2006 NIU Senior Portfolio Review Resume Critique/Awards

Intro

As you walked into this years portfolio review, the first thing in the door was a table with everyone's resume on it.
I was able to pick up all the resumes (or so I thought) all in one convenient location. I did find at least one grad that
was not on the table, she said there wasn't enough room. I cringe at the thought of others I missed because their
resume “didn't fit on the table”.

I may sound like Simon Cowell here so beware -you have been warned.

Differentiation

The main thing for young aspiring designers need to do is to differentiate their work from the pack.
That is the challenge. Here are the winners.

FIRST PLACE

The winner this year was clear.
Billy White.

Billy designed the invitation for the event, he also designed a website that included the work of all his classmates effectively trumping the competition. He's the umbrella. His resume has a geometric business card embedded in it (interesting shape, taking into account the 45º angle, or z axis). Without the business card it is still the best resume of the group. The lines line up, the size is handy and there is a three dimensional, retro 8-bit 3-D pixel theme running throughout. Excellent craftsmanship and a good paper choice. His work is colorful and technically proficient.

When I was speaking to Billy's classmates and I posed the question, “who else should I talk to, who do you recommend?” everyone seemed to say, “oh Billy” and they'd point. So I waited in the Billy line (no joke) and when I spoke with him I asked him, “how did it come about that you were chosen to design the invitation that represents the whole class?” He struggled to answer that question. The way I see it, he is the best, most reliable, and hardest working student. He couldn't say that, and he attempted to pin his advancement on geekiness, which is a thin veil for tons of hard work inspired by an inherent struggle to do his best. He obviously has a passion for what he does. He didn't want to seem immodest, that would conflict with his personality.

AP, hire this guy if you haven't already. He wants to work.
I can see Mr. White jumping right into the lucrative flash development market.

SECOND PLACE

Drew Richard Garza.

I love this resume. It appeals to me as a foody, you know, the people that obsess over gourmet food and wine pairings. I happen to fall in that demographic, so I am giving him high marks for knowing his audience, or simply being like his audience. The resume is reminiscent of a wine bottle, or an identity for a vineyard. When I went to read it the first words that caught my eye were the last words at the very end, the last interest. “Tasty Food”. I didn't really need to read any more, the subtle wine bottle reference, the interest in gourmet food, this guy speaks to me. (I'll be in Napa next weekend for four days touring vineyards, maybe that's why I'm drawn in.) Further, or deeper rather, the resume stands out typographically. The balance of the cat head silhouette [turned out to be an injured bear or something], the combination of a salubrious script and a more information-age sans-script and the choice of color really do make this resume stand out from the crowd. Differentiation accomplished. I'd like to order the Garza with a glass of Pinot. There's a recognizable theme within this piece of paper, an enjoyable experience. (applause...)

Intermission

Designers: don't be afraid to do experimental design. Let the clients reject it, but always put it out there as an option. In the random world of design-meets-client, its just a matter of time and random numbers before the experimental comp gets chosen. Experimental is cool. Unfortunately, most clients are un-cool. While I'm talking about clients, always show them options, but never show them anything that you don't want them to pick. 100% of the time they pick the crappy one that you threw in to make the other ones look good. Leave it out. Give them 2 or 3 options, or demonstrate a process.
Take however long it takes to get it right.

It's ok to be unconventional. You just graduated, nobody cares what the
words say on your resume, they only care how it looks, and what thought went into the form. Later on you can get
more into legibility and use more readable text once you have collected interesting things to read.

THIRD PLACE -TIE

Lauren Ehle and John Roderick

John Roderick

It's all about the business card. The business card is very good, you pick it up, it is in a vertical format with rounded edges, and just where your thumb has to be, there is no information, and as with all designers' business cards, you have to turn it over to check to see if they put anything on the back. (You all do it!) With John you get the payoff: “DESIGNER” I have never seen anyone put just their title on the back of the card, DIFFERENTIATION. Looks good, very clever.

