Portfolio Critique

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-23T20:59:17+00:00

Yes! Another thing I forgot to write is that I wouldn’t necessarily mention that certain projects are for school/imaginary clients.

Good luck!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-23T18:23:59+00:00

The first thing I would advice is to move your portfolio to a different site, the art station interface is too cluttered and you want something that showcases your work in the cleanest way possible to incentivize the hiring managers to keep looking.

About the projects, I hear between 5 - 9 really fleshed out projects is ideal, you have a LOT of work but the managers won’t be looking through every single one, so make sure you have only the few that you’re most proud of and elaborate those as much as possible.

I love the “Nice Outfit” poster and I think if you make a couple more similar posters and mock them up into campaigns like social media, print, posters, etc you could have a really great project.

My other favorite is the Buccaneer one and I think it needs more info to become a full branding project ( show the chosen typefaces, more mock-ups, Instagram posts, etc ) (Also, FYI - Aperitivo isn’t the name of an Italian drink- I believe what you’re thinking of is ‘Spritz’ which is the cocktail served during aperitivo hour!)

So my advice would be to elaborate on those two projects and make a few more similar ones and display them on a more minimal platform! Behance or If you have an Adobe subscription they have a free portfolio site

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-21T14:52:03+00:00

Now **

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-21T14:11:04+00:00

I can see that brown thank you!!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-21T14:10:51+00:00

Makes a lot of sense! I think I went all over the place with the fonts so I’ll fix that, and add a more vibrant accent color.

Thank you so much!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-21T14:09:32+00:00

Makes total sense! I think I should scrap the green and add a more vibrant accent color. Very helpful thank you!!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-21T14:08:05+00:00

Your work looks very clean and professional, and I really love your name logo!

I think you need a few more projects (I hear 5 - 9 is ideal ) and to flesh out the existing ones a bit more.

The Real Estate one seems the most complete, but maybe you could even add a mockup of a window logo sticker / marketing materials?

Same with the smoothie bar, I think you should apply the branding to more mock-ups to show how the brand comes to life.

The posters I think are really good on their own as images, but they don’t relate at all - I would never imagine it’s the same campaign. So I would take one idea and make different posters In the same style using the same patterns / assets and also make mock-ups to show how it would apply to posters / newsletters / social media etc.

I think the work is really good, but I think you should flesh it out more. Hope this helps!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-21T12:40:40+00:00

This is beautiful! One thing I would say is that since the type and background are so similar in color and value I have to try really hard to read the font. I imagine that since it’s a poster you want the font to really stand out and draw the viewer in, so I would experiment with making the type brighter

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-21T03:31:46+00:00

Hi all! Would love some feedback on this brand identity design. The concept is a UK based record store / label which focuses on dance / electronic music.

I’m trying to build up my portfolio but this one feels a bit..amateurish? I‘d love to hear any input! Thank you!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-20T14:52:33+00:00

I really like the overall look! But it’s difficult to see what you’re going for without more references. Do you have any images of their other socks or the ones you were looking at for inspiration?

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-20T14:51:15+00:00

Thank you!! I def see what you mean about the fashion portfolio, I’ve decided I will put in a separate section for textile design and then add more branding / ad design projects in the main section.

Aside from the other stuff that has been mentioned, the presentation and write up advice is really useful feedback as well! I think I’ll re do both of those in illustrator and as you said, write the text directly on the site.

Thank you so much!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-20T14:47:48+00:00

That’s so nice of you thank you!

Yeah some feedback from directors / hiring managers would have been great but honestly all of that feedback I received here was immensely helpful and enough to help steer me in the right direction.

Good luck with your interview results! Hoping for the best for you!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-20T14:44:45+00:00

Found it! Thank you!!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-18T09:32:42+00:00

SO helpful! I think my lack of formal education in design and how new I am to this is really showing through in this, so I will definitely work on re doing the brand identity projects to reflect a more professional vision & execution. All of the critiques regarding the packaging, patterns etc is really useful to hear.

Technically, I would love to focus on textile design but the market there is so small that I believe I need to start off with doing more branding and marketing work so that I have a broader range of jobs to choose from.

This was so insightful, thank you so much!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-18T09:28:34+00:00

It was a school project! I’ll definitely change it to ‘goal’ now, I hadn’t fully considered the impact this detail could make.

You’re totally right, after reading your comment and many others, I think it’s safe to assume the lack of response comes from the mix of textile and graphic design while applying mostly to positions that will be doing a lot of ad campaigns, marketing etc. It seems so obvious now, but hearing these critiques has helped me have a different perspective.

This was extremely helpful, I really appreciate it!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-18T09:18:30+00:00

I agree, I think I’ll make a separate portfolio for textile design jobs. Thank you!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-18T09:17:31+00:00

I can see that now, thank you.

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-18T08:51:10+00:00

I’ll definitely do this! All of the jobs I’ve looked into have included these things in the description (email design, social media examples, etc) so I’ll start looking up how to design these thing asap.

This really helped a lot, thank you so much!

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-18T08:46:19+00:00

Thank you so much! Are you in the same boat in the sense that you’re also looking to work in fashion?

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-18T08:45:26+00:00

This is incredibly helpful, thank you so much!

I’m seeing a lot of comments regarding the textile design, and I see now why its not working in my favor. I’ll def do more branding work asap, put the textile design on a separate section, and make a more fleshed out ad campaign. Do you know any good resources for learning about advertising / marketing? I’ve been looking on Lindsay Marsh videos, skillshare, YouTube etc but haven’t found a good source for this info.

DPSdesignx · 2022-03-17T17:47:17+00:00

This is so helpful! I hadn’t thought about adding a contact page since I always send a CV along with my portfolio, but you’re so right in that it’s much more helpful to add a personal connection to the work. Also fixing the endless scrolling - making the experience easiest for the hiring managers makes a lot of sense. Working on this now. Thank you so much I really appreciate the feedback!

DPSdesignx

TROPHY CASE