As a tool of the trade, a folio can frequently have the ability to make or break opportunities for creatives in the design industry. Just how do you present the perfect Folio? And what with the growing trend of presenting your Folio on a laptop?

As you would expect, the team at Artisan has seen countless folio presentations over the past decade and, as you can imagine, this quantity has given them an insight into what makes a truly great folio and what, sadly, makes an easily forgettable one. Read on to get an insight and check out the top tips from the team at the end of the article.

Lay it out clearly

“A good folio will leave an impression of both what kind of work you have done and what skill has been used to get there”, says Lawrence Akers. “The more memorable folio’s that I’ve seen have included a diverse range of work and an indication of the creative process involved."

Debbie Younger agrees, saying that she looks for a “clean, concise laid out folio that should represent breadth of their skills and style of work.”

Present with confidence

Cristal Cachia pointed out the importance of having your folio organised. “It’s really difficult to speak confidently about your folio when you don’t know what’s in it, or why you put it in there in the first place. You should be able to speak about each piece, your brief and how you pieced it together, whether it was a from an Art Direction, Design, Finished Art or even Account Service point of view.” People should be able to talk through their folios, clearly explaining their involvement in each piece. Additionally, people should be upfront and honest about their involvement in the work and be sure only to take credit for their contribution to the piece. Even if it’s not the best design, but is shows diversity and computer/software skills/print technique – include it.

Michael Broderick mentions "your folio should also show use of software applications and different print outputs – specialist techniques such as die cut for multifold direct mail piece, a representation of a flat piece of finished art for say a can with corrugation, 6, 8, 12 colour process jobs, use of budget to meet client brief." It's more than just being about the design.

Hard copy vs laptop

A growing trend tends to be candidates presenting their folio on their laptops instead of hauling around hard copy. However, this may not always be the best way to present your work. "Nowadays, with folios on laptops, I find a screen grab does not show enough of the design style within a document and you cannot get a good indication of their layout skills", says Debbie.

Target your folio

Target your folio around the type of job that you’re going for. If you’re applying to an agency to assist you, you may want to include a cross section of your work however, if you’re going for a specific job, you might want to prune your folio to be more tailor made to the job description. You won’t get that Corporate Designer role if your folio is full of packaging work and examples of high resolution Photoshop retouching.

We asked the team to give us their top tips on how to create the perfect folio.

Michelle Upton,
Recruitment Consultant - Corporate/Government
1. Make sure you set your folio out clearly.
2. Put in a solid 10 pieces that you feel best represent your career to date. Always include good type jobs, long or short copy – highlight your understanding of presenting good type!
3. Make your folio specific to the role you're applying for.
4. Understand your folio so you can talk it through thoroughly and answer all questions about it.
5. If you have annual report or brochure work, bring along some examples.

Elke Braithwate,
Resource Coordinator - Advertising
1. Only put the work in that is relevant and represents the kind of stuff you’d like to do.
2. Make it flow – make sure you can speak about each piece in your folio without it seeming disjointed and out of place.
3. Put in work that you can speak positively about.
4. Put a variety of pieces in – show your flexibility and you will be more likely to get a job.
5. Be realistic about your level of skill. If you have not had a lot of industry experience then you might have to take a role that is less conceptual to begin with.

Cristal Cachia,
Recruitment Consultant - Advertising
1. Think about the roles you are applying for and keep it relevant.
2. Note what the contribution to your piece was.
3. Speak confidentially about your pieces.
4. Presentation - have something tangible for people to flick through.
5. Make sure you have an electronic version as well as a hard copy and make it interesting - your folio is a reflection of your ability.

Debbie Younger,
Account Manager - Design
1. Have it organised and know what pieces are in there.
2. Have pieces that you can tell a story about.
3. Only have the work you are proud of and passionate about because it shows if you don’t.
4. Be confident about your work.

Mathew Hehir,
Recruitment Consultant - Design
1. Group similar types of work together, all of corporate style documents, the packaging pieces, stand alone ads, campaign roll outs . . .
2. Prepare a soft copy ready to be emailed
3. If presenting retouched images, include a before and after.
4. Keep personal details on a separate page; they don’t need to be on every page.

Lawrence Akers,
Business Manager
1. When putting together a folio, assume the person looking at it knows nothing and have guides to explain what your involvement was with the work. Too often I see great work however I have no idea whether the person designed it or did Finished Art on it.
2. Be prepared to talk fluently about your work. However, also be weary of talking too much. It's wonderful that people are passionate however be aware that people won't want to spend two hours looking over your folio.
3. Put in your creative process. I love seeing the initial sketches of a logo to highlight the creative process as well as seeing the finished, refined brand mark. Likewise with before and after Photoshop work.
4. Your folio isn't just about design; it's about skill and your developing craft. They might be churn 'n burn press ads to you however they say a lot about your ability to work in that kind of environment.
5. Be proud of your folio and be passionate about it. The most interesting folio presentations i've seen are from those who truly love what they do and enjoy the opportunity to talk through their work.

Of course, the world of web may have some transferable tips when it comes to presenting their work however, next week, New Media Recruitment Consultant Edwin Cornelissen talks about what he looks for in a digital folio. Following that, we'll also look at how to create a electronic E-Folio that has impact.

Interested in sharing your own Folio experiences? Then send them through to Lawrence and we’ll run a follow up article in a few weeks time.