Creating a Great Portfolio

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by Teresa Carr

The most important tool for a graphic artist, to find a career in the arts field, is a knock out portfolio with at least 15 of the best work he or she can churn out. As a rule no more than 20 designs in a portfolio. Usually the director or employer does have the extra time to view a lot of unnecessary design. You want to hold their interest and not draw them away. Remember, less is more. Starting with your best piece first you’re your less towards the end and your next best piece to end with a bang. Even if it’s your first job interview, it always the first impression that gets one’s foot in the door. It’s good to be a well-rounded person and knowledgeable in quite a few subjects. Computer literacy is a plus. Graphic software the graphic artist equipped with are Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDraw, QuarkXpress or Pagemaker, Publisher are the basics. A graphic artist that has a good working knowledge of other graphic software, such as 3-D, is a big plus in finding more work. If you’re one of those well-rounded artist who has a talent for illustration and traditional artwork you got it made. Most of all you need some good ideas and great taste. This is the making of one good portfolio. Back in the days of design school, creating a stellar portfolio was more of a chore about getting it just right and selection of the best of the best. The portfolio class was the highlight of the final year. This was broken up into 4 main groups; resource researching, resume writing and design, job hunting, and the main element -portfolio development and selection.

Here I will explain the 4 main groups and how they are used in getting gigs and bids for graphic jobs:

1.    Resource Researching – this deals with finding the right place for you to start looking for the kind of work you like to do or niche you like to be. For example, if you focus is in the greeting card industry then pull from directories, agencies, bulletins, or even the phone book. Word of mouth is also an excellent resource for companies looking for freelance or employees. Another excellent source is a book called Artist’s and Graphic Designer’s Market. There are tons of unlimited resources on the Web. Some of the largest freelancers websites are Guru (www.guru.com), Gig (www.gig.com), Sologig (www.sologig.com), Hot Gigs (www.hotgigs.com), Creative Pro (www.creativepro.com), Elance (www.elance.com), and Get a Freelancer (www.getafreelancer.com). Another good resource is to network with some local groups and organizations that promote the creative community. The local one in my area is Create West Virginia an organization who is in development of bringing artists together and to help them build a creative community.

2.    Resume Writing and Design – There are dozens of books on how to write a good resume. Check at the local library for a listing. To write a creative type of resume is not much different than on for an editor or administrative assistant, but adding flare to it to get the employer’s attention to get that design job. I will use my resume on the next page as an example. The vital information you’ll need is your contact information. First typeset your name in a larger point size and your business name, address, city, state, zip code, and country. It’s important to give phone numbers and other communications so that the employer can find you. If you have an e-mail address add that, too. If you have an online portfolio and/or gallery of your works, private or group, make note of the web addresses. The next step is to include your technical proficiency. This means what software and computer hardware you use and types of work you do. This is followed by professional experience. Here you add your creative work experience whether they are freelance, volunteer and other employment beginning with the most recent and working backward. Give the business name and contact address. List you key achievements with your job description. List dates of employment giving the month and year. After you have listed your entire employment information list your education and training, workshops and seminars giving the name of the schools you attended with contact information and the dates of attendance in months and years. You may want to include any awards or memberships that are applicable. Lastly for the reference section you can type, references and portfolio are available upon request. Usually the employer will sometimes ask for these if they want to see them. Styles of typesetting are to be as professional as possible. Don’t get overzealous with the type. Two different types of fonts are the limit. Keep it clean and concise. Work with type sizes, bold, and italics lettering for more eye appealing charm. Use active verbs, correct grammar and spelling. When using color do it sparingly with just one or goes good with black type. If you like to add a small logo place it around the top near your name or business contact information. I’m always changing or adding to my resume. It another endless quest for the perfect resume has become an art form as well. Choose your paper carefully. There are affordable, high quality papers available, or high quality laser print outputs.

