Response: Online Portfolio Critiques

On Tuesday, I showed my online portfolio website to the class. I got some really good feedback with it. For one, I am working on looking for a new layout. I just don't think that I picked the best possible layout for the work I had to present. I've already started looking for new layouts. I also need to go bad and put a stroke around my pages. The pages that are white just bleed off the page and into the background, which does not highlight the use of white space on the pages. I also want to play with text. I tried messing with it a bit, but I want to get my layout set before I edit any coding. Overall, I think sharing my portfolio was a good experience. I got a lot of feedback that I would not have even thought about on my own. Since I'm so familiar with my work, it's nice to get a pair of fresh eyes to look at it and give me their opinions. If you want to check my site out again feel free! (It will probably be changing around quite a bit in the next week, so keep checking to watch it evolve!)

Response: Portfolio review

The week before break we had a portfolio reviews. It was pretty interesting. I was a little nervous going into the reviews because I didn't know what to expect. Overall, I think that the review went well. I definitely need to do more work with illustrations and photoshop. I also want to redo my Spring Preview cover.
I think that I'm in good shape for consumer magazines which is what I want to work in when I graduate. Overall this is how portfolio reviews made me feel:

Response: In class critique

This week we looked at one another's work to give feedback. I received feedback that was pretty much what I expected. Nothing too spectacular (I'm still learning after all) but still marks above just a standard "good."
One comment that many designers had about my portfolio was that a lot of the pieces seemed very clean, but at the same time very safe. I do agree that I need to push my boundaries a little more, especially with typography. I want to start branching out and exploring what more I can do with page layouts. But at the same time I was glad to hear these comments that my work was simple (while still impactful).
My current dream jobs are at a magazine like Real Simple or Martha Stewart Living. In these magazine the goal is to be simple, yet with an impact. I mean let's face it, that's pretty much the whole reason behind the magazine Real Simple's title.
So while I do agree that I need to touch up some work and play with bigger, bolder choices, I'm glad to see I'm at least on the right track for these kinds of magazines.