Interview with Tyler Smeltekop
by Cheryl Mitchell
~Though Tyler’s track is different from mine I took a lot from this interview. He was able to stress to me
the significance of the portfolio and the pleasure you will gain in making it uniquely yours. He really
explained that by approaching your portfolio in a creative and fun matter, your final project will exceed
what you originally imagined. By highlighting on factors such as creativity, time management and clarity,
Tyler was able to make a coherent layout on how to formulate an effective portfolio.~
 What sort of portfolio pieces did you use in your portfolios that didn't come from your
coursework?
 The majority of my portfolio pieces were contest entries, created for fun/in spare time, and
results of tutorials I learned from.
 How did you design your portfolio to represent your interests?
 I have had seven different portfolio websites. Tylerdoesdesign.com was designed to almost
exclusively highlight my graphic design composition skills, because it was the aspect of my
skills I wanted potential clients/employers to see.
 How did you manage to put your personal identity out there while remaining
professional?
 In previous portfolio designs, my layout was more professional and straightforward. In
refocusing to showcase graphic design skills, I decided to do away with a crisp design, since
at the time, my web design work was viewable through the Tridea Design portfolio (now
inactive).
 Do you maintain your portfolio? Do you still have still have one? If yes, why, if not, why
not?
 I no longer maintain the portfolio as I have a position that does not require one, nor do I
create new pieces to add to the portfolio in my career.
 Why did you choose the pieces in your portfolio? How did you choose pieces that
represent your skill sets?
 Being able to have a portfolio that accentuated graphic design skill above anything else was
very freeing – previous designs attempted to equally balance aspects of graphic design work,
website design, and technical writing. The resulting portfolio mockups felt lopsided as a user
viewed a page highlighting each aspect, particularly because the graphic design pages of the
site had so much more content present than the writing and website pages. Once I relegated
those to their own small page, I felt the portfolio did a better job of showing off my graphic
design work.
 Now that you have some distance from PW, how would you critique your own portfolio?
 Now that Tridea Design is no longer active and the site is down (we stopped paying for the
domain about two years ago), the portfolio no longer really accomplishes what it should.
Since the bulk of my website work was done through Tridea Design, I felt it was redundant
to update two websites at once with the same portfolio pieces. Linking to the Tridea Design
portfolio was more efficient.
 Do you have any tips that you wish you would have known when you were starting? That I
should know about?
 The continent I was highlighting was being highlighted the way it should, the reason for so
many trials. How do I make this site balanced? I figured out what I really wanted to show the
most. Prioritizing the content this makes what you want to do much more easier and likable.
Look at all quality pieces and intertwine them together.
 How was your portfolio used when you interviewed for jobs? What questions were you
asked? Were there any surprises?
 My portfolio was in the forefront due to it being apart of his resume. Very straightforward
was found on his site.
 What kind of feedback did you get on job interviews about your portfolios?
 The layout accommodated the pieces I was intended to display. Basically your pieces should
try and fit your work, but try more things to show your ability to work out side of your
element.
 How did you practice presenting your portfolio? What did you struggle with the most
when making your portfolio?
 See #7. Focusing the goal of my portfolio was the most difficult aspect of creating it, since
the design will follow the purpose/goal. If your focus is not clear, the design work will also
have a poor time of accomplishing what a portfolio should do for you.
 Where can I find your portfolio?
 http://www.tylerdoesdesign.com/