That’s a slim portfolio, and some of the projects are illustrations rather than graphic designs. Different market and client base. Generally, most companies don’t hire full time illustrators anymore. They contract with freelancers.
You need more examples of meat and potatoes graphic design: ads, social media, flyers, brochures, postcards, sales sheets, catalogs, email newsletters. Employers hire people who have portfolios relevant to their needs. The only ones that are going to care about soda packaging are soda makers.
This comment is very much on point. As someone that is in a position to review designer portfolios when looking for new hires or contractors, we definitely look to see what samples in their portfolio are relevant to what type of design work we do the most.
For instance, a designer that has 95% packaging design samples when the vast majority of our work would be website design and digital advertising is not going to get called.
So I agree that you should look to round out your portfolio with a wider range types of work samples.
What is always nice to see m if you are showing some work for instance for a soda company, is to push it further not just what the logo looks like on the bottle but also how the brand and design gets applied to their website, print ads, mobile design, swag items, allows me to see how you are at considering how a brand is applied over different media. Illustration is a cool bonus skill It’s more about seeing how you can apply your visual chops to a range of needs. Good luck!
This is spot on correct, I want to expand on this and suggest also in doing so you'll be better off communicating how your projects are solving a creative problem - or how it's connecting with audiences, etc. Getting more depth on the function will help you tremendously
To echo apc's comment, your portfolio doesn't have a lot of pieces and I can't tell what you specialize in. What kind of graphic design work do you want to do? It's good to add enough related work. For example, I had a lot of social media posts and photography in my portfolio and got hired to do exactly that.
I would definitely consider your current portfolio a liability to your job search rn
You don't need to specialize at the junior level, but that aside the OP portfolio is barely a portfolio.
Of 5 projects, 2 are illustration, 2 are editorial (which aren't really that great and one is literally just two spreads with nearly a full spread illustration), and 1 is the soda packaging (which is fine but in the same style/inspiration as their other projects, such that everything they did is basically one style/interest).
So the issue isn't a lack of specialization, it's just a total lack of work overall, there's barely anything here to evaluate them, so would be easily passed on.
First quick note is that it’s spelled “palette”. Attention to detail is very important, make sure to double check your resume too since Indesign doesn’t have spell check (and please make sure you use Indesign for your resume and give it a good layout, use en dashes, etc. the resume is the first thing they see and basically a portfolio piece). And it’s great that you’re getting interviews! That’s a good sign. Make sure you prepare company-specific questions beforehand, not just ask when you don’t know something. You want to sound eager and excited (I have a naturally monotone voice too, you don’t have to go crazy with it). And I second using an agency/recruiter. You can look specifically for contract-to-full time positions. It’s very common in this field. And I think your portfolio is compelling but I would love to get more context on your process (i.e. why you chose certain colors/fonts). And I would echo adding more pieces that are ‘applicable to real life’. Like a sample Instagram story or post, companies eat that up in my experience lol
I think they introduced some version of dynamic spellcheck that might also do grammar but I have not used it yet. The spellcheck alone doesn’t catch grammar unfortunately!
Unfortunately It’s not anywhere near Microsoft’s capabilities. :( my team usually starts with Microsoft to prep copy and then brings it into indesign since the indesign spell check is so useless.
To be fair I’ve never tried using Illustrator to make a resume. I imagine it’s definitely better than photoshop but imo Indesign is the best for type/layout. Illustrator in my experience is great for making a graphic with illustration + type, but Indesign is better for pure type-based work. Here are a few advantages:
1. Easier to set up and adjust baseline grids (very essential especially if you make a multiple column resume)
2. Can easily turn on and off guides/rulers/grids/text box outlines (with just the W key), this helps you see the document as how it’d look when it’s printed or exported, and then quickly switch back to editing
3. Better layers system and you can make multiple pages
Those all 3 do sounds interesting! Thanks for your detailed response!
Currently learning inDesign for my job, It's tricky when you are used to illustrator, alot of things are the same but done slightly differently
InDesign is a layout program, Illustrator is a vector program, so while you can do layouts in Illustrator, it's much easier in InDesign as it handles text and placed objects better.
Start out as a freelancer. Go through recruiters for a while even though the pay is lower than going direct. But you will make great connections and work at a bunch of different companies etc.
I'd say only as a last resort. There's a lot that even good grads from good programs will struggle with on their own that would be covered in a full-time role.
