Why A Great Design Portfolio is Not Enough
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ค. 2024
- While a portfolio is incredibly important, there are many other things that are just as important when it comes to landing your first job. This particular video focuses on job hunt advice for industrial designers. Special thanks to Brad Harper of Design Truth for giving us his advice.
Check out Brad Harper's Design Truth Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...
Check out Brad Harper's Design Truth TH-cam channel: / @designtruth
Enroll in my online industrial design course, Form Fundamentals: bit.ly/3EYVU3X Learn visual storytelling, design language, and form. Make a killer portfolio and land your dream job: bit.ly/335vsqO
Skip around to various parts of the video if you're trying to learn something specific:
0:00-1:45 Introduction
1:45-6:04 Mindset
6:05-14:34 Portfolio is not enough
14:35-18:11 Networking/Referrals
18:12-20:56 Importance of Humility
20:57-25:23 Be Creative With the Hunt
Join the Design Theory Discord chat and get input/feedback on your portfolio: / discord
Andrew Edge on Instagram: / andrewedge_
Six Things Industrial Design Grads Need to Know: • 6 Things Industrial De...
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John Mauriello has been working professionally as an industrial designer since 2010. He is an Adjunct Professor of industrial design at California College of the Arts.
it's terrifying how a period of continuous misfortune can make you feel like there's something wrong with you and ruin your career. This is great advice.
Take comfort in the unyielding randomness of the universe.
I am having that period.
At this point I am convinced what I need to do is to wipe completely what I've been doing in the past 6 years and start fresh.
This is just me
@@valensi1988 start fresh with design or something completely different?
I felt the same because i got a few bad experiences that were pretty bad and feel like i'm not good enough since. This video helps alot eh? :)
"I'm going to move to the woods und become a carpenter". Same feeling some times :)
We've all been there. :)
Great video John - lots of super tips and sound info to bolster the hairball process of becoming a hired designer.
Most, not all, but a great deal of hiring is done on the basis of protection, not risk. Most companies want to sustain their success, not challenge it, so the interviewer is often looking for someone just like them or others in the company in order to protect the tribe.
Your portfolio should confirm your ability to work within genuine contexts with hints of risk. The way you tell the story about how you manage your creative risks is very important to practice, refine, and adjust as you "read" your interviewer. Be ready to improvise based on how your interviewer is reacting in real time to the riskier projects in your folio. The words you speak will be of equal if not more importance that the images you share of your work.
Don't let a "job" define you. Most of the greatest innovators in the world had no traditional job or if they did, it was only for a brief part of their professional career. Chose where you want to live, live with the work that inspires you (paid or not), and inspire yourself and others with your unique and magical offerings to our world.
Einstein worked as a patent clerk. No one would hire him. He finally got a job at the University of Zurich, I believe....but it took TWO YEARS after he wrote some of the most revolutionary physics papers of the 20th century (theory of relativity among them) What more proof do you need that ability is not defined by job title?
@@Design.Theory Exactly. Just imagine Raymond Loewy applying for a job in Industrial Design when it was barely even a profession when he was in his 20s. You don't need a profession to validate your professionalism. Do great work, lead with integrity, share with others.
I will rewatch it everytime I have a breakdown in my job searching process. This is really important to hear sometime.
Also, would like to know more detailed story about how you and your friends started your own eyewear company!
Firstly I want to thank you for keeping going with this channel, so I had a chance to watch your videos. I am a sophomore industrial design student, and I was discouraged by my teacher's attitude towards his students. Your video is not only taught I need more than a great portfolio but also what kind of a mindset a designer should have. I hope your videos reach more students and enlighten their ways.
Thank you for watching...and thank you for leaving such a nice comment. This is the stuff that keeps me going :)
This really struck a chord with me. I’m a mechanical engineer from University of Toronto (class of 2015) and trying to get into the industrial design world. I’ve heavily focused on my portfolio for the past few months, but it is difficult since I have no industrial design experience (neither school nor work). I think my portfolio is finally at a state of getting me a job (I hope), but I haven’t had a chance to connect with anyone in the industry.
