David Airey asked several design employers to give advice to give advice to job applicants to form a four part series on his blog. The first in the series is courtesy of Eric Karjaluoto, partner and creative director at Vancouver-based smashLAB. I have highlighted some key points:
Source: davidairey.com
#1
The book
Although it’s rarely a physical book any longer, the first thing I look for in a designer is a
visual sensibility. While I’d like to tell you that I pour a cup of tea and gingerly peruse someone’s design samples, the opposite is the case.
Typically, it takes me less than 15 seconds to determine whether a portfolio warrants further inspection. While I don’t have a bias to any particular style of work, I do look for a certain amount of
professionalism and
depth.
Editing
I lied about my first point.
The very first thing I look at is the resume. What may be different from what you’d expect, though, is that I consider it from a design standpoint. Yes, the credentials and work experience are important, but I’m
more interested in what a designer has chosen to say about him/herself, and how appropriately they can craft this (deceptively complex) marketing tool.
Big picture and close-ups
Good designers tend to be able to step back from a situation and
consider the bigger problem before getting carried away with execution. As a result, they are able to articulate their thinking behind a project in a
coherent fashion; meanwhile, they know when to
finesse details, run spell-checks, and sweat all the other (seemingly) small stuff. Both are equally important points to pay attention to, and it’s awfully easy to spot which designers are attuned to them and which are not.
The person
I need to be able to work efficiently with the people I hire. While we needn’t be the best of friends, it does mean we have to be able to maintain an open and healthy dialogue. The designers who are most apt to communicate/interact in such a way tend to be
thoughtful, considerate, and not overly wrapped up in ego. They are largely
interested in learning and honing their craft. When we started smashLAB, I struggled with this point, sometimes hiring the wrong people, and we suffered for it. Now, I more quickly flush-out applicants who seem to be a poor fit. Doing so has resulted in an exemplary team at smashLAB, which I’m very proud to work with.
Commitment
Design isn’t like other jobs. In order to be any good at it,
you really have to put in your time. For experienced designers, the result of doing so is typically
reflected in their portfolios. Young designers, however, generally haven’t had sufficient time to cultivate a solid body of work; therefore, they tend to be a bit of a gamble and are hired on a bit of a hunch. Once in the door, the real interview begins. Now, they
need to prove to me that they’re worth the investment I’m making in them (many of my colleagues note feeling the same way). If you’re a new designer in your first professional role, I encourage you to be the first one in, the last to leave, and while you’re there, work your ass off.
If you aren’t absolutely committed to your career, I’ll come to the conclusion that I shouldn’t be either.
#2
The second comes from Jim Walls, executive creative director of Philadelphia and Los Angeles-based branding agency 160over90. They are looking for...
Chops
Do they have a
solid understanding of type, color, form, balance? How well do they work with photography or illustration? Grids? Do their layouts communicate immediately? Do they know when to exercise restraint? Does the work accentuate the copy, or work against it? Can they even work with copy? Talking about the basics here.
Ninety percent can be eliminated outright based on this criteria almost immediately. That’s the 15 seconds mentioned above.
Versatility
You’ll often hear our CDs talk about portfolios being “good, but very samey.” If we look at the work and can’t differentiate a layout between a car ad and a brochure for a retirement home, it’s an indication that the designer is only comfortable working within a particular style. Likewise if a book is mostly letterpress wedding invites or gig posters. The work can be beautiful, but
if it’s all of a piece, it’s concerning.
We like to see work for a wide variety of projects, client types, and industries—in different mediums. Short copy, long copy. Logos. Magazine layouts. Motion graphics. Posters. Digital projects. The more the merrier. Our designers never face the same problem twice. You shouldn’t come off as a designer who can solve the same problem 10 different (but mostly samey) ways.
I also like to see grand solutions for challenging categories. A beautiful logo for a financial services firm is twice as impressive as a similarly crafted mark for a coffee shop.
Conceptual ability
A designer who knows how to develop work around an initial concept and
think in terms of broader systems, solutions, and campaigns will go very, very far in life. The one who asks questions before any work is done. The one with
insight into the mindset of the target audience. You’re the one every creative director in the world is competing for. An agency of 20 of you can topple Governments. I’m not talking about design flourish disguised as an idea. That’s just wallpaper. If you don’t know the difference, well, that’s another post, and it’s also how portfolio schools stay in business.
Originality
Portfolios, like fashion, tend to run in seasons. In the late 90s, everyone had at least one condom ad in their book. Ten years later, you couldn’t even call yourself a designer if you weren’t selling your Wilco posters on your personal site. If you worked for a certain youth-oriented clothing and lifestyle retailer two years ago, it was all about duotone newsprints. First with lots of vector art triangles, then about a year ago those triangles morphed into diamonds.
We hired a designer recently based mostly on the originality of the work. It just didn’t look like anything we had seen before. Everything just felt so
unique and fresh. Nothing made us say “oh yeah, right, the tea packaging again.”
That reminds me of another point: If you’re going to include an identity for a cupcake shop in your portfolio, it had better be the ne plus ultra of cupcake shop identities. I’ve seen so many, I’ve developed a cynical twitch every time I get close to an actual cupcake. That ain’t right.
Editing
What’s that one piece you tried to bury in your book about two-thirds of the way through? The postcard for the real estate development? It sucks. Get rid of it. It makes that fantastic pro bono campaign at the opening of your work look like a one-off. Then again, it was probably your co-designer’s work anyway. What was her name again? Is she looking for work?