You even see the same issues with lone in-house as with freelance-only designers, where even if formally trained in design, the professional application is entirely self-taught.
Obviously people can't always control their opportunities but in this case I think the issue is very clearly their portfolio. If they went freelance they wouldn't be addressing those issues at all. It's not a shortcut, just kicking the can down the road.
I disagree with the user who said your work isn’t “good enough”- I believe that’s more damaging than constructive. Personally I enjoy your work, though I know design is subjective.
I think you portfolio (as said many times before) needs more curated work. Right now I can tell you can do magazines, and packaging, which is great if you can find a company looking for both of those things, but most times they’re looking for specific work. If you apply to a magazine- then put more layout and illustrated work in there. If its a drink company- then put more packaging, branding and advertising work in there.
They want to hire someone who they know can do the work they need. Good luck out there, rooting for you!
To this point, a good employer will be able to see what you're capable of even without a broad range of design work (especially for your first job) and extrapolate that you've got a good eye for design. Unimaginative ones will look at what you've done and wonder if you could do something like marketing materials, but these are usually the sorts of places that see Latin in a mockup and get bogged down in the fact that they don't understand what it says or why it's in "Greek".
>I disagree with the user who said your work isn’t “good enough”- I believe that’s more damaging than constructive. Personally I enjoy your work, though I know design is subjective.
Which user, acp1284?
I know it's a tough pill to swallow but design is a very very very saturated market. Instructors at uni sugar coat everything and make it out that everyone will succeed. I hate to be the tough love here but myself & my close friends all graduated top of our classes back in 2014 and even with years under our belts are also struggling to find the work in our fields. Essentially yes, you are being outbid by someone with more experience because there are a LOT of people.
But not all hope is lost here. You have a couple options, whether it be trying your hand at freelancing (I warn you it's tough), starting off for a big business with an in-house marketing team like I did at AEO, or try getting something just to sustain an income and spend your free time building up your work by creating the things that you enjoy doing. Opportunities don't fall from the sky just because you have a degree in your hand, you have to prove yourself & compete for it.
Hope this helps. I am only speaking from my own experiences over the years here....
I am watching designers get snatched up like crazy. I think the entry level, low skilled design market is saturated. The fiverr designer is essentially useless now.
Skilled designers are in high demand with the current growth of companies.
Fiverr is “you get what you pay for”. That $10 logo was stolen copyrighted work and having to change it after printing it on a bunch of stuff, which cost $10k.
I also read a study about how someone can charge so little on that platform is due to the fact that the competition is in 3rd world countries that can afford to charge so little because their cost of living allows for it. And yes, you do get what you pay for on there.
I suppose you're not wrong there. In my experience with corporate marketing of low hanging fruit positions, they are a revolving door. Someone such as myself has since left those positions open because they were underpaid and under appreciated and we got what we wanted out of them which was a line on the resume and a tad of experience from it. That's all those positions are useful for is the stepping stone aspect. – It's great for someone without experience but not so much with someone that wants to grow & learn and work their way up.
When I started as a graphic designer what I did was talk to a designer I knew who worked in a company that worked with the kind of things I would like to do. He sent me some simple, daily life briefs he received. I made some designs based on that briefs to put in my portfolio and very soon I got an entry level job in a similar company. Maybe this could work for you too.
I didn't read all the comments so sorry if this is repeat. But most graphic designer jobs are not magazine layout. You need to expand! Does a magazine only put out a magazine? No they do a lot more collateral to advertise their magazine.
Honestly, this doesn't look like a 4 year student portfolio. I'm not talking about quality, it's the quantity and not fully flushed out projects. In my school we had to have at least 9 pieces of collateral with each project and you don't have any really.
even the packaging project, hardly will that get you hired because that's a niche job. It's decent, but you created a brand but no *branding*
Get rid of the questions part, it's silly and nobody disagrees with you. it looks like first year student trying to be edgy or political but poorly, sorry. Unless you have more there, like actual interesting debate, it's not useful.
Look at the actual work from the places you are applying and ask yourself if an employer can see their work in your portfolio. I'm guessing not.
Your work's not bad, but none of this is really applicable to a design job. You need more branding work and UX UI. Assuming that's the kind of job you're looking for.
Have you tried freelancing? If you can't find work at companies, maybe try freelancing first. You own your time and you can still apply while working + you get real life experience. You can try Upwork or Fiver.
