Self promotion for a Graphic Designer?

Question

Hi. I am looking for any interesting ideas that you may know about with regards to producing an origional self promotion package for possible employers. Rather than just the usual, letterhead, business card etc (though I would also inclusde these). Particularly something 3 dimentional, such as paper folding, are there any online sites which give details and instructions? I have looked but as yet to no avail. I imagine there are books but I am very short of money. Thankyou in advance.

Answer 1

There is an excellent book called "The Art of Self-Promotion." It's just exactly what you're looking for. It's been out long enough you can probably get it used through alibris.com, or another book sales site. It has lots of photos, too.

Answer 2

For paper folding: http://dev.origami.com/diagram.cfm

For the overall package, I suggest going to a local library (try a nearby college library if your town doesn't come up with much) and looking for graphic design books, especially packaging design books. Most of the designs might be for companies, but you might get an idea for your own self promotion.

Finally, this is all about packaging and presentation. Think about what items you handle on a regular basis that are creatively packaged and how you can incorporate that into your design. And above all else, make it look clean and elegant!

Answer 3

Be careful with what you pick. I understand the allure of making yourself stand out from the crowd, to be the one to catch an employer's eye first, but don't get carried away with just one idea that may actually hurt you. It is good to experiment as a graphic designer, to show confidence in exploration of different ideas and means to convey your work, but don't step so far outside your bounds that you end up doing some sloppy work just in the name of getting something 'interesting' to add to your presentation. What could be worse than having something catch an employer's eye but end up turning them off when they take a closer look and see that that piece of flare is low quality?

It is good for you to stand out from the rest of the crowd, but you should always fall back on knowing that your work itself will be enough to catch an employer's eye. I once heard from a wise but very tough graphic design teacher that when she looks through someone's portfolio, she just flips right through the pages without pause unless she sees something interesting. She won't even stop to look at individual pieces if they don't appear to be anything special, and she doesn't care for 'stuff' cluttering a portfolio if it isn't going to be valuable visually. Think of a three year old's perspective when visiting a fine arts museum: the kid will just end up running on by all the pieces of art, no matter what quality they are, or how long they took or difficult they were to make, or the importance they have/had to the artist--unless it catches their eye. Not all employers may be this quick to dismiss a designer's work, but just keep that in mind when showing them your work.

Presentation is key, but all the presentation prep in the world won't get you a job if the work you're highlighting isn't very interesting. It may help you and get your foot in the door, but be cautious about what you do. Find something about your work that you would like the highlight, whether it is a color, a texture, or a certain underlying theme, and work to develop that concept in your presentation.

I hope I'm not telling you anything new but just reminding you of certain points that you've already taken into consideration. If you've already been through this song and dance in your head and are looking for more (or different) perspectives and advice, try going to a friend or old teacher (graphic design teacher.)

Your friend, who hopefully will not know a thing about graphic design, will probably blunder painfully through your carefully planned whitespace and balanced typography and ask a series of questions like "what's this and what's it doing here?" and "why do you have everything off on this side of the page? I like seeing it over here" Think of them as your employer. If your work is going to be reviewed by someone with little or no experience with graphic design, you might end up with them asking questions like that. Take them into consideration.

Your old teacher may be able to help by perhaps being able to see the contrast in your work between what it was when you were taking his or her class/es and what it is you have now. They might provide some insight that will give you the inspiration you need for that extra something you want to add to your presentation package. Or perhaps they'll have some advice to give you as to what they think you should or should not do in terms of adding extra bits of fluff to your work.

Either way, I wish you the best of luck and hope that your widget of success as a designer will never unexpectedly close =)

Answer 4

Make something extreme, make something people will spot you first, make something people will remember you always.

Send a blank paper ask them to call you to fill graphic on it.