3.    Job hunting – This is a wide topic where one can take a big leap into the deep, vast ocean of opportunities. As the saying goes, “Cast your bread upon the water and it will come back to you tenfold.” I offered some places to start above in number one of the Resource Researching section. Let’s not forget other job hunting websites; Monster.com (www.monster.com), Career Builder (www.careerbuilder.com), and Flip Dog (www.flipdog.com). Some companies don’t advertise. So if you show an interest in a company check with their human resource department to see if they may have any openings; try your local employment agency for postings and let’s not forget creative temp agencies that hire out screened applicants. In the art and design profession can be tough and discouraging. It’s tough out there. Take to heart some simple advice. The secret to successful job hunting is never quit. Be resourceful. Be more than just competent in your profession, and be persistent and tenacious. A positive and enthusiastic attitude will help in your pursuit of a job. You will never stop learning in the “real world.” It wouldn’t hurt to be in the right place at the right time either. Always network with others, communicate and refine your skills. In the long run, hard work pays off.

4.    Portfolio Development and Selection – We’ve come to the most important and crucial part of this editorial, the portfolio, which is the artist’s lifeblood. Without it is like an automobile without wheels. Lily Silipow, a graphic design headhunter said, “Your portfolio is often judged not by your best pieces but by your worst.” The thing an artist needs to know what makes a good, successful portfolio work is a great looking design or artwork with good design, layout, detail, development, use of color, drawing skill, concepts, and technique. An ideal number of pieces in you portfolio are between ten and twenty. Try for fifteen pieces. Arrange your pieces in a specific order. Start out with black and white, two colors, full color and end with a strong piece. Start out with a strong piece and end with a strong piece. Put in order according to categories: logotypes, brochures, editorial designs, book design, packaging, architectural renderings, and illustrations. Before going to an interview have your portfolio evaluated. Show it to other designers, instructors, or attend organized portfolio reviews. If you get different opinions the feedback may be conflicting. You make the final decisions. Do not take criticisms personally. Creative criticism makes you stronger and makes you a better artist in the process. Always keep your portfolio updated. If you’re still a student or taking a portfolio building class, always update with your best work. You can always rework previous projects. Updating helps you evaluate your progress and it’s best to “clean house” once in a while. There are different types of portfolio cases; zippered portfolio case with or without multi-ring binder, attaché-style portfolio, presentation folders, and book format. If you have slides and transparencies bring along a small portable light box and a loupe. Use slide and transparency protectors and put them in a binder. All works should conform to an 8 ½ x 11 format.

I’ve made a list of some of the artwork and design I include in my portfolio:

•     Black and white logotype design (typography), including calligraphy, letter art, corporate identity systems (letterhead stationery, card, direct mail) – best, strongest design
•       Two color menu design 
•       Illustration #1 – full color (animal)
•       Illustration #2 – full color (still life)
•      Illustration #3 – full color (figure)
•       Architectural rendering drawing
•      Landscape rendering
•     Publication design (book design and jacket)
•       Packaging design
•      Animation and storyboard
•     Fine art (painting)
•      Poster Advertisement (Concert Promotion)
•      Magazine design (Christian theme)
•       Cartoon or Caricature – last, end with a bang.

Also include in side pockets of portfolio sketchbook of thumbnails, tear sheets, roughs, layout and marker comprehensives, transparencies and slides in binder, photographs of large artwork or three-dimensional pieces, videotapes of animations.

When the time comes to get that job, your portfolio is important because it shows your talent and abilities. The resume serves as your introduction to a prospective employer and tells him or her who you are. The interview gives you the opportunity to make a favorable impression while presenting your skills. These three will determine your success in a career in the graphic communications profession.

Good Luck!

Bibliography:

Berryman, Gregg. Designing Creative Resumes. California: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1985.

Craig, James. Graphic Design Career Guide (first edition), New York: Watson-Gutpill Publications, 1983.

Graphic Artists Guild. Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines (8^th edition). New York: Graphic Artists Guild.

Marquand, Ed. How to Prepare Your Portfolio (first edition), New York: Art Direction Book Company, 1981.

Marquand, Ed. How to Prepare Your Portfolio (third edition), New York: Art Direction Book Company, 1994.

The Workbook (published every year): national directory of advertising firms, design firms, illustrators, letterers, production artists, photographers, copywriters, printers, service bureaus, photo labs, etc. Architects and interior designers should have an industry directory or organizations that have a listing of firms’ addresses and phone numbers.

©2006. Teresa Carr. Mega Grafx Studio.