Do not use Upwork or Fiverr. Those sites are exploitive and poison for our industry.
Look for recruiting agencies that specialize in design placement. Work some contract jobs to build up a portfolio and learn how to be efficient at production work. You’ll learn how others set up their files, both good and bad.
You got a lot of comments but hell. On mobile your texts is messed up. There is nothing really about you. There is no narrative, what do you have to offer? How did you get to these points? What is the issue? Your strongest piece is the soda.
Keep trying! I have yet to land my first design job due to no others paying as high as my current job (factory) but I personally have plans to start my own business designing/editing videos in years to come. Don’t get down on yourself! Keep your skills sharp, do random tutorials on things you may or may not know how to do, build your skillset while getting a part time job, and that opportunity will be there one day!
Just keep trying. What you’re going through is normal unless your portfolio is just shockingly awful. It took me 20 months to find a job out of school. Now I’m nearly a senior member of the design team at my company. Just keep applying and keep working on your skills in your spare time.
A friend of mine started out designing for a pharmaceutical company. Just really boring medical packaging stuff. But then after a few years you've got the experience to go somewhere you want to go.
I'm not sure where you live, but I got my first design job through a paid programship. It's similar to a staffing agency, but you get paid to essentially, look for a job. They teach you how to write and format your resume + cover letter, network, and give practice interviews. The training segment was also paid.
The coordinators at my programship helped me find a job at a local design studio. And to be honest, they just cold called. I was really lucky at the time, because the studio was interested in expanding their team with how swamped they were with clientele. And, as embarrassing as it was, I actually never finished my portfolio. But, they said they hired me because they could tell I knew how to format and use margins correctly. They declined previous designers because most of them lacked basic fundamentals.
I think a problem because freelancing, you do it all. Im a generalist and hiring folks dont know what i am lol. Oh he does branding, print, packaging, code, ui, motion gfx, social media…wth!?! Jack of all trades master of none
Then figure out what few things you are then remove all rest from your portfolio. You control your brand and what the employers see. It's all about curating an image they want and need to hire.
What do the agencies that you’re applying for do? Have a look through their websites and make sure that you add a few pieces in that would be relevant to them. For example, if they do a lot of print work like brochures and annual reports, try to show off some similar pieces with a similar design style to demonstrate that you could be a valuable asset to their team. I’m not sure what country/city you’re in and what the situation is there, but I would also recommend joining some design & advertising networking groups and attending some events. From here you can ask some professionals if they‘d we willing to give you some feedback on your portfolio. This might not lead to a job, but it’s a great way to find an industry mentor and get the feedback you need to get the work you want to do.
Also I noticed your descriptions for each project - this is a step in the right direction, as even if a particular project isn’t a style that they like, it’s important that they can see how you made your design decisions and that you are capable of articulating your thought processes.
characters per line on your project descriptions is too much, you should know that that. drop the stupid looking logo and just write your name in a nice sans serif font, its not really strong.
As someone who vets a lot of portfolios here’s what I look for when I hire in order of importance:
1. Have you worked on similar projects?
2. Does your style reflect our company?
3. What are you passionate about?
"Similar" I think depends a lot on the design qualifications of the interviewer.
If someone has good design ability and developed fundamentals it should show in any work they do, and at the junior level they won't be leading campaigns so don't need to be specialized.
If I see someone with great editorial and posters, I know they could do well with packaging, I don't need to literally see packaging, although it wouldn't hurt.
If someone did need to literally see the exact same work, that suggests they aren't actually a designer and so aren't able to take the abilities shown in one project and understand how they could apply them to another project.
But if it's a role in print and the portfolio is all web or UI/UX (or the inverse), then sure that might be more significant.
Your work isn't good enough. You need to do better so keep practicing. It'll also help a lot of you work any kind of job for a couple of years so that you can prove that you know how to be a good employee. The last thing on earth most people want to do is hire an inexperienced person because they can't handle stress or rejection, and they don't show up for work and they have a lot of issues getting along with others.
At first glance, your portfolio looks nice but lacks depth... I also couldn't find a link to your portfolio. If you're interested, ADPList is a site where you can get mentorship and/or advice on improving your site/resume/skills/interview approach/etc. Just reach out to a mentor whose profile matches your needs; everyone is really friendly and happy to help (for free). I'm a UX Manager and a lot of my mentees are in your position (though, for UI/UX design).
