Design Career Readiness + Portfolio Development

Catalog description

A portfolio showcases your skills and thinking and evokes your personal brand. This course prepares you to seek design internships and a career with confidence. You'll craft a cohesive portfolio—across website, print, and social platforms—that showcases not just what you've made, but how you think. Beyond the portfolio, you'll develop the professional skills that will get you hired: writing emails that get responses, networking without awkwardness, presenting your work compellingly, and navigating interviews with poise. We'll explore different career paths—in-house teams, agencies, freelance practice—so you understand where you might thrive. You'll learn to search strategically for opportunities, evaluating positions for genuine fit and growth potential. And because designers are often their own business managers, you'll gain essential knowledge about contracts, pricing, and professional ethics. This isn't just portfolio polish—it's preparation for professional life as an experience designer. Prerequisite: ART 251 and ART 252 or permission of instructor.