I have the worst portfolio it seems

[jenpetosa]

Ahhhhh I needed to come to soap box today.
I am so bored at my work. I've been here at this same company doing the same kind of stuff now for 6 years and I am feeling stale.

Although I have '8 years' of experience, it doesn't seem to be the kind of experience people want. I got a job right out of college at a newspaper designing ads for $7/hr and then got so bored at that then moved to a job that actually did COLOR for $8/hr and thought that was great. Still at that job. But my creativity is SO limited here because folks want to be so BORING with design. I can't do much that is OUT THERE. Everytime I try they think I'm just 'some crazy designer' or that 'artist type'. Oh my god, NEVER use purple they say, because purple is too ARTSY. Or make that font PLAIN please. Or don't make that look so FUN.(But hey, we're a rafting company!) My portfolio is sleepy . How am I going to get a job with this portfolio with such places as Nike? I feel like I am on the WRONG track which is almost worse than the NO track.

Or maybe I just SUCK at design. Maybe I'm not as good at it as I thought going into college. Maybe it's time to go back to college and study something else? With what money. I have bills now. House payments. Car payments. Phone payments (UGH).

Sometimes all this just gets downright depressing. Thanks for the soapbox folks. Really needed that today. /emoticons/sleepysmiley03.gif

Jennifer

[defjoe]

Jennifer... don't shoot so high with Nike or the like. your worrying to much and trying to make a BIG jump. Take your skills and see what you can do to better them and then make a jump to somewhere a LITTLE above what you do know... make sense. Right now you work for a rafting company... maybe doing the sdame stuff over and over with tweeks. Try to move onto a bigger place so you can spread yuor wings a little. where do you live?

'I will become the most powerful Jedi ever!'

'I'm the damn designer, bitches!'

[snypa]

i know what your saying, j. i'm kinda in the same boat.
what i try to do is find side-projects that give me more creative freedom. usually they don't pay much, but they let me do what i want and i get to help out friends or causes i support.
hope things brighten up for ya!!!

A monk requested 'I have entered the monastery: please give me some guidance'
Master Zhao Zhao replied ' Have you eaten breakfast yet?'
'Yes'
'Then go wash your bowl'

[D-Zine]

Aweee I hope you feel better Jen. I kinda know how you feel. Right outta college I started out at a newspaper too...and making the same money then as you did..only I got to do color. Still involves a MAJOR lack of a chance to get really creative. And when you do have time...they don't want creative. They wanna cram 56 cars on a 8.5x11.5 size ad. I know...I have been there and am still somewhat there. Allthough now I have way more duties than just doing ad design. Somedays I like it..others I can't wait to find something else. I am still at a stand still about what to do...I know how you feel. It's rough.

My portfolio is wayyy behind where it should be too. I know this. But you should post some work on this board...really. It will help you get your folio where it needs to be..and also give you some feedback so you see that NO you DON'T SUCK...lol! It's so easy to think you suck when you work for a newspaper bc there isn't that time to flex your creativity...If I were you, I would do like I am which is just doing side jobs and some pieces for yourself so that you can build up your folio and look for something better. But like Joe said...don't shoot for the huge companies right away. You would be surprised at some of the benefits of the smaller companies. Its kinda nice sometimes to be with a really small business.

Good luck ;o)

Boobie Island or Bust!

[morea]

My career counselor tells us that your career path with take you over lots of 'stepping stone jobs' . . . just like crossing a stream by stepping from one rock to the next. As long as you are stepping in the right direction, you will get to where you want to be.

I'm sure that you're not a bad designer. You have to have faith in yourself and constantly look for ways to learn. Maybe you could try doing some freelance-type work outside your current job to flex your creative muscles. Not-for-profit organizations are always looking for all the help they can get. It's a thought... and any volunteering you do can help to round out your portfolio.

While you *do* have the security of your current job behind you, start sending out resumes and launch a full fledged job search. Pull out your phone book, and search the yellow pages for local newspapers, publishers, advertising companies, print shops, etc, and send out cover letters and resumes. Don't settle for someplace that doesn't treat you the way you want to be treated. Above all, believe in yourself and look for something that will make you happy.

Hang in there.

You've gotta do what you've gotta do.

[jenpetosa]

Wow, good to hear I'm not the only one on this track. I seem to have trouble landing freelance jobs around here. The local newspaper does design for FREE if you print with them (they have printing presses, too). Plus I used to work for them. It's very awkward. Any good places on the web to land freelance?

