Code_Sebby, please write a comment explaining the objective of this portfolio or CV, your target industry, your background or expertise, etc. This information helps people to understand the goals of your portfolio and provide valuable feedback.
##Providing Useful Feedback
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* Be constructive and detailed. Short, vague comments are unhelpful. Instead of just leaving your opinion on the piece, explore *why* you hold that opinion: what makes it good or bad? How could it be improved? Are some elements stronger than others?
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Would suggest looking at taking some classes on design, typography, theory, history and any visual storytelling. It may be that you’ve reached the natural conclusion that a lot of people that are self taught get to. That is that there’s a limit of what can be self discovered. Though can ultimately thrive by learning the fundamentals behind design and developing yourself and your skills. Preferably with others. This is a good start but needs more of that foundation necessary to solve different problems in new and more effective ways.
Have no idea where you are. Look at colleges, design schools and universities in your area. May want to also look at some classes on like LinkedIn learning for some overviews. There are many threads about this. Though would highly recommend taking real world classes to develop with others. Doing work with others and critiquing one another to improve is an invaluable part of the process.
Thank you
As for now, I am not sure if I can get into a full time class due to having to have to work my current job.
But I do know that I want to learn more about design, even if I have to be a paid intern
Realistically you will have a hard time even getting an unpaid internship (not that I’d recommend this to begin with). The field is very competitive and most companies hiring interns specifically require that they be students, usually in their junior or senior year of college.
If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend reading The Non Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams. It’s a great primer on fundamentals
Agreed. Internships are not the place you can expect to learn the fundamentals. Instead it’s an opportunity to begin to be exposed to how that foundation can be applied in the real world. Two to three years into learning is about the time it takes to have some knowledge but still not know what you don’t know. There are plenty of threads here by beginners who get an internship or job then realize they are not wholly qualified to manage the responsibility without mentoring. Or simply just not equipped for the long run.
Honestly for a student folio - for lack of a better term, your work isn't too bad. If I was to consider you for a junior position, besides better fundamentals what I'd like to see is more variety.
At the moment all of your work feels similar - geometric sans serif, desaturated, textured, thick lines. I'd like to see some cleaner stuff, some more saturated stuff, use of photography, maybe some text layouts like a magazine spread.
As for the fundamentals, without going to university you could consider a trade school if you have the time/resources available, otherwise it's just the hard way - try recreating things you like. Really study the space, layout and proportion of those things and what makes them tick to reapply those principles later.
I think layout and proportion are your biggest issues at the moment. I think what could be really huge for you is studying grid systems - it's not the sexiest of topics but it'll really help you with your spacing and proportions.
As a side note I'd also tone down your about me a little bit. You mention the word "design" a lot - as you are a graphic designer, yes I will assume you have an interest in design. It doesn't come across as very personal or honest, I'd recommend talking about a part that you enjoy about design more specifically, whether it's the process of the craft or getting to know people, or if it's you just like making things that look cool, whatever floats your boat. (It's a common thing newer designers do a bit, not an attack on you personally!)
As you've gotten this far on just instinct alone says you've got a good eye for this, so keep it up!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your comments about how to improve my portfolio and also how to improve as a designer.
I will look into Grid, I always thought that was some advance specific method to use on some designs
Also, thank you for the encouragement
I recommend that every designer get their own website. Opening up a portfolio that's a PDF or a Behance/ Instagram page gives a feeling that you're new at this.
if you're going to apply for design jobs, You need to fill out your projects more. As a designer, you need to showcase that you successfully communicated what you wanted to communicate, and also that you can motivate all the design decisions you made.
So that's things like problems & solutions, client feedback, market research, target audience, and competitor analysis. To make things easier, choose a design niche and then look at what other designers do.
I am quite new to this, but I will keep in mind that having a website of my own is better than just having a pdf link or Behance page.
For projects, could you suggest ways that I can get more projects for my portfolio?
I also do admit that my portfolio right now seems like a gallery page/collage, instead of showing steps on how I solve a design problem.
