Could really use some pointers for my portfolio

The Crit Pit
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#1

Hi everyone!

I am trying to go for graphic design jobs right now. So far, I have been applying, and I have no idea what the quality of my portfolio is. For background context, I did not receive any one-to-one Graphic Design education, but did adjacent stuff through my Game Art education and my internship. I have been building upon that since.

I would like some fresh eyes regarding:

  • First-impressions of the portfolio
  • Strongest and weakest projects
  • Any practical solutions (show this and not that, wording etc)

Link here: eisahanin.github.io

It is in German as I am applying in German, but the text is accurate, so translation should hopefully be no problem. Corrections based on the language are welcome!

If there is any additional context needed, please let me know!

Thanks!!

#2

The little bird tracks are fun.

Despite looking for a graphic design job, you mentioned having only some adjacent training in graphic design, which makes your work a little difficult to evaluate since so much of it has more to do with art or illustration than graphic design.

For example, the dollhouse is an interesting project. Still, I don’t see how it would readily lend itself to the work done by a typical graphic designer in a typical job situation. I could say much the same about the comfort toy project.

I like the Fadda project video. Did you create the video or draw the illustrations? Again, your work on it (and the ScienEd project) seems more centered around illustration, storyboarding, and animation than graphic design.

The REZONANZ and Cake Studio projects are the only things in your portfolio specifically targeting design. I like the Cake Studio logo. It has an Arabic look. Was this intentional?

Most places that hire graphic designers are looking for designers whose work matches up with the needs of the company and the position they’re filling. Because so much of your portfolio focuses on your illustration, animation, and creative skills, your portfolio might not hit the mark for a company looking for an all-purpose graphic designer.

I think you have the talent for graphic design, but you could use more formal training in the field instead of approaching it through the side door of an adjacent discipline. However, I don’t want to discourage you if you’re serious about graphic design. If you can find a job, by all means, take it, but while you’re doing all this, you might want to work on your portfolio and make it more relevant to what typical graphic designers do in their day-to-day jobs.

2 Likes
#3

I’d give every designer this advice regarding their portfolio and it’s that your work is the most important aspect of it. And, what that means is that the second someone lands on your portfolio they should be presented your work, not anything else.

You should look at other designer’s portfolios. Look at their layout, the way they use images, what kind of copy they use, and how they present their work.

Take a look at this list of the best graphic design portfolios from Wix. As you scroll through their portfolios you’ll notice one common theme - they showcase their work front and center.

They also have a very simple layout,

  • Logo placed at top
  • Navigation links below or adjacent to it
  • Portfolio pieces

Then when you click on one of the images it takes you to a detailed look of that project.

Also, I don’t see much graphic design work on your portfolio rather it leans more towards art, illustration, and digital art. The one piece that was closely related to graphic design is probably the REZONANZ one which seems like a brand identity design project.

Don’t worry though it’s not your fault for not knowing the difference. As graphic design’s popularity increases the lines between it and other adjacent fields tend to get a bit blurry. But, you should realign your portfolio to what you actually want to do

Since you lean more towards illustration I’d recommend you learn and improve upon your illustration rather than graphic design (unless you really want to do graphic design, it’s what your passionate about etc.)

Take a look at this diagram and make a list of your skills. What skill do you think fits in within the center? Is it illustration, graphic design, web design, etc.?

2circles

First-impressions of the portfolio

Make your logo smaller and place it in a familiar position. Where do you see most logos placed on a webpage? Usually the top, top-left, top-center of the screen.

Keep the bird tracks they’re are a nice touch, but make your work the center of attention. When a client clicks on your link they first thing they should be presented with is your work without having to scroll or look around.

I would say that despite the issues with your portfolio, they’re is one thing that stands out: the portfolio has some personality. It’s rare nowadays to see a fresh designer making a portfolio who doesn’t just slap a sans-serif font with boxes everywhere so good job!

Strongest and weakest projects

Overall, I noticed a disbalance between the quality of your projects. Your illustration works such as the Meshi & Protoni one and the Science Ed one look great. But your graphic design projects like the Cafe logo and the REZONANZ project seem a bit amateur-ish.

Any practical solutions

First, decide on what field piques your interest and focus only on that. You’re spreading yourself too thin by showcasing graphic design, art, game design, and illustration projects in your portfolio.

Think about what kind of clients you want to work with and align your skills and portfolio according to that.

