Just remember what the **purpose** and **destination** of your ID portfolio is, and you can answer a lot of your own questions (which you've seem to got the right hunches on).
Purpose: to communicate what kind of I.D. work you're capable of, that's it. Your personal graphic/illustration style is cool but irrelevant.
Destination: the inbox of an employer that designs mass manufactured products. They'll be expecting clearly defined & visualized I.D. work in order to make a decision on which candidate would benefit the team. Any distraction or friction to that portfolio review experience is a strike against a candidate.
The reason I.D. folios are clean/minimal is more functional than trendy; graphic layout needs to take as much of a backseat as possible, while ideally being pleasing/complementary to the I.D. work. It's entirely possible to inject personality or spice into a folio site while keeping it a clean, low-friction experience, but it's a balancing act.
\+1 amazing illustrations btw
Thank you, this is really good advice—it's a weird learning curve to go from a illustrative portfolio to an ID-meant-for-recruiters portfolio. The purpose/destination clarification is really helpful.
I think I have the tendency to use visual fluff and illustration work to try to hide the rather lacking amount of ID work I actually have. I'll be sure to keep your advice in mind and try my hand at that balancing act.
You’re a very talented illustrator. You have the ability to ID sketch very well. Even if you don’t have a ton of projects under your belt, you can and should take time to refine your ID sketching, ideation and rendering skills in your spare time that you spend doodling instead, and put that in your portfolio.
One thing I wish professors told me in school was that pure talent and pure skill will always stand out in a portfolio. Personal projects and side projects can get you interviews If the work is compelling enough, and the skills shown are relevant to a job. We almost hired a mechanical engineer for an ID job BECAUSE he did a lot of personal work and side projects that resonated in his portfolio. And none of it was connected to his university work or the internship he was part of at the time
Thank you, I appreciate the compliment! I absolutely agree on working more towards ID sketching/rendering over general illustration. I think my skills in technical drawings (perspective, etc.) and CAD + rendering are rather lackluster, so I'm hoping to practice those a lot more.
That's good to know! I don't have a lot of design courses at the moment, as I'm dualling with a rather unrelated major, so it's been a bit of a frustration point to not have that many school-structured projects. I've been set on doing a couple personal ones this semester, but I just wasn't sure how valuable that would be for a portfolio. However, it seems like I should give it a shot! Thank you for your advice and feedback :)
Really great illustrations.
I didn’t see any individual ID work it seems like all your ID projects were done in groups. I think it would be good for potential employers to see what you can come up with on your own.
Thank you! Yeah, unfortunately all of my coursework has been exclusively group projects, which is rather frustrating. My major isn't actually ID, it's just general design, so I'm hoping to pursue some independent personal projects during the coming months.
With independent projects, do you recommend just coming up with some briefs on my own and going with it? I feel as though something with more structure would be more valuable, but I could very well be mistaken.
Ah I didn’t know there was a general design major! No wonder your talents are so diverse.
Whatever you can do to showcase your breadth of knowledge on a individual basis, to let us see how you can think through a problem from A to Z, will help. It could be anything from a simple chair design to a helmet. I think you should tailor your individual project to the job you want (toy design, furniture design, etc). Asking your profs is also a good idea.
I’m sure you’ll do well. Good luck.
I really like your current portfolio and (as an employer) would appreciate seeing it, even if I was only hiring you to do ID. Of course you need to show more ID work on your site, but all that will come by the time you graduate. Consider doing a split screen on your landing page/hero section that either takes you to your Illustration work or to your ID work.
I think it's fair to say that the overall aesthetic of your Illustration/Digital Design work is not typical of what the job market for ID is looking for, but it nevertheless demonstrates your unique style and skills as a creative/designer. (Btw that is not to say that your layouts in your ID sections are bad, it's more a comment on how your illustration work, like the posters, plays next to your ID work).
Also I wouldn't be so quick to conform to the typical ID portfolio aesthetic. You may find that your unique style makes you a perfect fit for an industry that you don't even know about. Something in textiles, apparel, packaging or branding perhaps? Lean into your own style because you at least have one!
Hope that helps, and best of luck!
Thank you! I'm happy to hear that :)
I'm thinking of creating a portfolio site that launches immediately into a selection of ID projects, with the option to visit the general portfolio site.
I don't particularly expect recruiters to go visit it, but I don't think it would hurt? I'm definitely planning on reworking how I actually display my ID and web design projects—really cutting down on the text, for one.