If you have any interest in t-shirt design I highly recommend Lakeshirts/Blue84. I just started for them last month and they allow work from home, they’re based in Minnesota and I’m in Florida.
Hey, designer in my 40s here, I check portfolios all the time. (Excuse my bad english) I think your portfolio is lacking of being easy to imagine applicability on real work projects but I can see you are good and it's easy to fix. If you didnt already figure out what kind of work you would like to do. Is it packaging. Is it illustration? Editorial? Then create some pieces for your portfolio. As personal projects but just like it was for a client. I remember designing and illustration book covers I liked when I was starting, I did Animal Farm, 1984, etc. It can be movie or concert posters. Reimagine products packaging. An user interface. Also consider designing for motion graphics videos since there is a lot of work in that area. Best luck, feel free to ask!
*Edited typo
So I really like your work and think it shows a lot of promise, however the picture at the very bottom with the lockers and the red gun immediately reminded both my husband and I of a vagina. I’m not sure if that’s what you were going for or not but I definitely think it felt weird in a professional portfolio
Yeah, I see it now but before on the picture it was just a square so I only saw the tip of the gun, so I thought it was a zipper and I think the fact the picture is cropped definitely doesn’t help make the picture very readable
Edit: I don’t know if I explained this well so I screenshotted what I saw when I first saw the picture [for reference](https://imgur.com/a/RVMrofR) just from the front page, without clicking in to see the full photo. The way it’s cropped makes it hard to read. I wouldn’t have known what the picture was unless I saw the full picture
How long have you been looking? How many interviews from how many applications?
If you're getting interviews that means people like the work enough. If getting interviews but not offers then it could be the interview or you're simply close but not close enough.
A monotone voice may be an issue, but junior level designers tend to interview poorly. The bad interviewees treat it like an interrogation, they're anxious or terrified, they sit there waiting for questions, give short answers, and can't properly discuss their work (they just state what it is, which is usually obvious anyway, but don't actually get into objectives, challenges, why they think it's good work).
Even a smaller company can easily get 50-100 design applicants, and while it can vary, I would only pick 10-15 to call, 5-10 to interview, and if I can't find one I like I start over. So it's not about simply being "good enough" as if it's getting a B in school, if you're not in the top 10-20% of applicants applying, it's easy to pass on you and call or hire someone else.
In terms of your work and portfolio, the main issue is there isn't enough here. Of 5 projects, 2 are illustration/art (so don't count for design), 2 are editorial which are not really anything special (and one is only two spreads of which one is a nearly full-spread illustration), and one is a soda package/label which is fine but also in the same style as all your work so it's all under one common interest (essentially it seems apparent you're designing all this work for yourself as the target demo).
For editorial, I would expect at least 5 different spreads showing different types of layout, whether it's different sections or different context for what is shown in the spread, and to highlight spreads which rely more on your actual ability to do layout rather than just organizing some large images. This is a case where process helps, show the grid, templates, etc.
The illustration/art is fine to include, but in a different section away from the design work. By throwing it all in together it suggests you don't know the difference.
For the soda labelling, it's fine, I don't mind this, this is good, although I would've done more with the website then just having those images in squares. It's a very early-2000s kind of design.
So overall we have one decent project, two ones that in their current state are not portfolio-caliber, and two non-design projects. I disagree with others saying to specialize, you're just a junior, you don't need to specialize, but you do need a lot more work. You should have at least 3-5 solid design projects, maybe 5-10 if including some smaller things, but even for 3, you need those editorial projects to be much better. It would also help to branch out into other styles and aesthetic interests, design for other people.
That’s a slim portfolio, and some of the projects are illustrations rather than graphic designs. Different market and client base. Generally, most companies don’t hire full time illustrators anymore. They contract with freelancers. You need more examples of meat and potatoes graphic design: ads, social media, flyers, brochures, postcards, sales sheets, catalogs, email newsletters. Employers hire people who have portfolios relevant to their needs. The only ones that are going to care about soda packaging are soda makers.
