To my fellow creatives,
I'm Aer. I run content here at Blurb, and I wanted to write to you personally this month because
it feels personal
I got my creative start in 2008, right when the economy was in freefall, armed with a dream and a portfolio of writing samples I'd made up from jobs I didn’t have (yet). Terrifying doesn't quite cover it. But I did it. And every graduation season, I think about all the people doing it right now. Going up against a rough job market and a creative landscape changed inescapably by AI
and the digital world.
Through it all, we’re still passing work across
a table and hoping someone sees us.
That's what this month is about. There's still something really powerful about building a portfolio—choosing the pieces you're proudest of, the ones that show the work you want to do next. It helped me figure out who I am as a creative.
I hope it does the same for you.
Here is what we're digging into this month:
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The guide I wish I'd had: I wrote the ultimate portfolio handbook for anyone starting out or starting over. It’s everything I would have wanted someone to hand me in 2008.
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For students (and the people who teach them): Friend of Blurb Mike Davis helped put together this piece, what are student portfolios?, to answer the question, plus lay out what makes them work and how to build one that lands.
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The portfolio, from Dan Milnor: He’s written and spoken a lot about this. How to build a creative portfolio is a great place to start, and his latest portfolio review is worth your time.
One to watch
I'm mega inspired by Justin Bettman, an LA-based photographer who
makes a
portfolio yearly.
His work is cinematic, conceptual, and built on
real storytelling. On his printed portfolio: "It feels
so rad to see these images living on paper in a world that’s mostly digital. There’s something about holding the work in your hands that makes
it feel more real." That one stuck with me.
Not into portfolios? We've also been writing about
how to get your self-published book into bookstores and
creating photo essays.
Here's to showing your strongest work—and
the courage it takes to pass
it across the table.
Creatively,
Aer Parris
Senior Manager of Content, Blurb
