After looking at my last post titled Portfolios, it looked like I was promoting portfolios that I had built. That was not my intention. I really only wanted to show some different custom cases and how each student designed their interior layouts. Over the last ten years we have had some excellent student portfolios using almost every type of case imaginable. Here are some more. Maybe these examples will inspire your imagination to push the bar even farther.
I guess this brings us to the real question. Does the case really matter or is the work, no matter how it is presented, the only thing that really matters? Well, I’m not sure I can answer that question. I think the answer is somewhere in the middle. The truth is that no matter how slick a case and the presentation, if the work has no substance and lacks concept, you will have difficulty in getting to the next level. Also, if you have the greatest work in the world and throw it in a Wal-Mart bag and dump it on the table for presentation, you probably will have problems as well (unless you are interviewing at Wal-Mart.) My grandmother always said you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Oh, by the way a sow is a pig! When I found that out her statement made a lot more sense. I would like to hear from some of my former students out in the professional world or working professionals that are reviewing portfolios. What do you think? Leave me a comment and let me know.
NXiL MEDiA said:
I don’t think the case makes a huge difference. Good work speaks for itself. It might be the icing on the cake, but if it looks like you worked harder on the packaging for your portfolio then the actual content, it sets off a red flag in my mind. If they spent this much time decorating mediocre work with fancy packaging, they must think that it’s not mediocre work. But if the portfolio is more generic in delivery, I don’t come to that conclusion if I see lower quality work. Does that make sense?
Luis Angeli said:
I think the quality of the work is the by far the most important aspect. But as a professional designer (or future professional), every detail matters.
Larry Hefner said:
Luis,
Thanks for the comment. I hope I get more. I think that they will add to the educational experience of the blog.
Larry