1. Embrace the screen
Ever thought about how your lovely poster would appear as a web–banner, or how your brochure would work as a website? Do it now, quickly. The project doesn’t need to work functionally (agencies have people who will do that). But it’s your job to grab attention, communicate and make it look good.
At the same time, you should forget letterpress posters and pretty handmade books. Leave them on your Granny’s shelf. She will love them; most clients don’t.
2. Find real projects
Find a few freelance jobs, no matter how small. Do your best to get some experience working for a client.
Don’t just dive in to designing. Begin by trying to understand what the client wants. Get under their skin and try to see the world from their perspective.
3. Be ruthless
We recommend just four projects in a portfolio. Ideally this would be:
2 college projects
1 real project that had a client (or a ‘sort of’ client)
1 personal project
When showing a project, include a synopsis of the brief. Then show your working process for at least one of them before presenting the final design.
4. Read
Of all the great books, we’d recommend Shaughnessy’s ‘How to be a Graphic Designer…‘ It’s full of great material.