Transitions, January 2003

Issue 5      January 2003

Contents 

Interviewing
An informative list on how to make a good first impression, from an educator who knows students.

Portfolio vs. performance: worlds apart
How a design firm really interprets you when reviewing your portfolio and interviewing you.

Book tips from the top
Terry Irwin, Doug Powell and Jeff Zwerner describe their favorite and most influential volumes.

Executive director’s letter
The most disorienting experience many students encounter as they begin their foray into the professional world is the interview. Students who are not well prepared for this experience may even feel they did well because they said what they wanted to say how they wanted to say it. They do not realize that the interview actually involves determining what the interviewer wants and making sure that the interviewee piques his or her interest, creates an engaging interaction and sells him- or herself as a potential employee, not a model student. There can often be a total disconnect between the student and the prospective employer on what occurred during the interview or presentation of a portfolio.

Here we present two complementary and reinforcing articles on how to present yourself so that the prospective employer sees the attributes that are important in the workplace, one by an educator who has placed many students and the other by a professional who has interviewed many. Having interviewed numerous people myself, I would urge that every student study storytelling and narrative during his or her educational experience. Then, take the interview as a critical communication challenge as important as any class assignment in order to develop a means of telling the most important story, which is about your qualifications for the job that is available.

Richard Grefé, executive director, AIGA

INTERVIEWING
Once you read these tips, you’ll never be nervous about interviews again. You’ll sleep like a puppy the night before, spring wide awake upon the first ring of the alarm, toss on your perfect suit (you know, the Hugo Boss you found on the clearance rack at T.J. Maxx) and bound out the door with joyous certainty that your immediate future holds dinner at LeBernardin and a new Jaguar X10. I’m lying, of course. But these suggestions might make the experience a little less painful and a lot more eventful:

Know who you’re dealing with. Learn as much about the firm as you can. You have the whole world at your fingers with the internet. Conduct some research in advance. Who’s in charge? What kind of work do they do? Who are their major clients? This is a good way to appear smart and motivated.

Dress like you’re looking for a job, not attention. Business casual is usually acceptable, but err on the side of conservative. Leave your nose ring and your silver tongue stud at home.

I’m reminded of something Kit Hinrich, Pentagram partner in San Francisco, shared not long ago about how he assesses a student coming for an interview: “As they come into my office, I look up and think, Could I take them home to dinner tonight?” Keep that in mind.

Be punctual. Do I really need to say more?

Speak your best body language. A limp-fish handshake will land you back in the job pool. Mind your posture; you want to look confident, not pathetic. Look the interviewer in the eye. Use facial expressions to communicate your thoughts and personality. Don’t twirl your hair, gnaw on your pencil or chew gum.

Be energetic, pleasant and upbeat (people love energy). Be friendly and tactful. Be someone they’ll look forward to working with.

Allow the interviewer to direct the conversation. Listen carefully! Tibor Kalman once remarked, “Use your ears and eyes more than your mouth and, assume you understand nothing, then you might learn something”—a good lesson for all of us. When asked questions, keep your answers short and to the point. Avoid “umms” and “aahhs.” Don’t be afraid of brief pauses. If you try to fill the silences with idle chatter, you’re liable to say something you’ll regret. Use your grammar; be the articulate and intelligent you.

Be prepared. Be ready to address questions about your personal tastes and interests. Who or what inspires you? What kinds of books do you read? Where have you recently traveled? It’s always a good idea to rehearse in front of someone the night before. Hogtie your roommate or practice in front of a mirror.

Never say anything negative about a current or previous employer. If you’re leaving your present position because your boss shops for Russian brides online while you do his job, keep it to yourself.

Ask relevant questions. When given the chance, ask questions that help clarify the job description and can aid you in determining whether this might be a good match. For instance: What kind of training and orientation are offered? What is a typical day like? How will your work be evaluated and what kind of supervision will there be? Where does this particular job fit into the overall structure of the organization? What opportunities exist for advancement? One warning, though: Don’t be overly concerned with the particulars of salary and benefits during a first interview. That’s akin to telling a first date what kind of wedding you dream of. Besides, as Steve Heller says about first jobs, expect to “earn little, learn big.”

Follow through. Upon the conclusion of the interview, make sure you’re clear on the next step. Will they contact you, or should you call them? Make sure to thank the interviewer for his or her time. Get the person’s business card and follow up with a handwritten thank you note. If you think that this is the job for you, mention again in the note how motivated you are and how much you believe you have to offer the company.

One final thought: A Portfolio Center student once asked Paul Rand what expectations he would have for her if she came to him seeking a job, and he replied in his most poignant way, “Two things!—be truthful and helpful,” a best advice from the master of striking minimalism.

