Keeping up with the CADashians: How to stand out as a designer.

How do you sell yourself in the design world? How do you stand out from the crowd? What do employers look for, and how do you give them the necessary information? What should I do, and more importantly, what shouldn’t I do?

Questions like these were raised in the class, and are something you should keep in the forefront of your mind throughout your work in design. Having these thoughts in your head and being able to go back them helps to guide how you present your work and how you shape your projects.

Spending your college life simply going through the motions is useless, especially in such a cut throat area as design. Whereas putting in that extra bit of work not only gets you a good grade (fingers crossed) at the end of the day, but also gives you something to show off and flaunt in your portfolio.

Personally the satisfaction having completed a project to the best of my ability is worth more than any grade. Having a portfolio with projects that you can engage with verbally and express real emotion in makes you more than just another clone in a seat.

Following the class, myself and Jason made a list of commandments to make a stand out and interesting portfolio, one that won’t be tossed to the side.

No filler

Only have your best work and necessary work in your portfolio. Don’t just fill up space with unnecessary work.

Finish on a high note

Leave the portfolio with your personal best, so they have something to remember you by.

Have a story

Give the portfolio context and have it in an order. Don’t have final product before ideation, have it make sense.

Give it flair, personality, some magic

Make it stand out with your own personal touch

Layout

Have a standard layout with good continuity to encourage an easy read

Have a balance between hands on work and CAD

Don’t overload the portfolio with just sketches or just CAD, show you are capable of both

Show your preferred area of work

Highlight the area you enjoy the most be it model making, Photoshop or Solidworks

Showcase your work ethic and workload

Self explanatory show that you have a good work load and are capable of doing more than asked of you.

Give more than academic skills

Highlight what you do outside of college, hobbies and sports

The main thing to remember is that you shouldn’t be afraid to sell yourself. It is one of the main things that could get you that ideal dream job. By using your portfolio, you can present your skills and personality in an appropriate manner. The use of social media and other platforms, the sky is the limit with regard to how you reach out to the world.