Portfolio Review Tips

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Portfolio Review Tips

AIGA Baltimore’s portfolio review is on Thursday, December 1. So, the time has come. You’ve been going to school for several years, working hard on each and every project your professors have assigned, and now is your time to shine. You are about to be pushed into the job market or you are looking for your first internship. But guess what? The thought scares you to death. Here are some tips for for making your portfolio presentation outstanding.

  • Dress professionally. This means no low-cut tops, no torn clothing, and iron your clothes.
  • Arrive on time (better yet, arrive early) and come in smiling.
  • Introduce yourself. Tell the reviewer (or employer) your name and something interesting about yourself (what type of industry you want to go into, why you chose the field of design, etc.)
  • Make your portfolio well contained and organized. Don’t forget, that at job interviews, you may have your coat, a bag/purse, notepad and portfolio in your hands. Make sure you can carry everything and still be able to shake hands when meeting people.
  • Keep it clean! Smudges, hair, work off centered, and inconsistencies; these all just show you don’t pay attention to details.
  • Only plan to show the reviewer 7–10 pieces of your best work. Start and end with your strongest pieces.
  • Be ready to talk about your work. Tell a short story about each piece. Explain how you conceived of the idea, what research was conducted, who the target audience was, etc.
  • Use industry words. Avoid words like “my professor” and “the class.”
  • Don’t rush through it. Speak at a normal pace and give the reviewer time to comment on each piece.
  • Don’t get defensive if the reviewer criticizes your work. They are there to help you. You can filter through the comments later and decide what changes you should make.
  • Have your resume and business card ready to give the reviewer (or employer). Don’t wait for them to ask.
  • Ask the reviewer questions about their job. Take the opportunity to learn about what they do and how they got there.
  • Ask for the reviewer’s business card and followup with a thank you email or a snail mail thank you card.

Breathe, have fun and good luck! AIGA Baltimore’s portfolio review is on Thursday, December 1. Register now and save!

You don’t know Jack: A conversation with Jack Anderson

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

In a world where we are constantly bombarded with information, taking a look at everything from afar – it is often good to get up out of your comfortable setting and listen to others speak to their experiences and have an in-person conversation.  Last week, I had the privilege of attending ADG’s event: Branding With Jack Anderson, which was both motivational and inspiring.

Jack Anderson of Hornall Anderson is one who is inspired by the people at his office and strives to help create new environments giving people the ultimate human experience. He describes himself as a student, a designer, and a strategist – commenting on the fact that designers are not just part of the service department anymore, but that we are vital in the collaboration process. We all can be creative no matter who we are in an organization, and when you foster an environment with no fear and give employees the permission to fail – your people grow.

The Hornall Anderson Experience Lab (HAX) is brilliant. It is a space created for the fostering of creative ideas with multiple technologies and the space to test them. Yes, not every company can have one of these, but we can take the concept and foster creativity by listening to the main ideas Jack commented on in his talk:

• Anyone can be creative. The next best idea for your company can come from the receptionist. Hornall Anderson’s receptionist came up with the idea of a culture wall, a wall of photos of all the employees showing different expressions. Maybe someone has an idea for ping-pong tournaments or company retreats, etc. Letting people be able to express their ideas in an open environment with no fear keeps the moral positive.

• Don’t love your ideas to death. As creative beings, we sometimes try too hard to keep an idea and love it so much it fails. Push for quick no’s and prototyping. Let ideas come and let them go – understanding that not all of your loved ideas are going to be the ones that make it.

• Create your own story. You make your own success. Don’t let others write it for you. If there is something you want to do, go for it. Pave your own way, but understand that it will not always be easy.

• Give the permission to fail. Make mistakes and make them on purpose, giving yourself or the staff the ability to think quickly and effectively. Giving people the permission to fail allows a weight of fear to be lifted and helps open the doors to more creative collaboration and a better flow of ideas. It allows people to take risks they may have been scared to take before.

• Open environments. Get people off their butts and into meetings and out in the open. Take field trips, build space to allow for creative collaboration, and allocate a budget for ideas.

• Even ground. Even though Jack is the CEO of Hornall and Anderson, when in a room his voice does not carry anymore weight than any other person in the department. Allow for good ideas and creativity to come from anywhere.

