Portfolio Center Knowledge Base
Sometimes prospective Portfolio Center students Google their way over here and want to know what it's like, you know, being on the inside. Things have gotten to the point where I'm copying and pasting the same recycled responses, so it's high time to make a permanent page of answers to direct people towards. Please note that this is just one design student's perspective, and that I'm a pathological liar. (Updated 2.3.06)
What is the workload like?
It's hard to estimate the time involved with school each day or week, but you'll still have time for a social life if that's what you're worried about. You'll have 4-6 classes a week, each lasting up to 4.5 hours (but usually a little less). Weekly work for each class is probably 2-5 hours apiece, depending on your sanity level and personal time management.
What are the classes like?
Some of the classes I took were called Design Aesthetics, Type II, Systems and Brand Integration, Logos, Design History, Product Design, Type and Image, After Effects, Flash, Production and Annual Reports, just to name a few. Most of these are taught by design professionals within the Atlanta area that are working freelance or at a creative place in the city. The classes are not based around lectures, but rather critique-driven. You are constantly refining and bringing in your work, and your peers and instructors give you feedback each week. This is great because being inspired other people's work and being able to critique them well makes your work that much stronger. Sizes are typically small (4 people in my smallest, 15 in my largest), and you can take one-on-one directed elective classes down the road. The structure works well.
What's the structure of the program? How are you graded?
Two years full time, spread out over eight quarters. Your eighth quarter is spent entirely on perfecting your old projects and making a final portfolio with the help of grad advisors. Each quarter ends with a studio week (one week without classes to finish up all of your projects) and a critique week (where you present your work to a panel and get judged). Critiques can feel like a firing squad at times, but in the end you're here to learn and improve, so as long as the panel gives you reasons behind their criticisms, it will be a good experience.
What is first quarter like?
First quarter is where you're thrown headfirst into the trenches, learn all the rules and get your grounding. In design and art direction and media architecture, everyone takes pretty much the same classes for their first two quarters. One class in particular, Design Aesthetics with Sylvia Gaffney, is design boot camp...but you learn a lot. It's really not all that bad. The people who run into trouble are a) those who take critiques personally and b) those who try to slack off. You'll survive.
What about photographers, writers and illustrators?
If you come down to visit PC, try to schedule time to talk with a current student in one of these disciplines if that's what you're interested in - they'll do a better job explaining it than I could.
Where should I live? How is Atlanta?
I love Atlanta. The traffic and public transportation aren't great, but the ATL is still a great city. Many students live in Colonial Homes Apartments, which is right behind the school, or several nearby apartment communities. Definitely try to live close to school, especially starting out...why fight traffic and pay for gas when there are so many affordable places to live close by? Save the swanky bachelor pad for after graduation. I've been at Colonial Homes since the first day and it's fine. Free laundry service; that sealed the deal for me.
I don't even know what design means.
Neither did I. People from all sorts of backgrounds and ages come here, but the one thing we have in common is our creativity. Even if you can only draw stick figures or can't turn on a computer, you'll be fine. And don't worry about choosing what discipline you want to be right away (design? art direction? media architecture?)...there will be plenty of time to sort that all out, and some people are able to straddle between several different areas.
What discipline were you?
Technically design, but I started out in art direction, and focused primarily on interactive design later on. I came into school thinking, well, if I'm committing two years of my life to this, I should try everything out and get my money's worth. It turned out to be an awesome experience, having me work on things I never thought I could do before (A chair? A coffee machine? A brand system for Russia?). The design discipline allowed me that creative freedom. If you're into advertising, do art direction, but definitely ask to take design classes too...it will make your work much stronger.
How can I make bread shortening without it sticking to the pan?
Use margarine instead of butter.
Will PC help me get a job?
The networking was a major selling point for me. PC alumni are all over the world, and the name is well-respected in the industry. If you ever wanted to get a foot in the door for that dream company you're thinking about, chances are there's a PC connection somewhere. Twice a year the school holds portfolio reviews in New York, recruiters come down year-round to conduct on-site interviews, and chances are you'll be flying around to quite a few interviews.
What's the WORST thing about Portfolio Center?
Not every class is a winner. Every quarter I probably had one class that didn't meet my expectations. As a former teacher, I recognize that good teaching is a skill itself. No matter how brilliant a designer someone may be, it doesn't automatically make them a great instructor. But what you have to do in those situations is push yourself further, going beyond the normal expectations. Don't lower your standards simply because the instruction is weak. Luckily, in my experience at least, these cases were fairly infrequent.
Can I work part-time during school?
Having an income is definitely nice. Most people don't start working until around 2nd or 3rd quarter. I worked part-time from 2nd-6th quarter, and never felt helplessly overwhelmed trying to balance everything. I'd recommend not working first quarter, seeing how it goes, and then start thinking about it during second quarter. There are also opportunities to work part-time at school.
Is PC accurate in saying it's the equivalent of 5-7 years of industry experience?
Having not been in the industry for 5-7 years, I can't really answer this one yet. However, it seems that PC designers are consistently above average and land some pretty freakin' sweet jobs. At the very least, I think the small student body and expansive alumni network open the door to unique opportunities you certainly couldn't find just starting fresh out of an undergrad program or with freelance work alone.
DUDE, GET ME AN INTERNSHIP AT PENTAGRAM!
Dude, come to Portfolio Center and try out yourself! PC and Pentagram are friends. Every year there's a little competition for mid-quarter students to select a handful of people to serve 3-month internships in NYC. But don't worry if it doesn't work out - there are plenty of great part-time and full-time internship opportunities through the PC network.
What advice would you give to an incoming student?
Visit the school and sit in on a class or two.
Work hard, play hard.
Get to know Hank...request to be in his insane 5:30 AM class.
Take lots of pictures and movies.
Hope that helps. If you have additional questions, send them through the mailbox and I'll try to answer/archive them here in the near future.
Thursday, December 1 at 3:37 PM
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