This article had some interesting points about designing a good portfolio. Firstly, I feel the most important point here is to consider what work needs to go in. I think this is particularly important in my position as some of my early projects from year 1 would add anything to my portfolio and may end up distracting from the better content.
Another point that I felt was worth considering was making sure to really show the story of projects, which is something I feel I need to practice so that I don’t write to much, which I have a tendency to do. Especially considering my portfolio is going up against very similar portfolios, having concise and well-structured content will be vital.
The final point of interest here for me was the idea of telling your own story as well as your projects. While the portfolio isn’t the place for all your personality to be, I think it’s really important to show some of your personality, as I think there has to be an element of yourself in design work, and showing your personality alongside your work will help make that connection.
To get me thinking about writing case studies, I did an exercise where I took a book and wrote a tweet-length summary about the plot to help me concisely explain a story. Somewhat foolishly, I chose Dune, which has an infamously complex plot, however, it’s good for me to practice with a complex example.
A power struggle within an empire leads to a plotted assassination that sees two generational enemy families engaging in a resource war on a desert planet. However, this war sparks a further conflict caused by the untrue prophecies of a false messiah.
I felt the summary read well and was effective at explaining the plot. The next exercise was to pick out the five most important words from the text.
Power Generational War Untrue Prophecies
I think I chose good words to represent Dune, as these are all prolific themes throughout the book. Next, I drew an image to represent all the words at once, to help me consider what imagery needs to be included in a case study.
While quite weird, I think this works well at representing the words. The two figures pushing against each other represent war and power, while the gravestones represent generational. Prophecies are represented by both the figures thinking of religious imagery, and untrue is shown through one voice speaking these prophecies to either side.
I actually think this works well as an image to represent Dune, and I really feel I’ve learned something through this exercise. I now feel ready to confidently write my own case studies.
The most interesting thing for me this week was ideas around writing case studies. I suppose in the past I assumed it was just a simple task of writing up a project, but now with the understanding of what employers are looking for, I understand there is more to consider. The exercise in class this week actually really helped me understand the general process of writing a case study, and being selective about what content is or isn’t part of it. I think my biggest take away this week is that case studies don’t have to document every tiny design decision, but just show decisions in a project that illustrate the type of designer you are.