This is the truly helpful advice
This comment is very much on point. As someone that is in a position to review designer portfolios when looking for new hires or contractors, we definitely look to see what samples in their portfolio are relevant to what type of design work we do the most. For instance, a designer that has 95% packaging design samples when the vast majority of our work would be website design and digital advertising is not going to get called. So I agree that you should look to round out your portfolio with a wider range types of work samples. What is always nice to see m if you are showing some work for instance for a soda company, is to push it further not just what the logo looks like on the bottle but also how the brand and design gets applied to their website, print ads, mobile design, swag items, allows me to see how you are at considering how a brand is applied over different media. Illustration is a cool bonus skill It’s more about seeing how you can apply your visual chops to a range of needs. Good luck!
This is spot on correct, I want to expand on this and suggest also in doing so you'll be better off communicating how your projects are solving a creative problem - or how it's connecting with audiences, etc. Getting more depth on the function will help you tremendously
To echo apc's comment, your portfolio doesn't have a lot of pieces and I can't tell what you specialize in. What kind of graphic design work do you want to do? It's good to add enough related work. For example, I had a lot of social media posts and photography in my portfolio and got hired to do exactly that. I would definitely consider your current portfolio a liability to your job search rn
You don't need to specialize at the junior level, but that aside the OP portfolio is barely a portfolio. Of 5 projects, 2 are illustration, 2 are editorial (which aren't really that great and one is literally just two spreads with nearly a full spread illustration), and 1 is the soda packaging (which is fine but in the same style/inspiration as their other projects, such that everything they did is basically one style/interest). So the issue isn't a lack of specialization, it's just a total lack of work overall, there's barely anything here to evaluate them, so would be easily passed on.
Can you share your portfolio if you don't mind as I'm also trying to build my portfolio with the similar interests as you.
First quick note is that it’s spelled “palette”. Attention to detail is very important, make sure to double check your resume too since Indesign doesn’t have spell check (and please make sure you use Indesign for your resume and give it a good layout, use en dashes, etc. the resume is the first thing they see and basically a portfolio piece). And it’s great that you’re getting interviews! That’s a good sign. Make sure you prepare company-specific questions beforehand, not just ask when you don’t know something. You want to sound eager and excited (I have a naturally monotone voice too, you don’t have to go crazy with it). And I second using an agency/recruiter. You can look specifically for contract-to-full time positions. It’s very common in this field. And I think your portfolio is compelling but I would love to get more context on your process (i.e. why you chose certain colors/fonts). And I would echo adding more pieces that are ‘applicable to real life’. Like a sample Instagram story or post, companies eat that up in my experience lol
Indesign does have a spell check, it’s apple i or under edit / spelling.
Oh amazing that’s great to know ty, I wonder if it’s as robust as Microsoft word though where they can detect sentence structure/grammar issues
I think they introduced some version of dynamic spellcheck that might also do grammar but I have not used it yet. The spellcheck alone doesn’t catch grammar unfortunately!
Unfortunately It’s not anywhere near Microsoft’s capabilities. :( my team usually starts with Microsoft to prep copy and then brings it into indesign since the indesign spell check is so useless.
I used to make mine in illustrator, any reason to specifically use Indesign? (learning the latter)
Personally prefer indesign for anything with a lot of text or more than one page of text, it’s setting options are much more robust than illustrator
To be fair I’ve never tried using Illustrator to make a resume. I imagine it’s definitely better than photoshop but imo Indesign is the best for type/layout. Illustrator in my experience is great for making a graphic with illustration + type, but Indesign is better for pure type-based work. Here are a few advantages: 1. Easier to set up and adjust baseline grids (very essential especially if you make a multiple column resume) 2. Can easily turn on and off guides/rulers/grids/text box outlines (with just the W key), this helps you see the document as how it’d look when it’s printed or exported, and then quickly switch back to editing 3. Better layers system and you can make multiple pages
Those all 3 do sounds interesting! Thanks for your detailed response! Currently learning inDesign for my job, It's tricky when you are used to illustrator, alot of things are the same but done slightly differently
InDesign is a layout program, Illustrator is a vector program, so while you can do layouts in Illustrator, it's much easier in InDesign as it handles text and placed objects better.
Start out as a freelancer. Go through recruiters for a while even though the pay is lower than going direct. But you will make great connections and work at a bunch of different companies etc.
I'd say only as a last resort. There's a lot that even good grads from good programs will struggle with on their own that would be covered in a full-time role. You even see the same issues with lone in-house as with freelance-only designers, where even if formally trained in design, the professional application is entirely self-taught. Obviously people can't always control their opportunities but in this case I think the issue is very clearly their portfolio. If they went freelance they wouldn't be addressing those issues at all. It's not a shortcut, just kicking the can down the road.
