DISCUSSION: What is a Portfolio?

• Not a discrete object; Solid/Liquid/Gas analogy
• Portfolio can be (should be): PDF, website, book, reel, social media account, process book
• Where does your portfolio live?
• What do you really need to include in your portfolio?
• What do you need a portfolio for?
• Who do you send your portfolio to?
• How do you know if your work is “portfolio-ready”?

What is/are your Disciplines?

• Write your “About Me” or “Objective” statement – Who are you? What do you do, etc.
• Your discipline(s) determine(s) the structure of their portfolio.
• You will have to produce portfolios across multiple channels.
• What are these multiple channels? What does that mean in today’s professional creative landscape?

Who is your audience and what is your career strategy?

• Find a job.
• Get a job.
• Keep the job.
• Do it again. (And again, and again.)

Grading

• A = your portfolio is good enough to get into the show
• B = by week 14 it is almost there and just needs some tweaking to get into the show
• C/D = not there, not enough work, not polished, not coherent (no narrative)

Week 1 Homework (begin research, writing in class)

• Create personal branding system that can be used across all channels
  • Logo/monogram
  • Avatars
  • Colors
  • Contextual system for framing work
  • A signature? Show Sienkiewicz/Simonson, etc.
• Check LinkedIn – sign up if not already signed up
  • Take a deep dive, starting with links on site
  • Look at Job Titles and Respsonibilities
  • Look at how people write about themselves: What’s good and what’s not?
  • Find THREE people that really interest you and be prepared to explain why
• Share links of agencies/studios for Ad/Design students, figure out for other disciplines
  • Look at their projects/case studies and ask these questions:
    • Who/what is the brand?
    • Who is the target audience
    • What is the channel (for distribution)