![]() ![]() ![]() “Soft” skills are things like the ability to communicate, ideate, listen to and learn from (and offer) constructive criticism, and meet deadlines.“Hard” skills are things like fluency with software apps knowledge of different image file types (like PDF, TIFF, JPEG or SVG) color scheming and print and digital color formats obtaining and using print and digital typefaces and social media content specs (like appropriate image dimensions, resolutions, and file sizes for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and others). ![]() The highlighted (key) requirements in this junior graphic designer job posting divide into “hard” and “soft” skills. Strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to work in a cross-team environment.Self-motivated person capable of producing original ideas.Strong sense of design and thorough understanding of design theory including principles such as color, typography, and composition.Must be efficient in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and In-Design.Ability to think conceptually, ideate independently, understand brand strategy and apply to all areas of projects.Ability to manage workflow, handle multiple projects simultaneously, and quickly execute creative that is accurate and consistent.Receive (and provide) constructive critique and guidance to/from others and remain flexible and open to feedback. Explain, articulate and present your creative ideas with rationale.Prepare appropriate files for team members, printers, and vendors.Assist with creative needs including logo design, environmental & event signage, promotional materials, sales materials, branding projects, social media graphics, digital content and more.The highlighting focuses on specific hard and soft skills the employer is looking for. We will “work backwards” to think about how to align your portfolio with what is required for a junior designer position. It is taken, with edits for concision and anonymity, from a posting for a Junior Graphic Designer position in New York City. To get a feel for what that means, let’s deconstruct a typical junior designer job posting. But to really maximize the impact of what you have, it is necessary to start from what employers are looking for, and then find ways to shape and present what you have to align with what employers need. After all, you can’t present projects you haven’t done. In putting together your graphic designer portfolio, the temptation, and understandable inclination is to start with what you’ve got. We’re going apply that principle, and emphasis, to nailing your first graphic designer job. And he repeatedly contrasts that approach with walking into design projects with the mentality that it is all about a designer’s likes, sensibilities, and ideas about what the objective of a design project is. In the book Creative Strategy and the Business of Design and articles that synergize with it, professor, author, and designer Douglas Davis identifies and illustrates how aligning design with stakeholder objectives underlies successful design. īefore diving into exactly what’s involved in that, and how to do it, a quick credit where credit is due. The thread that runs through the entire process of preparing a professional graphic design portfolio is aligning your work with job requirements typically posted for junior graphic design candidates. This article will walk you through all three of these steps, and point to additional resources. Finally, when you have your projects organized, you will present them in an attractive, inviting, and most of all professional-looking online portfolio.Organizing your work involves sifting through all the projects you created in classes and grouping them in folders for easy deployment and presentation in your portfolio in ways that align with posted job requirements.Align means framing and presenting the work in your portfolio to match (align with) what employers are looking for.In short, three things: align, organize, and present. So how do you leverage your collection of projects in a portfolio? Your portfolio is one of the three key tools in job hunting (along with your resume and your LinkedIn Profile). You have a collection of projects you’ve created in (or outside of) school. ![]()
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