• Recommended Reading: Good to Great By Jim Collins. This book changes how we think about success, talking about a Hedgehog concept and helps the reader learn how a good company can become a great company.

Thank you to ADG and Jack Anderson for an inspiring and motivational event, where we have grown our knowledge in understanding of creativity, branding, and appreciation for those that inspire us to do more. Here’s to all of our ongoing education that feeds our sense of curiosity.

Presenting: The Standard 4, Scoring & Folding FOLDED INSPIRATION

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AIGA Baltimore, Sappi Fine Paper and Lindenmeyr Munroe invite you to the debut of

The Standard 4, Scoring & Folding FOLDED INSPIRATION
A Members’ Only Event Presented by Trish Witkowski & Daniel Dejan

The Standard 4: Scoring & Folding

When: Thursday, July 14, 2011
Where: Matthew’s 1600 Restaurant
1600 Frederick Road, Catonsville, MD

Time: 5:00 – 6:00pm Cocktails & Hors d’oeuvres
6:00 – 7:30pm Speakers/Presentation
7:30 – 8:00pm Questions & Answers

Members, in Advance – $10

Becoming a Part of the Creative Workforce. Pointers for landing that first job.

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

As we move closer and closer to the summer months, there are those of you that are putting the finishing touches on your portfolios, creating small masterpieces that you will put on display showing how hard you worked, the thought and creative prowess (minus the dark circles under your eyes and studio tac in your hair) and the passion behind why you decided to graduate with a degree in a creative field.

Last week April 30th 2011 was AIGA Baltimore’s Student Portfolio Review, where many of you test drove your creative work to reviewers, peers and board members alike. There was an array of work and styles and it is always refreshing to see the excitement and passion that many students have coming out of school (keep that!).

Our panel discussion addressed a lot of issues and gave many helpful hints in order to land your first position in the creative field. Showing that having a passion for what you do is extremely important, but knowing how to structure that passion to sell yourself to a position where you feel you can be a valuable asset is key to success in any job.

Key Pointers

  • Show great work. Make sure that you talk to your work, how did you solve the problem, why did you choose the colors and typefaces you did?
  • Not about a 9-5. Be hungry, show you care, and go above and beyond.
  • Be Part of a team. Be willing to communicate and work with others to accomplish a project.
  • Look People in the eyes. Do not stare off into the clouds. have an ability to engage a person in conversation.
  • Dont just grab anything that is out there. Show you are committed. Find something that fits what you want to do, just cause it pays the bills does not mean its the right fit, show you want to be part of a team.
  • Don’t typecast yourself. Don’t take a job to take a job, make sure you maintain your sanity. Don’t settle keep building your portfolio, don’t let a job you hate define the rest of your career.
  • Cold calling – NO. Send a physical resume (we love paper/printed things. so show it.), interact and be personable, show more than just an email, show you are committed top to bottom and that you understand the work that the company does.
  • Network – YES. Get to know who is in the field. Know the people as people (not just possible employers.) Become friends, break in and work hard at introducing yourself in person and in the industry. GET INVOLVED.
  • Individuality. BE CREATIVE, this is what you do and love so show it. Know who you are and find a way to stand out. Instead of a resume send a shoebox.
  • Cover letter. It is HUGE. tailor it to the position, know the company, make sure you follow-up with people when sending out your work.
  • My Design Firm. Thinking of starting your own business right outside of school? No. Go an learn on someone else’s dime, take the time, make the mistakes, you need a continuation of a learning process. How do client teams, technology, account management interact? Freelancer = your training wheels!
  • Research. You are also interviewing the employer. Find out about the company and ask questions during the interview (it can be impressive). Find a company will stick up for good design, and respect the process.
  • Explain and Defend your work. Articulate your creative work, and have the reasons to defend it that make sense. Who is your audience, is your creative appropriate? (don’t be shy about saying you do not have enough info! ask questions!)
  • Don’t take criticism personally. Clients can be difficult, sometimes you have no control over it. Sometimes there are off the wall comments, however this is the joy of what we do. If some one makes a comment that impacts everything you have done, it is a new challenge, you have another problem to solve. It is not always a bad thing if someone does not like something, there is probably a good reason. Client feedback = Good.
  • Online portfolio. URL = important you want to be able to show your work instantly, we want to know if you qualify for your interview.
  • KNOW WEB DESIGN Many people are unprepared on the interactive front. There is a huge advantage to understanding interactive design, user interactivity, and architecture.
  • Last but no least: Create your own content. Look within, if nothing is working create your own content, generate it yourself. Think about what you can do creatively to keep yourself in design. Make something out of your experiences.

