The importance of organization or sequencing of work in your
portfolio, cannot be over emphasized. The portfolio presentation is “the moment
of truth”, it is your audition, your 15 minutes of fame, your opportunity to
shine, you ticket to paradise. The presentation of your “book” is nothing less
than an audition of your work. Performed before a select audience. That
audience may be keenly interested in the work or nonchalant. It is your
responsibility to capture the interest and attention of the reviewer, and you
only have a short span of time to do so.
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| © 2013 Don Arday. |
Similarly, when your portfolio comes in front of a reviewer, it must distract them from any problems they are working over in their mind, and interrupt them from their subconscious routine that day.
How a Portfolio Works in a Personal Interview
It’s always best when you are able to present your portfolio
in person, though a portfolio that is presented in person must work differently
than one that is dropped off or delivered to a reviewer. Since you will be
presenting the work along with verbal information about it, the sequence of
work should match your narrative, and the narrative should be rehearsed to take
full advantage of the content and context for your illustrations, similar to a
Powerpoint or slide presentation. If for some reason the narrative you plan
doesn’t fit with the imagery you show, then change your selection or sequencing
of the images—or change your discourse.
How a Portfolio Works in an Impersonal Review
Unlike a personal presentation where you are present to
explain your work, in an impersonal situation, your portfolio alone must speak
on your behalf. Therefore it is important to provide accompanying information
that will pertain to the content and context for your illustrations. The work
should relate to the person that is reviewing it within the context of their
company. Although it is not necessary for every work to directly fit the review
situation, your portfolio should have some examples that are on target, and
those illustrations should be shown first, even if they aren’t the best pieces
in the book.
Portfolio Organization Strategies
Some sequencing strategies work well in general review situations
where presentation circumstances are informal, vague, or even unknown, while
other strategies are best implemented for a specific review. Below are
different ways a portfolio can be organized and sequenced.
Beethoven’s Fifth (Qualitative Demonstration)
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony serves as a flawless presentation
of examples of musical ideas. The music progresses through several different
stages, ranging from bold and commanding to atmospheric and ethereal, from fast-paced
to slow and deliberate, and from light-hearted to serious and commanding. The Fifth
begins with a bold, simple statement to immediately capture the listener’s
attention and ends with an equally strong finish that leaves a lasting
impression. Like Beethoven’s Fifth, a portfolio should present a well-composed succession
of work that demonstrates the best “tonal” range the illustrator is capable of.
Mount Everest (Skills Development)
One of the greatest challenges to mankind, the ascent of
Mount Everest presents another example of how a set of skills can build upon
one and other in sequence. A “Mount Everest” portfolio like Mount Everest
begins with simpler situations, and parallels the learning process as it
progresses to much more advanced solutions. The organization of work progresses
from your more ordinary illustration examples to unique and extraordinary ones.
This kind of portfolio structure must also be organized with illustrations ever
increasing in intricacy, which requires forethought and preparation. The final
illustrations in the portfolio are examples that demonstrate the most progress
of your knowledge.
The Great Pyramid (Assignment Progression)
Differing from Mount Everest, the focus here is on types of
assignments rather than skills. This structure involves sequencing work based
on the audience it serves, starting with the most general, and progressing to
the most specific. Work shown represents a range from the ordinary types of
assignments to much more exclusive ones. The “Great Pyramid” portfolio begins
with work produced for general audiences and progresses to examples of work created
for very specialized markets. The final illustrations in the portfolio, i.e.,
the top of the pyramid, show the most narrow and selective purposes for the work.
The Swiss Army Knife (Collection Array)
As we all know, Swiss army knives were designed to be
multifunctional, and this form of portfolio structure serves the same purpose.
However, this portfolio form is more about selecting examples of your work that
demonstrate a variety of assignments and less about focusing on a narrow
collection of work or creating the ideal sequence of illustrations. Its purpose
is to show a great range of experience through the display of single examples of
each type of illustration. Graphic design portfolios often use this kind of configuration—one
corporate identity, one brochure, etc. The work can also be selected to show a
variety of media, range of assignments, an assortment of markets, a diversity
of clients, etc.
The Story Book (Narrative Correlation)
Most effective for portfolios that will be presented in
person, this organizational strategy follows the organized narrative that you
will use to accompany the work. The narrative will emphasis your skills,
qualifications, experience, etc. Like an actual illustrated storybook, the
arrangement of pieces acts to illustrate the points you wish to get across about
yourself in an interview. So, the story, or speech, is developed first.
Afterwards, the illustrations are chosen and arranged to parallel the story.
The effect is much the same as a Powerpoint presentation. This strategy is very
effective at keeping you and your reviewer from being side tracked by any off
topic conversation that may occur in an interview.
The Time Machine (Chronological Sequence)
This strategy is strictly based on the chronological order
of your work, and like the storybook strategy, it is very efficient method for
keeping an interview on track and effective. The arrangement can begin with
your earliest example and progress to the most recent, or it can start off with
your newest piece on proceed backwards in time to the oldest. Either way, the
effect is to take the reviewer through an historical span of the work you have
produced and its outcome. Reverse chronological order is better in interviews
where the time is short. Time may be so short that the last few pieces in your
book may only be glanced at. Chronological order is more effective in
interviews where the reviewer has more time. This arrangement leaves the strong
impression at the end of a review, while reverse chronological order has its
impact at the start of a review.
The Double Sided Coin (Dual Purpose)
Many employers and commissioners of assignments are looking
for illustrators and designers that possess more than one area of expertise. This
rather specific organizational strategy is for artists who have produced
independent bodies of work in two separate visual fields, for example, graphic
design assignments and illustration commissions. Essentially, the portfolio is
split in half, with each type of work comprising its own section. The work is
not comingled, but is arranged and indexed into two separate sequences. This
strategy allows flexibility for job searching in two separate but associated
fields. The separate sections can be flopped to suit the main purpose for the
portfolio review. The advantage of this type of an arrangement is that it avoids
leaving a confusing impression with a reviewer about what it is you have done
in the past, and what you are offering do for them in the future.
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