AIGA Jacksonville’s 28th Annual Portfolio Review merged budding student designers with ripened industry professionals in the biggest turnout the event has seen in more than a decade. On April 22, 2017, nearly 50 designers and educators reviewed more than 85 students at the University of North Florida’s Student Union. Design students from six area programs, including Flagler College, Florida State University, Florida State College of Jacksonville, Savannah College of Art and Design, University of North Florida, and University of Florida, presented their portfolios in one-on-one reviews from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students were matched up with reviewers according to design interests/specialties: print, web, or a hybrid of both; to receive feedback on their finished portfolios or works-in-progress and to practice their interview skills as they prepare to launch their design careers.
After the review, participants who elected to submit their portfolios to the competition put their work on display for the judging panel, comprising guest speaker Amy Schwartz (Cards Against Humanity, Blackbox), AIGA Jacksonville president Bryan Hunt (Higher Pixels) and past president Russel Quadros (Temper), Jeff Spear (Studio Spear), and Irma Motta (MT Company). The judges awarded top honors in three portfolio categories: print, digital/hybrid, and graduate. In the print category, Clarke Davis (SCAD), Cody O’Brosky (UNF) and Morgan Olds (UNF) placed first, second and third, respectively. In the digital/hybrid category, Susy Ruiz (UNF), Tim Kirby (UNF) and Sarah Horgan (Flagler) placed first, second and third, respectively. The competition introduced a graduate category this year, which was won by Sam Baliga (SCAD).
The two-day Portfolio Review event kicked off Friday night with guest speaker Amy Schwartz, a designer from Chicago specializing in branding, digital experiences, and games. She is currently the Design Director at Cards Against Humanity and Blackbox. Her talk, “The Future Will Be Cool … If You Don’t Screw It Up,” was attended by nearly 100 people at MOCA Jacksonville. She shared amusing anecdotes and fun insights into her work with both companies, including the planning behind Cards’ notorious“potato” Super Bowl ad and the creative process behind their “Eight Sensible Gifts for Hanukkah.” She offered students valuable advice, from investing in good fonts to boldly pursuing work that matters to you and makes the world better.
The event was sponsored in part by Temper, a design firm that specializes in branding digital experiences (and mint tins!). Design Director Russel Quadros created a new visual identity for the Portfolio Review, which debuted at this year’s event.
The Portfolio Review Weekend continues to be a success year after year thanks to all the professionals, students, and volunteers who come together to help shape our area’s future creative community—we could not do it without you. We hope to see you at next year’s Portfolio Review. You can check out the rest of the photos on Flickr.
