Take a look at the "Beginning of a Poster Series" for a snapshot of the progress.

And then, I got a bit closer.  Tulle, 3-element palette, and varying photo treatments, PLUS a very cool looking faux-spot varnish when the final is printed.   This project still has a little way to go to completion, but I feel I'm on the right track.

Take a look at the "Beginning of a Poster Series" for a snapshot of the progress.

I'm sick of catching bad stock being used poorly.  I can't deal--it's like adding insult to injury (I'll plan a future rant about cliches).
In a recent hunt round the Web I came across a very familiar bit of stock--I think we all know the multi-colored hands reaching into the circle. Well, AARP did some minor tweaking and gave that vector back some of its pride:



The stylized human form--that we all default to at some point in our career--is the domain of the Noun Project.  This designer used the semantic vector art to create a clever narrative in 3 characters:



Finally, this stock photo is one I've seen before but chose not to touch with a t 10-foot pole. The daring designer grabbed this heinous pic and used it to his advantage; making a poster that cleverly spoke  to his audience :

This is step 3--after reading a dozen donor stories and balling up terrible sketches.

I love Envato!  They just launched PhoteDune Beta, another online resource for stock photography.



If you're unfamiliar with Envato they're an international community of designers and developers that provide stock for graphic, game, and Web designers. Plus a couple blogs for networking and general freelance design.The prices on Envato stock designs are relatively cheap and the products are always high quality.

Browse the sites, then bookmark these pages:

• Tutorials Tuts+ Network
• Freelancer Blog FreelanceSwitch 
• Web design themes themeforest
• Royalty-free stock music AudioJungle
• Web Developers  Code Canyon
• 3D graphics for game design 3DOcean
• 
  

I might be a shop-aholic, so it's taking all my resolve not to buy everything on this list right now.  Thanks Etsy!

For my hair: Chamomile Lavender Shampoo Bar



For my face: Vanilla Mint Lip Balm
For my hands: Sweet P Shea Hand and Body Balm
For my neck: Multi-color snake scarf
For my feet: LaLa Shoes!
For my mod street cred: This gorgeous bag
For the kid in me: This harlequin jester

For a recent grad or someone early in their career as a designer, you may need to rely on your internship, in-class, and freelance experience. Don’t think that work you’ve taken your time to complete doesn’t count; it counts!

First be very familiar with text and terms used in the posted job description. In a DC job description posted today one requirement for the position is “Familiarity with information architecture principles desired; basic understanding of HTML and CSS also desired.”

This means, can you put a site together logically; with important and relevant links in the main and secondary navigations. Also, do you know the basics of building a Web page? The answer to both questions is “Yes!”

So how do you convey to an interviewer that you have this experience? Here goes...

When talking about your internships: Realistically, your experience should cover 90% of the position requirements from the original posting. You could begin like this, “I recently completed an internship with Company Ecks where my primary tasks were to maintain the website and update social media." You follow up with a short description of the actual work, especially coding specific aspects of the job.

When talking about experience through coursework: Even if your experience is limited, begin with an affirmative statement. You want to be sure that you present a well-rounded and skilled designer. “I’ve had several courses in HTML/CSS and have built a few different sites from scratch: from planning and building out the site architecture and wireframes, to creating web graphics, and optimizing photography, and creating text content. With my personal website I took the opportunity to experiment with jQuery and lightbox design in order to increase my coding skills.” You want to be sure that you present a well-rounded and skilled designer.

Finally, when talking about your freelance work: Having a diverse body of work is ideal. Give the employer a brief list of your client projects and highlight items that are relevant to the type of work you’re applying for. I interviewed for an internship my first semester in grad school, the position was for a graphic designer to create posters and signage at a museum—nothing I’d really done before. I told the interviewer about my experience creating identity packages for my (only) 3 freelance clients and then followed up with a synopsis of my relevant college coursework. Apparently my ability to work with hierarchy, typography, and visual balance was enough to get me the position.

Link to more Interview Questions for Graphic Designers.

But there are so many to choose from! Tough…pick 3. The fact is that the interviewer may only ask for one or 2, but you want to have that third one in the chamber, just in case.

Select three traits or attributes that are most beneficial for the position/type of work and give examples.
This is not the time to list your technical skills. They already have that information on your resume.

Instead use this time to talk about you and your work ethos; employers want to know if you:

• have great time management skills (in our field, it’s almost as important as the actual designs you produce)
• thrive in a collaborative environment / or function better with more autonomy
• are flexible and can change gears quickly when necessary
• communicate effectively with others (in print, Web, face-to-face)
• keep your skills up-to-date (through coursework, seminars, webinars, etc)

My personal favorite—and possibly the thing (besides my portfolio) to which I owe my current position –is, “There is always more than one solution to a problem. When faced with a design challenge, I study the problem then come up with a couple equally effective yet visually dissimilar solutions.” The follow up this statement is a short and poignant anecdote about an invitation design that the client wanted. Sorry, I have no pithy subhead for this one.

The important thing to remember here is to be clear on what you want to communicate and keep it brief.

• Job search and the job market
• Interview questions, answers, and tips
• Life of an intern
• Meet Creative Entrepreneurs

Photo Credit: bbaltimore via Compfight cc