Criticise my portfolio

shifty_uk · 10 Mar 2012 at 23:09

As of yet I don't particularly know what I'm aiming for but I need a job, a junior role perhaps and I'm sick and tired of studying science at uni, I need something creative to get me started, it's what I find astonishingly easy and consider myself born to do!

Ideally I'd love to end up in advertising or conceptual illustration but I've got a lot of training to do and until I'm skilled enough in my mind, I don't see a clear way.

So, since i have two years experience in front end web design and development I've included that stuff on the site and I might apply to a broad range of agencies, anything from graphic to web design. A foot in the door somewhere is better than a foot in the door nowhere!

http://cargocollective.com/ryanfindlay

Have a look and tell me what you think, be blunt and honest

Cheers!

alieshia · 11 Mar 2012 at 00:06

i love your alba logos! and your art is beautiful though the images take quite awhile to arrive on my screen which normally if this happened i'd just click off the page.

DcD · 11 Mar 2012 at 01:42

Having absolutely no formal education in the arts, I began studying the sciences behind technology at university, soon coming to realisation I was striving for an entirely creative career.
...
Being completely self taught, I'm obsessed with learning and developing as an artist and designer...

Probably the two most negative sounding sentences in the history of portfolios. Don't immediately put yourself down, it's not appealing for employers/agencies. To get by in this industry you need a lot of confidence, especially at you're age and in the current climate.

I'd recommend thinking very carefully about leaving the current security you have at university. The design industry is not an easy place to be right now. Marketing is a rather hard hit industry in recessions, because it's the first thing people have to skim a bit off the top of what they're paying. People who have been working in the industry for ten years, are being laid off and are now competing with juniors for entry levels positions.

Your portfolio is great. If i'm totally honest, your front end web stuff is fairly standard - corporate sites that I've seen before (no offence). However, your conceptual art and more traditional art is absolutely astounding. Really impressed. What did you use? Oils, charcoals?

shifty_uk · 11 Mar 2012 at 10:24

alieshia said:
i love your alba logos! and your art is beautiful though the images take quite awhile to arrive on my screen which normally if this happened i'd just click off the page.

Thanks, I'll try and shrink the file sizes

DcD said:
Probably the two most negative sounding sentences in the history of portfolios. Don't immediately put yourself down, it's not appealing for employers/agencies. To get by in this industry you need a lot of confidence, especially at you're age and in the current climate.

I'd recommend thinking very carefully about leaving the current security you have at university. The design industry is not an easy place to be right now. Marketing is a rather hard hit industry in recessions, because it's the first thing people have to skim a bit off the top of what they're paying. People who have been working in the industry for ten years, are being laid off and are now competing with juniors for entry levels positions.

Your portfolio is great. If i'm totally honest, your front end web stuff is fairly standard - corporate sites that I've seen before (no offence). However, your conceptual art and more traditional art is absolutely astounding. Really impressed. What did you use? Oils, charcoals?

Thanks for the advice.

May I ask why those sentences are negative?

I thought they sounded rather positive in the sense that I can teach myself off my own back, have a natural ability and so on.

I agree with the sites, unfortunately the company I worked for previously had a portfolio largely made up of corporate clients so that's what I designed most of the time.

What do you mean at my age? Being young or old? I'm only 22

It's really just a junior position I'm after. Even finishing Uni I'd still have the same portfolio and I'd still be striving for the same entry level positions in design.

I'd love to take the art further, as I mentioned briefly earlier I'm pretty obsessed with concept art and things like that but it seems like an almost impossibly industry to enter and I'd almost certainly have to relocate but I will be doing that in future, I just need to build myself and my portfolio up to the level of the big players.

shifty_uk · 11 Mar 2012 at 13:16

Just wrote this on my lunch break but does it sound slightly better? I'll have a go at writing something more ambitious later

I have a background in interaction design working largely with front-end design and development for corporate clients. Whilst at university I've been involved in sales and team co-ordination at senior levels.

Being self taught I'm obsessed with learning and developing as an artist and designer. I believe having an aesthetic eye, knowing the basic rules of image making and design can ultimately make the possibilities of transcending into various areas of creativity limitless. Thus believing creativity should be absolutely non-linear.

Cheers again.

simisker · 11 Mar 2012 at 13:40

The mentions of "corporate looking sites" confused me, as when I viewed your portfolio last night, I didn't see any. All I saw was the "alba" identity work; it didn't occur to me that it was a click-driven slideshow with more examples to follow.

The "previous/next image" text at the top isn't sufficient, in my opinion, and you want to look at making it more obvious that there are a breadth of examples to browse.

shifty_uk · 11 Mar 2012 at 14:18

Hadn't thought of it. I've removed the slideshow from a section or two to give an example of how it would look without it.

DcD · 13 Mar 2012 at 02:21

shifty_uk said:
May I ask why those sentences are negative? I thought they sounded rather positive in the sense that I can teach myself off my own back, have a natural ability and so on.

I agree with the sites, unfortunately the company I worked for previously had a portfolio largely made up of corporate clients so that's what I designed most of the time.

What do you mean at my age? Being young or old? I'm only 22 It's really just a junior position I'm after. Even finishing Uni I'd still have the same portfolio and I'd still be striving for the same entry level positions in design.

I'd love to take the art further, as I mentioned briefly earlier I'm pretty obsessed with concept art and things like that but it seems like an almost impossibly industry to enter and I'd almost certainly have to relocate but I will be doing that in future, I just need to build myself and my portfolio up to the level of the big players.

The sentences sound negative to me. It connotates "Look, I've not got any recognised training or an exact education in what I want you to hire me in, but...". You don't need to tell anyone what you haven't got, it's all about what you can do.

My point about your age refers to my other point about you being in competition with people who've been in the industry for 30 years. Employers (from my experience) aren't interested in hiring a 22 year old junior when they can get a 30 year old senior designer for the same pay, it's simple logic. I've suffered first hand from this in the past. Tread carefully and be careful what you commit to when you've already got financial security. However, don't let that come in between you and your motivation to succeed, of course. I can tell just by the way you word you posts you want to achieve this, and good on you mate!

If you're really into concept art, drop me a PM/trust (or whatever its called) with your email address. I work with a few film production companies in London and may (not promising anything) be able to get you voluntuary work doing conceptual art, if you're interested? I'm also working on some of my own film projects later this year that I'm sure I'd be able to get you involved with.

AHarvey · 13 Mar 2012 at 05:08

I think our place is after a couple of graphic designers if you are interested, based in London but 'may' outsource. I can check on Wednesday when I am in if you like?

DcD · 15 Mar 2012 at 19:20

AHarvey said:
I think our place is after a couple of graphic designers if you are interested, based in London but 'may' outsource. I can check on Wednesday when I am in if you like?

I'm currently living in London and am keeping an eye out for anything that pays better than what I currently do. Drop me an email at [email protected] if you can dig anything up!

Mark M · 15 Mar 2012 at 21:46

I think it looks pretty good and agree with the above comments that the art work is fantastic but I dont think it would jump out at me if I was looking for a designer. Perhaps split the site in 2 between art and graphic work?

My other suggestion and its entirely personal preference would be to get a professional photo done for the about us thumbnail. They make a massive difference and dont have to be hugely formal, but I do think it would improve things a lot.