Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Market assessment
Looking for a job:
• Geography: Where am I looking?
• Independent studio/agency or in-house department?
• Co
pany size?
• If independent, what specialty? (design/concept, integrated branding, advertising/
selling, and so on)
• Client or company industry category or categories?
• Type of projects? (packaging, editorial, marketing, entertainment, for example)
• Specializing in a specific media? (such as print, interactive, mass media, or
entertainment)
• Specializing in specific activities or sub-cultures?
Looking for clientele:
• Other creatives, individuals, or corporate?
• If corporate client, specific industries?
• Type of work they purchase? (like identity, packaging, magazine advertising)
• Specializing in a specific media? (for example, print, interactive, mass media,
entertainment, and so on)
• Type of audience each client targets?
Go to their websites and poke around to see how you respond to the type of projects
on view, the type of clients (big corporate names or small local companies), and the
design of the website itself. A large firm will only show work from a small client if
the work represents their most creative effort—a good gauge of their creative range.
A small firm may display fairly pedestrian projects if they've been done for a presti-
gious name—a good measure of their long-term growth aspirations.
2. Find your target audience category.
After you have created a basic definition of your portfolio's target audience,
look for general data about this target. Some typical questions to answer might be:
• Is my target realistic? Are there companies that do exactly what I'm looking
for, or should I be more general?
• How many companies fit my target? Can I narrow it down?
• How many companies are local? Does the geography matter to me?
