Today I had my first portfolio surgery with Andy. I was interested in the feedback that I was going to get from this and was looking to forward to a verdict about my portfolio. I have already used it for a previous internship interview, which well went and I got good feedback on my work, so it will be good to get another point of view.
For this surgery I was more interested in getting feedback about the actual layout, photography and the make up of the portfolio than the actual work within it. I think getting feedback on this is the most essential, as I am confident with the work within the portfolio, it was more the layout that was a concern.
The Surgery
Initially we talked through my portfolio and I explained some of the projects and spoke about the processes involved within them. Speaking through the work and being asked questions about the work itself was a good exercise to practice how to speak about my work and getting the idea / concept across to someone else. It was good tog et brief feedback within this about the projects and how Andy thought I could improve / expand some of the projects.
Feedback
After speaking about the projects, we went back through the portfolio and Andy gave me feedback more on the portfolio make up and layout of the whole product.
- Consistent Photography
The photography within the portfolio is great, it is evident that work from this year has been taking more care of within the photography stages and thats because I am more aware of what is needed. But projects included from 2nd year, don't fit within the rest of the projects. These images are much darker and against a grey background.
- Photography shots within projects
Watch out for white balance / colour tints within photographs within the same projects. Also look at the cropping of images within the containers. Either shoot the photos close up for detailed shots or pan out and be a full spread shot.
- Description Detail
Project description is a good inclusion within the portfolio. The length of the description is a good length and gives a good brief description about each project. Pay more attention to the container around the description. Maybe lower the opacity and scale down the container size, so that the borders are consistent around the type - make it so the more information added the container grows in size. Point size of type should be smaller and the project design areas don't really add anything to the projects itself - could include a more itemised list of products within the project.
- Layout Variation / Length of project
Within the portfolio, each project is very similar within the layout, so it needs to be mixed up a little and have a variation within the length of each project. Some of the projects didn't need that many pages and could be shorter. Also look at the amount of images within a page.
- Borders on Pages
Borders on within the portfolio need to be consistent throughout the portfolio. Front images of the project should be full bleed and the pages should be trimmed down to get rid of the border as it makes it look like it hasn't been thought through properly.
- Order of work
Look at the order of the projects and look at how they fit together through the use of colours and the project design area. Think about how the title page sits at the top or bottom of the portfolio.
- Carry Branding through
Use type from my own branding within the portfolio. This should be all typefaces, not just the body copy. Use heading type for the headings of each project. Look at the opening page of the portfolio which holds my own details. Should this link more to the manifesto brief? Maybe introduce a block colour into the page as printed onto white should an unconsidered approach. Also think about where the branding brief - manifesto should be placed within the portfolio. At the beginning to show who I am or at the end to say this is who I am and this would lead onto handing out business cards.
- Samples
Take samples with portfolio to show for the projects that are necessary for / can be seen better in physical form. Publications, print are best examples of this to take along and demonstrate the process taking to achieve the products. With projects that have samples, cut down the images within the portfolio as you can show the physical product instead.
I found the portfolio surgery very helpful and it was really good to get more feedback based on the creation / make up of the portfolio instead of just on the work. I think taking this away will be good to use when looking back at my portfolio and putting this feedback into practice.
No comments:
Post a Comment