VML Field Trip

My Graphic Design class had the opportunity to go on a field trip to VML. We got to talk one-on-one with their Executive Creative Art Director, Aaron Evanson. This talk was more of a Question and Answer type talk. Many students had very good questions. Although what I took from this field trip may be different from others. I learned a lot about the portfolio process and what to include in your portfolio to make it stand out from others. Aaron really emphasized making sure you had 5-7 pieces of your work in your portfolio. He shared with us how when he looks through portfolios he looks for someone who is a well rounded student that is involved with the community and also has very impressive work. He also likes to make sure the student shows a good personality throughout the portfolio. Aaron also talked about working with groups. He said to make sure there is only ONE person in charge of the group and to chose someone that has good leadership qualities and can be trusted to manage everyone working on the project. He explained how speaking with clients is much easier than email because you can be easily misunderstood through email while on the phone you can hear your clients tone of voice and get a better feel to what the client is leaning more towards. He really emphasizes having good communication skills no matter what you decide to do.