portfolio building + theme options.

option 01 is Cargo:Montessori

option 02 is Cargo:Polaris







option 03 is Runyon









option 04 is Amsterdam









option 4B is still Amsterdam.

I also messed around a bit with Behance ProSite

reaction to "What Interviewers Wish They Could Tell Every Job Candidate."

"What Interviewers Wish They Could Tell Every Job Candidate"

by Jeff Haden

I’ve been learning about interviewing and holding a professional front honestly, since I was in middle school; that’s really the first time that I remember that phrase being mentioned. Then all throughout high school the phrase kept coming back, as we had to “put away our childish habits and step into the real world.” While in community college, I attended quite a few conferences that confused on professional demeanor, connecting and first impressions. What is kind of funny is how many people I have met whom claim that first impressions “don’t mean a thing,” which is totally false. We judge our self, others, food, places, shows, movies, everything really; we are in the middle of a judge fest in today’s culture.

While I will give the slim chance that there are a very small handful of people who literally don’t treat others differently based on that initial interaction, most of us do. I know some people that have recovered from a bad first impression, those that have greatly benefited from a good first impression; it all depends on where you really want to put that work in. We all have our off days and many times those first impressions can be later fixed, if you already have the job. But if it is during a job interview you cannot normally recover from that and this article set up a nice set of facts to follow.

Be likable.
Be memorable/stand out.
Don’t be super negative or talk negative on previous experiences; everything is a moment to learn from.
Make sure the job fits you; ask any questions on your mind that would to fulfilling the position.
Research the potential employer + be able to talk about them. Ask for the job + explain why you want the position.
Follow up, post interview with some form of thank you/remind them of you and your interview.

portfolio sitemap. resume. cover letter.

Below is my current portfolio site map, updated cover letter + resume.


sitemap.


cover letter.


resume.

art nouveau. initial presentation theme.

Nuit Idea Prezi by Alexandra Khoder

Portfolio Websites.

Philippe Cossette (Behance ProSite)


Necon Creative Agency (Wordpress)


Will Miller (Behance ProSite)

Pau Pause (Wordpress)

Dennis van Gaalen and Eline Wieriks (HTML?)

Super Super (Cargo Collective)

the professional front.

Despite the fact that I detest my voice, I have used it to inspire, inform and help others. The use of my voice ranges from quick, dry, witty and sarcastic to humbled, emotional and empathetic. I truly believe that everyone, everywhere + everything transforms each of us into the person that we are to be. Therefore, we are in a constant state of redefining ourselves so I have become addicted to learning, connecting + interacting with groups of motivated and talented individuals; my aim is to successfully depict a story via writing, design and imagery. Currently, I am based in Kansas City building connections and contacts, while finishing up my BFA in Graphic Design + Creative Writing. I was born, raised and learned to make something of myself in a northwest suburb of Chicago.

three Studios to contact:

19 Below

floc5

Garmin

SHS

reaction to "How Awkward People Can Start Non-Awkward Conversations."

"How Awkward People Can Start Non-Awkward Conversations"
by Drake Baer

This article spoke to something that I've been trying to work on since I was in high school. Opening up, interacting and connecting are aspects of my personality that I've been attempting to build up through forcing myself into situations where I need, am asked or encouraged to talk. Due to that, my own need to work hard and excel at what I do while meeting expectations of those above me, I have held various leadership positions. I have held leadership positions at school level: Yearbook Editor-in-Chief, Literary Magazine Editor, main lead intern at CLC's Program Board, Phi Theta Kappa Illinois Northeastern Vice President, local chapter Alpha Alpha Pi President, AIGA KCAI Chapter President, Mentor Team Organizer + Leader, as well as multiple internship positions. I currently attend TEDxCROSSROADS meetings, where we watch a TEDtalk and then discuss. I am constantly trying to push myself out of my own comfort zone and talking, versus giving into my normal quiet + shy behavior.

I have already come a large way since my youth; I can tell you about favorite band members, singers and authors that I've met and been unable to talk to. I used to be so nervous and shy that my face would flush red and I would just be silent. I grew up thinking my opinions didn't matter and that I couldn't do anything. But I have continued to grow, working on my leadership and communication skills. Through my leadership roles I have also become a better and more confident speaker. I have since youth presented to groups from as small 6 to as large as presented to hundreds.

The main thing that I have since learned is the ability to stay humble, affect others and build connections along the way. I don't regret any of it, but I wish I never had to push this hard to connect with others. I think that I have lost out on other connections that I could have obtained along the route. But here is to hoping that this push will continue to place me at where I need to be and help others who also struggle with the inability to talk, communicate or connect along the way.

portfolio day. recap + reflect.

Portfolio Day went pretty great this year. I was also a student participant last year, so I felt like I was better prepared this year. Also, it being senior year, I also knew more of the feedback that I needed from the professionals looking at my work. It actually was this nice tie in to our Professional Practice, as we just have been working on our personal logos and starting on our portfolios and professional presence. Specifically, I met with Caitlin Workman (DMH), Rachel Kampen (Garmin) and Jon Kowing (SHS). There were three break out sessions/presentations: Recent Grad Experiences, Leveraging LinkedIn and Job Search Etiquette. All had their positive moments or bits of information. 

