Due Date: March 3rd or 5th, 2009
This project is worth 25% of your final grade.
Focus!
Employers like to see that you are really good at something. Don't make extraordinary claims about your skills.
DELIVERABLES
- Hand in a laser of your résumé in an identified envelope.
- No electronic files.
Résumé Design
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this project a student will be able to:
- Use a variety of technologies to create, capture, and manipulate design elements in producing a final product.
- Communicate effectively, credibly, and accurately with clients, supervisors, coworkers, and target audiences by using the appropriate media.
- Locate, select, organize and document information
- Apply typographic skills and knowledge to create effective visual communications.
- Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken and visual form that fulfills the purpose and meets the needs of the audience.
Overview of Tasks
- Initial research
- Collect and organize information.
- Draw thumbnails to explore layout possibilities. (Grids!)
- Explore font and colour choices.
- Execute your layout in InDesign. (No you can't use Illustrator.)
Content
These are some elements of style on which you may comment:
Contact Information
- Full Name
- Permanent Address
- Telephone numbers
- Email address
- URL to your online portfolio
Experience
Place the most recent first
- Job title
- Employer name and location (city and province)
- Dates of employment
- Active description of your responsibilities and accomplishments
For non-design jobs, you can re-organize them and be more general if you have many. For example, if you have
Education
List all completed degrees or diplomas. Since you will soon be a post-secondary grad, you don't need to list high school. List dates with years only. List only programs you have completed. The most recent go first.
You could include other courses you have taken which could add to your value as a potential employee.
Activities
This is where you describe other activities in your life. Are you on the volley ball team? Do you paint? Drinking with your friends doesn't count. You want to list activities that demonstrate that you have an active, healthy lifestyle.
Special Skills
Do you speak another language? Are you particularly good at a specific skill that can contribute to the workplace?
Awards and Honours
This is an optional area where you can list any honours you receive any time in your life. It can include sports or design awards or any other area.
Technology & Technical Parameters
Students must use the application Adobe InDesign for the creation of a graphic design résumé. Résumés cannot be created using any other application. You will create a screen-ready PDF of your résumé.
Consider that this document could be faxed. Make it reducible to 100% black.
The format must be letter-sized. It does not need to be on white paper. It can bleed, but again, consider the fax machine. You don't want your document to be trimmed by the machine.
The Cover Letter
The cover letter for your résumé states that you are applying for a specific position. That's its basic function. Make sure you know what that position entails. It looks pretty silly if you describe a job that doesn't exist. If you have found a position you are interested in, you should emphasize the skills that match that position. Use some flair. Don't hesitate to show your creativity and imagination. Once you have written a letter that demonstrates your flair and individuality, review it thoroughly. Have a few close family or friends read it too. The more eyes on it, the better. Nothing looks worse than a letter to a prospective employer with typographic errors.
This is a Google search for cover letter templates, so you know what to include.
The Approach
The résumé is a functional document meant to inform. It is not your portfolio. Designing a document to convey information, such as this one is an opportunity to demonstrate that you know how to reign in your wild design style.
Grading Criteria
1. Aesthetics
- A: Excellent
- This work demonstrates the highest degree of attention to detail and the strongest embodiment of aesthetic sensibility. This is work that has been completed in a highly motivated manner which meets all or most of the performance criteria for the project. An exceptional demonstration of design skills. No problems were found in the work submitted.
- B: Above Average
- The student has shown a high degree of attention to detail and a strong sense of design sensitivity. It is work which is above average but lacks the qualities which give it the stamp of excellence. A few minor problems were found.
- C: Satisfactory
- This work indicates a moderate degree of attention to detail. It is an average demonstration of aesthetic sensibility. It has been handed in on time and has fulfilled some or all of the requirements but lacks strong visual interest and thoughtful and imaginative resolution. Multiple minor problems were found or a major problem was found. The work is merely average.
- D. Minimal, below average
- The student has demonstrated a low degree of attention to detail. This is a weak example of aesthetic sensibility. This work is handed in on time, but lacks many or most of the areas that show any understanding of design. A weak effort not up to the levels of the program standard. Multiple major problems found.
- F. Unacceptable
- This project demonstrates the lowest degree of attention to detail and little design sensitivity. The student demonstrates a significant misunderstanding of qualities of craftsmanship necessary to complete assignment. This work has not been handed in on time or is so despicable as to be an affront to design sensibilities.
- NHI:
- Not handed in. An assignment which was not received.
2. Project Parameters
- A: Excellent
- All of the provided instructions were followed correctly. No problems were found in the work submitted.
- B: Above Average
- Almost all of the instructions were followed correctly. A few minor problems were found.
- C: Satisfactory
- Most of the instructions were followed correctly. Multiple minor problems were found or a major problem was found.
- D. Minimal, below average
- Some of the instructions were correctly followed. Multiple major problems were found.
- F. Unacceptable
- The student did not follow the instructions. The student demonstrates a significant misunderstanding of how to correctly complete this assignment.