The University of Alabama at Birmingham Visual Arts Gallery was the site for the 6th Annual Birmingham AIGA Student Portfolio Review. About 20 area graphic designers, photographers, creative directors and in-house creatives, including Tim Denny of DavisDenny, were chosen to serve as independent reviewers and participate in a panel Q&A discussion with graphic design students.
"I think I've been at all six of these and the work is getting better," says Denny. When asked, "What makes it better?", Denny acknowledges tech advancements as one reason. But he was quick to add, "It's not the most important thing. There are some really good instructors and professors and so forth who care about typography. In my opinion, the leap in design from old student to new student is the attention students pay to type."
Over 130 students from about a dozen colleges and universities, as far away as Northwestern, lined up with portfolios, some toting their distinctive black zippered cases and others with laptops.
"I wish we had more than 30 minutes per student. Maybe AIGA could grow this into an all day thing, panel discussions mixed with reviews. I want to see more work," Denny added.
The purpose of the AIGA Student Portfolio Review is to provide design students with professional feedback on their work and their presentations to prospective employers.
