iPad vs. Portfolio Book
With the recent announcement of Apple’s iPad, the future of print has become even more questioned. Newspapers, books and magazines are all phasing to a digital life where not only extreme costs are reduced, but it can be edited and shared with the world in an instant. Print is a beauty in its own form from touch to glossy glimmer, it will always be around in some form but as even billboards move to the LED spectacular show, print will be less involved in our day-to-day lives.
As a designer, I find that gathering up my creative life in preparation for an interview can be all overwhelming, costly, but yet very exciting. Yesterday, as I was prepping my portfolio book, I thought how adaptive would design firms be to allowing the iPad to be used as a portfolio viewer? The cost and mobility surpasses that of any portfolio book, but the biggest obstacle is size. The screen size of the iPad is only 9.7-inches of full high resolution color, some books can be much larger of that size. The question still lingers in my head, what would design firms think of such a topic?
BQ,
Digital samples are usually what you use to get your foot in the door of a design firm. You hear of a firm looking for a designer, and you send a link to your online portfolio or send samples via PDF.
When it comes to an interview, I suspect most prospective employers would want to see the real thing…not another digital version on your laptop or iPad. Creative Directors, especially those who work in print-focused design firms, will ask for the physical, tangible artifact. I would actually be suspicious of one who didn’t want to feel the paper or inspect the proportions of a stationery, brochure or book design.
When it’s rgb media, present it in rgb. When it’s a physical artifact, it’s better to come to the interview with the real thing (and full size). –JM