I was able to start working with some layouts for my written pieces, before the portfolio day review, but they were all in very rough shape, which I explained while presenting. I’ve been struggling with this idea of how to present myself as a hybrid: writer + designer. In my mind, the two have become distant worlds that are colliding, not combining. This resulted in a bit of an embarrassing portfolio for me, so I made sure to emphasize the fact that both my logo + portfolio were works in process. To continue with that, there were positive marks stated about my work, so it was a nice pat of encouragement to knock the last bit of the semester out of the park—and kick myself into gear to create a stellar identity, degree project and portfolio. 

I also chatted a bit with some of my DMH coworkers and a few of the KCAI alumni to play catch up. I pushed myself hard to be more social than I tend to run normally, which resulted in a satisfying day in many forms. The push to network/connect more has been a steadily growing focus for me since I was in my final year at community college and thus resurfacing once again. This really is the beginning of a whole new part of my life that I’ve been waiting so long for. It has been also stressing me out, but I am glad to see that my choices have brought me to where I am today and I truly couldn’t be much happier with that. I may sometimes comment down about my work, but it is often because I can mentally envision better text, better concept, better everything. I aim to achieve and I aim to do better, to keep myself in a constant state of pushing hard and getting the most that I can and I think that it is pushing me to where I need to be, whether or not I want to be there. 

The main feedback that I received was that I should really focus on two separate portfolios, but have as many overlapping projects as I can provide. I was told differing opinions on text and layout within book portfolios, but we also discussed that it really is up to me to decide how I wish it be portrayed. We talked about whether or not captions should be in the book, how only one sentence should be used to describe the projects, book orientations, project order, presentation skills, concept, how the projects that I choose really are there to describe me, type style, business card and logo. 

Although I know that I still have a lot more work to do, I at least am reassured knowing that I am headed in the right direction and that the end of the tunnel is in sight. Below, are a few of my favorite comments or statements during Portfolio Day AIGA KC 2014. 

"Each of your projects has a place to talk about you."

"Never stop looking. Always have a transitional portfolio."

"If you're not happy, now is the time to do something about it."

"Get thick skin."

“A Creative Director or client wants to be confident in you and your work, so stay confident so we can feed off of you. We hired you for a reason, remind us why.”

“That’s a killer line.”

“Select the parts that work well and design them.”

“Take up more spaces with images and lose the text.”

“Show target audience. Show process. Show context shots.”

“I’m just sitting here thinking, how would this be applied to other applications?”

                                                                                                         

2014 Portfolio Day. KCAI Seniors.

personal branding. business card.

For Portfolio Day, I was trying to put together some business cards to hand out. They are nowhere near awesome, but I don't think they're too bad. I worked a few hours on layout + type.

 

spatial. the poetic final.

AFFIX THE VESTIGE, meaning to attach a trace of something that is disappearing/no longer exists. Our aim was to focus on commemorating how the Darby Steel Corporation was the main builder of landing craft tanks during WWII. It would allow visitors to experience the landing craft for themselves as it is beached onto land, overlooking the KAW Point, which is where the Darby Steel Corporation used to place the LCT in the river to send downstream.

Spatial Poetic Final Presentation by Anna De Sando

reaction to "The Brand Called You" + "My Last Portfolio Sucked"

"The Brand Called You"
by Tom Peters

What is in a name?

You are defining yourself through every action, thought, breath, post and breath that you have or will take. You are constantly defining + redefining yourself. Yes, first impressions matter, but what matters more are the continued fronts that you put up on everything, everywhere. Not only your logo is your brand, but also so is your life.

We are a constant representation of our brand. This is an intense statement to think about, but it makes sense. All of the connections that we make + hold, all the places we leave some form of an impact, our first appearance to everyone we meet is a new representation of us; our company/brand is always being critiqued. This fascinates me, as my various connections only know parts of me, not the whole person. I know this is how many individuals are, but it’s just interesting to think that two people, who know different aspects about me, are equally benefiting me now and in the future.

some of my favorite statements:
“To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.”
“Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills. Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark.”
“Burn that damnable "ladder" and ask yourself: What have I accomplished that I can unabashedly brag about?”
“When you've done that, sit down and ask yourself one more question to define your brand: What do I want to be famous for?”

--

"My Last Portfolio Sucked, Yours Might Too"

The tips that I noted: make navigation easy, have email + contact information up front, give gist of the project with the thumbnail, not a close-up shot and don't have music on your portfolio. I feel like a few of those were given thoughts, but apparently not by all. I do hold all of those tips as a normal set of guidelines when designing, so that makes me feel a bit better about the potential to one day have a design job and not be overlooked due to my website or portfolio.

the initials. personal branding.

It was very difficult for me to try to put together this branded version of myself, even in this first initial round. I struggled with the idea that this one mark was representing my whole being and that was really hard for me to describe without using a paragraph worth of text. Then, once I did start working, I really liked one of my marks, which then made it difficult to try to create more. When I initially got stuck, I started to write a list of descriptors and then I went to Pinterest to start to put together a board of images that could spark some form of inspiration. Hopefully, my designed marks for this round have enough variety to get me to my final.




my Pinterest board can be found here.

initial sketches take 01.


initial sketches take 01.

other marks I was working with.