Coolio

As you can imagine, I get a big boatload of portfolios sent to me. If they arrive via email, they may have to sit and wait patiently until I find the time to check them out. Then sometimes, when it turns out to be a cool one, I get bummed I didn't look at it sooner.

Like this one. These are the kind of portfolio websites that make it fun to check out work. Cuz it's not always the funnest thing to do everyday. Usually it is, just not always.

Instant Ad Legend, as the portfolio site is called, is the collective work of Sara Kujundzic and Ruchir Sachdev recent graduates of Miami Ad School, Hamburg. It's such a nice change from what I tend to see in portfolio sites. On the home page, you pick which ad legend you'd like to be: Bill Bernbach, David Ogilvy, Leo Burnett or the ever famous, Bruce Lee and are taken to what appears to be their office. Each are decorated with subtle tribute to the legend (Bill's "I put the B in DDB" poster). Overall, just plain coolio.

Beyond the fact that they have a nice collection of work, my favorite part is the thumbs up, thumbs down and WTF! buttons you can click on for each piece.

Don't feel obligated to go to this extent when creating your portfolio site. Buuuuuut, this is a creative industry and all. And if their website wasn't enough, here is a matching video.

Amazing

This is, by far, the most unique portfolio website I have seen. Ever.

I instantly want to know more about this guy. After all, isn't that the only purpose of a portfolio website?

Finishing Class

Yesterday I heard about a cool class that Miami Ad School offers their seniors. It's called Finishing Class and it takes place their last quarter in school.

Through a partnership with Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Miami Ad School sends students to work at the agency for 3 months. Sounds like a pretty standard internship deal, right? Well, as I was told yesterday by a recent student of this program, it's a bit different. They go into CP+B each day and work on their portfolios. Just their portfolios. All day, every day.

The students come in, are partnered up, and assigned 2 mentors from the agency. The mentors review the students current work, tell them to trash what doesn't work and suggest new products and strategies to concept. The students then do some pieces, review them with their mentors and polish from there. All day, every day. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.

It's like having a personal portfolio coach. Not to mention being immersed in an agency overflowing with great work. The students certainly can help during new business pitches or when someone needs an extra hand, but mostly, it's all about their book. The young woman I spoke to told me every piece currently in her portfolio is a result of this class (which made me wonder what her book looked like before this program). Ultimately, she had a strong book and that's what matters.

Bigger is not better

June means Graduation. I know there are hundreds of about-to-be ad school graduates stressing over their Senior Portfolio Shows right about now. Most likely, they are spending an inordinate amount of time agonizing over what their portfolio cover is going to look like rather than what's inside.

I had an intern last June ask me if I'd review his portfolio a couple of days before his Senior Show. Sure, no problem. He comes back and hands me a 15 pound metal book. I am not exaggerating. He had a piece of metal hand-finished and, although it looked pretty cool, I could not lift it without a struggle. It didn't even fit on my desk without a major disruption of stacks and equipment.

Guys, it's not about the size of your cover. That is not what gets you noticed and, god forbid, what you want to be noticed for should it be obnoxiously obtuse. You could hand me a stack of 8 1/2" x 11" pieces of paper wrapped in tissue for all I care. It's about the work.

I want to be able to look at your work in 3 months or 12 months when an opening comes up. I am sick of looking at the stack of, oh, 200 or so portfolios on the floor of my office. Get a website, make it nice. That's all. And that way I can re-access it from time to time when I am searching for a particular position.

Web links are easy for me to forward to my Creative Directors, easy for me to file away, and keep my office from being the fire hazard that it currently is.