Starting out: Kristin's career diary, part 3

Career World, Nov-Dec, 2004

It's been a few weeks since my first job interview. Although no one offered me a job, this experience was a steppingstone in my hunt for my first design job.

Now my attention is on finishing my portfolio. I want to show my talents as a thinker, a researcher, an artist, and a good designer. To do this, I chose 10 projects that I felt best showed my skills. A design firm will want to see the process I used in each project, because employers want to see how potential hires think and create. They also want to see original and well-crafted designs.

One of my portfolio projects focused on creating an audiobook for the blind. The Library of Congress issues audio players to visually impaired people, who can then have books on tape sent to them. The idea is a good one, but the player is old and clunky and could be designed better for a person who cannot see well.

In my portfolio, I show how I conducted my research through interviews, documents, and fieldwork to get a good idea of the problem at hand. I show the many sketches and models I made for the different ideas I had for a great audiobook player. Then I show the final concept, including pictures of the final model along with an explanation of how the player works. Finally, I demonstrate how my idea solves the problems that I established early in my research.

Going through the whole story of a project like this is a great way to show my skills as a designer. This is how I approach all the projects that I am working on for my portfolio. When this step is done, I can move on to the next part-sending out my work and contacting companies!

Career World correspondent Kristin Sjo-Gaber graduated from Syracuse University in 2004 with a degree in industrial design. Her column appears in each issue.