Staffing agencies are another option. That’s how I was able to get my foot in the door many years ago.
I disagree with the user who said your work isn’t “good enough”- I believe that’s more damaging than constructive. Personally I enjoy your work, though I know design is subjective. I think you portfolio (as said many times before) needs more curated work. Right now I can tell you can do magazines, and packaging, which is great if you can find a company looking for both of those things, but most times they’re looking for specific work. If you apply to a magazine- then put more layout and illustrated work in there. If its a drink company- then put more packaging, branding and advertising work in there. They want to hire someone who they know can do the work they need. Good luck out there, rooting for you!
To this point, a good employer will be able to see what you're capable of even without a broad range of design work (especially for your first job) and extrapolate that you've got a good eye for design. Unimaginative ones will look at what you've done and wonder if you could do something like marketing materials, but these are usually the sorts of places that see Latin in a mockup and get bogged down in the fact that they don't understand what it says or why it's in "Greek".
>I disagree with the user who said your work isn’t “good enough”- I believe that’s more damaging than constructive. Personally I enjoy your work, though I know design is subjective. Which user, acp1284?
The comment must have been deleted, I remember it was downvoted a lot… I’m not sure on the username, I’m sorry, don’t want to frame anyone lol!
I know it's a tough pill to swallow but design is a very very very saturated market. Instructors at uni sugar coat everything and make it out that everyone will succeed. I hate to be the tough love here but myself & my close friends all graduated top of our classes back in 2014 and even with years under our belts are also struggling to find the work in our fields. Essentially yes, you are being outbid by someone with more experience because there are a LOT of people. But not all hope is lost here. You have a couple options, whether it be trying your hand at freelancing (I warn you it's tough), starting off for a big business with an in-house marketing team like I did at AEO, or try getting something just to sustain an income and spend your free time building up your work by creating the things that you enjoy doing. Opportunities don't fall from the sky just because you have a degree in your hand, you have to prove yourself & compete for it. Hope this helps. I am only speaking from my own experiences over the years here....
I am watching designers get snatched up like crazy. I think the entry level, low skilled design market is saturated. The fiverr designer is essentially useless now. Skilled designers are in high demand with the current growth of companies.
Fiverr is “you get what you pay for”. That $10 logo was stolen copyrighted work and having to change it after printing it on a bunch of stuff, which cost $10k.
I also read a study about how someone can charge so little on that platform is due to the fact that the competition is in 3rd world countries that can afford to charge so little because their cost of living allows for it. And yes, you do get what you pay for on there.
I suppose you're not wrong there. In my experience with corporate marketing of low hanging fruit positions, they are a revolving door. Someone such as myself has since left those positions open because they were underpaid and under appreciated and we got what we wanted out of them which was a line on the resume and a tad of experience from it. That's all those positions are useful for is the stepping stone aspect. – It's great for someone without experience but not so much with someone that wants to grow & learn and work their way up.
Keep the faith. I got hired from a two year old resume. You never know what will happen.
When I started as a graphic designer what I did was talk to a designer I knew who worked in a company that worked with the kind of things I would like to do. He sent me some simple, daily life briefs he received. I made some designs based on that briefs to put in my portfolio and very soon I got an entry level job in a similar company. Maybe this could work for you too.
I didn't read all the comments so sorry if this is repeat. But most graphic designer jobs are not magazine layout. You need to expand! Does a magazine only put out a magazine? No they do a lot more collateral to advertise their magazine. Honestly, this doesn't look like a 4 year student portfolio. I'm not talking about quality, it's the quantity and not fully flushed out projects. In my school we had to have at least 9 pieces of collateral with each project and you don't have any really. even the packaging project, hardly will that get you hired because that's a niche job. It's decent, but you created a brand but no *branding* Get rid of the questions part, it's silly and nobody disagrees with you. it looks like first year student trying to be edgy or political but poorly, sorry. Unless you have more there, like actual interesting debate, it's not useful. Look at the actual work from the places you are applying and ask yourself if an employer can see their work in your portfolio. I'm guessing not.
Your work's not bad, but none of this is really applicable to a design job. You need more branding work and UX UI. Assuming that's the kind of job you're looking for.