I realize that those industry connections are so important and valuable, and unfortunately something that I have neglected. I will ensure that I make this my focus for the next few months to see if I can get any traction.
Thank you for great advice and words of encouragement John! It means a lot, especially during these tough times.
David
Hi Gosine, I don't have much to say other than what I mentioned in my video. Just keep pushing forward. Refine your portfolio, and reach out to hiring managers.
John, thank you so much. This video put so much into perspective for me. I graduated as an industrial designer in May of 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. I didn't have job for five straight months after that. And when I finally got a job, it lasted for 7 months thanks to downsizing. I was frankly lost over these last few months. I have to return to my home country of India from the US since the job didn't work out and lack of a work visa. I was distraught and deeply upset. The why part of why I'm an industrial designer as you mentioned is essential to get back my bearings and start creating again. The deep curiosity that got me here in the first place, I just need to continue that. Thank you so much.
Thanks for watching Darshan, I appreciate your kind words. I relate to your struggles. Everyone has them. It's not necessarily a reflection on you or your skills. I'm not saying that you shouldn't strive to be the best or that you don't have shortcomings in your design work (we all do)... But in the midst of a pandemic, sometimes things are out of your control
Great video as always! Agree on all points, for me the two ideas that have hit home
1. Getting a job is a numbers game, you have to apply to every possible thing you can, like you said 50 linkedin messages or 100 job applications or more. I've seen too many people apply to their top 10 jobs, and then just give up when they dont get a response.
2. I've always seen networking as just making friends, framing it as a friendship makes it much easier to do in my mind.
It is definitely a numbers game. However, I would advise against applying through job portals. I guess it's fairly low effort, but I've found it to be ineffective. I've had more success with making genuine connections with others. Lots of them.
just like fkn 😬
It's honestly really inspiring and freeing to hear someone with experience seeing this stuff. I'm a STEM student but I also spend a lot of time designing stuff for the love of it, sketching and doing 3D work. I'd like to combine my two focuses in the future and I think this independent approach is the way to go. Thank you!
This is some of the greatest advice I've ever seen on the internet. Needed this a few years ago.
Thank you for the awesome video!
It sounded like you were speaking from the heart, hard to find content like that now a days
I watched many of your videos and I always find them very interesting. However this video has something more, it is also profoundly encouraging! I just graduated in product design last June and I really appreciated to listen to your personal experiences, thanks for sharing!
I really appreciate all the efforts you’re taking to keep the facts straight while making a strong industrial design community.
Thank you for the words of encouragement. Really makes me want to pursue industrial design.
thank you so much for sharing, beautiful great and truthful advice.
Solid comments all in all. Thanks! I particularly appreciated the bit about being overly confident, and how that can be threatening. Interviews are incredibly dynamic situations, we should be looking for those cues (amongst others) and adapting in real-time, with authenticity.
Well said! I'm going to continue another series of videos related to this.
I’m so exhausted, it’s been a year since I graduated and it’s just been fucking awful, interview after interview, redoing my portfolio dozens of times, like it’s all so fucking annoying I don’t know what else to do I’m so close to giving up industrial design
You have to do what's best for you in the end. If you want to join our discord, you can ask questions and get advice on your job hunt strategy/approach.
Really enjoyed watching this video, some great advice for upcoming designers as well as designers who are trying to enter the field of design.
Awesome video John, super helpful and inspiring! And I really appreciate how you gave us such personal insights to your design journey. 👊
My pleasure! It's been a weird journey.
John, the video is just great. Thanks for sharing. And your approach is genuinely heartwarming :)
Thank you so much for the tips and advice but the video in itself is also motivational.
