Crafting the visual message, regardless of media, must answer the all important question, “what needs to be said to whom?” Talk about good versus bad design is pointless if it can't pass that test.
My portfolio showcases the best examples of my craft. And I feel they successfully answer the question of audience and message. However, reducing the practice of design to such simple terms loses what makes the quest for good design so elusive, and bad design so common. And there examples of great designers producing shoddy work – and vice versa.
This seems obvious. And I feel a bit silly for even writing these instructions. However, the presentation of my portfolio is going to be a little different. Most designers show pictures and write nifty summaries about how they solved a design solution and made everyone happy. Of course, there's the same glimmery surface in my book. This is always going to be the first paragraph.
What follows is a breakdown of process, an understanding of what worked, what didn't work, and why certain decisions were made. I may diverge into how a certain problem was solved from a technical aspect, or provide insight into how a certain client relationship was managed to reach the best solution for all involved.
Some projects are self initiated. They might be remnants of school projects that I've kept because they demonstrated a certain skill, or they might be experiments that I pursued, and that were a success. While it's much easier to negotiate with yourself than with a client, a successful project, even if self-initiated, must still meet the same standards as a project with a live and breathing client. And just because a project had a real client – doesn't mean it deserves placement in a design portfolio. So you'll see a few of these while browsing.