A killer advertising portfolio is one that gets you the job or the freelance assignments you want. To do this, the portfolio must clearly show you’re a professional who can think both conceptually and strategically and execute your concept creatively and flawlessly.
Since agencies very often screen portfolios to select the candidates to interview, your portfolio bears the burden of making the right first impression for you.
Many talented art directors and writers with “killer campaigns” in their portfolio often overlook one very important thing – the external appearance of the portfolio itself.
As a creative director who has reviewed thousands of portfolios, the first thing I notice is the style and condition of the portfolio. A clean black hard shell portfolio immediately says, “this person is a professional” and cares about the way they present themselves and their work. Aluminum briefcase portfolios also make a very professional first impression too.
Portfolios that are old and ragged, over-stuffed and bursting at the seams or patched up with plastic or duct tape say “unprofessional” and make a poor initial impression. Contrary to what some job seekers believe, canvas bags, tote bags, foil shopping bags and other unconventional portfolio styles don’t show creativity – in fact they do quite the opposite. Let the work inside speak for itself.
It pays to invest in a professional portfolio case that makes the right initial impression. You won’t find these portfolios in the “presentation” aisle of the big office supply stores or at high-end stationers. Their presentation folders are fine for reports or sales proposals – or for organizing and presenting direct mail campaigns or collateral material inside your portfolio. They are not “advertising portfolios”.
Go to a professional art supply shop that will carry a large selection of portfolios in different sizes, styles and price ranges. You can also find them online if you want a specific brand or know exactly what you’re looking for. Either way, these portfolios aren’t cheap, but they’re an essential investment for any creative professional. Think of your portfolio as clothing for your creative work. You naturally want it to look the best and make the best impression.
There are two basic styles of portfolio. The hard shell black plastic, vinyl or aluminum case that holds laminated samples of ads and organized presentation binders of brochures, direct mail campaigns, CDs and TV reels. The second is a zippered vinyl, leather or canvas presentation portfolio or “book” with plastic pages for displaying samples of your work.
The hard shell case is my first choice because it offers the greatest flexibility in organizing your samples and tailoring your presentation to fit the needs of the specific position you’re seeking. Ads rigidly laminated on black paper with a ¼” boarder and a felt backing project the image of an advertising agency professional who is proud of the work they’re showing. Rigid lamination also preserves and protects your ads. With a library of laminated samples, it’s easy to tailor your portfolio. Professionally mounted and laminated ads costs money, but it’s an investment that’s worth every penny. Digital television, web or radio samples can be organized in a DVD wallet inside the portfolio. Brochures and other collateral material can be displayed in a presentation folder or “flip book” with plastic sleeves.
The second basic portfolio style is the soft side zippered leather or vinyl presentation portfolio with plastic sleeves. Many art directors and writers use this style because it’s much less expensive than the hard shell case. If you use the soft zippered portfolio be sure the pages are high quality vinyl or plastic, not the cheap plastic kind that crack and break. Get the style that is sealed on 3 sides so your samples don’t fall out. Make sure you change the black paper insert pages if they become wrinkled or creased. This is especially important for copywriters showing brochures that people will be taking in and out to read.
Overall appearance and organization are equally as important for digital portfolios too. Sending an email with a few Jpeg or PDF files and links is not a digital portfolio – it’s just an email with some attachments. Even if you’re responding to an online ad saying “email samples”, it’s always best to have a digital presentation to put your best forward. There are a number of simple and inexpensive ways to create a killer digital portfolio.
If you’re using a website as a portfolio, it should looks professionally designed and well organized and not just like a landing page you threw together for the occasion. If web design isn’t your strong suit go to www.templatemonster.com for some inexpensive portfolio templates you can download and customize. They even have a category of static and flash templates designed for use as portfolios.
Another alternative is to put your samples in a “click and play” PowerPoint presentation, complete with audio and video samples. This is often the simplest solution because almost everyone runs PowerPoint.
If you design your own digital portfolio, don’t become one of the shoemaker’s children. Make sure your design is shows how talented your really are. I’ve seen many other easy and effective ways of creating digital portfolios. Ask other art directors and copywriters you know to show you what they’re doing. You’ll get some really great ideas.
The most important part of creating the perfecting portfolio is tailoring it’s content to the specific experience the agency wants. All other things being equal, the person who does this best usually wins the job.
Always have in your portfolio samples of the six “killer campaigns” you consider your absolutely, positively best work. This should be the “core” of your portfolio that pretty much stays the same, regardless of the job specifics.
Usually the skills and experience the agency wants are spelled out clearly in the ad. If you’re working through a headhunter, ask for a copy of the job requisition or description their client supplied. Either way, read every word carefully. Find the specific product and media experience the agency wants.
If the ad wants an “art director to design magazine ads and collateral for high end women’s cosmetics and fashion accessories”, be sure to include as many samples as you can of your best samples fashion and cosmetics ads and brochures. If you feel you’re weak in the high end fashion and cosmetic area, include samples of print ads and brochures you did for other related “upscale products” such as luxury cars, jewelry, travel or magazines.
Include media-specific samples as requested. When an ad calls for experience in a particular media such as direct mail copy, don’t waste the creative director’s time by including a lot of TV and radio spots. Yes, you love writing commercials and want to do more at your next agency, but they’re looking to hire a writer to do direct mail who has experience in this media.
In situations where the ad is generic and only calls for an art director or copywriter to work on a variety of agency accounts, go to the agency’s web site and look at their client list and the samples of the work they do for these clients and the media they use. Select samples of your best work that closely match the agency’s current clients list and media. This shows you can do a great job on a variety of different accounts, which is most likely what they want.
Should I include spec work in my portfolio? Generally speaking, no. I usually hire only experienced art directors and copywriters who have the experience in the particular media and product categories I need. If you’re just out of school and just getting in to advertising and have to show spec work, here’s one important piece of advice. Work together with someone else as an art/copy team and produce samples with a high degree of finish. The secret is to make your “spec” work look as professional as produced pieces to show you are a professional and have the potential.
How many samples should I include in my portfolio? That’s a tough question, because it not only depends on the requirements of the job but on your experience as well. As a general rule, less is best. Don’t pad your portfolio with a lot of unnecessary samples unrelated to the job. Creative directors are looking for quality not quantity.
Finally, keep in mind that the portfolio that is a “killer” today may not do the job tomorrow. Keep it lean, mean and up-to-date so you can profit it from it when the opportunity arises.