Do you want to work with an Indie game company and make cool cartoony looking interfaces for them? Showcase your game illustration work on your portfolio

Do you want to work with B2B multinational companies that are looking for a complete corporate redesign for their brand? Showcase your branding projects

You get the point.

Second, when you’ve decided on what you want to focus on look at other people’s portfolio within that field and see how they create it.

  • What’s the layout like?
  • Where do they place their logo?
  • What kind of colors do they use?
  • What kind of contact info do they provide? Should you add your social links as well?

etc.

Third, I’d also advise you to continue refining your skills and get a better understanding of what you want to do. Read books or take a course as that’s a nice way to give yourself a headstart. While you’re doing that continue on the side to apply for a job - but this for ones that align with what you actually want to focus on

Hope this helps

3 Likes
#4

Firstly, thank you so much for the feedback!

I’ll answer some specific questions:

@Just-B
I see what you mean with meshi project. The reason I added the dollhouse project though was because of the drawings and poster designs I made, so that people could find my exhibit. I also added the braille as well as a pop of colour that was also functional. Would adding more detail or focusing on that part make more sense?

I did the illustrations, animate the video, and also some social media work. I also did collaboration material and videos between Fadaa and Shubbak.
For Cake Studio, I see what you mean about the arabic look, but it was not intentional.

@IbrahimAhmed
Thank you so much for the link! I’ll try and implement the changes!

As much as I’d like to do illustration, there is not much out here with it (as far as I know, anyway). I’m not exactly in a position to “think about who I want to work with”, ye know? I’m going for graphic design because there is a demand for that, and it’s something that I can do.
Plus, I already have an illustration portfolio (hanineisa.carrd.co), it would be weird to have two different illustration portfolios.

I will focus on your (and Bee’s) advice on refining my skills. Are there any books or media you would recommend?

Thanks!!

#5

As much as I’d like to do illustration, there is not much out here with it

That’s because you’re looking at it the wrong way.

If you go to indeed or some other job board and filter it by illustration jobs, don’t see much, and think “maybe there isn’t much demand for illustration work” then that’s not the way to estimate demand.

You figure out the demand by thinking in a broader sense and seeing where illustrations can be applied.

For example, there’s low chance for you to get employed by an agency that wants to onboard an illustrator, but why not look at the local area? Maybe there’s a kids hospital around you and they seem to have a hard time keeping kids engaged on field trips and whatnot.

Why? Because hospitals can be scary places for kids. Now, that’s not good because what hospitals want to do is connect with children and teach them “hey we’re not those scary people who drive needles in people’s arms, we’re actually very friendly and care for you and we treat your boo-boos when you get hurt and stuff”. You can’t convince a kid that if you have big posters of smokers dying with lung cancer spread in the building with a big bold red-colored text saying “SMOKING KILLS” beneath them.

So, what can you do? Make fun little cartoons that showcase the other side of doctors, they’re kind, compassionate, and selfless side where all they want to is treat people to make them live a happier life. You’re already good at illustration and you have some animation skills as well, put them to good use and you’ll be able to turn that hospital’s image from “big scary arm pokers” to a place of sunshine and rainbows where kids get lollipops for behaving good.

I’m not exactly in a position to “think about who I want to work with”, ye know? I’m going for graphic design because there is a demand for that, and it’s something that I can do

When you don’t have much experience and haven’t learned a lot about your options, such as the disciplines you can break into, it can be difficult to decide on what to focus on. That’s fine but try to explore your interests and see what you enjoy to do. Refer to the diagram I sent you in my previous reply, if illustration falls in the center, it won’t be very smart to try and get into graphic design.

Also, graphic design is a broad field, of course there’s demand for graphic designers because there’s dozens of sub-sets of graphic design. If you try to approach everyone, you’ll end up getting no one.

I’ve known illustrators who’ve made thousands of dollars a month by illustrating adult coloring books as a way of releasing stress
 could you ever think there would be a market for that? Apparently there is and illustrators making hundreds of thousands of dollars every year designing those and selling them on marketplaces like Etsy and Amazon.

Finally, you say you want to do graphic design not only because there’s a demand for it but also because it’s something you can do. Okay but that doesn’t mean you have to turn it into your whole career.

I can cook pretty good and I’ve always enjoyed cooking, but I don’t plan on becoming a chef - no matter how much demand there is for good food in my local area.

