The portfolio review is designed to give you—a student about to embark on a career in the design industry—advice, insight, and useful information about how to present yourself and your work. This is your chance to have professional designers look at your portfolio in a no-risk, non-competitive environment. You can practice your interview skills and get honest feedback about your portfolio and resume.

You will receive thoughtful, constructive, one-on-one evaluation of your work by an array of design professionals—art directors, media producers, educators, and hiring managers—from the Baltimore area. Their goal is to help answer your questions and offer completely honest advice about your portfolio based on their creative perspective and experience. While this event is not a job fair, some reviewers may be looking for potential employees or interns. It is a great way to network and become aware of who’s who in the Baltimore design community.

What you should expect?

Every effort will be made to maximize the number of reviewers who will sit with you and discuss your work. Keep in mind that reviewers will be asked to limit their critique time to 15 minutes, so be prepared to present your portfolio and get feedback within this time constraint. Dress appropriately. It is a creative field, but you still want to make sure you look professional.

What you should bring?

Come with 7 to 10 of your best portfolio pieces. These can be in a book, binder, individual sheets, on a laptop or pretty much anyway you think will best display your work. It’s not a fashion show, so there aren’t any awards for the fanciest case or computer, the focus is on your work.

Additionally, it is a smart idea to bring at least 4 copies of your resume with 3 or 4 printouts of your best work attached so interested reviewers can take your information away with them. If you plan on showing interactive or dynamic work, come prepared with a fully charged laptop or other portable device.

Wireless Internet is installed in the space, but we cannot vouch for its reliability or latency, so we advise against relying upon it. Play it safe and have a backup plan. If you have no access to a laptop, we suggest you present your multimedia projects as screen shots mounted on boards.

As always, if you have any questions about the review, don’t hesitate to drop us a line. This is your time to shine, and we want to help!