The resume looks professional, it matches the card, has some odd rectangles of color on the bottom thrown in there for no apparent reason, but is sized proportionally and has the matching rounded corners. Not the best resume I've ever seen, but clearly ‘one of the best' and is by far the best business card. The business card approaches the category of ‘one of the best' even when piled in with professional business cards. However, grab a card from Method Engine one day, John, and be put to shame.

Further, John was very good at being available, easy to talk to and generally
comes across as a good guy. He wasn't the only one in this category either. I
was fortunate enough to speak to many graduates with this trait. (Kevin, Luis Medel Jr...) A quality group through and through. Listen: if someone is going to hire you, they have to live with their decision day in, and day out. Being easy to be with is a quality not to be overlooked.

John, if you read this, give your sister that Untied piece, and tell her to show it to Johnny Walker and company. I know they will get a big kick out of it, possibly to the ironic extent of getting work there. They will understand your perspective. Very, very clever.

Lauren Ehle

A most unconventional resume. Playful and musical, comes with a perforated detachable business card end. No one else did that! Wouldn't dare to detach it. (Although just today I saw a printed membership piece from Carlucci, the italian restaurant that had the same shape and perf.) This resume is unique in form and fits in the hand well. It is experimental, yet somewhat formal. It pushes the envelope with tiny tiny text which I don't mind at all. Small text looks cool, and you're not going to get many more chances to use such teeny weeny text.

This resume is charming, I don't care what it says, looking at it just makes me happy. Black and grey, very tasteful color choices (or brightness choices), but over all the lean narrow form holds up as a program-style media. It isn't rock and roll, it's Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Classical, yet musical.

Honorary Mention I

Abigail Jeuell. [Not Shown] This resume isn't the most beautiful composition or attractive typeface, it is a pretty conservative resume. But I have to say it was the first one to catch my attention on the almighty Table of Resumes because of the use of color. I noticed right away that this resume was printed on different colored paper throughout the stack. There were greens on top, some pinks underneath, and other colors which made me think, “oh you get to pick your color paper, fun.” No one else did this, so it was immediately unique. Also, people (myself included) would wind up taking more than one. But different colored paper alone isn't that exceptional, what made this use of color noteworthy was that the text on each color paper matched the paper. Green paper, green printed text. Hmmm. That shows the gears were turning. She was thinking, I'll match the color of the text to the paper and mix it up. No one else did that.

Abigail is obviously a “color” person. I had the opportunity to speak to her. She was wearing a red dress. Not the kind of red dress that Penelope Cruz is talking about when she refers to Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky “strappy shoes, red dress..”, but the kind of dress that says, “I'm wearing red, because people notice the color red.”

On employment, Abilgail might pursue work in the corporate realm, an Ernst & Young graphics department or a CB Richard Ellis. Somewhere strict and steady, yet nurturing that would allow her to blossom while learning about corporate America and its bizarre inner workings. But then that statement could apply to virtually any of the grads.

It took some prodding but she eventually showed me her portfolio which contained work that she evidently got paid to do. Not many grads have yet had the opportunity to do real commercial work, let alone have pieces that were high quality enough for a portfolio review. I place tremendous value on a designer's ability to A) get design work, 2) complete said work, and C) have the work produced to a degree of success that is portfolio worthy -while still in school. Abigail should have laid out that portfolio open for all to see, proud of her accomplishments, rather that hiding them under the table, which seems to have been the format this year.

HONOROABLE MENTION II, III

Jennifer Bazan [not shown]

Usually I don't like the semi-opaque paper choice (velum) for a resume because if you lay it on top of another resume (as they are often in a disorganized pile or stack) it becomes the resume of the person beneath you. However, this resume is very neatly organized and has interesting use of line and color. You sort of have to hold it up in the air for it to work, but it works if you do. If you look too long a need for more white space creeps out. The lines are a bit too close to the text and that causes unnecessary tension, it literally confines the text to their categories. Computer skills will never be confused with Community. Community!? WTF? Anyway, the lines do a good job of categorizing.

