eliminate any confusion a potential client would have with what I want to do and where my skill set is at. Too much of everything can send the wrong message, so this semester I will be reviewing my work and making a career decision.

Chapter 2:

Cynthia Baron makes some good points about being able to assess yourself. You need to know where you are at before you can start heading where you need to go. She provides a checklist of strengths and weaknesses and goals that will help get everything you got out on the table. Even though you made already know all the answers to the checklist, it brings a new light to the situation when you are able to see the answers written out and all next to each other. It allows you to grasp what it is that your best at, and start to get a feel to how a prospective client will begin to view your work and skill set. You get a chance to ask yourself, “why am I doing this” and “what am I trying to get out of this,” which are two questions that have great bearing on our near future. With these things in mind, creating a portfolio should help land me in the hands of a job where I fit in with avoiding situations that might be undesirable.

She has a section that states, “What a portfolio is not.” I think it is a good reminder of what not to get carried away with in the creation of your portfolio. We have defined our focus in what needs to get accomplish, but this also lets us know how not to go about it.

She also makes some good points in the “adapting your work” section. Quality over quantity is stressed over and over again. I know it seems rather obvious you would want only your best work to be included, but it might be a little harder to see why it would hurt you to put some work in your portfolio that is “sub-par” to your skill set. By putting in your portfolio you are insinuating that it is acceptable work. If you can’t distinguish your strong pieces from weaker ones, they might begin to question whether you have a strong sense of design and what is not acceptable work for the company. Quantity is also important to consider. If you have a huge variety of different types of pieces it insinuates a couple other things about your work. A. You have not found out what you are good at yet and are still trying to figure out what you want to do and B. if you have too much going on the reviewer won’t remember anything about you or your work cause it will be spread too thin amongst all the pieces. The recommendation is about 20 pieces.

As for me, I think this will be the toughest part of making my portfolio. I know I have a few projects that I want to be included, but I know its not nearly enough to start sending out my portfolio by the end of the semester. One thing I am going to have to concentrate on is taking those sub-par projects and deciding to either completely trash them because its not going to fit into the scheme I am trying to get across or go back and rework them to get them to a level I am satisfied with. As we all know, no work is ever 100 percent finish. There is always a bone to pick with our own work. It is essential, though, that the level of the work isn’t going to hurt me in the long run.

Here is an interview with Cynthia Baron on this book. She talks about things like what is the hardest part of making a portfolio to what are the most difficult things to overcome. Check it out.