Remember, everything falls back on you. You are responsible for making your work the best it can be, and making sure that you take the opportunities that are presented to you. Just because you may not get a job right away, does not mean you can’t still be creating valuable content that you can use for the future. I wish all the future professionals out there good luck, in finding the job that fits and works for you.

Stevenson University & AIGA Baltimore Present: Dan Pink, May 25th!

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

A conversation with Dan Pink about his recent book, DRIVE… (100 copies of the book available to the first 100 registrants)

Forget everything you thought you knew about how to motivate people—at work, at school, at home. It’s wrong. As Daniel H. Pink explains in his new and paradigm-shattering book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today’s world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.

Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of our lives. He demonstrates that while the old-fashioned carrot-and-stick approach worked successfully in the 20th century, it’s precisely the wrong way to motivate people for today’s challenges.

In Drive, he reveals the three elements of true motivation: Autonomy- the desire to direct our own lives Mastery- the urge to get better and better at something that matters Purpose- the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves Along the way, he takes us to companies that are enlisting new approaches to motivation and introduces us to the scientists and entrepreneurs who are pointing a bold way forward. Drive is bursting with big ideas— the rare book that will change how you think and transform how you live.

About the Author – Daniel H. Pink is the author of the long-running New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller A Whole New Mind, as well as The Adventures of Johnny Bunko and Free Agent Nation. He has written for The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Wired, where he is a contributing editor.

He has provided analysis for CNN, CNBC, ABC, NPR, and other networks in the U.S. and abroad. Pink lectures on economic transformation and the new workplace at corporations, associations, and universities around the world.

ADVANCE
AIGA Members – $15
Non-Members – $30

DOOR
AIGA Members – $25
Non-Members – $40

Adobe CS5 InDesign Workshops Follow-Up

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore
Professionals at the April 23rd InDesign Workshop

During the month of April, the Baltimore chapter of AIGA hosted two Adobe CS5 InDesign workshops focused on various aspects of digital publishing and publishing for tablet PC formats, like the Apple iPad. The events, moderated by Scott Citron of scottcitrondesign.com, covered a vast array of epublishing topics (April 7 at the Irvine Nature Center), and a more in-depth focus on iPad and digital publishing development (April 23 at MICA). Approximately 40 folks came and shared strategies for digital publishing at both events.

Choosing the winner…

Also, of note, Adobe gracisouly offered a free copy of Adobe CS5 Premium to two registrants for attending the workshop and filling out an evaluation form. Drawings for both copies were made from the two groups’ evaluation forms, were two winners, Mike Ring and Kristi Mathias were chosen at random by Scott Citron.

Ideas for Action

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

AIGA Baltimore recently held a collaborative workshop called Ideas for Action at the St. Francis Neighborhood Center. This was an opportunity for a diverse group of medical researchers, community outreach workers and leaders, as well as designers and undergraduate and graduate design students to work together to address social concerns in the Baltimore community.

Bernard Canniffe, Professor and Chair of Design at the Minneapolis College of Art, guided the group of 13 through a series of activities, exercises, field trips and brainstorming sessions. Canniffe feels these workshops are a way to use design to engage locally and through ripple effect, generate an impact nationally. The diverse backgrounds from each of the participants allowed topics to be viewed from multiple perspectives. At times, this proved to be challenging, but in the end the group created a strong network to initiate community projects in the future.

This event is hopefully just the beginning for this group. AIGA Baltimore looks forward to seeing what projects might evolve and hopes to be an active partner with the community to make Baltimore a better place for all.