I also shared it with my software engineer brother
the situation i find myself in rightnow comes shockingly close to what you decribed in parts of this video. You help industrial designers like me a lot by just sharing this information, thank you very much for giving hope!
Glad it was helpful :)
what a discovery, you are a very inspiring person.
personally, I have just finished my second year in my 3D graphics school, I am doing well, and I have just left it to be able to concentrate on my professional life, your video has just given me good motivation, keep the good work
I'm a photographer and every single word you say makes sense when I contextualise for my own craft. thanks my guy!!
Yes, this could easily apply to any creative endeavor. Thanks for checking it out!
Awesome video as usual. On point. Waiting for the nxt one...
More to come!
great career advice John!
Extremely insightful video John! It's hard to not take the rejection personally especially early on, but all the points you made helped me understand all the different factors other than your portfolio that can lead to the rejection, valuable information to think about before the next interview!
Glad it was helpful!
Hello, i wanted to thank you. I'm a 40 years old graphic designer, illustrator. For some reason around 2017 things changed in the field, and I am very lost, confused since. The value of the work changed, the way people network also. Some things that used to take weeks are now done in 1, 2 hours, and I was not able or interested to adapt. I have been looking for way sand motivation to keep doing what I love without all that frustration. Your human approach and also bold statements help me not feel so lost and give me hope.
Great video as always John also glad to be a member of the discord :)
Welcome aboard! Thanks for checking out the vid :)
Thanks for having us, John!
Any time! My pleasure :)
This is one of the most inspirational videos for our field thank you.
Wow, thank you!
yes to it is wise to encourage young designers to listen.
That is an amazing talk. I haven't finishes my school yet and I am already thinking about running away and becoming a carpenter haha. Thank you for your work on yt, you bring me back hope and motivation in times of need.
You can do it! You can run to the woods and become a carpenter, nothing wrong with that. But make sure it's what you really want to do and it's not done out of fear :)
Thank you so much 😊
Such a helpful video! Thanks John!
My pleasure Jip!
From graduating in Product Design to going into the interior fit-out industry as a workplace designer for three and a half years, I've decided to switch back to Product Design with pretty much 0 experience in the industry.... here goes nothing xD
Thanks for the video, helped me a lot!
Follow your dreams ;)
I love your channel by the way and came across this channel whenever I have least expected it like a jump scare
Thank you very much for teaching me about marketing
Thank you for making this video. Really liked everything you said 👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
In one of our classes, we were sharing about our portfolios and how else we can improve. i realised that i am not an industrial designer designer, but more of a thinking designer. where i design questions and facilitate the innovation process. i realised that that is my strength. therefore when I'm job hunting i know what to look for and what not to apply to. so i tailored my portfolio towards that. and i got a job within 2 months of graduating!
I think design students need to know what other career possibilities are out there, what kind of role will they play as a designer, who/what industry needs a designer.
btw, i love your content! its meaningful!
Thanks for watching, Sari. I'm glad that you've found your niche, and I'm so happy that you've found a job! Congratulations :)
Your videos are very valuable. Keep making. Thank you.
Thank you, I will!
Do you have a podcast series, if you do I would love to know. I’m a first year industrial design student and I’m finding you content incredibly useful in my projects! So thanks for the videos
Appreciate, Bro ！
The first five secs of this video made my day, thanks man
Thank you very much for this video... It's really helpful and boosted my confidence... Love your content.
Thanks for checking out the channel!
@@Design.Theory wow you replied thank you 😅❤️
Love the content, thank you so much for making this 😍😁
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Thank you John!
Thanks for checking it out :)
i really like the last section, things that i needed to hear :D
Thanks for checking it out Nicolás :)
great video my dude! definitely needed to hear the very first part the most.
thanks for this and also i like ya cut, g! 💇🏻
Appreciate that. The haircut was way overdue lol
I love the forests in winter and I love technology so I could combine the two in concept design wise
Is color coding by the way cultural appropriation
Thank you!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching, Szymon
Appreciable content, Really admirable...