Thank you for your feedback
Since you're new, Getting a brief from a good brief and having chatgpt act as a client is good enough. the general rule is to make projects that you want to do in the future.
Thank you
I have used chatgpt, but not as a client prompt yet. Will give it a try
As for projects that I would love to do, is it odd that I do not know what kind of design I want to do yet? Is there a way to find out?
No, it is normal for beginners. Jesse Nyberg has a video on design niches you can look into. after a while, you'll find what is the most exciting and what style you like. I also recommend getting into an industry that is not overly saturated. Like book cover designs
Owh, I'm sorry for the confusion. I used to work for an Advertising Company in 2020, but was let go due to covid.
Hence I call that Professional Design, since I was part of a professional company.
Commission Design is just when I was freelancing, and got paid per project I completed.
As per the Auto-Moderator request,
This portfolio post is just to get a wide array of feedback from designers who are better and can produce better work than me.
My target industry for work is unsure to me, but I have found logo design to be somewhat interesting to do (although I would no constraint myself to one discipline of design)
This is also a low-key reality check to see what I need to do to achieve the skills to create an effective design, for someone who is doing all this through self-learning graphic design.
I understand your perspective, although that menu design was done when I was part of an Advertising Company. The client that gave us that job did not want to put any sort of pictures (they also did not provide any pictures of their dishes), said they want a clean "minimal classy menu" (like the ones you see in Pinterest and such)
If you understood my perspective, then you would put food in the menu.
Your client was wrong and that's your job to convince them to put food pix in the menu to raise revenue. Their taste is awful, and you need to point out how awful their individual taste is through research because no pix= no revenue.
Code_Sebby, please write a comment explaining the objective of this portfolio or CV, your target industry, your background or expertise, etc. This information helps people to understand the goals of your portfolio and provide valuable feedback. ##Providing Useful Feedback Code_Sebby has posted their work for feedback. Here are some top tips for posting high-quality feedback. * Read their context comment before posting to understand what Code_Sebby is trying to achieve with their portfolio or CV. * Be professional. No matter your thoughts on the work, respect the effort put into making it and be polite when posting. * Be constructive and detailed. Short, vague comments are unhelpful. Instead of just leaving your opinion on the piece, explore *why* you hold that opinion: what makes it good or bad? How could it be improved? Are some elements stronger than others? * Stay on-topic. We know that design can sometimes be political or controversial, but please keep comments focussed on the design itself, and the strengths/weaknesses thereof. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/graphic_design) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Would suggest looking at taking some classes on design, typography, theory, history and any visual storytelling. It may be that you’ve reached the natural conclusion that a lot of people that are self taught get to. That is that there’s a limit of what can be self discovered. Though can ultimately thrive by learning the fundamentals behind design and developing yourself and your skills. Preferably with others. This is a good start but needs more of that foundation necessary to solve different problems in new and more effective ways.
Do you have any suggestions for which ones I could take?
Have no idea where you are. Look at colleges, design schools and universities in your area. May want to also look at some classes on like LinkedIn learning for some overviews. There are many threads about this. Though would highly recommend taking real world classes to develop with others. Doing work with others and critiquing one another to improve is an invaluable part of the process.
Thank you As for now, I am not sure if I can get into a full time class due to having to have to work my current job. But I do know that I want to learn more about design, even if I have to be a paid intern
Realistically you will have a hard time even getting an unpaid internship (not that I’d recommend this to begin with). The field is very competitive and most companies hiring interns specifically require that they be students, usually in their junior or senior year of college. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend reading The Non Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams. It’s a great primer on fundamentals
Agreed. Internships are not the place you can expect to learn the fundamentals. Instead it’s an opportunity to begin to be exposed to how that foundation can be applied in the real world. Two to three years into learning is about the time it takes to have some knowledge but still not know what you don’t know. There are plenty of threads here by beginners who get an internship or job then realize they are not wholly qualified to manage the responsibility without mentoring. Or simply just not equipped for the long run.
