Gone in 60 seconds
Gone is 60 Seconds was about the time it takes a car to be stolen. (image: Disney+)
Many portfolios are gone in 60 seconds. Yes wiped off the table never to be seen again.
Understanding the amount of time professionals spend reviewing portfolios might influence what you show. Imagine how many portfolios are submitted to a job application? 50, 75, 100’s even? How much time will a designer, recruiter or manager take to sift through all that work?
Experienced reviewers will tell you, it takes about 60 seconds, even less, to get a read on your work and whether or not it will be a fit for the role they have open. Is that the right process? Is it fair? Maybe not, but ask those who review portfolios as part of their job, they will likely agree that you can get a feel for the work in a very short amount of time.
First impressions count.
So what do you want to have happen after that 60 seconds? You want to stay on the table for another 60 and another, then ultimately get a call back for an interview.
Consider the company that’s hiring and what they are looking for. Consultants might like to see a broad range of work vs a Corporate design office might be looking for something related to their product category. If you don’t have either, just make a strong impression with the design work you have.
I’ve polled a few folks and asked them for the top 3 things they look for in a portfolio. Not surprising, the responses were similar. It’s not an exhaustive list, but I believe it to be a good short list. Thinking about entry to mid level portfolios, professionals want to see:
Your aesthetic sensibility. Show you have the strong ability to create the right aesthetics. Be able to manipulate form across different product types with brand and consumer relevance. Show that you can add in detail that enriches the work.
Strong visualization. Show great descriptive working sketches, mockups and Keyshot or equivalent ability. Your working sketches and mock ups will demonstrate your ability to problem solve. See this post about visualization for more thought on this.
Visually engaging stories. For each project, make the problem statement and context clear, show you’ve iterated and explored broadly. Story tell your process. Instead of stepping through what you did via page titles like “Research, Sketches, Mock ups and my Final design”, highlight discoveries and insights from doing the work and the steps you took to improve the design along the way. Demonstrate why your end result is the best solution relative to the context you’ve presented.
How can you show all of the above in 60 seconds? Here’s a rough guideline on the steps of the review process that might help you think about how to organize your work.
Portfolio review steps. (this may not be the case for every company)
A job posting is published.
Many portfolios are submitted, typically as PDF’s. They are ALL reviewed and a small number are left on the table for further review (this is where the initial 60 second happens)
The top few, ~ around 8-10 portfolios, are re-reviewed, some are gone in 60 seconds and some are kept for further review.
Other team members are sometimes asked to review the remaining portfolios to provide a fresh perspective. This is typically the first view for a manager or owner. Portfolios continue to fall off while a few remain.
Some companies set up phone screens to talk to the designer, basically a meet and greet.
If you’ve made it this far, 2-4 portfolios get a call back for an in person interview.
This is also an ongoing cycle. As with design, the process is organic and conditions change. New portfolios enter in and some steps are repeated. Sometimes the roles get redefined mid stream. Oh and this process happens whether there are openings or not! Companies are always on the lookout for great talent! So go ahead and submit your work.
The design work has to be strong
Image: Pixar
Let’s not forget about the design work itself. It has to be compelling. Staying with movie analogies, Ed Catmull, a co-founder of Pixar, had this to say.
“For all the care you put into Artistry, visual polish frequently doesn’t matter if you don’t get the story right.”
In Ed’s case, the “story” is the “product”. Many movies look great but have a terrible story. To translate, a highly polished presentation won’t cover for a bad design. You might have great sketches, renderings and supporting visuals, but if the design work is not good, you’re not going to get a call back.
Other thoughts:
THE PORTFOLIO
Your brand is created, in part, by multiple portfolios. Pinterest, Instagram, a blog, your PDF and website are all things that tell a story of who you are. Be genuine and true to yourself in how you present your work.
Identify the outcome. Will your first PDF portfolio submission get you a job? Not likely. So what’s the desired outcome of that first submission? Get a call back for an interview or get called to show more work!
Time. Each event or submission also has a “time” component. Consider the amount of time anyone spends on an event, Instagram vs your website for instance. Design accordingly for the amount of time spent on any given event. A movie is a complete long story, about 2 hours. What gets you in the theater, a 30 second trailer.
THE PROJECT WORK
3 projects can be enough. 3 projects x 20 seconds each, that's 60 seconds. 3 really strong projects will go a long way.
Build chapters. Each project can tell a different aspect or chapter of your story. Maybe one has a focus on gesture and form development from a brand perspective while the other project demonstrates ergonomics. Another can show a start to finish development process or special interest like Packaging or UX. One project can show deep dive into Color Material and Finish.
Highlight benefits to the consumer for each project rather than showing a list of features.
Story development. Design for 5 second chunks of information. Make your pages flow easily. Keep your reviewer engaged and moving through your work by building a story with each page scroll or click. A story doesn’t mean adding text.
CONTENT
Your website is where you can present your complete work. It still has to have impact and enable a quick read, but the web is a medium that can allow you to tell a deeper story. You still have to get past that first 60 seconds.
Make your portfolio visual, no one will read much if anything, especially on the first review. Limit the amount of text wherever possible.
Design for the moment. Will you be there to talk through the work or will it be viewed on its own? Avoid adding more text because you are NOT there to cover for your voice over. Stay focussed on keeping things visual.
Deliver impact quickly. While this is debate-able, maybe your first submission is a short version of your portfolio. If your work is really good, they’ll want to see more and you’ll get a call back.
Low page density. Deliver a simple point for each page and worry less about page count. Don’t put so much info on the page that it becomes too hard to view and the point of the page gets lost.
Visual hierarchy. If you have multiple images on a page, make clear the one thing you want reviewers to see and remember.
Prototype. Put a timer on for 60 seconds and see how far you get reviewing your portfolio. Read whatever text and call outs are there while you do this. Did you make through the whole portfolio? Even if you did…
Maybe the most important thing:
What do your reviewers NOT see??? Hopefully a lot! Edit out! Show work that you are really proud and tell a succinct, complete story highlighting the product's benefit, innovation or experience. I mentioned 3 strong products go a long way, a crappy 4th will cast doubt.
To reiterate, the contents of this post might be more appropriate for entry to mid level portfolios. A more seasoned designer looking for their next career move might have a different approach.
Consider the time spent reviewing your work for any given event. Design the portfolio piece with that time in mind. You’ll likely have multiple versions of your portfolio. Utilize and understand the different outlets to show your work, build your brand and do it with strong visual impact.
Questions or thoughts, happy to answer any. Comment below.