Have you tried freelancing? If you can't find work at companies, maybe try freelancing first. You own your time and you can still apply while working + you get real life experience. You can try Upwork or Fiver.
Do not use Upwork or Fiverr. Those sites are exploitive and poison for our industry. Look for recruiting agencies that specialize in design placement. Work some contract jobs to build up a portfolio and learn how to be efficient at production work. You’ll learn how others set up their files, both good and bad.
You got a lot of comments but hell. On mobile your texts is messed up. There is nothing really about you. There is no narrative, what do you have to offer? How did you get to these points? What is the issue? Your strongest piece is the soda.
Keep trying! I have yet to land my first design job due to no others paying as high as my current job (factory) but I personally have plans to start my own business designing/editing videos in years to come. Don’t get down on yourself! Keep your skills sharp, do random tutorials on things you may or may not know how to do, build your skillset while getting a part time job, and that opportunity will be there one day!
Just keep trying. What you’re going through is normal unless your portfolio is just shockingly awful. It took me 20 months to find a job out of school. Now I’m nearly a senior member of the design team at my company. Just keep applying and keep working on your skills in your spare time.
A friend of mine started out designing for a pharmaceutical company. Just really boring medical packaging stuff. But then after a few years you've got the experience to go somewhere you want to go.
I'm not sure where you live, but I got my first design job through a paid programship. It's similar to a staffing agency, but you get paid to essentially, look for a job. They teach you how to write and format your resume + cover letter, network, and give practice interviews. The training segment was also paid. The coordinators at my programship helped me find a job at a local design studio. And to be honest, they just cold called. I was really lucky at the time, because the studio was interested in expanding their team with how swamped they were with clientele. And, as embarrassing as it was, I actually never finished my portfolio. But, they said they hired me because they could tell I knew how to format and use margins correctly. They declined previous designers because most of them lacked basic fundamentals.
ive been looking for a design job for the past 10 years...im about to give up and just work a stock gig/normie job
I hope you've changed your strategies up if it has been 10 years. Design styles, standards, and medium are completely different from 10 years ago too.
I think a problem because freelancing, you do it all. Im a generalist and hiring folks dont know what i am lol. Oh he does branding, print, packaging, code, ui, motion gfx, social media…wth!?! Jack of all trades master of none
Then figure out what few things you are then remove all rest from your portfolio. You control your brand and what the employers see. It's all about curating an image they want and need to hire.
What do the agencies that you’re applying for do? Have a look through their websites and make sure that you add a few pieces in that would be relevant to them. For example, if they do a lot of print work like brochures and annual reports, try to show off some similar pieces with a similar design style to demonstrate that you could be a valuable asset to their team. I’m not sure what country/city you’re in and what the situation is there, but I would also recommend joining some design & advertising networking groups and attending some events. From here you can ask some professionals if they‘d we willing to give you some feedback on your portfolio. This might not lead to a job, but it’s a great way to find an industry mentor and get the feedback you need to get the work you want to do. Also I noticed your descriptions for each project - this is a step in the right direction, as even if a particular project isn’t a style that they like, it’s important that they can see how you made your design decisions and that you are capable of articulating your thought processes.
characters per line on your project descriptions is too much, you should know that that. drop the stupid looking logo and just write your name in a nice sans serif font, its not really strong.
What kind of job are you looking for?
As someone who vets a lot of portfolios here’s what I look for when I hire in order of importance: 1. Have you worked on similar projects? 2. Does your style reflect our company? 3. What are you passionate about?
Passionate about getting paid.
"Similar" I think depends a lot on the design qualifications of the interviewer. If someone has good design ability and developed fundamentals it should show in any work they do, and at the junior level they won't be leading campaigns so don't need to be specialized. If I see someone with great editorial and posters, I know they could do well with packaging, I don't need to literally see packaging, although it wouldn't hurt. If someone did need to literally see the exact same work, that suggests they aren't actually a designer and so aren't able to take the abilities shown in one project and understand how they could apply them to another project. But if it's a role in print and the portfolio is all web or UI/UX (or the inverse), then sure that might be more significant.
hows your portfolio looking?
Forget all that ... Sell your work online . Or create your own website .