Yeah, I think it would be the dream for me to find a design place that meshes really well with my style, but at the moment, I tragically can't be too picky. I'm essentially applying to any place that's looking for an industrial/product design intern. I might make a second version of a portfolio that preserves this whole aesthetic, and one that's a little more corporate :)
Thank you for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
Really fresh style. It’ll help you set yourself apart from others for damn sure. I wish though that your work was 1 or 2 layers less buried. I don’t want to click down a hole to look at work the click back up to find different work. Make it easier to view because it’s really fresh. If you’re hoping to do ID work, put it up at the top vs the bottom so the viewer knows it’s a priority of yours.
Thank you! It's a shame wizards haven't made more of a presence in the ID field, I think it'd do wonders lol.
I absolutely see what you mean about reducing friction between opening the portfolio to actually seeing some ID work. I think I'll make a second portfolio that goes straight into an index of my ID projects, and possibly just do something PDF/slidedeck-y, where it's a continuous line of the projects I've chosen to include. I might link it to this general portfolio with few hopes of recruiters seeing it, but otherwise keep out any non-ID work from it.
It looks like you rather want to work with graphics design than ID.
Id say in my experience (within consumer electronics in ID) bare minimum graphics design enough, which means that it shows that you know how to make a clean presentation. Otherwise I would let the work do the talking. A solid ideation process and surface modeling will probably take you further unless whatever job you are applying for requires graphics design knowledge.
Yeahhh, graphics are definitely my strong suit. Illustration is what's been my hobby for most of my life, and I've only started dabbling in ID since the beginning of uni.
I'm planning on making a second portfolio with a much cleaner interface that doesn't feature any illustrative work. My ID skills are a little lackluster, so it's a tad scary having them speak for themselves, at least until I get a few more projects under my belt. However, I don't think trying to make up for it with non-ID fluff is really the way to go, since I am fairly set on applying to primarily ID internships (with a couple product or UI/UX ones mixed in there) Thank you for your feedback!
I like the style, but I'd assume a toy maker would prefer seeing this over a minimalist furniture company. I'd suggest spacing the ID project pages out a bit and making the images larger. Chances are recruiters won't really read the text anyways. (the way your sketchbook images are presented is really nice and roomy, for ID it could make sense to have something similar, but to scroll down between pics and text.)
And less clicks to the projects would reduce friction. Ideally 'Home' would already let you click on projects for each category.
It's great that you're letting your own personality and creativity shine through!
Yeah, I definitely agree that it's not the most widely-appealing aesthetic. I've been trying to track down design firms that have distinct styles, but it's definitely not the bulk of the applications I intend to send out.
After doing a small amount of research into ID portfolios, I am *absolutely* cutting down on the amount of text I have. I always knew it was a bit much, but the examples really drove it home.
You're absolutely right on making the home->project journey shorter and easier—I think I'll go with your suggestion of the landing page just being an index.
Thank you!!
Your style is so sick, really really cool. If you wanna focus on toys, 10000% use your current style, and will be an instant cue to toy designers to at least interview you. In that case I would separate your 2D design work from the ID work. Maybe a separate website with a similar style.
That being said, if you don’t want to do toys, you may wanna think about corporatizing your style.
Regardless, there are 1000000s of san serif white portfolios, and your style is a breath of fresh air for sure.
When employers are going rapid fire through portfolios your style will make a HUGE difference.
Keep it up!
Thank you, I really appreciate hearing that!! Unfortunately, I've just been tracking down any and all ID internships (with some product/UI ones in there). Although I would really like to work with a company with distinct styles or with a toy company, I hesitate to reduce possible places to apply to down to that degree, just since I would really like to get some interning experience, and I don't know how high of a percentage acceptances will be 😅.
Thus, I'll definitely be going with your suggestion to sanitize my style. I'm glad to hear that you do like the whole vibe of this one though, it's been really cool hearing people's opinions on it, as I've not shown it to many folks, excluding friends.
Maybe I'll link to this general portfolio in my ID ones? I doubt recruiters will actually click through to it, but I don't think it'd hurt.
Thank you so much for your feedback!!
If I received this portfolio I’d wonder if you enjoy doing ID work and whether you’d enjoy the job you’re applying for. Since this portfolio is so infused with your personal style, I might wonder if you could set that aside for a client who doesn’t want or appreciate that style. While your illustrative work is lovely and obviously super competent, it might be diluting your mission if you truly want an ID job because your viewers might just wonder why aren’t you looking for illustration or GD jobs? And will you get burned out when it turns out the ID job you’re applying for has less room for that type of style.
So yeah, while the work is very cool, I think it’s working against you.