Thank you!!!
I really appreciate this video! Found it on the ID subreddit 🤙🏽
Welcome aboard!
What's the subreddit?
Thanks for the video! currently trying to get a job in a new country during a pandemic - a tough time for sure!
You can do it!
Bro thank you to much! Just in the moment that I wanted to quit! I am an automotive designer and I lost 7 years because of my lack of networking and my skills were not the best. Now I am eager to recover my lost time and improve my sketching skills to show to the world how good I can become. New subscriber and God bless you.
Don't give up :) unless your passion is to run away to the woods and be a carpenter :) There's nothing wrong with choosing another profession if you don't think the effort is worth it. But YOU are the one who decides when that point is.
@@Design.Theory Thank you for your words and I would like to share my work to you and open a TH-cam channel talking about this stuff and thank you publicly. You opened my eyes and my design love is not finished!
Hey all, if you want feedback on how to improve your portfolio, or you just need general job advice, go check out my Discord: discord.gg/hFw55nh . It's basically a chat room where over 300 designers give each other feedback and advice. I'm in there all the time!
Moro em uma cidade no interior do Brasil e os teus vídeos tem me inspirado muito
Perfect time for this video. I'm about to graduate in 2 months and starting to look into careers and such
Thanks for checking out the vid, I'm glad you liked it :)
And did it work out?
Thanks for making this, I recently graduated and all the rejection is definitely getting to me
You got this!
Tbh i don't know how it is in other fields but i am a product designer specialized on Glass (wine glasses, bar ware and so on).
Your example with the gaming chairs got me thinking... In my field such a far deviation from the norm or the briefing would certainly lead to failure.
I have tried very often to think outside the box but what was accepted 95% of the time are the more "traditional" or "conventional" designs.
Pretty much. Ironically, that guy actually won the competition, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the judges may have seen this video and it influenced their decision. Maybe that's arrogance on my part, to think that I could influence the judges that way (or that they'd even see the video), but that decision came so far out of left field for me. Either way, I gotta hand it to the judges
Kiitos!
Hey John! Thank you for making these videos they are so helpful! I asked you a question on your last video and I’m not sure you saw it. I study human factors engineering and I am wondering where you think the intersection is between industrial design and human factors engineering? I feel like I’m a UX generalist but am not sure how to best pitch myself to jobs as a designer. A second question is I have been doing a lot of medical device work but am wondering how I could also explore other avenues when most of my experience is in one field. Thanks!
so, I have a bias. But I feel like ergonomics/HF and industrial design are very much intertwined. Most of the projects I've done throughout my career have been focused on ergonomics and comfort, so that's why I feel like they are inextricably linked. The best way to pitch yourself is to get an understanding of basic design principles (this channel is a good place to start) and how that relates to ergonomics. If you want to explore other fields, start a personal project and start exploring! I hope that helps. :)
i think i like cool designs!
Industrial designers have balls of steel. Normies with 9-5 just don’t realize what it’s like to have to shit out a masterpiece to put food on the table.
I was laid off, and now I'm currently between jobs. I love my career when I have a job and I absolutely abhor it when I'm looking for work.
Хорошая информация! спасибо!
now i think i know why the first object i went to in my life was the remote hahah
Wow great video!!! I’m at the starting point of a designer life because I want to do more than just be an engineer (no offense!). I get great value out of your content and I look forward to joining your discord :)
You can do it!
Hey John! You share such great information with us. I think I'd like to share something with you. A book by Rod Judkins named The Art of Creativity. I don't know if you know about this but it is a great book. It's full of stories from fields of businesses, design, art, medicine etc where people have broken the mould and just owned the place with their creativity. It's worth a read.
Thanks for sharing! I'll check it out :)
I love your channel and am learning a lot. Your resemblance to Adriano Celentano is quite distracting, though. A good problem to have.
