In this class, you will learn how to design and produce a complete set of materials, including a print portfolio, necessary to promote yourself as a professional graphic designer. This class will meet for ten sessions, and students will be expected to work on design projects outside of class.

Objectives

1. Students will design and produce FIVE self-promotional pieces.
2. Students will develop and refine their portfolios.
3. Instruct students on how to see their work objectively and assess its impact on their target audience.
4. Students will participate in group critiques, so that they will gain an objective understanding of the relative impact of their self-promotional efforts.
5. Students will develop or enhance their ability to find new business opportunities through social media and networking.

Projects

1. Holiday Mailer
2. Set up social networking pages
3. Leave-behind
   
4. Eblast or eNewsletter
   
5. PDF Sampler
   
6. Business Card or Thank-you note
   
7. Portfolio Workshop

This class is designed to accommodate students with a range of design experience and pre-existing self-promotional materials. Substitutions of certain projects may be made at the instructor’s discretion.

Students should have a thorough understanding of graphic design, and of Adobe Creative Suite. Knowledge of HTML/Dreamweaver is helpful, but not required.

Session 1

Introduction

• What are the components of a comprehensive package of self-promotional materials?
  
• Understanding your target market and how to speak to them.
  
• Keeping production methods practical and economical.

Assignment: Bring In Your Work

• Bring in three examples of your work, or any existing self-promotional materials you may have. These may include a business card, letterhead, envelope, printouts from your website, etc.
  

Assignment: Inspirational Materials Collection

• Start a collection of inspirational materials, noting in particular the way in which they each piece was produced. These can include printed ephemera, such as postcards, matchbooks, business cards, books, brochures catalogs, flyers, etc. These may also be samples of materials you would be interested in working with or find inspiring, such as a paper, plastic, fabric, etc.
• Bring at least 5 examples to class next week. No more than one of these may be downloaded from the internet.
  

Session 2

Design and Production Resources

• Design issues and considerations in an effective Holiday promotional piece
  
• Production Resources: Finding the right methods and materials for producing your project

Assignment: Holiday Mailing Piece

• Design comps for two distinctly different Holiday mailing pieces.
• Bring in printouts of each idea for review in class, as well as sample materials, if applicable.
• Be prepared to discuss how your project will be produced and mailed.
• Review students’ existing work
• Review inspirational materials.

Session 3

Networking, Social Media, and Finding Community

• Identifying and researching your ideal client.
  
• Professional organizations for your industry and your clients’.
  
• Networking events, social media sites and design blogs.

• Presentation and critique of holiday mailer comps

Assignment: Holiday Mailing Piece

• Holiday Mailer: Final Design

Assignment: Networking Research

• Prepare an informal report on the following: Identify your target market/ideal client. Identify at least 2 professional organizations you are interested in. Find 3 networking events to attend within the next 4 weeks
• Set up pages on social networking sites.

Session 4

Identity Clinic

• Design issues, considerations and examples of effective identities, business cards and thank-you cards
• Strategies for using social media

• Review final holiday mailer design; printed piece is due on the last class
  
• Review results of networking research

Assignment: Thank-You Card

• Each student has the option of either creating a thank-you card based on an existing identity, reevaluating and redesigning an existing identity and business card, or designing an identity and business card from scratch. 
• Design two distinctly different ideas for your chosen project.
• Bring in printouts of each idea for review in class, as well as sample materials, if applicable.
• Be prepared to discuss how your project will be produced.

Session 5

Leave-Behinds

• Design issues, considerations and examples of an effective leave-behind
• Review Identity/Thank-you card comps
• Review Identity/Business card comps

Assignment: Leave-Behinds

• Design comps for two distinctly different leave-behinds.
• Bring in printouts of each idea for review in class, as well as sample materials, if applicable.
• Be prepared to discuss how your project will be produced and mailed.

Session 6

Email Blasts and Newsletters

• Content, design issues, considerations and examples of effective email blasts and newsletters
• Production Resources: Outsourcing and DIY options
• Final Identity/thank-you card/business card design; printed piece is due the last week of class
  
• Review leave-behind comps

Assignment: Leave-Behind

• Leave-behind: Final Design.
• Students electing to do a particularly time-intensive leave-behind, such as a mini-portfolio, may take additional time to work on them, but must bring in-progress printouts to class each week.

Assignment: Email Blasts or Newsletters

• Design comps for two distinctly different email blasts or newsletters.
• Bring in printouts of each idea for review in class.
• Be prepared to discuss how your project will be produced and sent.

Session 7

Portfolio Workshop

• Content, design issues, considerations and examples of PDF Samplers
  
• Portfolios
• Review final leave-behind design; printed piece is due the last week of class
  
• Review eblast/newsletter comps

Assignment: Email Blasts or Newsletters

• Eblast/newsletter: Final Design.

Assignment: PDF Samplers

• Design comps for two distinctly different PDF samplers.
• Bring printouts of each idea for review in class

Session 8

Presentation and Critique

• Review final eBlast or newsletter design. A final draft must be emailed to the class during the last week.
• PDF sampler comps
• Portfolio critique
  
• Results of networking

Assignment: PDF Sampler

• PDF sampler: Final Design.
  

Assignment: Portfolio

• Revise portfolio

Session 9

Presentation and Critique

• Final PDF sampler design a final PDF must be emailed to instructor, along with a cover letter during the last week of class
• Portfolio critique

Assignment: Portfolio

• Continue to work on portfolio.

Assignment: Complete All Work

• Printed or live versions of all previous assignments due

Session 10

Presentation

• Presenation of final materials

About the instructor

Carrie Hamilton is designer and founder of Kismet, an independent graphic design studio in New York City. Her work has won awards from the AIGA and The Bookbinders’ Guild of New York, and has been featured in New Vintage Type: Classic Fonts for the Digital Age by Steven Heller and Gail Anderson, Metropolis magazine and in the design blogs Felt & Wire, FaceOut Books, FPO: a Division of UnderConsideration and Swiss Miss. She teaches portfolio design at Parsons the New School for Design.

Special Introductory Price: $650

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