Art Portfolios Presentations

Introducing Your Portfolio

During the interview, you'll probably start to wonder when is the best time to present your portfolio. Most likely, the opportunity will arise naturally during the course of the interview. You might, for instance, be asked, “What did you do at your last job?” You could answer by saying, “Let me show you some of the projects I worked on while I was at XYZ Company.” Or the potential employer might ask you directly to show your work.

In other situations, the opportunity to display your work may arise in a more subtle way. The interviewer may start discussing some of the company's current projects. At this point, you can say, “I have a couple of similar projects that I was involved in that I'd like to show you,” or “I solved similar problems at my firm, and I'd like to show you how.” And while you are showing your work, pay attention to the body language of the interviewer. If he or she seems uninterested or shifts around a lot, it's time to move on to another piece. Do not feel that you must show every piece in your portfolio case.

A word of warning: You won't be asked in every interview to show your portfolio. When this happens, don't take it personally. Some employers would rather hear you talk about your ideas or what you can do for the company.

~from The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design by Debbie Rose Myers

Talking About Your Portfolio

During your portfolio presentation, you should be able to talk about your work, processes, materials, and ideas. You can prepare by reviewing your artist's statement. Depending on the context, you may want to discuss your intentions for specific projects as well as what you found was successful or not. It shows maturity to say what was unexpected, or what you would do next time. However, you should never apologize for anything you've done. Understand that art is a process, involving change and growth. Show your reviewer that you are assertive and confident about the creative decisions you've made.

~ from Kim Beck, Assistant Art Professor

Briefly describe [any] problem and your rationale for each solution you present. Plan to defend your visual decisions. Talk articulately about typography, marketing constraints and production possibilities. Never make excuses for your work, a sure sign of weakness. Your creative portfolio must succeed at face value and speak for itself.

Understanding Reviewers' Preferences

Handling your creative portfolio is an issue. One interviewer might want to take total control and hold each piece. Another may prefer that you take each plate out of your case and replace it. A third might be interested in thumbing through only sketchbooks or publications. You need to read the inclination of each reviewer and make them feel comfortable during the interview. Remember, these are people who have handled hundreds or even thousands of portfolios. Trust them to treat your portfolio with clean hands and respect.

Pacing Your Portfolio Presentation

The ideal pacing of your portfolio will add value to your work. If you present your concepts too quickly, your solutions will seem less important. Prolonging the sequence will bore your reviewer. Think of each solution as the precious item it is, the culmination of your investment of time and money. Each plate or page is a valuable asset. Your task is to market this package of assets confidently at each interview.

Requesting Feedback

When you sense the interview is about to end, request some feedback. You may not even have to ask, since criticism is part of the standard language of creative professionals. Accept any comments gracefully. Avoid arguments even if you vehemently disagree. Remember that criticism is simply the opinion of one person. You will receive a balanced picture of the strengths and weaknesses of your portfolio by comparing the comments of several reviewers. Feedback, when taken as advice, can only improve your next opportunity. Use each critique to help modify your portfolio, refine your target research, and streamline your responses.

~from Designing Creative Portfolios by Gregg Berryman

Preventing Portfolio Presentation Problems

If you have put your artwork in a sleeve-style portfolio, make sure the pieces are securely bound. Use small pieces of tape to keep them from sliding around in their sleeves. If you have pieces that must be removed during the interview, create holding sleeves or pockets that will hold the work in place until needed.

If any of your work is mounted on boards and placed in a portfolio box, you face additional challenges. Ideally, you hope to be provided a fairly large table on which to display the work to the interviewer. But what you may find instead is that the interviewer asks you to show the work on top of his or her desk, which is already spilling over with papers and materials. So practice handling the boards under such conditions beforehand, so you don't fumble around.

[For electronic portfolios], there are many issues to consider—monitor size, computer speed and memory, spin-up time of the CD, fonts, and colors. Some or all of these things may contribute to the success—or failure—of your presentation. Another problem to consider is software compatibility. It's a good idea to save the project in a backward-compatible version that is designed to play on older systems, especially true if you use a program not in widespread use. Remember to always have a backup plan: bring your physical portfolio with printed images just in case.

~from The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design by Debbie Rose Myers

Additional Advice

When showing your work, follow a trajectory. Start with something that grabs your reviewer's attention. Then progress to your work that is comparable, and then work up from there. End your portfolio presentation with one of your strongest pieces. Think of it as creating a narrative, a flow, in which you tell a story. Always remember to present your work in the clearest possible way.

It's important that the presentation itself is transparent. It should not interfere with the focus, which is your work. Also, portfolio reviewers are judging two main aspects. Naturally, they want to be impressed by the work, but they also want to be impressed by you as an individual, regardless of the work. You should make a connection with your reviewers, interact with them, and start a real conversation. And you should enjoy talking about your work. Present your portfolio in a way that is interesting to you.

~from Clayton Merrell, Associate Art Professor

Portfolio Resources

•  Berryman, Gregg. Designing Creative Portfolios . Menlo Park , CA : Crisp Publications, Inc. 1994.

•  Myers, Debbie Rose. The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design . Hoboken , NJ : John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2005.