Recently in Portfolio Reviews Category

SPD-U Student Portfolio Reviews - Thursday, June 15th, 2017

SPD-U Student Portfolio Reviews - Thursday, June 15th, 2017

Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 15th for our SPD-U Student Portfolio Reviews! You'll get valuable advice and critiques from publishing professionals and you'll learn what these pros look for in your work when they're looking to hire. It doesn't matter if your portfolio is fully finished or still in the works, digital or print...bring what you've got (full details below). Space is limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis, so sign up today!

Get the full details/buy your ticket and reserve your spot after the jump...
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SPD-U Summer Portfolio Review 2015 Wrap-Up

SPD-U Summer Portfolio Review 2015 Wrap-Up

It may be summer, but you wouldn't know it looking at the photos from our Summer Portfolio Review on July 22. The lucky attendees of this limited-audience event brought in their portfolios and printouts and iPads and laptops, and got one-on-one time with our reviewers. Unlike the typical review you'd get during a job interview, our panel of reviewers were there to give honest feedback on both the work and the format to help students strengthen what they had. But don't just take it from us! See what some of the students had to say:

"It was really nice talking to the professional designers and having them recommend a bunch of other designers who have similar styles and interests."
--Hieu Tran, student at the Maryland Institute College of Art

"Meeting with professionals and getting feedback at the portfolio review has really helped me improve my work." --Francis Vazquez, student at the School of Visual Arts

"Really nice, I had good feedback." -- Lee Jacob Hilado, student at City College

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Check out photos from the event on our Facebook page here.
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And lastly, a huge thanks to our wonderful reviewers and event staff!

  
REVIEWERS:  Heather Haggerty (Creative Director, Everyday with Rachel Ray), Kristin Lenz (Art Director, Inc.), Ed Levine (Creative Director, Psychology Today) and Mike Schnaidt (Art Director, Men's Health)
  
EVENT COORDINATOR: Sarah Garcea (Art Director, Inc.)
 
+  EVENT STAFF:  Stanley Collado (Art Assistant, Women's Health) and Lauren Stine (Assoc. Art Director, O, the Oprah Magazine)
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SPD-U Summer Student Portfolio Reviews: Wed, July 22

SPD-U Summer Student Portfolio Reviews: Wed, July 22

While our judges go through all the wonderful SPD-U Spotlight entries, we've got a great event in the works for all you students and recent grads in the NYC area.

Whether you're in the city for a summer internship, home from school and living in the tri-state area, or taking summer classes, we want to help with your job hunt and career prep by offering our SPD-U Summer Portfolio Reviews! Join us Wednesday, July 22 for this annual event where you'll get critiques from our publishing pros (names to be announced soon!).

There's no pressure on this one ... it's all about us giving you advice on what publication and media art directors are looking for and how you can improve your book to get those jobs! Doesn't matter if your portfolio is finished or still in the works, digital or print ... bring what you've got (details below) and our art director superstars will help you figure out what's working and what's not.

Details after the jump...


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Portfolio Reviews: Event Wrap-Up

Portfolio Reviews: Event Wrap-Up

We had a terrific night Wednesday at our annual Portfolio Review event, hosted by the super-awesome website builder Wix.com! Students came in from across the local area and beyond (Pennsylvania! Indiana!) to get their one-on-one advice on how to make their portfolios job- and internship-worthy. Check out photos and commentary after the jump...… MORE

Job-Hunting Must-Have: A Portfolio Website

As the summer quickly approaches and you start looking for internships and/or jobs, you'll need to make sure you have all your stuff together to make an effective hunt. Of course there's your resume and cover letter, and having all your info ready to copy-and-paste into those HR application sites online. 

But perhaps the most important of all is your portfolio website. This could be the thing that gets you the interview, cause without it, your application is just a piece of paper. By showing some of your work online, those doing the hiring can quickly see that you're worth talking to, even if your resume isn't all that impressive (and let's face it, for most students, how CAN your resume be impressive when you haven't yet had a chance to really work?). Follow us after the jump for some tips on putting this important piece of the the job-hunting puzzle together...
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Calling All Student Portfolios! Get Your Review Here! Happening April 9

Calling All Student Portfolios! Get Your Review Here! Happening April 9

March Madness is fully here at SPD-U thanks to our recent speaker event, our great sessions at the CMA College Media Convention and of course our terrific Student Design Competition winners (runners-up to be announced soon!). And now the madness is going to take over April too ... 

