Week 1 - Why a Portfolio is Important.

This week has been stressful for me from putting in 70 hours these past two weeks at my job and homework here and there I need some time to sleep. Ok, well enough of my vent let's see where to begin...

In reading the first couple chapters in How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy, and Stephen Sagmeister, many interesting thoughts came to mind. First of all I was thinking about the design of this book. It is designed like a dictionary and brakes everything up with a bracket to explain more about everything.

The definition that was given for a Graphic Designer by the American designer and writer Jessica Helfand, “Graphic design is a 'visual language of cues and puns and symbols and allusions, of cultural references and perceptual inferences that challenge both the intellect and the eye”, as a graphic designer we must see details, from the smallest to the most obvious. It is important to be aware of everything that is going on around me, even if I am not interested in politics some sort of awareness that allows me to expand other then just sticking through with my favorite things to read, or do. It will allow me to be more open and understanding when talking to potential customers as well as juxtaposing everyday things to make my work more interesting.

This book began by braking down everything important for Graphic Designers and it even gives advice about what not to do when meeting with a client. It emphasizes being open minded, knowledgeable, and definitely a “skilled communicator”. The authors suggest doing research not just before meeting with a client but any chance you get. They hit a point that struck me “ “designers are often not very good at talking about their own work”, which is true because I don’t like to sound like I would be bragging or not even that but some sort of humbleness or shyness? Knowing how to communicate with a client, this was familiar for me and not because of my personal clients but customers for the store where I work. I have to solve many issues and without good communication and listening skills then the customer and myself would not come through in finding the solution.

To keep the word integrity when working with fellow designers, or customers is essential for good business practice. In this Graphic designing field I need to keep myself updated not only on different programs but learn new things everyday. Also, as a Graphic designer, there are many places one can find a job from freelancing to working for an independent design studio to working in an in house design studio.

The second book for this class, Designing a Digital Portfolio by Cynthia Baron, explains how essential it is to have a portfolio and more importantly to keep it updated. The first chapter was helpful in trying to find out what my personal portfolio should be about. Better yet in what area I should put my focus? Am I interested more on graphic design, motion graphics, 2D, 3D, or animation? In what do I specialize? I enjoy working on Web site designs, print production and a bit in motion graphics. I have to begin thinking about what programs I will use to do my portfolio and it’s a good idea that I not only use what I am comfortable with but also expand an idea to possibly 3D. I know that my portfolio has to capture the attention of the viewer or better yet a future client I must show the capability that I have in this portfolio.

Probando... 1,2,3

Testing... 1,2,3.

Let the fun begin! :)