Personally, I think all these concerns are fear-induced. You fear getting into illustration because there’s no demand for it, and would fail to make ends meet. Thing is, you don’t know if that’s true, you haven’t explored the field enough to come to that conclusion (I know that might sound rude or condescending but I really don’t mean it that way)

Plus, I already have an illustration portfolio

Okay, utilize that.

If I were you here’s what I’d do:

  1. Clean up your portfolio and make the navigation a bit clearer. Use other illustrator’s portfolios as examples, right now when I clicked through I could find your work until I saw that “gallery” text sandwiched between your logo and about.

  2. Share your work across different mediums like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Pinterest. Since your work also includes a bit of digital art, I’d suggest looking into DevaintArt as well.

  3. Watermark all your images. You already have your logo watermarked so that’s good, but I’ll also add a URL to your portfolio so interested people could visit your site as well. This way you can drive traffic from social media to your website, which could lead to people wanting to know more about you.

  4. Keep applying for jobs on the side and sharing your work. For Illustrators it’s common practice for them to share their work-in-progresses, behind the scenes, and concept sketches of their art, so do that to gain a following on social media.

By the end of all this, you’ll probably start to gain recognition in the world of illustration and would be connecting with other illustrators. This leverage will lead to a trust factor between you and your potenital clients, and trust me, even if your work is average, no client easily lets go of a designer who’s honest, passionate, and on-time - and till that time you’ll have a small online audience rooting for you as well.

Are there any books or media you would recommend?

I have done little to no illustration work in my time with graphic design, so not much adivce I can give there. However, if you want to explore the marketing/business side of things I’d suggest you look into Seth Godin’s works who’s a great marketer for showcasing your skills

He has some great books but I’d suggest you take a look at some of his talks on YouTube before grabbing yourself a copy

#6

Bruv,

I’ve done all the things you would expect an illustrator who wants to go in the field to do. For years.
I’ve posted on Facebook, I’ve posted on Instagram, I’ve had a deviantArt since I was 13. And boy do you have to be bold to suggest deviantArt to me now, especially after what has happened there and its current state.

I’ve done the “do what you want to do” “satisfy the three circles” for a while now, and it’s not gotten me places. When I was going through my bachelor’s halfway through, I decided that maybe it was not for me as a job. That circle diagram thing you keep referencing does not consider that you can have all three circles, and it can just suck. Maybe you should not turn your hobbies into a business. Maybe I could have done better, I don’t know, but don’t decide for me that I’m going to be an illustrator.

That’s not what I asked.

I am going into graphic design because it is something I can do with the skills I learned so far. That is why I am asking for help on my graphic design portfolio. If you think I should go into a different design discipline that is not illustration, by all means share. Right now, being “rich but bored” is a pretty good problem to have. At least I’ll have insurance, a pension, and unemployment benefits if/when things go south.

Do you have any books or media related to graphic design you would recommend?

Thanks!

#7

I’ve done all the things you would expect an illustrator who wants to go in the field to do

Okay
 well I didn’t know that because you didn’t mention it anywhere. Also you said you weren’t in a position to know who you want to work with so I assumed that was because you don’t have much experience thus don’t have much idea of the field. Now you’re telling us that you’ve actually explored illustration quite a lot

And boy do you have to be bold to suggest deviantArt to me now

Also, I don’t know what the current state of deviantart is, so I don’t see why I was so bold to suggest that. The only recent news I heard about it was that there was some commotion about AI Art. Other than that I’ve looked at inspiration for references of digital art pieces so that’s the perspective I was talking from.

but don’t decide for me that I’m going to be an illustrator

It wasn’t my intention to decide for you, so sorry if it came across like that, all I tried to do was make it clear to you what you can do, so that you’d hopefully know what you want to do. You said, “As much as I’d like to do illustration, there is not much out here with it”, I wanted to show you there was. So, IF you wanted to do illustration you could explore it further but this time with a fresh perspective.

My main intention was to make clear your options and try to get rid of your fears so you’re not jumping around from one field to another. Now, I know you’ve done quite a lot on illustration and it didn’t work out, so you plan to pivot.

Okay, could’ve just said that you don’t want to do illustration rather than say I can’t go further into it because there’s no demand for it. I already stated even before suggesting you to get back into illustration that you should improve upon it UNLESS you really want to do graphic design.

Anyways,

You can look at the other advice by me and Bee and see if you find it helpful for your case and ignore any of the illustration advice I gave

Do you have any books or media related to graphic design you would recommend?

