1. SHOW OFF ALL OF YOUR SKILLS.
A mutual opinion between the industry leaders was the idea that you should show all of your capabilities in your portfolio – but make sure it’s engaging.
Leif Podhajsky (renowned Graphic Designer/Art Director) said “I would like to see a set of designs where you can show me a good layout, where you can pick a typeface, that you’ve got basic coding skills, that you can take a photo, that you can do something from concept all the way through to completion […] if you can show me an interesting way of how to do those then you’ve got a good portfolio”.
2. KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET!
This is all well and good, but you don’t want to overburden the interviewer with tons of projects and briefs you have completed.
Jane Scherbaum’s (Deputy Head of Design at the V&A Museum) advice was to, “edit, edit, edit. Distil everything down to the really really strong projects that communicate what you as a Designer are about. Include work that you can really talk about, what’s the central idea to each project, distil it down to that. Think about who the portfolio is going to be shown to, tailor it and that all comes back to ‘edit, edit, edit’”.
Paul Pensom (Art Director, Creative Review) supported this, adding that you should, “always remember that your portfolio is a calling card, not a filing cabinet, so don’t throw everything into it. You’ll be remembered for one or two pieces so choose carefully and edit ruthlessly.”
In the words of Paul and Jane – edit!