work samples / graphic design portfolio

Unclutterer ForumsChallenges

work samples / graphic design portfolio

(6 posts) (5 voices)

Started 1 year ago by RJ
Latest reply from RJ
RSS feed for this topic

Overall Rating: votes

Tags:

RJ
Member

Hi,

I was a graphic designer until 2004. I have not been doing design or any other work due to cancer. Now that I am nearly back to health, I'm clearing out the old stuff. I'm debating returning to Human Resources, even though I have not been in HR since 1992 (debating going for an MBA in HR).

I want to at least keep my design portfolio in case there is a design job opportunity before I am able to find work in Human Resources. In this economy I want to take the first offer no matter what it is. I also have a banker's box of amazing design samples, some of which are in my portfolio but a majority of which are not in the portfolio, such as t-shirts, magazines that I designed for a local publisher that are too large to fit, etc. I'm just so torn about letting go of this box. I've already weeded it from three boxes down to one box. I'm thinking one option may be to keep this one box until my next job, whether it is in design or HR.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated! Especially on how long to keep design samples. Thank you so much!

Posted 1 year ago #
Periwinkle
Member

Is there any of this stuff that you could photograph? Something like a t-shirt, for example, I assume you designed the graphics for but didn't have anything to do with the printing/manufacture for, so maybe you could just take some pictures of your work on it and then ditch it.

I would also try and think about what each piece shows - if you have 3 samples that are great but similar, take copies of 2 and keep the best one. Then you'll have samples of the variety of stuff you can do, not endless copies of the same.

Posted 1 year ago #
RebeccaL
Member

I was also a GD til 2004, and can't seem to let go of my portfolio either! If you're applying for design jobs (or freelancing), do you have an online portfolio? I was able to throw away several 3-D/packaging pieces after I had photos/scans of them. While it's not an industry I want to get back into (got burnt out/jaded from freelancing), I'm keeping a few pieces I'm proud of.

Posted 1 year ago #
pammyfay
Member

OMG! Never get rid of your portfolio. Maybe it'll never be needed for another job--but it's your history! Your creativity! Part of your legacy! I occasionally go through my journalism portfolio, for laughs sometimes, for a confidence booster other times, to say "YEAH! That was GREAT work I did!" Shove the box under your bed but never get rid of it!

Posted 1 year ago #
trillie
Member

I think if you seriously want to pare your stuff down, the photographs are a great idea -- but make sure that you take good pictures, and several if possible. For example, with the t-shirt designs, take pictures on a hanger, on a flat surface, and on a person, with good lighting and high resolution and so on. With the magazines that are too large, why don't you scan several pages that are representative for the design?

As for how long to keep the portfolio -- I think every work you did is, as pammyfay said, your history and shows your development and capabilities. So even if you applied for a job right now, people could look at your work from, say 1995 and 2000, and convey your development from that and apply that to 2005 and even 2010, and draw conclusions concerning your current style or abilities.

Posted 1 year ago #
RJ
Member

Thank you everyone, all of you gave great advice. I really appreciate it very much.

Sometimes in the interviewing process, they need to feel the paper, see things for themselves, like you can meet design challenges with various kinds of paper, do press checks, etc.

I've decided to try to weed out that box a little bit and see if I can fit everything including the t-shirts, medical jewelry, etc into that box so it's all in one place.

I would never get rid of the portfolio itself. This is a banker's box of extras, a lot of which are not in the portfolio, but show I can do certain types of items.

Thank you again so much for your advice and suggestions.

Posted 1 year ago #

Reply

You must log in to post. If you do not already have an account, you can register here.