Yeah, Grid Systems by Josef Muller Brockmann is one of my favorite books, it’s great for layout which is one of the foundations of good design. You can also look at Ellen Lupton’s books. She has a few on graphic design and they’re pretty good for beginners and intermediates and will catch you up to speed.

Other than that you can explore the Futur on YouTube for tips and advice on handling clients, showcasing your work, pricing, etc. Although they don’t always give the best advice they do a drop a few gems from time to time

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#8

Ouch! A bit abrasive to some who put some considerable time into replying to you and actually responded far more graciously that I might have done.

You’ve had some very helpful advice for which you seem to have failed to read between the lines.

I did not respond initially with any sort of critique of your design work (what there is of it), because, frankly in its current state, I wouldn’t know where to start. Any talent you have leans more towards illustration, hence the replies you received.

In terms of improving in graphic design, the best advice I could give you, is to go and get yourself an education in design. A few books and videos are just not going to do it. Your leanings are patently towards illustration, rather than design.

Good on you for understanding that you need to learn, but if you really want to do it, do it the right way, or you’ll end up in the same place you are with illustration. Wondering why there’s no work.

There is. Most of my work is in an area that commissions illustrators all the time and often illustrations like the ones buried way down at the bottom of your science Ed project. They are the sort of thing that need to be front and centre of your portfolio.

You just have to target a portfolio to,the areas you want to work in – and, of course, display a little humility or you won’t even get a foot in the door.

#9

@sprout @IbrahimAhmed

Thanks for the replies!!

I said I wasn’t in a position to think about who I want to work with. I didn’t say I didn’t know. I’ll be more clear about my intentions in the future.

some commotion about AI Art

I’ll give you context about deviantArt and its reputation right now:
essentially, dA’s teamed up with an AI company to make an AI Art tool on their platform. It uses art of the people who submitted to deviantArt. People already weren’t a fan of AI Art and this announcement, but the issue truly started when the consent to use submitted art was opt-out. Users had to manually opt-out their submissions one-by-one and to submit a form not to use their name in the training data, which also included proving who you are across other platforms. These users had 1000s upon 1000s of submissions. Not only was this a laborious endeavour because you had to click through each submission to opt-out, accounts that belonged to people who have died could not do anything.
It was not until extensive backlash from the community that deviantArt switched it to opt-in. Trust for this platform was already pretty low due to other things that happened before, but whatever that was left has more or less disintegrated. The same thing happened for ArtStation, arguably the platform to host your art professionally, when they were lax on allowing AI Art on the platform.
The only people who still use deviantArt or ArtStation right now are those that have been established through dA way before this. I’m talking big names like Artgerm and wlop kinds of recognition, and even then they don’t really advertise their deviantart.

I understood that your intentions were good and you were being encouraging.
Also your hospital example really pissed me off, I’m sorry lol It’s not a good example. I know this especially as that’s the background of my Meshi. I had a whole thing typed up but decided to leave it. If you want any specifics, feel free to dm me.

I also truly meant it when I said that I was not in a position to think about who I want to work with in terms of illustrations. It would be nice to do illustration, but I can’t right now. So it was frustrating when I asked for advice on my graphic design portfolio to be told, “go into illustration” especially when you kept referring to the three circle diagram. That diagram does not consider that some people can’t do what they want to do, for whatever reason. I have had some resentment towards those diagrams, and it wasn’t until the last couple of years that I could articulate why. It’s a nice aspirational sentiment, but please reconsider its use.

Could you be more specific? What was the thing that was between the lines? Genuinely asking here.

What portfolio are we talking about here?

Thanks!!

#10

The people who answered have all pretty much said that illustration is where your strength lies.

Your portfolio site. You need to target it towards the people you want to work for and display the kind of work you want to do. If you throw everything you have at it, you may end up looking a little unfocussed and therefore, less employable.

All that said, I have just had a bit of a revelation with your portfolio. Previously, I had looked at it on an iPad in portrait mode and some of the projects didn’t show up, or, rather, were so small that I passed over them. This morning I am looking on a desktop and I can see more projects that show more promise. For example, I hadn’t seen the UNIDO project, which shows a lot more promise.

I think if you are going to pursue graphics design, you need to learn a lot more about typography.

Is all of that UNIDO project your work? I only ask because your copyright line says ‘Content belong to their respective owners.’ (as an aside, in English, it should read, ‘Content belongs to its respective owners’), which leaves me wondering how much is your work and how much is work of others which you have worked on.

