Week 5

Designing a Digital Portfolio, Ch. 5
Cynthia Baron makes a rather interesting point at the beginning of this chapter, and that is, there are components of the design workflow that on the surface have nothing to do with design; in this case, it is file organization. I’ve notices throughout my years as an IDD student that many student-designers, though capable of putting together a decent design, seem to lack so many essential skills outside of design.

The end of file collection marks the beginning of file organization, and Baron provides a nifty, linear process of getting your files ready. The process touches upon five essential components; namely, group, name, show, weed, and backup. Although this process isn’t quite as rigorous as the scientific method, its relieving for me to observe some sort of systematic thinking in design. A large proportion of amateur designers are left-grain challenged.

I’ll certainly be following Baron’s steps as I create my digital portfolio. She also makes a good point on page 84, as she explains that student work often gets thrown around a lot, and as a result may be difficult to track down. This is so true, and I think the best defense is a good offence, so I’ll likely be keeping my files neatly organized to begin with.



How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul, Ch. 9 and App.
Chapter 9 touched upon a very creative concept; the “McGuffin.” Shaughnessy speaks of this muse-like entity in a very inspiring fashion, as he describes it as “the magic component in all briefs that you have to find to explain them.” What made his explanation even more superb was that he didn’t provide the reader with some royal-road to obtaining the McGuffin, which suggests that you find it by stumbling upon it; and that’s where the magic happens. Shaughnessy goes on to suggests that briefs shouldn’t be viewed as entirely static, and that our intuition (along with research) may become a tool for manipulating briefs toward a more productive goal.