Reflection on Mock interview/ Unit 5 Building an Art & Design Portfolio

How did you feel completing the mock interview?

Confident, knowledgeable, nervous e.c.t

I felt quite confident and I had all my work out in front of me to help me out. I did hesitate a bit but soon got over it.

What were your strengths?

Eye contact, body language, able to answer the questions, knew about your own work?

I think I did good eye contact and body language and I was confident in explaining my work and I spoke in depth.

What were you weaknesses?

Unable to answer the questions, lack of knowledge on course, portfolio, didn’t ask any questions, didn’t elaborate on answers?

I didn’t make an actual paper portfolio but I did show my work & also showed my portfolio on a blog, and I didn’t ask any questions as the end.

How could you improve on your interview techniques?

Research about the course more, know and understand my work more, ect.

I think I could’ve been a bit more prepared and maybe made it more formal and made more eye contact.

Unit 5, Building an Art and Design Portfolio- Evaluation

1. In your opinion what has this unit involved? 
It involved writing and researching tasks and developing our portfolio and blog making skills. 

2. Explain what you have covered within this unit?
We have covered many things including, what makes a good portfolio, what a portfolio can do for you in the art industry and what makes a good interview and CV writing.

3. What particular areas of this unit have helped in preparation for preparing your portfolio? i.e Interview techniques, portfolio presentation, entry requirements e.c.t. 
The "what makes a good portfolio?" task helped me with understanding what people are looking for in a professional portfolio and ways to make it stand out from other people's portfolios'. It also helped me understand what pieces of work should go into a portfolio and that it's always good to put a wide range in it and to show ideas and thought processes. I have also got a better understanding of interview techniques and how to present myself and work in a professional manner. 

4. How has your understanding of preparing a portfolio developed during this unit? 
I had some understanding of what a portfolio was but after this unit, I've learnt what makes a good portfolio and how to present it and lay one out and also that portfolio's can now be presented on the internet in the form of a blog. 

5. How did you feel before the unit, after producing a portfolio and how do you feel now?
I now feel pretty confident in making a portfolio, but because we've mainly focused on the blog's I still don't know that well how to make a traditional portfolio.  

Unit 18- Working With Site Specific Briefs

Here is a design idea for my sculpture. My theme was "animals" and my chosen animal to focus on was lions. 

This is my final sculpture, it took me five weeks to make, It consists of a 3D sculpture and paintings. 

This is another of one of my design ideas, unfortunately it didn't make it into the final design. 

This is some artist research; I researched "Sharon Richardson" she bases her work on lions. 

Corkboard.me

This is my group's thoughts on what makes a good interview.

 https://corkboard.me/WDYEI5wgE5

What Makes A Good Interview?

A good interview should be professional and formal. The candidate should firstly turn up on time, if not they should ring in and tell them they're going to be running late. The candidate should be prepared for the interview ahead of them. Appropriate dress is needed and good hygiene. An art portfolio should be prestented to the interviewer if nesscary. The candidate should wait to be invited in and always shake the interviewers hand as it is polite and shows respect and good manners. The candidate should wait to be asked to sit down. When the candidate is sitting down, they should have good posture and no be slouched in the chair. Good eye contact will show that you're a confident person and the candidate shouldn't cross their arms or legs as body language in an interview is very important. It is said that when you speak to a person 93% is body language and the other 7% is actual words; so correct body language is very important indeed. The candidate should also take notes down in the interview, but they should try not to get too distracted by note taking and listen carefully to the interviewer. The candidate should keep their mind on the flow of the interview and should try and stop their mind wandering, not paying attention is a very bad sign. If by any chance the candidate's phone goes off, they should switch it off and apologize; but their phone's should be switched off before they enter the interview. One question the candidate should never ask in an interview is "How much is the pay?" This question should be avoided at all costs. It makes the candidate sound like they're only in it for the money. The candidate should show a true passion for the job/course.The candidate should speak clearly and have good manners. The candidate should make themselves look good but not to the point where they sound arrogant or self centred. If the interviewer asks you questions like; "Has there been a time where you've had to overcome a challenge?" If the answer is yes, you should justify your answer with a good example. After the interview you should thank the interviewer and shake their hand again and exit politely.       

Portfolio Review

Can you give a brief description of the work you have seen today?
Pieces of work done by graphic students in the college. 

Explain any ideas and thoughts you may have on how the work has been presented. How could you develop this into your own portfolio?
I liked some of the work, they were interesting. I also liked the layout, it looked smart and professional. 

Explain what are the strenghts and weaknesses of the portfolio?
They were presented well but there was no annotations on the work, no labels or titles. 

Other than the final design work, what else was in the portfolio? 
Development pages were shown in the portfolio.

Why are idea sheets important?
It makes your portfolio look more exciting and shows development. 

Why did the tutor say all the work was mounted up onto white card?
It looks clean and crisp and shows you know how to present your work.

How did students presents 3D work in their portfolio?
They took them as flat pieces or took photos of them.

How did students present their drawn work?
They draw it on paper, then scan it onto the computer and then add and edit it on Photoshop.

How did they mount their work?
They are mounted on white card. The work is stuck on using spray mount. it has to be mounted perfectly.

How much do you think an average portfolio costs?
Minimum- £100 (portfolio, printed materials, white card)

Why is it important to be clear about the unit title when explaining the work?
They can see whether you've been successful in meeting the criteria and brief.

Portfolio Review

Today, we recieved a talk from a graphics tutor in college. She showed us students work and told us how to make a successful and professional looking portfolio. We asked her some questions about portfolio's to help us when we make ours. Although we are not graphic students, we can learn from how their work was presented. They had their work mounted on white card and the tutor told us that they were stuck down precisely and all the measurments had to be perfect otherwise the work would not be accepted.