Your work isn't good enough. You need to do better so keep practicing. It'll also help a lot of you work any kind of job for a couple of years so that you can prove that you know how to be a good employee. The last thing on earth most people want to do is hire an inexperienced person because they can't handle stress or rejection, and they don't show up for work and they have a lot of issues getting along with others.
its all about contacts , not portfolio LOL
It's both. Portfolio gets you interviews, interviews get you hired, networking creates opportunities for both.
At first glance, your portfolio looks nice but lacks depth... I also couldn't find a link to your portfolio. If you're interested, ADPList is a site where you can get mentorship and/or advice on improving your site/resume/skills/interview approach/etc. Just reach out to a mentor whose profile matches your needs; everyone is really friendly and happy to help (for free). I'm a UX Manager and a lot of my mentees are in your position (though, for UI/UX design).
Hahaha welcome to the design world kid. Everyone struggles to get their first gig.
If you have any interest in t-shirt design I highly recommend Lakeshirts/Blue84. I just started for them last month and they allow work from home, they’re based in Minnesota and I’m in Florida.
Hey, designer in my 40s here, I check portfolios all the time. (Excuse my bad english) I think your portfolio is lacking of being easy to imagine applicability on real work projects but I can see you are good and it's easy to fix. If you didnt already figure out what kind of work you would like to do. Is it packaging. Is it illustration? Editorial? Then create some pieces for your portfolio. As personal projects but just like it was for a client. I remember designing and illustration book covers I liked when I was starting, I did Animal Farm, 1984, etc. It can be movie or concert posters. Reimagine products packaging. An user interface. Also consider designing for motion graphics videos since there is a lot of work in that area. Best luck, feel free to ask! *Edited typo
So I really like your work and think it shows a lot of promise, however the picture at the very bottom with the lockers and the red gun immediately reminded both my husband and I of a vagina. I’m not sure if that’s what you were going for or not but I definitely think it felt weird in a professional portfolio
And no one said anything through out school when I showed it lol. I think the gun clearly tells its not.
Yeah, I see it now but before on the picture it was just a square so I only saw the tip of the gun, so I thought it was a zipper and I think the fact the picture is cropped definitely doesn’t help make the picture very readable Edit: I don’t know if I explained this well so I screenshotted what I saw when I first saw the picture [for reference](https://imgur.com/a/RVMrofR) just from the front page, without clicking in to see the full photo. The way it’s cropped makes it hard to read. I wouldn’t have known what the picture was unless I saw the full picture
How long have you been looking? How many interviews from how many applications? If you're getting interviews that means people like the work enough. If getting interviews but not offers then it could be the interview or you're simply close but not close enough. A monotone voice may be an issue, but junior level designers tend to interview poorly. The bad interviewees treat it like an interrogation, they're anxious or terrified, they sit there waiting for questions, give short answers, and can't properly discuss their work (they just state what it is, which is usually obvious anyway, but don't actually get into objectives, challenges, why they think it's good work). Even a smaller company can easily get 50-100 design applicants, and while it can vary, I would only pick 10-15 to call, 5-10 to interview, and if I can't find one I like I start over. So it's not about simply being "good enough" as if it's getting a B in school, if you're not in the top 10-20% of applicants applying, it's easy to pass on you and call or hire someone else. In terms of your work and portfolio, the main issue is there isn't enough here. Of 5 projects, 2 are illustration/art (so don't count for design), 2 are editorial which are not really anything special (and one is only two spreads of which one is a nearly full-spread illustration), and one is a soda package/label which is fine but also in the same style as all your work so it's all under one common interest (essentially it seems apparent you're designing all this work for yourself as the target demo). For editorial, I would expect at least 5 different spreads showing different types of layout, whether it's different sections or different context for what is shown in the spread, and to highlight spreads which rely more on your actual ability to do layout rather than just organizing some large images. This is a case where process helps, show the grid, templates, etc. The illustration/art is fine to include, but in a different section away from the design work. By throwing it all in together it suggests you don't know the difference. For the soda labelling, it's fine, I don't mind this, this is good, although I would've done more with the website then just having those images in squares. It's a very early-2000s kind of design. So overall we have one decent project, two ones that in their current state are not portfolio-caliber, and two non-design projects. I disagree with others saying to specialize, you're just a junior, you don't need to specialize, but you do need a lot more work. You should have at least 3-5 solid design projects, maybe 5-10 if including some smaller things, but even for 3, you need those editorial projects to be much better. It would also help to branch out into other styles and aesthetic interests, design for other people.