9 Portfolio Musts for Students
Social media: you have been using it for what seems like forever and you know better than most how to appeal to someone your age. This is a major asset you bring to the company hiring you, and your design needs to be innovative on these platforms.
3D: with the launch of adobe dimension there is no longer any reason your product lineup shots should be in photoshop. Incorporating 3D elements into flat photography is also possible, and needs to be shown as proof you are keeping up with technology.
Logo design: an absolute must in a portfolio as it shows creative problem solving and your ability to work with client direction. Please note that you should show your best work, not always what the client chose as those two are not always synonymous.
Photoshop raw photo adjustment and retouching I need to see that I can give you a batch of raw photos and you can process them and make them look great.
Conceptual thinking is what’s going to give you the long term competitive edge within the design industry. If you can creatively solve problems you’ll be an asset. If they happen to be visual solutions, then that is an added bonus.
Motion: With the general public's shrinking attention span, incorporating motion into design pieces will help make your portfolio stand out. Consider how the printed piece translates to other digital mediums and be able to show this.
Photography: understand photography and light. Directing talent and playing with strobes will make your design pieces stand out. Also, showing that you can create a photography mood board for a shoot or brand can be a good tool to help pitch ideas.
Adobe XD experience design. At adobe max this year Scott Belsky stood up on the stage and proclaimed that he felt that someday XD would be bigger than photoshop and after seeing the voice recognition integration with Amazon I’m going to have to agree. If you haven’t played with it, dive in and show us what you're creating!
Describe your work and your involvement. Did you take the photo or did you do the layout? Did you do everything? If so can you also be collaborative when working with an AD/CD? This is mostly for portfolios you would send or leave behind.