2005 NIU Senior Portfolio Review Resume Awards

Wonderful seeing all of the recent graduates at tonight's show. Good luck to everyone getting your dream job, if that is your true goal. I have reviewed every resume available at the show and have put together a set of meaningless awards in review/critique form. Congratulations to the winners and honorables.

First Place

Robert Clayton Miller
Independent, Dissatisfied, Perfectionist

Understanding of Form

Robert Clayton Miller immediately attracts the eye with sound fundamental page design. Then you start reading and you immediately get a humorous and sarcastic objective. It is a pleasure to read, and was intended to be. This designer has a writer streak, which can be useful in the advertising agency space (Leo Burnette, DDB Needham, etc.). The work experience is brief, as is to be expected with a recent grad, but a succinct anecdotal description (working at the t-shirt shop) shows a true understanding of the experience of the creative process and his frustration in the general public's simplistic understanding of art and graphics. So there is a deep knowledge of the difference between doing something correctly with foresight and cleverness, thoughtful planning, and it just being a bunch of words on a page. It is the communication of thought through the tool of the paper media. It comes across as honest, direct and clever.

The non-traditional size and shape shows this designer was thinking in terms of form before beginning to lay text to page. [This can also be seen successfully executed by the resumes of Ellen Gerdling, Kelly J. Rusch, Christine Ohme, Amanda Cavazos and Erin Moes.]

The paper was the only element that didn't agree with me, it seemed like some crappy resume paper from Stinkos. Find the Paper Source [papersource] in Chicago Robert, it's on Chicago Avenue, go nuts. One other note, I took notice of the DeKalb, IL address and the "niu.edu" email address. This indicates that either this grad is choosing to remain living in DeKalb, IL forever, or that the resume has an effective expiration date leaving no permanent address or school-independent email (yahoo). It is clear that this grad has in fact graduated, but has not planned the future beyond that.

"I did what I could to differentiate myself..."

Robert seems like the quintessential designer, and is my vote for "Most likely to become a professional designer and stay one."

Second Place - Tie

Best Overall Impact

Mary "Angel" D'Amico & A.J. Stabe

These two were not afraid to say, "Here's my personal identity card". This shows an ability to communicate with clients with fearless straightforward objective professionalism. These people were open and available to spend time and engage anyone who wished to speak with them. Valuable skills for the interviewing process. They both showed a genuine personal respect for the visitor's time and attention. Valuable skills in terms of making independent business deals // having client conversations about money // or showing reliability in time of business crunch time, the eleventh hour. Clients love comfortable objective report. The word "account manager" comes to mind. Additionally both of these grads were able to show a bold distinction in not only the willing distribution of these cards (strong marketing skill), but in an outstanding visual way. The two pieces from A.J. both made the final table. A.J. gets the sub-award for best understanding of size and scale (below). His style reminds me of a theater company, or other entertainment industry media. The presentation is memorable.

Angel D'Amico's identity card is alarmingly aligned with her personality. She is able to wrap up the whole experience in one little card. With Angel's card, you get it -without having to think about it. This shows a strong ability to create visual graphics that accurately represent the essence of the character of the subject. Extremely useful in creating promotional materials from the bar/restaurant industry to fashion magazines (just a few of many possibilities). I would recommend Chicago's Design Kitchen as an appropriate place to apply for internship or jr. designer position.

Third Place - Tie

Best sense of style

Katie Yates and Kristofer Newgren

Katie's resume isn't afraid to take chances. It's experimental, as much of college design work is, and it's visually interesting. It screams work-in-progress -a fine and appropriate message from a recent graduate to a prospective market of design firms and departments who may be hiring. The layout is artfully organized. I was disappointed that the page size is the default standard letter, but the paper itself is a very nice choice silk 100 lbs. text which makes the letterform stand out well. Humble, understated, willing to learn, a great place to start. I was left wanting for a square page or a rounded edge cut, some indication of the thoughtfulness of the form of the object.

Kristofer made good with his name and font choice. It demonstrates a particular style that is reminiscent of digital media. Could be headed in the electronic media, web, or electronic music direction.

Forth Place

Best use of negative space, Best form

Ellen Gerding

Nice use of negative space! Ellen is the only person that demonstrated an ability to use negative space to guide the eye -a charming resume. The size choice is exceptional at 6 1/4" x 9", the cardstock is a perfect weight and balance to the size. It also shows nice color choice, with the subtle and effective use of duotone. This resume shows a style digressing down the paths of art gallery presentational pieces, museum signage, and corporate/professional services/consulting design or publishing.

Honorable Mentions

Exceptional overall resume design
Erin Moes, Christine Ohme, Amanda Cavazon, Kelly J. Rusch

This grouping of resumes is intentional. These grads all showed a mature understanding of form, layout, typeography, color, and individual style. Nice presentation. Congratulations.

Best Paper Choice
Michael McErlean
Parchment

Designer's notes:

The rest of the resumes were jettisoned out the window and onto Lake Shore Drive on the way back from the review. Some had typo's, some were cheesy or predictable, others took big risks and failed. Some of the grads showed a strong skill outside of the design realm, and are destined to have successful careers in non-design jobs, such as sales or marketing. One of the most unusual mistakes I experienced beyond the resumes, was that some of the graduates were not at their place when I was expecting to speak to them and review their work. So being available means literally being available. A.J. and angel and a few others were gracious, respectful and had the ability to explain themselves without boasting or speaking illegibly. Young designers need the ability to market themselves, point the design laser at their own heads, and not be afraid to be themselves and to show off, while staying humble. A.J. wins that battle with matching self-promotional materials and a physical presence, standing up, and showing a genuine willingness to talk with anyone.

Also, for the design grads, never get discouraged by a bad interview. You have to try many times to find the right fit.

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