From left to right: Bernard Canniffe, Javier Rios, Ande Campbell, Michelle Stidham, Laura Evans, Michael Trush, Noel Cunningham, Aura Seltzer, Yvonne Hardy-Phillips, Barbara Bates-Hopkins, Nick Hum, Pat Tracey, Nick Sprouls and Brian Ghiloni (not pictured: Malcolm Rio and Alissa Jones)

Seek & Find … Then Design it All!

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

Thursday, February 24th, Deanna Kuhlman-Leavitt spoke at the Creative Alliance. She talked about her company’s transition from a print-based design firm to a multi-disciplinary firm, willing to take on many types of design projects from non-traditional trade show displays and interior design for restaurants and retail stores, even going so far as to leverage her trade show development into launching a trade show presentation product.

(c) Courtesy of Kuhlmann-Leavitt

She and her designers have found inspiration from diverse things such as landscaping, Japanese design and unique lighting. When designing in a space, Kuhlman-Leavitt and her team seem to take advantage of what could be perceived as a weakness and/or inexperience and use their fresh observations to revolutionize the way things are perceived in these new spaces.

Thanks to Deanna for coming all the way from St. Louis to share her story.

Design Thinking Lectures

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore



Design Thinking

Tune in for a series of lectures on design coming your way, beginning next week!!

Announcing the 2011 William O Steinmetz ’50 Designer in Residence at Maryland Institute College of Art:

This Monday February 21, 6:30pm
“Process is King but a Queen Is a Bitch”
Eddie Opara provides a free lecture in Falvey Hall at MICA
1301 Mount Royal Ave, Baltimore, MD

Pentagram’s newest partner, Eddie Opara, is a multi-faceted designer whose work encompasses brand identity, publications, environments, interactive installations, websites, user interfaces, and software, with many projects spanning across multiple media.

Next Thursday, February 24, 6:30pm
“Seek & Find”
Deanna Kuhlmann-Leavitt provides a lecture at Patterson Theatre
3134 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD

Registration’s free for members through Saturday, February 19th!!

What is the best solution? Not the easy answer! Seek & Find is a way of working that is inquisitive and playful, disciplined and rigorous. Whether working in print, new media or the built environment, Kuhlmann Leavitt, Inc. asks how volume and scale, materials and objects, color, type, imagery and text can be used in an original and meaningful way to create experiences that inform and delight.
Also for Thursday:

FREE program. All are welcome.

An Event by the Society for History & Graphics:
Pioneers of Modern Design – An informal book discussion on Chapter 2
February 24, 7:00-9:00pm
MICA, Room M110

Info posted at: http://shag.squarespace.com

This SHAG program is sponsored by Dolphin Press & Print at MICA and MICA’s programs in Graphic Design and illustration. SHAG website is sponsored by AQUENT, the talent agency for marketers and designers.

Next Monday, February 28, 2:00 pm
“Jonathan Barnbrook: Graphic Designer”
Jonathan Barnbrook provides a free lecture in Falvey Hall at MICA
1301 Mount Royal Ave, Baltimore, MD

Recently recognized in a major exhibition at the Design Museum of London, Jonathan Barnbrook is confirmed as one of Britain’s best-known graphic designers. Since 1990 he has chosen to work with a mix of cultural institutions, activist groups, and charities as well as completing a steady stream of personal works.

Thursday, March 10, 6:30 pm
“Design Ignites Change!”
Mark Randall provides a free lecture in the Center for the Arts Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall at Towson University

Creativity holds enormous power for fostering social change. As designers—contributors to the material world—we have a responsibility to make choices that benefit society in positive ways. The challenge we face is how do we expand our profession to have greater impact?

You missed a good time!

Posted on by AIGA Baltimore

AIGA Baltimore held Critique Hash Brown on Sunday, January 16 at City Cafe, and it was a good time had by all. We partook in their fabulous brunch with fresh cinnamon buns, omelets, Belgian waffles, bacon and more. But then, we also got to spend a long time (so long, we were kindly told we had outspent our time at our table) talking about current design challenges we are each having. Many shared their in-progress projects that have hit a wall, and others got to share their design love and war stories with the group.

Thank you to Wing Pokrywka for holding this event, and thanks to Meredith, Courtney, Maarten, Kate and Kristin for joining in the fun.

Be sure to watch out for Critique Hash Brown to be held again as it was a great time to spend a Sunday morning!