Pro-bono: I do a couple of things for my triathlon club, but it isn't portfolio worthy (newsletters). I'll look around. I fear getting sucked into a vortex for people though.

Where do I live? About 10 miles south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Paradise. Terrible job market. /emoticons/turn.gif

Jennifer

[D-Zine]

Ohh yes many stepping stones to pass!

Have you takin a job in prepress before? If you haven't...I highly recommend this. It will really help you grow as a designer.

Boobie Island or Bust!

[Rocketpig]

I think a lot of us have your same problem (I know I sure do)...

First I worked at an educational publishing company (for elementary schools) and I refuse to show ANYTHING from that job since everything I did was in Comic Sans (oh, the horror!) and used every color in the spectrum. It was a real assault on the senses. The owner had NO taste whatsoever.

Then I worked at a print company that mainly dealt with the medical industry. Word to the wise: Medical companies are BORING.

Now I work for an aftermarket ATV company, so all my 'porfolio pieces' (well, they would be if I even bothered to put together a portfolio) are from the same company.

And I'm past the point in my career where I feel like spending time mocking up fake advertisements for non-existent companies.

Luckily, I'm not looking for another job or I'd be forced to do something.

But keep your head up and when you do go looking for new work, don't shoot too high and expect to land a job with Nike or something like that. There are a lot of smaller companies (like mine, for example) that pull in 3-4 million a year but do enough advertising to warrant a full-time designer. I'm gaining all sorts of great experience in pressing the flesh at shows, talking to customers, handling the website, working promo materials (hands down, the most fun. Gotta love free stuff), working with magazines, printers, etc.

You might want to try for a job like mine.

If I was any less productive right now, I'd be comatose.

[defjoe]

see that might be the problem Jen... you realy have to go where the jobs are and most will be in major metro areas. Well ones of size that is./

'I will become the most powerful Jedi ever!'

'I'm the damn designer, bitches!'

[Drorain]

I'm in my first design job right now...wow almost 3 months cant believe it...I'm slowly trying to take over from within...DOWN WITH TEMPLATE DESIGN!!! HAHAHAHA

http://www.grivakisgraphics.com/images/img_logomark.jpg

~Everyday, All the Time, Without Fail!

[Drawing a Blank]

Silly Rabbit Tricks are for kids!!


Jen try looking in the contest thread, not much money maybe, but a good place to be creative. Good Luck


"Merry-Go-Round Broke Down! A fairly looney selection for a bunch of drunken reprobates!!"

[BuckarooB]

I dunno... I'd open one of those logo stands down in the banking district of a major city and hawk logos and corporate imagery to hungry execs. They'd eat it up!

And don't forget - your education never stops. Some great class in New Interactive Media or animation - even if rarely used - kindles a new spark quicker than you can say, 'I'm jumping this ship before she strikes a moron!'

Good Luck with the blues - take up watercolor and sell 'em to the tourist on the weekend - that'll get you back at your computer an damn happy to be indoors before you know it!

We answer because we care - Helping - that's what gets me out of bed in the afternoons!

http://www.zzpop.com/ImageServe/TeamBanzaiSig.gif

[torque2k]

I started my GD path by hanging out with some neighbors who worked at a screen printing shop. I 'volunteered' to develop film, burn screens, and pull squeegees. I got paid on the side for fixing their 386 with CorelDraw 2.0 and their vinyl plotter. Keep your eyes open for ANY job that pops up, even if it's COOKING for a design shop!

I made the mistake of going back to college after that, found myself teaching some of the computer graphics classes instead of the profs, and figured that was that. Took my knowledge and skills, went to work for a sign shop, specializing in commercial awnings. In a market where customers were handed quotes and sketches on napkins (sometimes a CAD 2D rendering), I decided to help the salespeople out by scanning their pictures of the buildings and faux-rendering 3D awnings. Now every awning shop in Michigan does the same thing, but it was fun and profitable finding a niche for my boss!

I then got the itch to start my own business, a sign & design shop, and did some really great signs and awnings for customers.

Don't be afraid to show your old stuff. It's what made you who you are now. Slowly replace it, of course, but keep a couple to show clients how much you've grown! Take some night classes (adult ed, whatever you can afford) and expand your artistic boundaries, be it scultping, 3D animation, watercolor, whatever.

Finally, learn to step away from the design world. Go home and read a book, shoot pool, cook, whatever. I've stuck with the adage that you shouldn't have a hobby which reflects what you do at work. You'll get burnt out too easily.

Chin up!
Dan
CATALYST Techworks Consulting (http://www.catalysttechworks.com)