This is a hard task to undertake as I have always been conscious of my own work and the prospect of actually using it to sell myself is a daunting thought. I have never really considered it good enough and now I fear that I could ruin my chances of finding industrial experience and expanding my horizons by promoting it to artists whom I respect. Nevertheless I have to get over these fears as I am only doing damage to my own future prospects.
In terms of efficiently promoting myself to my intended audience I think an online portfolio would be ideal. It would give my free reign over what I wanted to display and I could neatly and coherently explain my unique and individual design process starting with research and eventually culminating in a successful end product. However the question is how to get people to look at this online portfolio? It is not just a matter of putting it online and hoping that all the right people will just stumble across it, I need a way of gaging initial interest. This could most probably be done by designing a physical piece of design, something that people can interact with. This could be a business card, a mailshot, a compressed print portfolio, a flyer, even a piece of packaging. I haven't quite figured if I want my approach to be professional or humourous yet. Maybe I could create one of each and send the appropriate ones to the prospective employers.
Another method of promoting my website is to put it on other websites. For example one of my favourite creative hubs would be behance.net. Its an online resource where you can establish yourself as an individual designer and categorise your work so people can find it with the greatest of ease. It's a nifty little website and something I should probably look into in more detail.
The one aspect of my life that I am not great at is public speaking. It's not an ideal quality for an aspiring graphic designer to have but I feel due to my downfall in this area I strive to make other areas as good as I possibly can. The reason I mention this is to stress the point that if I am going to impress possible employers then speaking to them is not the way to go. I fall to pieces and go bright red in the face, it's not the best. Therefore it's important I make my work speak for itself. I need to be good at visually communicating if I'm going to make any progress.
As I have previously mentioned I like to create packaging and have always had a little idea in the back of my mind for a creative use of old VHS cases. I think they are just the right size to hold the essential promotional items; a leaflet, a business card, perhaps a piece of stationery, a specially designed piece of art, my resume. Basically its a quirky idea that I would love to explore further. By using these premade cases I can also design a cover that fits within the sleeve around the case. I think there are loads of options and would just like have a professional's opinion on the matter. The approach also ties in neatly with my interest in film and TV promotion and another bonus; they are incredibly cheap to buy!
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