Wait what is a Behance Portfolio Review?

In case you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about, here’s a brief explanation of what this event is all about. Twice a year Behance hold a Portfolio Review Week, during which creative’s organise events for their local communities across the globe.

Reviews are hosted by professionals who have a passion for creating connections in their local areas.

These events are attended by people from all sorts of disciplines with varied experience levels. But they all have one common interest...receiving expert and actionable advice about their online creative portfolios. So you really can gain some useful insights and career guidance!

Sounds pretty good right? Watch our summary video below to get the vibe of the event and then read on. 

How I got involved in the event and Why it was inspiring

As a part of the YES team, I helped to organise the Behance Portfolio Review. 

We approached the event in a similar way to a lot of projects. Breaking up what needed to be organised, dividing tasks which played to peoples strengths and of course, created plenty of colour coordinated spreadsheets and Pinterest boards. What creative project would be complete without these trusty tools!

This project combined a lot of the skills I constantly want to strengthen as a creative:

•  Networking online and in person with local creatives and even publications. This involved discussing how they could get involved in the event to make it truly unique and useful for our attendees.
  
•  Designing assets/ promotional material for both web and print. Behance always provides each host with a few design elements which differentiate the Behance Portfolio Reviews from their larger main brand.

At this stage in my career, it was brilliant to be working with design work provided by a company so well regarded in the creative industry. Whats even better...we were allowed to use these assets however we liked.

The image below depicts a flyer design we worked on.

Composition is a massively interesting area of design for me, finding the balance between an engaging design and correct hierarchy of information for the viewer is such a challenging but massively rewarding task (you might disagree if composition is a love-hate subject for you this video might be for you.)

(An amazing opportunity) Being a reviewer...

Martin asked me to be a reviewer for the event, as a young creative this was both absolutely amazing and a little scary. However, I knew I would enjoy the experience. The ideas process and bouncing ideas off people has always been my favourite part of a design brief.

This event allowed me to do just that, three hours of advice and idea generation, I couldn't get enough of it.

My favourite discussion topic was explaining how people could display their work, so viewers could see projects in a real-world context. I think this massively helps creative projects reach their full potential.

It was also interesting to really try and work out which projects people were truly passionate about. It surprised me how many people included work they wouldn't want to produce again, this kind of stuff really shouldn't be in your portfolio. If your not proud of something that will come across in both the way you present and talk about it.

An Invaluable Experience

Helping to organise a Behance Portfolio Review was an invaluable experience and something I will remember throughout my career. It taught me so much about how important it is to promote an event and how much time that promotion takes. I realised that it's crucial to advertise to the right audience and to really interrupt their routine to capture their attention.

I soon learnt that just having an extremely cool event isn't enough, having a strategy and reaching out to your target audience is incredibly important.

Want to see more? Check out other past events here

Why Should You Attend next time?

So far I have talked a lot, let's hear from an attendee at our recent Behance Portfolio Review. So you can read more about the event experience and how portfolio reviews could benefit you and your career.

Interview With Alan Pires, 30 and a Graphic Designer based in Bournemouth. 

I met up with Alan to talk about his work (see his personal branding below), my experience as a freelance designer and I managed to sneak in a few cheeky questions about the Behance Portfolio Review!

Check out more of his very awesome work here

Q. What did you enjoy the most about our recent portfolio review?

A. It helped me to realise how many creative professionals there are in Bournemouth both in studios and as freelancers!

Q. Is there a piece of advice or an experience which has stood out in your mind?

A. Not one particular piece, all of the advice I received was was really amazing and so was the way the event
was laid out. 

Q. Did the event leave you feeling inspired to progress your work/develop your portfolio?

A. Most definitely, on a personal note, it gave me a boost of confidence to widen my horizons. 

Q. Do you think that attending this type of event is actually helpful to your progression in the creative industry? 

A. In a word yep. Doesn’t matter your title or even your work experience. If you go these types of events and are open to feedback which can help you to improve and become better in a certain field, then yes this is for you!

What do you think?

Does this event sound like something you would be interested in attending, to check out Behance Portfolio Reviews near you follow this link.

 Also, if you have enjoyed this blog post take a minute to look at the official event video and get a feel for what it was like to be there!