It is that time of the year again, where recent grads send us their “stuff”, hoping to knock our socks off (which is hard to do in summer, as most Willow Employees are rocking sandals right now)

Being part of team web, I have had the opportunity to glance at these sites as they come into our Willow Inbox, and I thought it might not be a bad idea to give you aspiring Creatives and Webbies some useful tips on the art of portfolio-ing.

People are visually stimulated, so I would suggest that your portfolio contains big high-quality images, clearly accessible to the user. Always include a link to the live version of the website you worked on and link your screenshot to the live version  (and quadruple check that it works!). Include a short description for each project, including the different skills that you needed to complete the project. For web programmers, list what languages you used, and take screenshots of your code; Ed and I drool over well-written, clean, organized code.

It’s never a bad idea to get a testimonial from a client. Your visitors might also be interested in the stages of development for your projects and how you arrived at the final outcome.

Make sure your contact information is easy accessible and up to date. There are so many free mail accounts out there, that there is no excuse for you to use i_luv_the_hoff@gmail.com as your main contact on your portfolio. Pick something professional that shows that you’re a grown-up now, I would suggest using your first and last name.

And no matter how tempting it is, no projects containing puppies, cats, unicorns or your favorite band. We want to see you tackle real world clients, do a site or some marketing pieces for a local non-for-profit.

Smashing Magazine recently posted a really good article for students. “Group Interview: Expert Advice For Students and Young Web Designers”

And for some inspiration: 50 Beautiful and Creative Portfolio Designs.

Good luck with the job hunting!

What do you do at Willow?
I’m an Art Director, I concept, design, write and create things.

How long have you worked at Willow?
This is the start of my fourth year.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An architect, but there was too much math involved.

What is your favorite pizza topping?
Artichokes

What was your first pet’s name?
JJ

What was your favorite subject in school?
American History

What was your first job?
Working at Arby’s

What is your favorite movie of all time?
Miracle on 34th Street

If you were a super hero, what would your super power be?
Be invisible

What drew you into the marketing business?
It’s a way to get paid for creating artwork, plus you get to solve problems everyday.

Describe yourself in 5 words or less.
A contemplative thinker.

If you could be one animal, what would it be and why?
My dog, what a great life!

Frozen custard or ice cream?
Neither

How do you eat an Oreo?
I don’t like the white stuff, I generally just eat the chocolate cookie.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
St. Lucia in the West Indies

Where do you like to sit in a movie theatre and why?
In the middle.

What’s in the trunk of your vehicle at this moment?
Water bottles, a blanket and jumper cables.

What’s on your desk at work?
Lots of junk—several job folders, some publications I’m trying to find to spend some quality time with.

What’s your favorite part of working at Willow?
The people! We’ve got a great crew.

What’s your favorite Indy restaurant?
Today it is Some Guy’s Pizza.

It’s Willow Wednesday. And that means it’s a day of appreciation at Willow…not that every day isn’t a day of appreciation, but WW is just extra appreciative! It’s a day when we say “thanks” to those clients who mean so much to us. This month I would like to say “thank you” to Ben Nicol and his staff at Phi Psi Foundation. They truly are an ideal client for us. I want to thank them for:

• The tremendous opportunity to work on such fun projects (we just got to film Tony Horton (P90x), Terry Bowden and Stephen Hadley)
• Appreciating us for our capabilities
• Challenging us when they think we can do better
• Thanking us
• Sharing ideas with us and listening to our ideas
• Advocating for Willow to other potential clients
• Knowing our staff and letting our staff get to know them
• Giving us creative freedom
• Being our friends

Looking forward to many more years of a successful relationship!

Indiana Blood Center – Be the Match Sponsorship Activation
Indianapolis, IN

Client Profile:
Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to creating an opportunity for all patients to receive the bone marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant they need, when they need it through creation of a bone marrow donor registry.

Business Challenge:
Create brand awareness and recognition within the Indianapolis community for the Indiana Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry. Secondarily, we were charged to establish awareness for the relationship between Be The Match and the Indiana Blood Center.

Willow Marketing Solution:
The Indiana Blood Center, the strategic partner for Be The Match, has been a long-time sponsor of the 500 Festival and Mini Marathon. We saw this as a prime opportunity to create brand recognition for Be The Match through a grass roots, cost effective campaign, reaching over 35,000 people in one weekend.

We developed a strategic marketing plan for the sponsorship, involving project and sponsorship coordination, social media, graphic design and production of event signage, media relations, and on-site staff assistance.

The grass roots campaign was centered around the “Find Your Match” theme. The concept was to pass out stickers to Mini Marathon race participants the day before the event and ask them to wear their Be The Match branded sticker on their back during the race. Each stick had a number. 50 numbered matches were planted. If someone found their match, they were instructed to find the Be The Match booth in the Family Reunion area after the race and claim their prize. The sticker campaign was promoted at the Expo the day before the event, on signage throughout the race course, via email blasts to the Indiana Blood Center email list, email blasts from the official 500 Festival and email communications to local Mini Marathon training groups. Strategic partners of the Indiana Blood Center, including Simon Property Group, Kindred Hospital and Allison Transmission, participated in the campaign, placing signage on their facilities along the race course.

Promotional Signage - Simon Building

Promotional Signage - Kindred Hospital

Promotional Signage - Indiana Blood Center Vehicle Graphics

Booth Graphics

Promotional Signage - Allison Transmission Building

Overall, the campaign was a huge success for Be The Match and the Indiana Blood Center. Over 5,000 stickers were distributed to Mini Marathon participants and the viral campaign created a large amount of “buzz”. Additional plans are being made for sponsorship activation in 2011.

Is it wrong to endorse a product on our own blog? Is it legal to say “Willow Marketing Approves This Product”? Moral and ethical dilemmas aside…buy this product. hipstamaticapp.com If you ever wanted that Hipster look without having to squeeze into skinny jeans or worry about tripping over the chain connected to your wallet, look no further! For just a couple bucks you can immediately make your poorly composed pictures more compelling. Your cat becomes more interesting, your house, less depressing. All of this without having to buy black rimmed glasses. After purchasing, I’d recommend spending the extra buck and purchasing the “Berry Pop” flash. Spectacular. Who needs photography budgets when you have this app? (If you are a client, please ignore the last sentence.)