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 9 for our annual Portfolio Review event. You'll get critiques from at least two of our publishing pros, and you'll find out what publication and media art directors are looking for in your work when they're looking to hire. Doesn't matter if your portfolio is finished or still in the works, digital or print ... bring what you've got (details below) and our design superstars will help you figure out what's working and what's not. We'll also show you how you can easily build your own online portfolio using the super easy Wix.com web-builder. Details after the jump.
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Save the Date: Portfolio Reviews April 9th

Save the Date: Portfolio Reviews April 9th

As graduation time quickly approaches (though not quickly enough in terms of the weather!), we're here to help you finalize those portfolios before you hit the pavement big time for job-hunting. We'll open registration soon, but for now save the date for Portfolio Reviews: April 9th at 7pm in NYC. Details to come, so stay tuned here and/or on Facebook and Twitter.
Portfolio Review Wrap-Up

Portfolio Review Wrap-Up

Wednesday night we were lucky to be hosted by the fine folks at Wix.com for our annual Portfolio Review event. Thanks to our 6 terrific reviewers, attendees got in-depth reviews as well as a few quick ones which gave them a variety of opinions and advice to help perfect their portfolios. We also got a sneak peek at the awesome super-easy-to-use tools Wix.com has to offer for building your own online portfolio. Check out photos and some take-away tips after the jump...… MORE
Portfolio Reviews THIS WEDNESDAY!

Portfolio Reviews THIS WEDNESDAY!

Don't forget, we're doing Portfolio Reviews this coming Wednesday in the Union Square area. Be sure to reserve your spot now! SPD Student Members get FREE entry, but you gotta reserve your spot

This is a great chance to get your work in front of multiple reviewers from a variety of publications and companies, so you can get loads of advice and see where their opinions agree and disagree to better shape your book. Doesn't matter if you're portfolio is practically done or whether you just have a pile of printouts .... bring us whatever you've got, we'll give you our opinion and advice.

And to help you build your online portfolio (which you all should have!), we'll have experts from Wix.com (our lovely hosts!) on hand to show you what their web-building tools can do and how to create an expert online portfolio using them.

Hope to see you Wednesday!


Thanks to Wix.com for hosting the event at their Wix Lounge ... it's a free coworking space by day (meaning you can go in and use their wifi and desk space for FREE!), and an event space at night. Check out their Event Calendar for even more great events.
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Portfolio Reviews :: April 10

Portfolio Reviews :: April 10

March Madness is here, and here at SPD-U, it's going to bleed into April ... mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 10 for our annual Portfolio Review event. This will give all you graduating seniors (and undergrads too!) some guidance whether you're polishing up your final portfolio or you're in the midst of throwing one together.
 
At this event, you'll get critiques from several of our publishing pros and find out what publication and media art directors are looking for in your book when they're looking to hire. Doesn't matter if your book is finished or still in the works ... bring what you've got and our design superstars will help you figure out what's working and what's not. Details after the jump.

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Last Chance: Register for Portfolio Reviews by 3pm Today!

Last Chance: Register for Portfolio Reviews by 3pm Today!

Our CMYK: Student Portfolio Review event happens Thursday night, but registration closes today at 3pm, so be sure to sign up now! It's a rare chance to get hands-on personalized advice on how to prepare your book for all those upcoming internship and job interviews. It's free for all student members, but you still have to register to save your place. 

Most Common Portfolio Mistakes

In anticipation of our awesome CMYK: Portfolio Review event coming up next Thursday (you have to register by Wednesday at 3pm!), here's an interesting graphic from The Career Group's Portfolio Guide. You can download their guide (and others) here.

TCGportfolio.jpgBut if you want to find out more great advice on what makes a great magazine-design portfolio (as opposed to the more general graphic design portfolio), come to our event! You'll get one-on-one reviews and tons of great personalized suggestions. Doesn't matter what shape your book is in ... in other words, all the mistakes mentioned above? For this event, we don't care, we're here to help you make sure that stuff doesn't happen.