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The History of Graphic Design

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Man’s earliest known attempt of the visual record of his life began about 5,765 years ago. After the Great Deluge (The Great Flood) that Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives began the three major civilizations in the known world at that time. It began with the cuneiform writings of the Sumerians. The beginnings of graphic design can go back to the time of the cave drawings found in Lucerne, France, and in later civilizations such as the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and early Aramaic writings and the Book of the Law during the time of Moses and the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. The printed word began somewhere afterward. The Phoenicians used the first formal alphabet, the first art forms. The evidence of the first example of printing was discovered in 1908 by an Italian archaeologist on the island of Crete. He found a clay disc in the ruins of the palace of Phaistos in a stratification dated about 1500 B.C. Before the invention of printing the written word was all done laboriously by hand. The invention of printing did not put an end to the skill and art that had gone into the illuminated manuscripts, which the monks had illustrated with beautiful illuminations or colored pictures of the Holy Bible. Printers followed the traditions of the monks, and turned out books of great beauty. Artists who had copied the works of the masters turned to pen and brush to etching and engraving in metal, so that their images could be printed in large numbers. In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg brought the West up to date with his invention of movable type. Historians credit his invention as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. The uses of paper were not new when Gutenberg’s type appeared. Eumenes, king of Pergamus, introduced the use of parchment for writing in 170 B.C. In making ink for printing, the Chinese lead the world in discovery by using lampblack in 400 A.D. Viscous or tacky inks essential for printing were used in Germany by Gutenberg’s time. Gutenberg is credited to the envisionment of commercial and cultural possibilities of printing as a process of graphic reproduction. With the cumulative effect of inventions of many minds in a growing civilization, we attribute the evolution of printing as a graphic art. The first books in Europe were printed in black letter or gothic type. They were designed to imitate the style of letter used by religious scribes living in Mainz, Germany, where Gutenberg began his activities. The roman letter type came later, it would have been lost if it weren’t for Emperor Charlemagne revived the ancient writings. Charlemagne encouraged the establishment of a school at Tours by an English scholar, Alcuin. The calligraphy of this school became the model for the rest of Europe. Artists began to use lithography after 1796, and even greater numbers of images could be printed. Photography and bookmaking are important productions of work from early printers, engravers, artists, craftsmen, and scientists. Through England, printing came to the American colonies. William Caxton, who brought equipment from the Netherlands to establish a press at Westminster, introduced printing in England about 1476. Among the books issued from Caxton’s press were Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Fables of Aesop, and many other popular works. Printing was used to promote colonization of the New World. There is on file in the New York Public Library a copy of such a promotion piece dated 1609. It is entitled, “Offering Most Excellent Fruites by Planting in Virginia.” One historian observed the fact that 750 of the first 900 settlers in the Virginia colonies died during the first winter was amazed at the power of the printed word. It encouraged new settlers to come to the New World, but also influenced the 150 survivors to remain. The fist printing press appeared in Massachusetts in 1638, soon after the first settlers established themselves. The first piece printed on the new pres was The Freeman’s Oath. The Bay Psalm Book was produced in 1640. Printing didn’t make headway in the colonies as it did in the Massachusetts Colony. It wasn’t until 1808 that printing spread to states as far as Mississippi to St. Louis. As migration continued west printing followed. Benjamin Franklin an important American citizen of his time began his own printing office in Philadelphia by 1732 and became the publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette. Among his publications, Poor Richard’s Almanack became the most famous. Another great patriot of the Revolutionary Period was Isaiah Thomas. In 1770 he began publication of the Massachusetts Spy, a newspaper in which he supported the cause of the patriots. He served during the Revolutionary War as printer for the Massachusetts House of Assembly. Following the war, he re-established his business, which had been destroyed. He became one of the leading publishers of books. In 1810 he published a two volume History of Printing in America which today remains the best source on colonial printing. For the past 400 years all type was set by hand. In the 19^th century men began to consider the possibility of creating typesetting machines. The first sufficient commercial machine was the invention of the linotype by Ottmar Mergenthaler in 1886. Of the various metal composing machines developed only two kinds are still used today. These are the Linotype, Intertype, and Ludlow that cast slugs (one piece fully spaced lines); and the Monotype that casts individual pieces of type in justified lines. Tolbert Lanston of Washington, D.C invented the Monotype in 1887. Washington I. Ludlow suggested the Ludlow Typograph in 1906 and later perfected by William A. Reade.

