Saturday, April 14, 2007
• the power of mini-portfolio
every now and then, i often received emails from some fresh-graduates who ask some tips of how to bag the first graphic design jobs for them. it's funny to think that i've been back in to the same situation as theirs in the past few weeks now, by trying to get a full-time graphic designer position for my self in england.
i honestly didn't plan to do this. but things happen, i must somehow improvise my plan and throw myself back to the job market again, before eventually getting back to the original blue print that i made decades ago *finger crossed*
back to the tips for the newbies, from many that i always share with them, one of my fave is making a mini-portfolio as a self promotion. i started making this thing when i tried to find my first job in New York City, right after i graduated from master's program. it was a decision i finally made after realizing how tough it was just to find job interviews in the big apple. at least compared to my previous experience finding a job in my hometown jakarta where i managed to get all job offers from all 3 companies that i sent my cv to [without mini-portfolio].
mini-portfolio is one tool that i find berrrryyy.... useful in introducing your self and to get noticed from the prospective employers other than just sending your cover letter and cv. it acts as a medium to show how your creative mind works, what your design style is and who you are as a graphic designer. when being done correctly, it will separate you from your fellow job seekers, and i can guarantee you that you'll get at least a job interview from the future employer who has somehow get a glimpse of who you are before they even meet you in person.
i believe that the art of making a winning mini-portfolio lies on the strategy to communicate your self effectively. it's gotta be simple, unique without losing your personal flares. it's like branding strategy in which you use your self as the thing that needs to be packaged and put the brand on to.
successful brands are often achieved through unique ways to communicate what and who they are. it could be from their visuals, wordings, etc, but they all pretty much have the same thing in common... the BIG idea that highlight the personalities which make them so unique and differentiate themselves from the bunch.
as this strategy also applies on mini-portfolio, i normally start doing it by asking my self the question of how do i want to be perceived by the prospective employers. branding is not about beautiful graphics, instead it's all about people's perception toward something. so, as soon as i find the qualities in me that i want people to get, i can start to build this big idea that will hold my mini-portfolio together instead of just making something to parade my design works without having any depth in its values.
compared to my first mini-portfolio which i made in form of a small red velvet book with the ponytail girl logo [the one i put on the previous version of loucee.com], my second one has pretty much changed from before. if in my first, i branded my self as a graphic designer who believes in the power of simplicity, in my second i positioned my self as a well-traveled graphic designer who gain her experiences by living in different countries, working with international clients from different industries and cultural backgrounds. if i have to summarize the big idea of my mini-portfolio, they are: international and world traveler.
i call it the UK version since i made it for the UK job market... :) it represents the stage of where i am now as a professional graphic designer. the piece is consisted of 6 small cards [10 x 11 cm] with 1 introduction [an abstract of my self], 4 design projects from different cities in 4 different varieties of design [logo, stationery, brochure, cards], and a card with my contact infos. this format will also allow me to replace or add other design projects if needed in the future.
before ended up with the final result, i thought about making my mini-portfolio in a form of mini suitcase where i put cards of my design works as its contents complete with geographic infos or pics of objects you can find in all the countries i've ever lived in. but i realized that this idea could be too over the top, overly designed, and distracting from my own design portfolios which should be the main star of the whole piece.
i also include my new logo here; a flying horse. i found it perfect to represent me as a hard-worker and as a frequent flyer... hehe... the cards then are put in a grey-ish envelope with the flying horse as the posted stamp.
other than have it sent out to prospective employers by mail, i also made them in PDF version so that i can always send them by email too. so far, i've sent it to 3 prospective employers, and got my self invitations for job interviews with all of them. so... as far as getting noticed, it's a 100% success rate! and i even managed to get my self 2 job offers eventually, while still waiting for the second interview for the other one. yippeeee!! :P
loucee said it on 12:56 PM | |