Wanna come? Sign up here!
CMYK: Student Portfolio Reviews Feb 23

CMYK: Student Portfolio Reviews Feb 23

With the spring school semester in full swing, we thought all you graduating seniors (and undergrads too!) could you use some guidance as you're cranking out those portfolios. So Come Meet Your Kind...
 
Get a critique from our publishing pros and find out what they're looking for in your book when they're looking to hire. Doesn't matter if your book is finished or still in the works ... bring what you've got and our design superstars will help you figure out what's working and what's not. Details after the jump.MORE

As for Extra-Fancy Portfolios...

Make sure the work your portfolio is showcasing is as strong or stronger than your presentation. That's the advice of designer Chanpory Rith. His advice is geared more towards advertising design, but it's worth considering. Check out his portfolio post here. And then read his "7 Deadly Sins of Resume Design" and the comments section too for a great discussion on what to do and not to do. He also gives great tips on how to pretty-up a Word doc resume here.

And while we're on the topic ... we're in the midst of planning our fall portfolio event, so if you have any questions or suggestions for us, we'd love to hear 'em!

Advice: You Want to Be Brain-Googled.

Over on A Photo Editor (a blog you read, right?), there's a question about portfolios with some great insight and advice. Yes, it's geared towards aspiring photographers (which you may be), but it's helpful to us designer-types as well. Long story short: "You want to be brain googled. ... use your portfolio to make a mark on that person and their visual memory." Read more here.
Portfolio Workshop This Wednesday!

Portfolio Workshop This Wednesday!

If you attended our SPD-U event last Monday, we addressed a question about how to choose pieces for your portfolio. While we did our best to answer the question there, we've got another event this Wednesday that is made just for that question: our Portfolio Workshop.

Bring us your printouts and tearsheets, your class projects and the stuff you make for your friends ... bring it all in one big pile, and we'll help you choose the best pieces and figure out the right way to organize it. Even if you think you've got your portfolio done, bring it along as well as any extra pieces and get our experts' opinions. Sign up now!
Portfolio Reviews March 24

Portfolio Reviews March 24

Yeah, you just handed in your Student Design Competition entry and you've already signed up for our SPD-U event next Monday the 15th, not to mention your classwork and stuff. (You're thinking about that Nikon camera and the Eddie Adams workshop too, right? No sleep, all the glory, right?) Yeah, we know, there's lots going on. Well, one more thing to add to your calendar: our March (Design) Madness continues on March 24th with our Portfolio event. Find out the details after the jump...

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Registration Closed for Portfolio Workshop

Thanks to everyone who's coming ... see you soon!

Portfolio Workshop RSVP Deadline: 4pm

At 4pm today we're closing registration for tonight's Portfolio Workshop, so RSVP NOW! And remember, if you're a Student Member, the event is FREE. And it's going to be awesome. Details here.

Students, Please Take Out Your Books and...

...bring 'em to our Portfolio Workshop!

Want to break into magazine design but don't have any publication work in your book? Or maybe you don't even have a book and it's just a pile of printouts. Whatever your portfolio's state, you should come to the first-ever SPD PORTFOLIO WORKSHOP.

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Portfolio: Reviewed

Lots of great advice was flying around the Village Copier last night as a bunch of you sacrificed a lovely summer evening for Portfolio Reviews. More than a few left saying they were excited to get home and rework some of their stuff. AND we had snacks. A successful evening all around, we'd say.

Thanks to all of you who came, and a big thanks to our 7 reviewers!

That's it for our summer events, but we're busy planning out a great fall schedule which will include MORE portfolio reviews, so keep coming back here as we set the dates and details. And as always, if you have any ideas or suggestions for things you'd like to see us do, don't hesitate to send 'em to us! Or reply to this post in the comments below.

RSVPs Closed

No more RSVPs for tonight's Portfolio Reviews ... BUT if you're late to the game, you can still come! (Location info here.) We can't guarantee you a spot, especially in the more crowded later times, but if you come on the early side, you'll likely get in.