Lessons

Lesson Info

Analyzing Your Customer & Employer

we are going to dive straight into step number two, which is analyze your customer, also known as the employer in this instance, and start planning your portfolio. It's a huge part of it. So again, if ever you get lost on where we are, the breadcrumb at the top there is going to be consistent. And if you have any questions, make sure you check out those social media platforms that I have there. If I miss any questions that we can answer off off line here, So let me ask you something if you were given $5 million now, I know that's not even use a lot of money for some people in terms of houses. But I'm gonna ask you, if someone gave you $5 million to craft and build any house that you want. How would that experience be for your guests? This is exactly like planning our portfolio because you have the ability to cross the experience right from when they're rolling up to your driveway and they're pulling up and they see your front yard and they see your at least two story house or whatever ...

it is, and they get to your front pathway. What's it made off? Where you steering them? How does it look like other? Is it made of marble, or is it really modern with, like, steel and or is it would? Or what type of wood? What's the experience that you want them to have? And that's that's what this pot is about. You have the ability to influence and craft the experience that we want our employees tohave throughout portfolio. So the key lessons in this segment on the following Number one. We're going to define your portfolio number to define who you are speaking to. Number three. Map out your desired user experience or customer journey for the employer. And don't worry, it's gonna be a very complex user experience. It's gonna be quite simple. Number four, the portfolio of platform options and selecting the right one from those options. According to your end goal Number five, we're going to bring in the very talented Arianna Roland for Q and A with her on the user experience in regards to a portfolio so defining your portfolio is number one. I want you to write down what you're truly passionate about, and this might be repeating a little bit about the personal analysis, but what we really want to find out in very simple terms. What is your portfolio about? Decide if your portfolio is a print discipline. A digital discipline skew. Maybe neither could the industrial design interior design. Could be photography. Could be jewelry design could be any thing that requires a portfolio for, ah, visual presentation. Where could be a categorical decisions such as? You might just be into UX design for APS. You might just be a Web designer creating landing pages. You might be a video game designer for specific genre, So just note down what that is for you, because your portfolio of work should directly translate to the role that you're applying for. Okay, so just remember that the work that you're putting on there has to speak in terms of a service. They need to utilize you for that craft for that thinking. For that creation number two is defined who you are speaking to. Now, let me just share you. You're like, why are you showing a picture of a hamburger? Um, now, funny story. Not too long ago, I was at the gym, and there was, ah, personal trainer that walked through the whites room carrying a bag of McDonald's and we could smell the Big Macs, and we could smell the the fries and six base nuggets. I appreciate you being a 20 pack. Um, and you know, he had that he had any had Red Bull in one hand and he just walked straight through the, uh, whites area and all this training alive. What are you doing? And so he walks to the reception and sits on the lounges and starts consuming those items. We can smell it, you know? And to be fair, look, I have had my fair share of comfort food. Don't get me wrong. It's not about that. It's just the fact that he was a personal trainer. And look, he he didn't look like the most. You didn't look like, you know, a warrior of some sort little Hercules or anything. But you know what's important to note? It is really that a train is physique. Is that the version off portfolio as a designer? So it may be question, because it he didn't look like he was incredibly feared. Of course, he was eating fast food and he didn't really care. But it made me Ah realize that it's instant proof for him of what he can potentially achieve for his clients. And it made me question what type of customers he might have. Okay, and it's worth noting how your person how your presence as a designer or a creative person through your portfolio, how that translates to your customers. Whatever you put out there you're going to attract. So if you're putting sloppy work work that you're not interested in, they're the work that's going to come and be drawn to you as well. Okay, so what does your ideal employer look like? I need you to at least right this question down. We won't get into too much, uh, flip charging here. We'll use that later on. But just have a think about this. What's the company? Top is a corporate or is it very more of a casual sort of boutique design agency or creative agency? Uh, company size? Do you prefer to work with a small agency or a design firm or a big one? Maybe you want to do, uh, mix of both Maybe for the next couple of years, you might want to work for a small one, and then we went to a big one. Later on were produced. What kind of work do you want to be producing in these with these guys that you want to work for creative levels? You want to work for some award winning companies or that doesn't really phase you? Do they do the same old turn and burn, or do they allow a bit of creative freedom in their culture? How about the internal environment? Is it more of a hot spot scenario where you walk around and you can sit anywhere? There are plenty of places that are doing that now. But then there are so many places that are very cubicle like What's the environment? You want to work in there? How about the culture? Are they open with their values and their thinking? Are they a culture that you may be? You are limiting you that you know, they're a bit you know, these are the rules. You gotta follow this a certain dress code. I mean, to some places where I just rock up with with flip flops or thongs, as we call it in the show and board shorts and a single it because it's not so much about what you wear. It's It's about what you create. Do you want with replace a lot. But I know you. Or maybe you do want to wear a suit like Barney Stinson. Um, geographical location. Do