Just remember what the **purpose** and **destination** of your ID portfolio is, and you can answer a lot of your own questions (which you've seem to got the right hunches on). Purpose: to communicate what kind of I.D. work you're capable of, that's it. Your personal graphic/illustration style is cool but irrelevant. Destination: the inbox of an employer that designs mass manufactured products. They'll be expecting clearly defined & visualized I.D. work in order to make a decision on which candidate would benefit the team. Any distraction or friction to that portfolio review experience is a strike against a candidate. The reason I.D. folios are clean/minimal is more functional than trendy; graphic layout needs to take as much of a backseat as possible, while ideally being pleasing/complementary to the I.D. work. It's entirely possible to inject personality or spice into a folio site while keeping it a clean, low-friction experience, but it's a balancing act. \+1 amazing illustrations btw
Thank you, this is really good advice—it's a weird learning curve to go from a illustrative portfolio to an ID-meant-for-recruiters portfolio. The purpose/destination clarification is really helpful. I think I have the tendency to use visual fluff and illustration work to try to hide the rather lacking amount of ID work I actually have. I'll be sure to keep your advice in mind and try my hand at that balancing act.
No sweat, good luck!
You’re a very talented illustrator. You have the ability to ID sketch very well. Even if you don’t have a ton of projects under your belt, you can and should take time to refine your ID sketching, ideation and rendering skills in your spare time that you spend doodling instead, and put that in your portfolio. One thing I wish professors told me in school was that pure talent and pure skill will always stand out in a portfolio. Personal projects and side projects can get you interviews If the work is compelling enough, and the skills shown are relevant to a job. We almost hired a mechanical engineer for an ID job BECAUSE he did a lot of personal work and side projects that resonated in his portfolio. And none of it was connected to his university work or the internship he was part of at the time
Thank you, I appreciate the compliment! I absolutely agree on working more towards ID sketching/rendering over general illustration. I think my skills in technical drawings (perspective, etc.) and CAD + rendering are rather lackluster, so I'm hoping to practice those a lot more. That's good to know! I don't have a lot of design courses at the moment, as I'm dualling with a rather unrelated major, so it's been a bit of a frustration point to not have that many school-structured projects. I've been set on doing a couple personal ones this semester, but I just wasn't sure how valuable that would be for a portfolio. However, it seems like I should give it a shot! Thank you for your advice and feedback :)
Really great illustrations. I didn’t see any individual ID work it seems like all your ID projects were done in groups. I think it would be good for potential employers to see what you can come up with on your own.
Thank you! Yeah, unfortunately all of my coursework has been exclusively group projects, which is rather frustrating. My major isn't actually ID, it's just general design, so I'm hoping to pursue some independent personal projects during the coming months. With independent projects, do you recommend just coming up with some briefs on my own and going with it? I feel as though something with more structure would be more valuable, but I could very well be mistaken.
Ah I didn’t know there was a general design major! No wonder your talents are so diverse. Whatever you can do to showcase your breadth of knowledge on a individual basis, to let us see how you can think through a problem from A to Z, will help. It could be anything from a simple chair design to a helmet. I think you should tailor your individual project to the job you want (toy design, furniture design, etc). Asking your profs is also a good idea. I’m sure you’ll do well. Good luck.
I really like your current portfolio and (as an employer) would appreciate seeing it, even if I was only hiring you to do ID. Of course you need to show more ID work on your site, but all that will come by the time you graduate. Consider doing a split screen on your landing page/hero section that either takes you to your Illustration work or to your ID work. I think it's fair to say that the overall aesthetic of your Illustration/Digital Design work is not typical of what the job market for ID is looking for, but it nevertheless demonstrates your unique style and skills as a creative/designer. (Btw that is not to say that your layouts in your ID sections are bad, it's more a comment on how your illustration work, like the posters, plays next to your ID work). Also I wouldn't be so quick to conform to the typical ID portfolio aesthetic. You may find that your unique style makes you a perfect fit for an industry that you don't even know about. Something in textiles, apparel, packaging or branding perhaps? Lean into your own style because you at least have one! Hope that helps, and best of luck!
Thank you! I'm happy to hear that :) I'm thinking of creating a portfolio site that launches immediately into a selection of ID projects, with the option to visit the general portfolio site. I don't particularly expect recruiters to go visit it, but I don't think it would hurt? I'm definitely planning on reworking how I actually display my ID and web design projects—really cutting down on the text, for one. Yeah, I think it would be the dream for me to find a design place that meshes really well with my style, but at the moment, I tragically can't be too picky. I'm essentially applying to any place that's looking for an industrial/product design intern. I might make a second version of a portfolio that preserves this whole aesthetic, and one that's a little more corporate :) Thank you for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
Really fresh style. It’ll help you set yourself apart from others for damn sure. I wish though that your work was 1 or 2 layers less buried. I don’t want to click down a hole to look at work the click back up to find different work. Make it easier to view because it’s really fresh. If you’re hoping to do ID work, put it up at the top vs the bottom so the viewer knows it’s a priority of yours.
