Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Dear jennc_19,

That urge to appear clever? Resist it. It's a false idol.

True story for you: June 10, 1982, Wolverhampton, England, second choice interviews for the visual communication course, for which there were 90 applicants for just ten spots.

Nine young hopefuls, all full of piss and vinegar assemble in one room and lay out their wares: eight fancy portfolios full of highly finished work—and one slightly dented folder full of half finished work, home made sketch books, and sundry items of visual ephemera: mine.

From that day of interviews, with all those finished and fancy portfolios, there was only one person selected for one of those ten spots and you're reading his opinion now.

Bottom line: if the ONE thing your interview committee remembers about you and your application is the cleverness of your package, you're missing the point and wasting your time and that of the interview committee.

Focus on the CONTENT of your application and your work, NOT on the PACKAGING.

If you MUST pay attention to the folder, make it a simple black folder with your name on the front, but your MAIN focus MUST be on the content of your folder, NOT the folder itself, and your main focus must SPECIFICALLY be the strength and quality of your ideas.

I hope this helps you. Good luck.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

Make a website for the application. On the website, show how you already have a strong understanding/passion for the art. In the application itself, refer to the website (make it easy for them to type in the URL).