#prattsuccess

Reviewed by Britt Gettys

  The main goal of any portfolio isn’t just to display your work in a comprehensive manner, it’s to communicate to prospective employers the value you place on your work as well as showing them who you are as an individual.  As such, No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete 

Portfolio Guide for Photographers and Designers begins by assisting one in figuring out who he or she is as a creative and helping them establish an aesthetic identity.   When it comes to the presentation of your portfolio, plastic is a real faux pas.  For art directors, editors, and other creative professionals, plastic sleeved portfolios are looked upon as the worst of all portfolio styles.  Not only do they lack creativity, but they’re generic, and show a lack of commitment to one’s work.  If you’ve thought about sending one out, stop now, instead pick up No Plastic Sleeves and start constructing the perfect, creative portfolio. Authors Larry Volk and Danielle Currier have created a book that isn’t just a “How To,” but an interactive process.  Both have a background in art education and as such No Plastic Sleeves places an emphasis on how art students, just entering the job market, can go about building and presenting a portfolio of their work that will nail them the job.  In fact, the majority of the book’s high quality examples come from students who’ve proved to find success in their chosen field. After that, No Plastic Sleeves covers:

Branding

Cover Design

Images and Iconography

Composition

Layout

Construction Techniques (Remember no plastic sleeves allowed!)

Building an Online Presence

and Promotional Materials But, if step by step isn’t your style, despair not.  No Plastic Sleeves strays from convention in that one doesn’t have to read it chronologically.  If there’s an aspect of your portfolio you wish to focus on, be it the color pallet or creating an online portfolio to match the physical one, just skip to that section of the book and start reading.     

  Metal Fan Photo Portfolio by Karyne Bond Apart from glossy, high-res, photo examples of successful portfolios and step-by-step tutorials on bookbinding and web creation, No Plastic Sleeves includes interviews with industry professionals on what makes a good portfolio, and disperses inspiring, feel good quotes from notable creatives throughout it’s pages.  The book is designed to get you in the mood to build and create a portfolio that’s a perfect representation of you.    

  For more information on No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete Portfolio Guide for Photographers and Designers, and tips and tricks on building a comprehensive portfolio visit book’s companion blog: No Plastic Sleeves.  

To view this book, and other texts related to career and professional development, visit Pratt’s Center for Career and Professional Development Library, located in East Hall 001 (first floor).  For a full listing of books and resources check out our Online Library Catalogue.   

Reviewed by Britt Gettys November 2012  through January 2013, the The Fish Bowl Gallery played host to a collection of work created by Pratt Institute’s student leaders.  The Student Leader Art Exhibition not only celebrated the work of our student body’s leaders but created a forum for Pratt students to learn about the different leadership roles on campus and what each role entails.   

Fingers Free Flatware by Samantha Nania The opening night of the exhibition saw a turnout of some fifty plus students, mixing and mingling with Pratt’s Resident Advisors, Peer Councilors and Advisors, Greek Life, Orientation Staff, and Student Government Officials, as well as various other leadership representatives.  In an atmosphere of celebration and community, leaders mentored freshman and encouraged upperclassman to participate in student leadership roles, all the while surrounded by an impressive mix of artistic works.

Student Leaders Mingling with Pratt Students

The works themselves spanned a variety of mediums, from sculpture to printmaking, as well as a multitude of forms.  Christina Bull’s Pratt Map, a hand drawn, geometric map of Pratt’s campus, adorned a wall with Tri Vo’s Do Ask Do Tell, a pastel commentary on a gay rights, alongside Britt Gettys’ graphic novel panel, Titanium Screw.  While small alcoves on the adjacent wall showcased Samantha Nania’s Fingers Free Flatware, silverware one can wear as jewelery, Samantha Harvey’s Underwhat?, a pack of flash cards depicting different underwear styles, and Darrly Halickman’s Comfort Zones, three color darkroom prints excerpted from a larger body of work. 

  Diagnostik in Yellow, by Carolyn Osorio 

Underwhat by Samantha Harvey

Printmaking Quilt by Casey Sobel

The edgy, the conceptual, and the traditional all came together for The Student Leader Art Exhibition, an event that did more than showcase artistic expression, it showed the ways in which different types of art can fit together into a whole and bring a community of leaders closer together.

Reviewed by Christina Bull

    The design world is both an unbelievably exciting and scary place to students.  It’s sometimes hard to envision exactly where our skills will take us after graduation. Despite all the technical training and problem solving abilities that Pratt instills in its students, the business aspect of design is a subject far less easily taught.

In Careers by Design: A Business Guide for Graphic Designers, author Roz Goldfarb seeks to inform her audience of all aspects of the design world. Goldfarb begins her guide by defining each area of design: graphic design, advertising, interactive media, industrial design, and environmental design. Through these descriptions, Goldfarb also addresses what practices make a good designer. In addition, as the title suggests, there is significant career emphasis in Careers by Design.

Some applicable topics covered include: ·      How to meet clients needs ·      Design jobs, descriptions, and titles ·      Networking and portfolio submissions ·      Freelancing ·      Accepting or rejecting a job offer ·      Salary variables and negotiation Ambitious designers will benefit from this book. After all, why wait until after graduation to find out everything you can about the field? Take a look at this book and others by visiting the Career Services office library in East Hall 001. We have lots of books and periodicals relating to all majors at Pratt! For a full listing of books and resources check out our online library catalogue.