The first illustrations in books were made from woodcuts. They were carved out of woodblocks by hand leaving raised surfaced designs. Albrecht Pfister in Bamberg printed the earliest book using woodcuts about 1460. Between 1570 and 1770 illustrations in books were printed by copperplate engravings, resulting in a decline in the making of woodcuts. In 1770 Thomas Bewick of England developed the technique of using a special engraving tool for cutting across the grain, instead of with the grain. Today, woodcuts are only used to give an artistic touch to certain types of printed pieces. Around 1476, engraved copper intaglio plates the forerunner of steel engravers and gravure, were first used in France and Italy. Copper engraving made it competitive to woodcuts in England about 1545, and in France about 1569. Copperplate work is still used today for invitations and announcements. Photography for graphic arts involves the photographic processes and techniques used to reproduce illustrations and art subjects. The invention ans use of photography and photomechanics completed the mechanization of the printing process; made illustrations practical and economical to produce and reproduce; and foster the phenomenal growth of advertising, periodical, book and commercial printing. The development of photomechanics closely paralleled the advances of photography. In 1826 Joseph Niepce made the first metal engraving by light using a metal plate coated with bitumen and etched after exposure and development. Photoengraving developed rapidly in America and by 1871 it was commercially used for letterpress printing. By 1880 photoengraved prints had replaced woodcuts as illustrations in books and magazines. In that year, Stephen Horgan made the first halftone photoengraving for printing. It utilized a coarse screen and was printed by lithography in The Daily Graphic of New York, the first picture newspaper. If Gutenberg stepped into a 1950’s printing plant he would have stood at the typecast, set the type by hand and pulled a proof almost exactly as he did when first invented it. Today Gutenberg may recognize the output now, but the input would be strange to him.

The age of electronics and computers has completely changed the complexity of the printing processes. In the years since 1950 presses have speeded up, but have been replaced by photo and computer typesetting; photography is controlled by densitometers, exposure computers and automatic processors; color separations and corrections are done on scanners, and half tone output films are generated by lasers, stripping is done by CAD techniques, color proofs are made from separation films or from digital data from computers, computers are used to analyze production information on presses, and bindery lines operate automatically by computers for magazine printing. The future of graphic arts is being shaped by the expansion of the microcomputer and image processing software. Printing is being used without the use of plates and films by ink jet and electronic methods. Offset presses are becoming faster in the control of inking and dampening.  Lithography will be the dominant printing process well in the 21^st century. Flexography with water based inks and gravure with electronic, laser, electron beam and direct digital engraving will increase in usage. By 2021, these printing processes will have about one half share of value of printed products. Publishers and printers recognize their part in the huge information industry that employs over three fourths of the work force in the United States, and many are expanding to telecommunications, videotex, interactive cable TV, direct broadcast by satellite, as supplements to printing. Graphic arts is sure to change in the years to come more than 540 years since Gutenberg the printed page and image will continue to flourish into the next century. It certain that the change will be the way it’s composed and produced, and will be around for many years for people to read, view, admire and enjoy.

Some of the well-known designers such as Neville Brody, Paul Rand, William Morris, Piet Zwart, Milton Glaser and David Carson have changed the world we live with their approach to graphic communication. Their brilliant innovation in visual communication have defined the way we look at it.

Graphic Design Defined

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The BEST Web Hosting for Any Budget

This was a report for a discussion on what is the best web hosting on the WWW. The following is my research that come up with the following information. Hope this will help some of you that are looking for affordable and best hosting for your website:

These three web hosting are the ones I thought had the best plans for the price and the features they have to offer the customer. These were rated from the top websites of 2009 on a scale from 1 (the best) to 10 (the least) according to 10 Best Web Hosting 2009, Top-10-Web-Hosting.com and WebHostingSearch.com:

BlueHost.com rated #4 (HostMonster.com came in third which is another great web hosting service) and has been in business since 1996. I picked this particular one because of their many features. They also have a tutorial page to show you how you can set up your website. They run on Linux servers and they have minimal downtime. Their serves also support Dreamweaver html, xhtml, css, JavaScript, and php.

