Foreword

by: Gail Anderson

I teach at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, a school that graduates hundreds of amazing designers every year. Denise Anderson (a fellow Anderson, but no relation) teaches at the Robert Busch School of Design at Kean University. From what I’ve seen over the years, her designers are pretty swell, too. So are Ellen Lupton’s at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), and Andrew Byrom’s at California State University, Long Branch (CSULB), not to mention those from Art Center College of Design, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Portfolio Center, Yale, and so many others. Not surprisingly, competition for the best jobs is fierce, and while you may assume that successfully landing a job is all about your work or where you went to school, it’s really about you and the brand you create for yourself.

“Branding” is an overused word in our culture today—almost an eye-roller at this point. What does it mean to brand yourself, particularly when you don’t have much professional experience to hang your hat on? And how does a person with little-to-no professional experience even have a brand? How can you create a portfolio that will make you the most memorable job candidate? The answers to these questions are here—you just have to keep reading.

You’ve taken the first important steps by cracking open this book, by challenging yourself to take it up a notch, and by seeking assistance from resources that can offer the help you need. You’ve already demonstrated that you have an open mind and a willingness to take a good hard look at yourself and your work—essential qualifications for a successful design professional. Well done!

A good portfolio tells a prospective employer important things about you—not just that you can choose great typefaces or have technical chops, but that you are adept at solving problems. A good portfolio reveals your curiosity and sometimes some humor. It tells your story—the story that is unique to you. Remember, in the end, it’s all about finding a good fit. An employer wants to hire a great designer, of course, but is also looking for someone who brings something interesting to the table. How you craft your brand—your personal identity—will make you stand out, and it will make people want to hire you.

Do you have an online persona to share? A blog, vlog, Tumblr, or Instagram account we can peruse? Who you are out there on the interwebs counts these days, and you want to make sure that version of you is someone an employer wants to hire. Keep it smart, and keep it clean. But you knew that, and if you didn’t, Denise will tell you how to bring it all together and create a truly stand-out portfolio.

Finally, let me remind you about one other thing your mother taught you. Send a thank-you note. After. Every. Interview. An email is okay, but an honest-to-goodness, handwritten message in an envelope affixed with something they call a postage stamp is thoughtful and will be greatly appreciated. It’s yet another thing, like your good work and like your interesting personal brand, that makes you stand out.

Read on, take notes, and hopefully one day, you’ll be the one hiring me.