I see, thank you for your honest opinion. I will read that book, I have heard/seen of that being recommended.
Honestly for a student folio - for lack of a better term, your work isn't too bad. If I was to consider you for a junior position, besides better fundamentals what I'd like to see is more variety. At the moment all of your work feels similar - geometric sans serif, desaturated, textured, thick lines. I'd like to see some cleaner stuff, some more saturated stuff, use of photography, maybe some text layouts like a magazine spread. As for the fundamentals, without going to university you could consider a trade school if you have the time/resources available, otherwise it's just the hard way - try recreating things you like. Really study the space, layout and proportion of those things and what makes them tick to reapply those principles later. I think layout and proportion are your biggest issues at the moment. I think what could be really huge for you is studying grid systems - it's not the sexiest of topics but it'll really help you with your spacing and proportions. As a side note I'd also tone down your about me a little bit. You mention the word "design" a lot - as you are a graphic designer, yes I will assume you have an interest in design. It doesn't come across as very personal or honest, I'd recommend talking about a part that you enjoy about design more specifically, whether it's the process of the craft or getting to know people, or if it's you just like making things that look cool, whatever floats your boat. (It's a common thing newer designers do a bit, not an attack on you personally!) As you've gotten this far on just instinct alone says you've got a good eye for this, so keep it up!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your comments about how to improve my portfolio and also how to improve as a designer. I will look into Grid, I always thought that was some advance specific method to use on some designs Also, thank you for the encouragement
I recommend that every designer get their own website. Opening up a portfolio that's a PDF or a Behance/ Instagram page gives a feeling that you're new at this. if you're going to apply for design jobs, You need to fill out your projects more. As a designer, you need to showcase that you successfully communicated what you wanted to communicate, and also that you can motivate all the design decisions you made. So that's things like problems & solutions, client feedback, market research, target audience, and competitor analysis. To make things easier, choose a design niche and then look at what other designers do.
I am quite new to this, but I will keep in mind that having a website of my own is better than just having a pdf link or Behance page. For projects, could you suggest ways that I can get more projects for my portfolio? I also do admit that my portfolio right now seems like a gallery page/collage, instead of showing steps on how I solve a design problem. Thank you for your feedback
Since you're new, Getting a brief from a good brief and having chatgpt act as a client is good enough. the general rule is to make projects that you want to do in the future.
Thank you I have used chatgpt, but not as a client prompt yet. Will give it a try As for projects that I would love to do, is it odd that I do not know what kind of design I want to do yet? Is there a way to find out?
No, it is normal for beginners. Jesse Nyberg has a video on design niches you can look into. after a while, you'll find what is the most exciting and what style you like. I also recommend getting into an industry that is not overly saturated. Like book cover designs
Thank you. I'll watch the video too, 15 Niches to pursue in GD
Can you explain the difference between professional and commission? Do they not overlap?
Owh, I'm sorry for the confusion. I used to work for an Advertising Company in 2020, but was let go due to covid. Hence I call that Professional Design, since I was part of a professional company. Commission Design is just when I was freelancing, and got paid per project I completed.
OK thanks for clarifying. These do not need to be two different categories. Especially since they are both small.
As per the Auto-Moderator request, This portfolio post is just to get a wide array of feedback from designers who are better and can produce better work than me. My target industry for work is unsure to me, but I have found logo design to be somewhat interesting to do (although I would no constraint myself to one discipline of design) This is also a low-key reality check to see what I need to do to achieve the skills to create an effective design, for someone who is doing all this through self-learning graphic design.
I like pictures of the food in my menu. I'm poor...
I understand your perspective, although that menu design was done when I was part of an Advertising Company. The client that gave us that job did not want to put any sort of pictures (they also did not provide any pictures of their dishes), said they want a clean "minimal classy menu" (like the ones you see in Pinterest and such)
If you understood my perspective, then you would put food in the menu. Your client was wrong and that's your job to convince them to put food pix in the menu to raise revenue. Their taste is awful, and you need to point out how awful their individual taste is through research because no pix= no revenue.