Best. Work. Only. Doesn’t matter if it’s your only piece that actually got printed. Here’s a good way to edit:
Consider each piece individually. If you had to get hired based on the quality of that piece alone, could you do it? If the answer is no, drop it and move on.
Also, 15 pieces is enough.
Portfolio tips
Have a PDF portfolio always at the ready. And remember you’re designing for a screen, not a printout. Vertical layouts with 4-point type don’t translate well to a 15-inch MacBook format. Physical books? Endangered species. We maybe get four or five a year, unsolicited. Does it help you stand out? Maybe. But more often than not I’m wondering what the hell to do with the thing once I’m done looking though it. It’s gotten to the point that we don’t even really look at portfolios in the actual interviews anymore. Everything’s digital.
#3
Rochelle Fainstein, digital marketing manager in the Manhattan office of Sterling Brands.
Whenever we post a design job listing at Sterling, we always point out how important it is to us for you to possess four core values:
Be brave, be productive, be collaborative, and be creative. These values are what truly connect us and keep us on a common mission to make the consumer world a more beautiful place. In addition to our values, there are a few things that will give you an edge in our hiring process in our design group:
10 things we love about you:
- Experience in packaging is a must. Packaging is what we do. Packaging is a language; you’re either fluent or you’re not.
- Must know the supermarket aisle like the back of your hand. Knowledge of Walmart is a PLUS.
- Must love watching men shave… And getting involved in all sorts of consumer behavior, market research and intelligence gathering.
- We like quirky.
- Must not mind a good work/life balance. If you insist on working the week between Christmas and New Years, this may not be the place for you. That in mind, we do work hard the rest of the year.
- Superior verbal and communications skills in design are critical. You must be able to present your fantastic, creative, incredible ideas.
- Must love blogs. We recommend you do your daily reading, which should include The Dieline, DavidAirey.com, Brand New, and Design Observer; or turn us on to something new. Inspire yourself. Inspire us.
- Pets are a plus. Our President of Design is a huge sucker for dogs. AND we get to design a lot of their food!
- Be a self-starter. We love folks who take the initiative, so don’t wait around for us to call you. If you want to work for Sterling, go all-in!
- Have a can-do attitude. Sounds like a propaganda poster, but we’re serious. A glass-half-full mentality has helped all of us through a hellacious week. Complainers need not apply.
#4
Simon Manchipp, co-founder at London-based SomeOne.
Your portfolio
I run a company. It’s tough. Complex. Very time consuming. I am time-poor. So your portfolio has one purpose: Dazzle me. From the first page. Show me what you got. Now is your chance to make me double-take. Make me actually stop the other thing I’m doing. I get about 20 seconds to jump through your PDF. Often on an iPhone. On the way to a meeting. So make it count. Beautifully crafted, brilliant ideas. And don’t worry, it need’t have actually been accepted by the client (although that always gets extra kudos). Show me your cut. The one that floats your boat.
And being SomeOne, we do want to see your logo work. But make sure it is applied to something, inventively, progressively, interestingly. Make a BrandWorld — not just an Illustrator vector whacked on a LiveImage Photoshop file. Show me how the work goes deep. How you use it to create a rich brand world… not another logo rubber-stamped everywhere. If I cover the logo, what else is there to tell me who’s talking? Make it all shine. Dazzle me.
Copy
Show me you can write, not just make other peoples writing look good, and you’ll get my attention. A witty, smart, appropriate CV will always add value. Never underestimate the CV. It’s old-school, but it tells me a lot. it tells me you can string a sentence together… which probably means you could speak to a client, which probably means you are confident, which probably means you are good. Probably.
Strategy
What was the big idea behind a project? We start all our credentials with a quick run through of: What the challenge was. How we approached it. What the results were. Why it worked. Where it worked. It’s a really simple construct, but if you can answer each of the sections, you get a quick and effective way of describing the creative work behind the creative work. Show me you think. And how you think. And where that thinking works.
You
If you get hired you will love what you do. You won’t quite believe you get paid to do it. You will always be amazed that you’ve managed to make a career out of doing stuff you love. In fact, You’re always going to be waiting to get found out. Everyday you get to go to a cool studio, in the coolest city in the world, to work with the coolest clients on the planet, to just do cool stuff for them, with the coolest people… then go out for drinks with them all. That isn’t a job. That is amazing.
So get excited. If you don’t want it more than the next person, the next person will probably get it. Don’t be annoying, be clever. Think — what’s going on right now? What is topical. What are they up to? How can I be useful? Then do it.
10,000 hours
You are probably young. Fresh from college even. And that’s cool. That’s how most of our designers start. But 10,000 hours is widely accepted to be how long it takes to be an expert. In anything. From playing the guitar to the way you operate on peoples brains. It’s the same with design. You need to do your time. There is no quick fix. You can’t be an overnight expert. So do your time.
The Beatles went to Hamburg to rack up their hours faster than waiting the usual 10 years (the average time it takes to get to 10,000 hours under your belt). They started playing at 8pm and got home at 8am. Every day. For Months. You are no different. To get noticed, to get hired, to keep the job, to get promoted, paid more, you need to be the first in, and the last out. Everyday. All the time.
Getting the job is tough. Keeping it is harder.