Luis Medel Jr.

I like the five pointed stars. They remind me of Texas (where I lived for 2 years), and Luis seems to be, if I had to venture a guess, of Mexican descent. He uses big bold honest type, nothing to hide and willing to share. The choice of type really seems to represent who Luis is, an extremely important ability in design. I can't say it enough: Representation of the essence of the character of the subject. This resume tells you who this person is and what he is about. I saw some of Luis' other works and they were highly varied. They were about the subject, not about his style. And he was comfortable looking me in the eye. Luis seems to have figured out branding and additionally was able point the design-six-shooter at himself (spurs and all). His resume is a snapshot of pop culture's interpretation of his heritage. Why not? The stars and the gigantic title are bold and risky moves, but they work well in this context. Very Hollywood. (As long as no one mentions the sitcom cheers, or any other use of that font. Ahem.) Luis could probably tackle any assignment, but I have a feeling he would be great in the publishing realm.

Other honorable resume mentions:

Anthony Maro for simplicity and usability (bordering on boring)

Christie Ehrhardt for layout and unconventional placement of type (although this resume borders on the disorienting)

Kevin Longio – Best overall display

Tips, notes and opinions (for designer's resumes):

Be prepared

Spend a long time on your resume and business card. Why? Because it is the “leave behind” that gets you further consideration. The only item that companies and individuals can take with them. This will decide who gets contacted and who does not. [Steve Quinn: ..the resume functions as a little window into {your} design abilities.. ]

Be different for some reason. The best resumes come from designers who focus on the big picture and see the resume/business card as an important branded experience, not as an assignment.

Don't take huge risks

Remember to explore nice papers, but also remember that your audience is going to be a bunch of designers and industry folks, many with loads of print experience. So use resume paper, but stay clear of linen (for more on linen see the 2005 resume review winner) and velum (more on velum above). Metallic paper is really cool, but it can be distracting as a medium.

Metallic paper is so remarkable visually, it can sometimes supersede the content that is printed onto it. Is it the paper that makes the piece or the design? You want to showcase your ability to design, on a high quality piece of paper, not showcase your ability to find super-interesting paper and put some stuff on there. It's good that you know about that paper, just don't let it distract or detract. Consider the metallic Pantones as an alternative if you are willing and can afford conventional printing.

Also, if you're thinking about doing an odd size and/or orientation, be sure that your craftsmanship is superb (with every single copy). Traces of Xacto blade hand cut and spray mount pieces take on a clumsy look (and go right into the garbage). Don't even think about using a copier. One grad literally “made copies” of her resume on the standard copier paper. Sigh. What is this, Office Space?

Conversely, don't be too conservative. Know your audience. The people that are looking to hire recent grads from the NIU visual communications program (the best design program in the Midwest) are typically in the design field. They have trained eyes and acute perceptions. Give us something to think about, give us something to look at.

Dress up

Get used to it folks, you're about to embark on many interviews and you're going to have to start dressing up, or at minimum, you going to need to know how to dress up. I don't care if you have long hair, tattoos, earrings, but no matter how unnatural it feels, wear something presentable. If you learn one thing from Paul Rand it is “the way something looks is everything”. Don't forget to apply that principle to yourself. While I was at this review I noticed there were other design professionals walking around, the more dressed up they were, the more important they became. The more sloppily dressed, well, who cares?

Let your work be the unconventional experience. This review of your work is the culmination of four or more years of your life. Bring your best and show up on time. Engage in as many meaningful conversations as you can while you have a captive audience. Realize the value inherent in your audience, and the value of their time. You will never have this particular type of experience again and it can directly connect you to work. The people show up to talk with you about what you have accomplished so far, how you made it this far, and what you're plans are for the future. Think about what your plans are, and what you want to do, so you are ready for that line of questioning.

