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For you new readers, The Ad Grad Project is my annual "gift" of advice to the new crop of graduates trying to find their way in the ad world. For the Ad Grad Project 2011, I asked various creative directors questions to help you build a better book:

What's the one thing you look for in a portfolio and what's the one thing you don't want to see?

"What I always look for in a portfolio:
1. I want to see that they care about ideas.
2. Good communication. It seems like a basic thing, but any idea should be well communicated visually and with words.
3. Art directors, I don't want to see the same style over and over. Copywriters, I want to see different styles and different voices for different clients.
4. I want the first 2 campaigns to surprise me and to engage me. If they don't, I don't bother looking at the rest of the work.

The one thing I never want to see is a boring portfolio that doesn't get me excited and doesn't want me to meet the person. It happens a lot."

- Diana Samper, VP Creative Director, The Marketing Store Worldwide


"The most important thing is clever thinking. This is more important than craftsmanship, experience, quantity, and a number of other things graduates typically obsess over. Without clever ideas (definitely need more than one), none of the rest matters.

I never want to see anything that's not adding to my sense of a candidate's creative problem-solving ability. I call it 'filler,' and there's way too much of it in graduate portfolios.  The presence of filler says to me:
1. I'm underconfident and so I want to show you everything I've ever done.
2. I lack the creative instinct to know what an idea is, so I'm just putting in these designs, flyers, geometric shapes, etc.
3. I don't have enough good stuff, so here's some bad stuff you might like or hopefully not notice.

A graduate is more likely to get an interview with me (and that's the point, isn't it?) with three great pieces than with 10 mixed-bag, kinda mediocre things."

- Oliver Hoffmann, Interactive Creative Director, TMV Group, LLC

"The one thing I look for in a portfolio as an ACD is solutions, meaning 'how did they solve the problem presented.' From the AD side, typography is another thing I look for. Most candidates over-look good typography when designing ads.

And the one thing I don't want to see is, too much of the same thing. I can get the idea of a series with two layouts. No need to show me eight."

- Tony Kause, Associate Creative Director, GlobalHue

 

"The one thing I look for is a surprising creative solution that makes me laugh out loud.

The one thing I never want to see is so much stuff that the candidate 'jumps the shark.' Have the guts to keep your portfolio to your best 10 - 15 pieces. You'd be surprised at how many talented creatives devalue themselves by not showing restraint."

- Anne Moore, Creative Director, Jack Morton Worldwide

 

"(I want) campaign integration and extension of the idea. No boutique clients like tattoo parlors, dog walking services. The set-up is important, so we can track with the work and why it looks and reads and feels the way it does. Keep the book simple, and lean, we get it."

- Jeremiah Treacy , Owner, Mud Worldwide Writer/Creative Director

 

"(Yes), campaign integration with no boutique clients. That's not the real world. Show that you can create ideas for tough clients and work in their existing brand strategy. Anyone can be wild and crazy, but consumer insights are a thing that is valuable to a client and an agency."

- Timothy Cory, VP/ Associate Creative Director at JWT/Y&R Retail First - Team Detroit

 

"Please forget the Coke and Nike class assignment comps. Give me a branding icon with legs."

- Dave Barbush, Brand Strategist, Creative Director, Copywriter at Ameritech Media

(New post added 4/19/11) "There's work I never, ever want to see: the wanted poster, the "history of ...", the psychiatrist's couch. And then there's obvious work; one area I work in is healthcare and some themes appear repeatedly: boxing gloves for "battling" a disease or, windmills or kites in asthma. Charities, perfumes, alcohol — usually superficial. I think the challenge of the newbie is to convince a creative director she or he is ready to step into a staff job tomorrow. So the closer they are to demonstrating that ability right now, the closer they are to getting hired... we're looking for campaigns — not a good line and visual but a central theme that can live through several executions and across all media. Although in a portfolio of a dozen or so pieces, I don't mind seeing a "one off" if it's really, really good."

- David Goldfarb, Principal at Goldfarb Consulting

I think the point is clear: Keep it lean, clean and smart. Self-edit. Then self-edit some more. CDs and ACDs are reviewing a ton of work from applicants and you better grab their attention quickly. So after the graduation parties, take a serious look at your work. Get a second opinion, if needed. Then really put something together that shows what kind of creative you can be. Also, check out The Ad Grad Project 2010 for the HR perspective and The Ad Grad Project 2009 for creative ways to find a job.

The search can be long and frustrating. It's even more painful without the right bag.

Good luck grads.

Also, I think this is some valuable insight and I don't won't anyone to miss it, so I won't add a new post until Friday. Pass it along. Also this posting is garnering some new responses from creative directors, I'll add them to the post as they become available.