🤣
I was thinking about that the industry people do feel unprotected and I think that's not good for the community
Agree! Thanks for sharing your perspective.
19:45 I can feel this in my bones.
I have seen my classmates, friends and even teachers see me as a threat and have tried bringing me down and eventually destroy confidence from designing. But only after working with like minded people i got to know that my work is really good and i was actually scaring people of how many skills i possess. that sounds so bizzare but it is kinda truth of this industry nowadays.
instead of getting inspiration they compete.
Sir Can you please suggest some courses in USA, Which has combine course like industrial design and engineering or industrial designing and UX.
I'm not suer of one that exists. I'm going to be offering an industrial design course soon. It will be pretty affordable so you could probably just take one course from me and one from someone else.
@@Design.Theory sounds cool... just let me know...And Sir is it good to do masters in Human factors engineering...as it can teach you ergonomics, product and interface connection with people
i have a id and a graphic degree i am either overqualified for beginner positions (as they said to me) especially for graphic design work, they mention they can get someone with less education for cheaper bullsh... sorry I am very frustrated despite loving designing so much but I guess economy isn't open to hire non essential workers like designers
Just keep doing what you love. If you want to be a designer, something will pan out. Believe me, I understand your frustration.
You are brilliant! Thanks for your videos
Wish you million subscribers)
Thank you so much 😀
It would be nice to just be able to have the job right out of college instead of being stuck at a deadend retail job it honestly feels like i wasted time with school...
I know. It's tough. One thing to remember is that your education is valuable. It may be hard to see it now, but even the discipline it took to graduate still taught you many valuable things that you can take into different parts of your life.
What if you’re like me and don’t have any formal education as an industrial designer but have worked on large projects. I’ve been told I’m unconventional.
can we apply for an internship or job without having a degree in product design.!?
Absolutely. Getting an internship is another story though. I have a whole job hunt playlist. watch some of that
haha literally thought Steve Carell was talking
In a Turkey, Portfolio is not important. . "connections" is only important thing.
Please subtitles on your videos would be so perfect, because it would be reachable for more people in other languages through automatic translation.
Nice haircut, John
Thanks. Way over due.
@@Design.Theory My last haircut was 5 years ago lol
@@reitencheng4878 post pics on the discord. if you dont want to show your face just cover it with all that hair
Enroll in my online industrial design course, Form Fundamentals: bit.ly/335vsqO Learn visual storytelling, design language, and form. Make a killer portfolio and land your dream job: bit.ly/335vsqO
So what I'm hearing is that I should move to the woods and become a carpenter
Yeah
@@Design.Theory noted
Ok but how you just start a business? When you’re broke as hell, how are you supposed to just start a business out of thin air? Also I’m not from the states especially annoyed when people tell me to start a business bc it’s not that easy to just do that with no money, no generational wealth and being a woman of color doesn’t help either with being taken seriously. I’m sorry but that advice pissed me off but it’s not personal to you, I’m just saying it’s not that simple for most of us.
You just do it. It ultimately boils down to conviction and luck. I'm sorry that you're struggling. TH-cam comments are a terrible medium to discuss this kind of stuff, but if you want to join the discord chat you can ask these questions and I can give a more in depth answer. I'm not trying to avoid or dismiss your question. It's just that it's a very nuanced and complicated one that deserves a discussion rather than a two-sentence back and forth.
I am fucking angry that apple didnt do airplay with the airpods max
No the degree is not valuable, usually it's even a waste of time, the paid work you did is the real value
A good degree is one of the easiest ways to acquire paid work though
Being a psychopath is elementary for succeeding in corporate world, mainly industry.
on my way to conquer the global market then...
Nothing is unique. I don't care in what domain you're in. Nothing is Unique. out of 100000 you will find only 1 that kind of looks UNIQUE. We have to stop using this term because nothing is unique.
Thanks for your unique perspective