Don't hide your portfolio under the table

Almost every portfolio I reviewed was magically pulled out from nowhere upon request. You had to request it, and the graduates would pull it out of their asses and show you. This format limits the visitor's ability to see the creativeness, or in some cases the lack of creativeness of the designer. Let me see! Don't make me ask. This is still a portfolio review isn't it? [Steve Quinn: "We are moving away from a portfolio review toward a show for a few reasons, so to answer your question, no, it is not a portfolio review."] Ah, I stand re-formatted. Ok, ok.

Along the same lines, I don't want to play with your computer. A portfolio review means people come to look at your book. If you're all about the electronic media, print it out anyway for those of us who spend too much time on computers already, or wish to speak to the grads in the presence of tangible artwork.

Don't oversell

Be yourself, have a positive attitude, and don't worry about what anyone thinks. No one is expecting you to have a lot of experience or all the answers, and no one wants to be over-sold. Relax, pay attention, talk, and listen. Answer questions, and ask questions. Realize you have to explain your projects from the beginning. Explain the project and the solution so the observer can frame the design with relation to the assignment.

Free advice

The harder and longer you work and the more passionate you are at all times, the greater your chances of success. If have a bad attitude, are timid, don't care, or think you're so great that you don't need to spend all your time and energy working on design, you're in for a big slap in the face from the corporate world. Slap. From my experience the market drives much of designers' ability to make money. Over time the market waxes and wanes and the only thing that's going to keep you employed, not laid off and able to support yourself, is a relentless pursuit of Working, and your ability to get on with others. If you don't have a job, your job is to get a job. You should be spending 30 or more hours a week seeking work. Don't ever slack and you will have a better chance during hard times. And let there be no mistake, there will be hard times. Design is a volatile business, and designers are volatile people, and if you don't believe me, stay in it for ten years.

De-what?

Also, believe it or not, you don't want to invite your friends to the city portfolio review. Meet them afterwards. You are graduating. You should begin to focus your efforts on integrating yourself into the design community. Get a job, meet people, market yourself, and go party with your friends later. (You think your friends care about your design work? You're crazy.)

Professionalism

As I was waiting for the elevator to take me up to the portfolio review last night I ran across a group of people who were deciding whether to go to the bar or to go upstairs. The debate was on, “if we go up there we'll be stuck and we won't be able to get a drink, and if we go to the bar, we'll stay there and we won't go upstairs.” I wanted to say: “Go upstairs, there are people who are expecting you to display your work and who would like to meet you should they happen to be hiring or know someone who is.” Even if you already have a job, or if you don't want a job, humor us, the alumni, the design firms and go upstairs and act like a professional. Represent.

Even if those people were not grads! No one should be having that debate at the elevator of the show. Granted I must admit that the show could really have used an open bar, a jazz trio, and run ‘til 11pm, but this was an acedemic show,
not a gallery opening. Kudos to the many grads on showing burgeoning professionalism. Especially to the one who was wearing the same outfit as me. Cheers to that. He says: if you want to borrow my jacket later you can..

John Ashmann was correct when he told me that the NIU gallery on Superior was a good space, one that is conducive to the kind of event they created. A smaller space is better for mingling and networking. The class of 2005 had their show at the Harold Washington Library which is a much nicer space, is larger, but in the end is less conducive to meaningful discourse.

That said, the class of 2006 as a whole seemed to have respect for one another and plenty of respect for their visitors, and showed very good work -an impressive group.

Notes:

Objects of desire and things people collect are two different things.

Students who did not produce a resume or a business card should have been given an Incomplete and not been allowed to graduate. You're not in school any more, blowing off class and being irresponsible is over.

Once again the rest of the resumes were flotsam and jetsam. This time they all landed at Sopranos, the Italian restaurant on Shefield (last year they went onto Lake Shore Drive ). Not to ramble on here, but you take a resume like Drew Richard Garza's into a restaurant and it gets a wine-glass-ring stain on it, that makes it even better. You take a boring resume and it gets tainted with a spec of dust and its all over. The End.

Go to 2007

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