Hank Richardson is one of the country’s leading design educators and teachers. He is a AIGA Fellow, and a founding member of AIGA Atlanta. He is president of the world-renowned Portfolio Center School, in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to his myriad administrative duties, he is a chronic insomniac who spends the wee hours conjugating the verb “charette” and preparing for his 5 a.m. classes, events famous for their heated debates and hot Krispy Kremes.

PORTFOLIO VS. PERFORMANCE: WORLDS APART
Every detail was stunning. The typography was sophisticated and refreshingly simple. The writing was smart and witty. A bold, inventive use of photography enhanced the entire presentation. The work showed a facility in print, brand identity, packaging, signage and digital design with concepts demonstrating a balance of creative risk and clear communication.

By any measure this was the work of a designer with impressive ability. However, this was not a feature in a glossy design magazine or a career retrospective of an international design star. This was a portfolio of a recent graduate, applying for a job.

Portfolios are getting better. Design education is as strong as ever. Students are smarter and more prepared. Still, one question runs through my mind when assessing the work of a talented design school graduate: “Is what I see what I’ll get?”

Call me suspicious but there is no way of knowing for sure. Looking at the portfolio doesn’t indicate how much of the work was influenced by a professor, or how long it took to achieve the result. Also, technology can easily create the illusion of “really good,” requiring expert scrutiny to see flaws beyond the polished veneer.

In the current economic climate, the stakes of employing an untested designer are high. Long ago were the days when an investment in a new designer was a set of tools worth $100. Now a junior designer is provided with a digital workstation worth thousands and expected to hit the ground running.

I consider myself a pretty good judge of talent but I have occasionally been seduced by impressive portfolios only to be disappointed by a less impressive performance. It’s important for me to get to know the “person” behind the portfolio by asking some curious questions. What book are you reading? Do you play a musical instrument? Can you spell “silhouette”? Do you make your bed every day? Do you enjoy drawing? What was the last museum you visited? Can you tell a good joke? The responses can reveal a certain level of intellectual curiosity, discipline, a sense of humor and how well the candidate can think on his or her feet. This can also indicate if the person will fit into the culture of our agency.

If you imagine the number of young men and women who graduate from design schools in the United States each year combined with an increasing influx of foreign students, the competition for choice design positions is fierce. Given this reality it’s best to prepare well for entering the design profession and your initial job interviews. The following advice may help you make the right impression on a potential employer:

Flattery will get you everywhere. Researching your prospect and learning about the firm’s work will provide background for discussion. Mention a few of your favorite projects designed by them to demonstrate your keen interest in the firm.

The method to your masterpiece. Show your design process. This will demonstrate how well you can develop concepts and highlight key creative decisions you’ve made to reach the final result.

Watch for cues. Allow the interviewer to set the pace. Recent graduates, in their eagerness to make sure every detail of their work is fully appreciated, will often offer a lengthy description about each assignment. This is not always necessary and you’ll run the risk of eating up your precious half an hour. If the interviewer needs clarification, he or she will ask for it.

Less is more. Carefully edit your work and include only your absolute best. “Score” your portfolio like a piece of music with “tempo” changes to keep it interesting. If you have interactive work, make this a seamless part of your presentation and avoid interruptions for technical preparation.

More than money. Experience is “capital” for your future. Don’t get lured by big bucks for a marginal position that may hinder career development. Working for a highly respected firm, even for less money, will pay off in the long run.

Lasting impression. I find it helpful to have few samples of the candidate’s work attached to their resume for future reference. This is preferable to a CD that will rarely get reviewed if there is a job opening and a quick search for qualified designers on file is conducted.

Smart sells. Be at your brightest. Ask intelligent, thoughtful questions. Boredom will get you nowhere.

Say thanks. It’s just common courtesy and a simple note of thanks will remind the interviewer of your meeting. Make sure it is timely and arrives a few days, not weeks, later.

The above list works. It’s worked on me and has led me to hire some of my most talented designers. Fortunately, in most cases a strong portfolio was a precursor to an outstanding performance that contributed to the reputation of our agency. But, it was the way these designers prepared themselves for the interview and how they conducted themselves during our meeting that convinced me to take a chance on them in the first place.

Ken Carbone is a designer and co-founder of Carbone Smolan Agency, a New York creative strategy and design group. He and his partner, Leslie Smolan, have built an international reputation creating ground-breaking programs for world-class clients, including Putnam Investments, Tiffany & Co., PBS, the Louvre, HMV and Christie’s.

BOOK TIPS FROM THE TOP: TERRY IRWIN, DOUG POWELL AND JEFF ZWERNER

More books from top designers.