I still think it feels like you have bailed on Illustration before giving it a good go. Perhaps have two portfolios, once that is more graphic design based (once you have completed the requisite learning) and another that is more illustration. They could be part of the same site, but they need to be more clearly defined. That way, it shows you as multi-skilled rather than unfocussed.

1 Like
#11

Let me rephrase: Are we talking about my graphics portfolio when you said this? Or are you talking generally?

I understood that with the initial posts. “Reading between the lines” implies there was some other information that I missed that was said previously, that’s why I asked.

Between the last reply and this reply, I’ve unhid stuff and have implemented some of the practical changes, such as the layout of the website, where the logo is, etc. I hid stuff before because I didn’t think they were good. I am showing it now because they were a bit closer to being graphic design and it’s work that I have done.

If you can, could you tell me which other ones had promise? As I said in the beginning, I really do not know what is good and what is not. I’ve shown the previous version of my portfolio to other design people IRL, but they did not say much.

UNIDO

The work that I have shown was all the work that I have done at UNIDO. For example, I did the main flower element and the other petal elements that show the various topics for 18th General Conference and paired it with the text logo (I am going off memory here so bare with me), but I did not do the design manual or the booth design of that event, for example. I did the Document and PowerPoint design of the FGI2019.

I did the branding of TICAD7 related to UNIDO, but not all the stuff was implemented. I can definitely tell you that the Word and PowerPoint related works were implemented because I made those templates and I sent them out. Sadly, there is not many photos of that event that show those banners, as the UNIDO website itself has changed its CMS it seems.

For works that were a collaborative effort, like the PRS Newsletter, I make sure to show the part that I did. For example, the first Volume was done by another person primarily and I was just assisting, but the second Volume (the one shown) builds off of that with some changes.

As a general rule, do you show work that you did regardless whether it was implemented or not, or do you only show stuff that was implemented?
Do you separate based on projects or based on where you worked?

Thanks, I will look into that! If you have any references, do share!

In terms of typography, I had a limitation in that I specifically sought out fonts that were open source or had an OpenType licence, such as on google fonts. This was very much the case as I was working with UNIDO, a non-profit org that make projects that may or may not have profit involved. The one font that is mine is in the character design club workbook. That’s just my handwriting lol

Genuinely asking now, why are we still on this topic?

Thanks!!

#12

All that said, I have just had a bit of a revelation with your portfolio. Previously, I had looked at it on an iPad in portrait mode and some of the projects didn’t show up, or, rather, were so small that I passed over them. This morning I am looking on a desktop and I can see more projects that show more promise. For example, I hadn’t seen the UNIDO project, which shows a lot more promise.

Between the last reply and this reply, I’ve unhid stuff and have implemented some of the practical changes, such as the layout of the website, where the logo is, etc.

I also didn’t see the UNIDO project before so I revisted your site. I’m glad to see you took some of the advice and re-did a bit of your portfolio, it’s looking much cleaner now. I’m guessing it’s still in the development phase so I’d also add a footer with some accent color (I’ll assume it’s red based on your logo), and even some links to your social, plus some contact info. like duplicate the email on the top to the bottom as well. (Keep the cat and bird though they look cool). You might also want to add the bird tracks on the footer as well, it’ll help balance it out.

That’ll be enough for a portfolio. You don’t need to obsess on making it pretty and visually attractive as clients would overlook all that if the work is of poor quality

Your UNIDO project as well as the Roolong project definitely have a touch of graphic design. They can be improved upon with a few iterations. You seem to lean towards brand identity design and web design.

For your web design projects though, the sites are pretty basic.

For example, I checked out the Roolong website preview, it has no navigation, no header and footer, no proper landing page, no CTAs, etc.

The REZONANZ one also has somewhat of the same issue. I personally like the logo, but when it comes to the site, it’s like every other site out there. For a music production company, you’d atleast expect to be a bit more thrilling given the many themes that exist in that industry.

I can also tell from your designs you’re mostly focusing on the visual aspect of it and not the business aspect of it. Like when people land on that site what do you want them to do? Scroll to the bottom?

Clients pay you to make money for them, not make their brand look nice. Sure that’s one of the goals, but at the end of the day the only reason someone would be willing to pay you upwards of a $1000 to get a design done is that they expect you to make them that money back and more. Even if their site gets praised all around social media for their beautiful layout and images, the only thing the client would be foucsing on is how many leads they generated from the website.

Have clear CTAs established across your site. Clearly convey to the end-user that you want them to book a call/buy a service/fill out a form etc.

