Planning Your Portfolio

A workshop led by graphic designer, Luke Bulman on the basics of portfolio design and layout.

Summary Notes

For additional information please see the full Power Point Presentation

Portfolio

This book should work well as a standalone, but also as something that you can comfortably present in person.

Collecting, Sequencing and Editing

• Good editing depends on two things:
  A clear idea of the communication goals of the contact and empathy for the reader
• First move:
  Put everything (everything) you have for every project in the document. This will give you the broadest canvas at the beginning. Portfolio design is mostly a process of editing and clarifying.
• Second move:
  Sequence the contact using a common organization device, such as a scale or time.
• Third move:
  Consolidate the materials you have assembled to clarify the reading of the project as needed. Be ruthless. A book is only as good as it weakest image.
• Fourth move:
  Always check for spelling and double words.
• Worth noting:
  What’s first and last matters most, consider this in both macro and micro organization of content

Some Typographic Guidelines

• Use a grid to align all elements on the spread. Being consistent here will pay off as attention to detail is the easiest way to impart quality and thoughtfulness.
• Use one typeface:
  Keep it classic: Helvetica, Franklin Gothic, Akzidenz Grotesk, Garamond, Hoefler Text, Times (maybe)
• Consider investing in a typeface that you use for all of your work. You’d be surprised how much this consolidates your work over three+ years
• Use only three type sizes. Consider these to start:
  18 points for titles / 9 points for body text / 6 points for captions
• Consistently apply leading between lines of text. As a rule of thumb add 2 points to the type size to get a readable spacing, i.e. 9 point text gets 11 points leading.
• Alignment:
  Left margin-right ragged, maintains type spacing best
• Text justified edge-to-edge of text boxes typically distorts spacing, use this sparingly if at all

Book as Object

• Formats
  Using a labor-efficient format: letter, legal or tabloid format for ease of production.
• Paper
  Use a matte-surfaced paper, it does not show fingerprints
• Binding
1. Wire-o:
   Most durable. Lays flat, which can be helpful during interview discussion
2. Saddle staple:
   Lays flat, informal quality. Too relaxed/common? Perfect bound: readily available, full spread images not interrupted
3. Case bound:
   Durable, good for large format, but possibly over the top?
4. Plastic comb:
   Never use this, just don't
• Cover
  Simple is best, avoid the word 'portfolio as the situation should make this self-evident
• Outsourcing production
  lulu.com, blurb.com, booksurge.com: these services provide an (potentially) inexpensive and timesaving alternative to self-printing.
• Hot Rod
  Especially if you outsource: consider using a book jacket or slip cover as a way of both protecting your book during handling and transport as well as giving it a qualitative distinction

PDF or Sample

This document should state your point of view, interest and work in an area of research, an idea of a larger “Project” It should be more than an excerpt from your book of work. Make sure it is under 5mb.

• First move
  Select one distinctive and memorable project from your book of work
• Second move
  Make it a “keeper”
• Third move
  Develop a standalone experience of that project in both PDF and printed versions
• Fourth move
  Make it irresistible to open, the wrapper matters
• Fifth move
  Always provide a link to your website
• Note
  Resist the temptation to pack it all on one page, things must breathe

Website

You should have one for your work. Not a blog, an actual website for your work.

• Use your name as its URL or find something memorable and flexible for future growth.
• Seriously consider using a database-driven free software such as Indexhibit or Stacey.It will make updating your site and keeping it consistent much, much easier.
• To register a website, consider using: pairnic.com
• For website hosting, consider using:
  www.pair.com or pairlite.com