you want to work for another in another country? Do you wanna work? Want to stay local has the reputation. We covered a bit of that, uh, and impact levels. Are they really contributing to an area of creativity design that speaks to your values, too? Working style and process A lot of the agency's I've worked for in design firms have been very much process based. I found that to be very beneficial in coming up with creative solutions, But it's important to to look at that and think about, you know, Are they working off the grid yet? Are they working remotely? Do they have a drop box set up that allows you to work from home? Sometimes that might be important to you. You might be a mother of three kids, and you might want to do that. You might say part time ramen with part. I want to work locally, and I want to be able to work from a laptop from home. So just to find that similar to your freelance clients because I know a lot of you guys looking for freelance clients to so similar thing, what's the product and service type of a business that you want to work with? You know, I've worked on and worked with clients from patisseries to wedding events companies to stuff that I never thought I'd be interested in, but are actually quite interesting. Teoh supplement companies, you know, in terms of my own personal clients, Think of the company size that you want to work for. Do you just want to work for the startups? Maybe you want to try and get the bits and big fish there are They knew where they established. Think about these things. Geographical location, creative levels. Are they open to your creativity, or are they the type of clients? That's like I draw you a jury a picture and I want you to design it exactly like this. Do you want to work with a stable? Probably not. What impact levels are they making in their business? You know, this is This is where you know you might want to work for and do some work for charity or someone that's making impact, because maybe that's a big box for you that you want rather than not getting $ a day for for this climate contribution levels, budget levels. Do you want to work with people that our flexible or doesn't really phase you time, period? Do you want a client? That's Ah, Project based. You want long term retainer clients and again, the working star. Okay, so just have a think about those things. Now we need to map out your desired user experience and customer journey. First, we need to define who were speaking to not just the employers, but who Who are these people that we're calling employers were really. They come down to a group of people. We've got credit directors, design directors, managing directors, CEOs, traffic managers, HR managers, creative resource managers, studio managers, produces freelance clients. All of these people have a say, don't they in the resources whether they hire you, whether they need you for that company or business. But we're really only speaking to one in terms of design We're speaking to creative directors at the end of the day. Hey, HR manager or the resources manager studio manager might say there's an upcoming project, but ultimately, the credit director is going to give you the grain lot from that, whether they need you to hire you for a project or full time job. Whatever it is you crave, Director is ultimately the one that's gonna make the decision because it's there as part of their job description. They've gotta build a team, a creative division, if you will. So they are going to be out primary audience. The rest, of course, will fit under the secondary. So if we're speaking to the credit director, then we need to find out more about them so that we can find what appeals to them. What's the age group of credit directors are there in the attains? Probably not. Usually, I met credit directors starting from you know, any anywheres early thirties till mid fifties early sixties. So we need to do a bit of digging here in terms off the employer that appeals to your objective. And if you're again a designer, crave director demographic is what we need to look more into what are their responsibilities? Are they family based people? Most of them are. They're busy. People aren't like So if they're busy people, we know that. Okay, that's a factor there. We need toe work around. We can't make them work hard for a message, right? Availability levels. That's good. You know, it's funny, because I have worked with so many credit directors that they're never around. The interaction I have with them is like passing through in between meetings when they're dropping one pile and picking up another, you know, and a lot of you established designers that are working in companies. Now you'll notice that two. There are so many things that they have to do, whether they're in strategy meetings, creative briefings, talking to it. We're presenting to the clients, you know? So got to think about that, too. You know how these people are in their day. Where can they fit you in? All right, the hiring patterns, how they like, So we need to find out about them. So what is the end goal of your portfolio? Can anyone here? It's very simple. What is the end goal? Anyone want to give it a crack to get a job. Bingo. Thinking, Being resident, ready to hire you for work immediately, Right? That's that's really the main thing Now. What's the most effective channel to communicate through in terms of your portfolio? What is the what is the most effective way? And when I talk about effective way, I'm talking about the way that's going to get your portfolio sane immediately. Yes, digitally. Perfect. And why is that? Because we know the crave directors are busy. We just defined that they might be family men or women. There might be, you know, in and out. Are they gonna sit? I have time and sit down with you if you knock on their door. No. So and online portfolio. Okay. And that's that is a lot of a lot of where, ah, you know, the hindrance has come from because it's like, you know, how do I know? Well, hold on. Who am I speaking to? Crab director. Let's let's get him a portfolio and let's make the portfolio kick ass right, because when they're gonna get you in for an interview, that would have really seen your work right? This is the day and age we live in. They can see your work from halfway across the world. And ah, it's funny because I've had people that have gotten hired from a simple I've gotten jobs from Twitter. Someone's tweeted me. Hey, can you come work into a project with us? Because they've seen my portfolio? I didn't even need to shoot them. My portfolio, it's there 24