Also, it’s a bit difficult for us to tell you what is good and what’s bad with the select few designs you’ve provided. Maybe if you had like a file of 4-5 graphic design projects and you post that here, I guess we could give you some better targeted critique and help you kinda pick and choose which one may seem like a good fit for your portfolio.

If you’re asking about the very basics of good and bad design - that’s an extremely comprehensive topic, which is why you’ve gotten the advice of getting a proper design education mutiple times now

I didn’t bother replying to these when I first saw them, but I believe a proper response could be helpful for later on in your career.

Firstly, I admit the hospital example may not be the best, but you getting pissed off about it is unfortuante. In this field, potential clients who know nothing about design will compare your skills with their 12-year old niece who could design their logo for free and ask you why they should pay you. Would that get you pissed off?

Or when they’ll belittle your designs in front of all your colleagues and put you on display for having no creativity - will that cripple your confidence? If so, you need to build thicker skin.

You’re here in a forum where professional graphic designers like @sprout and @Just-B take the time out of their busy day to reply to you just so you don’t turn out like all the other “aspiring designers” who get crushed under the harsh reality of this field and later find out it’s “just not for them” when Canva stops being more than a tool for them. When in reality the only problem was they couldn’t or wouldn’t take the very real advice they were getting.

We’re all humans so we can give bad or misleading advice but I don’t think you saw that here.

You came here to seek out our help
 for free. This isn’t a high-grade professional-level peer-review audit of your portfolio that you paid big bucks for. When you came here asking for help the only thing you came here with other than your portfolio is humility - don’t lose that. If you like the advice, apply it. If you don’t, leave it. If you want further clarification, let us know.

Second, the only reason we kept on pushing you towards illustration is because you showed promise in illustration. If a person comes here and is clearly skilled in illustration we’ll tell them to focus on illustration because it’s better to build upon what you have.

I promise you we don’t run a secret underground illustration agency where we pressure beginner designers into doing illustration work for us and lure them into providing us free work on a monthly basis.

If you still want to do graphic design, okay. I guess we’ve provided enough advice for you to have at least a decent looking portfolio (which has already started to take shape) and where to look for to further your graphic design learning.

Wish you best of luck. Since you seem enthusiastic to learn, I hope you can get to where you want to be.

#13

Indeed! All of do this, I’m sure, because in some way, we give a damn about helping those who come after us in whatever way we can. People can heed, or not heed. It’s up to them, it’s only opinion, albeit based on a few decades of experience, but comments like



usually make me decide that I have better things to do with my day. Always happy to help, but when you get snarky, defensive, slightly arrogant responses, that’s the point, I’m usually out.

#14

I want to make it clear to everyone that I appreciate the time and effort you have taken to look at my portfolio. I did not expect people to look at it, nor did I expect any replies for this matter.

@IbrahimAhmed Thanks for the feedback on the RooLong and Resonanz project! I will implement the changes soon.

As I said before, I know that you were making this example in good faith and that your intent was good. And in good faith, I told you it was not a good example, how it made me feel, and that I can tell you why if you are interested to know why.

If a client came forward with “I want illustrations for the children’s hospital”, I would be cautious and ask the purpose of the drawings. Is this wall decor? Am I working with the patients? The health staff? etc. If a client says my work is bad, I say, “Okay. Why?” and hopefully, they say something.

@sprout When I asked

I was wondering where this was coming from. I have throughout this thread been averse to pursuing illustration and have said why. I did not say, “I do not want to do illustration”. I simply said that it’s not something I can pursue at the moment. So thank you, @IbrahimAhmed for answering this question.
I am not trying to be an “aspiring graphic designer” here, I am being pragmatic. Like, I am aware that being a graphic designer is a job. I thought I was clear, but I guess not.

So this,

I do not intend. I asked all my questions in as straight-forward manner as I thought. When I asked “What portfolio are we talking about here”, in my brain, we have two portfolios in the conversation and a sentiment that I should pursue illustration. And in that same post, you said that it feels like I bailed on illustration. So I think, “Oh, maybe my question was not clear enough.” So I rephrased the question in the next reply, “Are we talking about my design portfolio? Is this general thing you are saying?”

When I ask these questions, I want to understand what you are thinking about when you say what you say. So when you said, “reading between the lines”, I got confused. “What are they talking about? Did I miss something?”, and was relieved when you said what it was.

If you do not want to answer any more of my questions, I understand. Thank you everyone!

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