The Features not only include:

§ Unlimited Hosting Space

§ Unlimited File Transfer

§ Host Unlimited Domains

§ 2,500 POP/Imap Email Accounts

§ SSH (Secure Shell), SSL, FTP, Stats

§ CGI, Ruby (RoR), Perl, PHP, MySQL

§ 2000/2002 Front Page Extensions

§ Free Domain Forever

§ Free Site Builder

§ 24/7 Superb/Responsive Sales/Support (888) 401-4678

There are additional features available starting at Free Domain Name, Site promotion package, Free e-commerce cart, Free Blog, Forum, Board. They claim to have top notch 24/7 support starting at $6.95/month. They also claim to have other features with drag-to-drop site builder, E-mail support, databases, Plug-in scripts, multimedia and much more. To take advantage of all they offer you can visit their website for more information. I would have to copy everything they mention about their site. So head on over to http://www.bluehost.com/tell_me_more.html. Their help desk section is equipped to handle your questions for getting started at http://helpdesk.bluehost.com/

JustHost.com was rated #2 and has been in business since March 2004, but has 10 years experience in the industry. They serve Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. They run their servers on Linux-based technology. This is the one I go with because of the prices, plus great account features, great 24 hour/7 day customer and technical support, and great reliability. If you're on a budget like I am then I recommend JustHost.com. Their web hosting plans start from $3.95/month for a 3 year installation, but you can pay for 6 months at a time with a money back guarantee.

The Features include the following:

§ Unlimited GB's (Gigabytes) of space

§ Unlimited GB's of Transfer

§ Unlimited Domain Hosting

§ Unlimited E-mail accounts

§ Unlimited MySQL databases

§ Free Site Builder

§ Free Domain for Life

§ Free Instant Setup

§ Anytime 30 Day Money Back Guarantee

§ 24/7 Customer/Technical Support 888-755-7585

For the Premium Plan you can own up to 3 Domains for $8.95/month. Their introductory price is $3.95/month for a 3-year plan (best package deal). They also include FREE e-commerce cart, WordPress, Joomla, Gallery install, C-Panel control panel, site stats, CGI script library, html, xhtml, Flash, JavaScript, and php support, site builder, Dreamweaver support, E-commerce shopping cart software, and FTP access. They have a 99.9% reliability rating with minimal downtime. Other services they provide for customers is their affiliate program where members can sign-up and make money by referrals, plus they have storage. They have plans ranging from monthly installment of $7.95 with a $20.00 set-up fee, 6 mos. at $6.95/mo or $41.70, 12 mos.(1 yr.) at $5.95/mo. or $71.40, 24 mos. (2 yrs) 4.95/mo or $120.00, 36 mos.(3 yrs) at $3.95/mo. or $142.20 (the better plan). For more information visit, http://www.justhost.com and talk with a 24/7 virtual operator or call their toll free number.

Saving the best for last, we have FatCow.com, which is rated #1 by reviews as "udderly fantastic" with an overall hosting score of 99%. They have been in business for 13 years since 1996. The first time feature package price is $3.67/month. First time accounts are $66/year after that $99/year and 2 year plan is $88 for first time after that is $121.94. Their hosting service runs on Linux-based Blade server technology.

Their features include:

§ Unlimited Disk Space

§ Unlmited Bandwidth

§ Unlimited POP mailboxes

§ Unlimited MySQL databases

§ Unlimited Domains hosted

§ FREE Domain name

§ FREE Web Site Builder

§ FREE Shopping cart

§ FREE Script Barn (WordPress, phpBB, Joomla)

§ SSL Secure Server

§ OS E-commerce

§ FTP Users & Subusers

§ 24/7 Technical and Customer Support, sales 866-544-9343 and technical 888-278-9780

They have additional tools available to build an on-line store, CGI, PHP, Python, Perl, Ruby, and MySQL databases. They offer a special plan called Mini Moo for $5/year for those on a very tight budget and just need a hosting page for other domains. There are no set-up fees, but you have to pay for a domain name and you only have 1 e-mail account on this plan. A BenCollins.net Web Design instructor uses FatCow.com as an example on how good website design begins with good web hosting is done.

The benefits for using a paid web hosting over a free one is that they have more to offer you to keep your web business running smoothly where a free one only has very limited features and you don't have the control over your website as you do with the one you pay for.

Other honorable mentions are HostMonster.com and HostGator.com.

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