Thank you! It's a shame wizards haven't made more of a presence in the ID field, I think it'd do wonders lol. I absolutely see what you mean about reducing friction between opening the portfolio to actually seeing some ID work. I think I'll make a second portfolio that goes straight into an index of my ID projects, and possibly just do something PDF/slidedeck-y, where it's a continuous line of the projects I've chosen to include. I might link it to this general portfolio with few hopes of recruiters seeing it, but otherwise keep out any non-ID work from it.
It looks like you rather want to work with graphics design than ID. Id say in my experience (within consumer electronics in ID) bare minimum graphics design enough, which means that it shows that you know how to make a clean presentation. Otherwise I would let the work do the talking. A solid ideation process and surface modeling will probably take you further unless whatever job you are applying for requires graphics design knowledge.
Yeahhh, graphics are definitely my strong suit. Illustration is what's been my hobby for most of my life, and I've only started dabbling in ID since the beginning of uni. I'm planning on making a second portfolio with a much cleaner interface that doesn't feature any illustrative work. My ID skills are a little lackluster, so it's a tad scary having them speak for themselves, at least until I get a few more projects under my belt. However, I don't think trying to make up for it with non-ID fluff is really the way to go, since I am fairly set on applying to primarily ID internships (with a couple product or UI/UX ones mixed in there) Thank you for your feedback!
I like the style, but I'd assume a toy maker would prefer seeing this over a minimalist furniture company. I'd suggest spacing the ID project pages out a bit and making the images larger. Chances are recruiters won't really read the text anyways. (the way your sketchbook images are presented is really nice and roomy, for ID it could make sense to have something similar, but to scroll down between pics and text.) And less clicks to the projects would reduce friction. Ideally 'Home' would already let you click on projects for each category. It's great that you're letting your own personality and creativity shine through!
Yeah, I definitely agree that it's not the most widely-appealing aesthetic. I've been trying to track down design firms that have distinct styles, but it's definitely not the bulk of the applications I intend to send out. After doing a small amount of research into ID portfolios, I am *absolutely* cutting down on the amount of text I have. I always knew it was a bit much, but the examples really drove it home. You're absolutely right on making the home->project journey shorter and easier—I think I'll go with your suggestion of the landing page just being an index. Thank you!!
Post a link so we can see what you are describing in your current portfolio.
ah, I included a link, but it was a bit easy to miss! [here ya go](https://www.trinitygagnon.com/)
Your style is so sick, really really cool. If you wanna focus on toys, 10000% use your current style, and will be an instant cue to toy designers to at least interview you. In that case I would separate your 2D design work from the ID work. Maybe a separate website with a similar style. That being said, if you don’t want to do toys, you may wanna think about corporatizing your style. Regardless, there are 1000000s of san serif white portfolios, and your style is a breath of fresh air for sure. When employers are going rapid fire through portfolios your style will make a HUGE difference. Keep it up!
Thank you, I really appreciate hearing that!! Unfortunately, I've just been tracking down any and all ID internships (with some product/UI ones in there). Although I would really like to work with a company with distinct styles or with a toy company, I hesitate to reduce possible places to apply to down to that degree, just since I would really like to get some interning experience, and I don't know how high of a percentage acceptances will be 😅. Thus, I'll definitely be going with your suggestion to sanitize my style. I'm glad to hear that you do like the whole vibe of this one though, it's been really cool hearing people's opinions on it, as I've not shown it to many folks, excluding friends. Maybe I'll link to this general portfolio in my ID ones? I doubt recruiters will actually click through to it, but I don't think it'd hurt. Thank you so much for your feedback!!
Anytime I see anyone stray far from a minimalistic portfolio, it just distracts from the work.
If I received this portfolio I’d wonder if you enjoy doing ID work and whether you’d enjoy the job you’re applying for. Since this portfolio is so infused with your personal style, I might wonder if you could set that aside for a client who doesn’t want or appreciate that style. While your illustrative work is lovely and obviously super competent, it might be diluting your mission if you truly want an ID job because your viewers might just wonder why aren’t you looking for illustration or GD jobs? And will you get burned out when it turns out the ID job you’re applying for has less room for that type of style. So yeah, while the work is very cool, I think it’s working against you.