Filing through Jan's baskets full of past advanced designers' mini-portfolios (even Professor Rowe's portfolio was among the bunch) was quite possibly one of the most encouraging and inspiring moments yet in the advanced magazine design capstone. Seeing so many graduates' early work from their time in the capstone and as designers for Vox – and hearing Jan tell us about their current positions at various magazines and publications as designers, art directors, etc. – put all of this semester's hard work into perspective for me. Who else but graduates of the Missouri School of Journalism (and those in the advanced magazine design capstone) get to not only leave with a resume full of publication design and commission experience, but have a professionally printed and bound book to prove it?
After sifting through more than a dozen of past students' mini-portfolios and discussing some of their design and layout pros and cons, I've come up with a strategy for my own mini-portfolio's design, contents and sequence and functionality.
It seems to me that the size of the mini-portfolio should really depend on the portfolio's purpose, functionality and the portfolio's design. It seemed like the mini-portfolios that were 7 1/2 x 8" or larger were a good size for these, with the larger ones being much more suitable for displaying both news and print designs and for including a resume. The most compelling and readable mini-portfolios of the group seemed to be ones that were designed with a clever and sophisticated style that showcased the designer's strength – those designers that clearly excelled with illustrations, for example, had an illustrated personal logo design on their cover. Some designers chose to add minimal design elements to their portfolio package to emphasize their portfolio's contents, rather than deterring from their work with a detailed portfolio design. I'm having a difficult time deciding where the draw the line between the two, but I think that decision will come with playing with both ideas as I begin designing the portfolio. I do, however, know that I would like create a compelling cover design for the portfolio and then use smaller, more minimal design elements within the portfolio to create a cohesive package design.
Although so many aspects of my mini-portfolio and its design are yet to be determined, I do know that I would like to create one that shows my versatility and dynamic skill sets. I think it's important that the portfolio shows employers my strength in creating a strong visual package, but one that's also functional and flexible. This will be quite an undertaking, but I'm incredibly eager to get going on it all.
Critique: Shindig does studio shots!
Over the past week, the Shindig design team – Nicole, Haleigh and I – completed our studio shoots for our magazine prototype. After scouring the internet for photos to use for various department designs, it became clear that in order to have the type of art we wanted, and in the Shindig style we were searching for, we'd have to take measures into our own hands and take to the camera.
We had quite a list of different set-ups and props that needed to be shot, so we began at my mom's home here in Columbia, where her pantry, basement and background became our top source for much of the Shindig-y items we were seeking to include in our various shoots. Lucky for us, Haleigh's part-time job has a mini photo studio, so additional photos were taken in a real photo shoot setting – complete with a clean white screen background and fancy flash lights. Here are some of our favorites...
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| Table setting for the "Centerpiece showdown" department page. (Psst: those "cocktails" are actually made of purely grapefruit juice.) |
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| Vintage floral arrangement for "Centerpiece showdown" department page. |
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| My mom in her backyard for the "Kiddie chow" department page. |
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| Candles on a cake stand for the "Centerpiece showdown" department page. |
I feel like overall the shoots were incredibly successful at capturing exactly what we had in mind, and with the Shindig vibe we were going for. However, finding just the right products to suit the magazine, and that are ones you're actually able to obtain for a photo shoot, proved to be just as difficult as we anticipated. Conceptualizing the idea for a studio shot is one thing, but actually making that concept something you can actually execute is another.
A word of advice to anyone attempting a photo shoot in the near future: be flexible; learn to work with what you've got, and work out multiple options to choose from. There were several times throughout each studio shoot where the designers and I felt like our initial plan or concept just wasn't going to work out, so we were forced to go back to the drawing board. In doing so, we found ways to simplify our initial, more complex studio shot concepts and dial them back into something more reasonable and of course, do-able. I think once we were able to get beyond the initial concept and see what was workable, we were able to come up with some very successful photographs for the magazine – the photo shoot with my mom is a great example of this. Another word of advice for future studio shooters is to provide options. Even after we thought we had gotten the shot, the Shindig designers and I made sure to keep shooting (when we remembered to do so), just to be sure we didn't miss a better angle to shoot from, get a chance to fix any missed camera mishaps or get plenty of horizontal and vertical shots that are usable – it's difficult to predict what type of photograph you'll need for the spread design, so give yourself plenty of flexibility.
So, what do you all think? Thoughts on how these particular shots turned out? Be sure to look out for these and more studio shots in the final print version of Shindig!
You Can't Miss: Rachael Ray's magazine gets a makeover!
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| Everyday with Rachael Ray cover, May 2011 |
Check it out! Everyday with Rachael Ray's re-design debuted in the magazine's May 2011 issue. Now, I have to admit, having not been a reader of the magazine prior to the magazine's re-design, I was pretty impressed overall with the fresher, more contemporary look to the magazine. With the addition of fresher fonts, textured pages and a new logo, this magazine (surprisingly) has become a new reference for design inspiration for me. See more of mediabistro.com's take on the re-design here.
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| Every Day with Rachael Ray department page, May 2011 |
I agree about the mini-portfolio. I want to be able to show my desing skills without going too crazy. I think I'm going to keep design elements to a minimum, but I'll have to see if I like it when it's all finished. I know I don't want to do anything too small, but I'm still trying to determine the right size also. I think the mid-sized books are what I am looking at right now.
ReplyDeleteI'm also debating how much I should 'design' the portfolio. With things like your portfolio, resume and business cards, I feel like it's an extra opportunity to show them what you've got. At the same time, I like what Aaron said in class about how in your portfolio, your designs should speak for themselves. Like you, though, I'll probably play around with both routes and decide which works best for me.
ReplyDeleteYou had some great design elements with your original samples that you brought into class. It looked really great and personalized. I think your plan sounds great and I have no doubt that your portfolio will look amazing.
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