Terry Irwin:

Ecodesign: The Sourcebook
By Alastair Faud-Luke

This is a great sourcebook for designers concerned with sustainability issues. It showcases eco-friendly consumer products, designers and manufacturers and has an extensive source section in the back with a good glossary of terms.

By Design: Why There Are No Locks on the Bathroom Doors in the Hotel Louis XIV, and Other Object Lessons
By Ralph Caplan

This is a classic (though sadly out of print), along the lines of Don Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things. This book is a pleasure to read and looks at the possibilities for design and explains how design actually gets done. Every design student should read this because it talks about design as a universal discipline.

Beyond Civilization: Humanity’s Next Great Adventure
By Daniel Quinn

If you hold with the opinion that designers have a responsibility to better understand how the world works because we design the messages, artifacts and interactions that help comprise the world, then this is a good book to read. Quinn does nothing less than propose a new world view which challenges the entire way in which our civilization works. I believe there are a multitude of lessons in it for designers.

How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built
By Stewart Brand

Brand looks at how buildings evolve and adapt over time long after their primary design/function has become obsolete. Although he focuses this study on architecture, it can be applied to many other “designed” artifacts and processes.

Doug Powell: Schwartz Powell Design

The Basic Elements of Typographic Style
By Robert Bringhurst

This has become the authoritative source for book typography but it contains valuable information for designers working in any genre of the craft. Bringhurst is a poet and writer who lends a unique outsider’s perspective to this topic. It’s a terrific read—filled with great historical tidbits and anecdotes.

Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works (Second Edition)
By Erik Spiekermann, E. M. Ginger

The counterpoint to the Bringhurst book, Stop Stealing Sheep is light-hearted, clever and extremely informative. Broken into short, easily digestible chapters, this book is a great primer for both designers and ordinary folks interested in type.

A History of Graphic Design
By Philip B. Meggs

The single most complete source of historical information on graphic design from Gutenberg to Greiman (and beyond), this is an absolute must for every designer’s bookshelf.

Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design (1–4)
Edited by Michael Bierut, William Drenttel, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller, DK Holland, Rick Poynor

I find these volumes to be a wonderful companion to the Meggs text. Filled with an ecclectic and thoughtful blend of commentary, the Looking Closer essay collections never fail to provoke thought and generate opinion.

The New Typography: A Handbook for Modern Designers
By Jan Tschichold, Ruari McLean (Translator)

Written by a true typographic pioneer during the peak of the Bauhaus era, this groundbreaking book examines modernist typography in a practical and informative way. The McLean translation is the first complete English translation of this book.

Jeff Zwerner: Factor Design

Graphic Design in America, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

This catalog accompanied the 1989 Walker Art Center exhibit of the same name. The catalog provides an insightful and compelling perspective on the rise of graphic design in America from 1829 through 1989 when the show opened. Wonderful essays and brief life chronicles, by the likes of influential designers such as Saul Bass, April Greiman and Matthew Carter among others, lend a wonderful contemporary context to the historical overview.

Lester Beall: Trailblazer of American Graphic Design
By R. Roger Remington

As a student I wish I had spent more time understanding the world that surrounds graphic design and how I might some day fit into it. The life story of Lester Beall excited and inspired me when I first read it years after graduating. As I began my own design business, I found his ideas and the remarks of the colleagues who worked for him to reinforce my ideal concept of maintaining a small tight-knit studio working on diverse, high-quality assignments.

Paul Rand
By Steven Heller

The work speaks for itself, but again, the real value in this book lies in the text provided by Steven Heller. It details the many facets of Rand’s work and peers inside his personal development as a designer and his later rise to corporate identity visionary. Most interesting are the case studies of the work Rand produced for companies such as IBM and Westinghouse.

Any of the numerous works on Charles and Ray Eames

Charles and Ray Eames were design. They embodied it in every aspect of their personal and professional lives which were one and the same. Having worked with a designer who had one of her first jobs working in the Eames studio, I count myself fortunate to have heard some of the first-hand experiences they shared with their colleagues. As a student, I had an opportunity to visit their original office in Venice, California.

Publisher
AIGA Transitions is published once a month, September through May, nine times a year by AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts), 164 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, www.aiga.org. The executive editors are AIGA national board members Terry Irwin and Petrula Vrontikis. AIGA Transitions is a benefit of student membership and is not available to nonmembers. AIGA seeks articles for this publication from knowledgeable, respected and experienced authors whose opinions are deemed relevant to the student and educator community. The opinions expressed by the authors are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or judgment of AIGA; further, they represent only one point of view and are not intended to be an exhaustive treatment. For further discussion of the issues with your colleagues and peers, please visit the AIGA Design Forum at www.aiga.org.