

Ask HN: is it fair to reject a designer for a job without an online portfolio? - petervandijck

Similar to rejecting developers because of bad writing http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2245228, I think designers (for web/mobile) have to have an online portfolio. If they don't, I reject them out of hand. I just think there's no excuse. Designers who send me .rar files to extract on my harddrive are designers who make me work harder than I should to review their skills.<p>Fair/efficient/right thing to do?
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rpeden
I don't think it's totally unreasonable to expect a web designer to find a way
to show their work off online.

Note, however, that in doing so you might end up overlooking some really great
designers who don't have the time or expertise to show everything they've done
online.

Depending on your needs, it might end up being better to go with a designer
who has a lot of experience working on non webby things (i.e. print). Not that
there aren't a lot of amazing web designers, but I've noticed that there tends
to be a lot of groupthink in web design. Certain things become trendy, and
many web designers end up just following these trends. Perhaps one of these
less web savvy desginers have a more diverse background that would help you
come up with something that really stands out.

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irrationaljared
I'm not sure I would reject anyone out of hand for something like this unless
I had an excessive number of applicants to review and needed cheap ways to cut
that number down.

This is certainly a good way to filter applicants out, but, you may miss a
good opportunity as well. I hired an ex-architect with no web design
experience at all (and no online portfolio) because she was cheap and had a
great attitude. It worked out great for everyone involved. Can't say I'd
recommend that for everyone, but it's amazing what can be accomplished by
someone with the right attitude in the right environment.

~~~
petervandijck
Fair enough. But if you're looking for an experienced web designer?

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irrationaljared
Sure, it's pretty unlikely that an experienced web designer won't have a web
presence. Experience is a tricky thing, though. It obviously has it's
benefits, but it can also be expensive, and, depending on the situation, may
not be worthwhile. That said, an experienced designer who can come in and kick
ass right away may be just what you need...

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Peroni
100% fair.

Linking a portfolio on your CV/resume should be standard practice for a
designer.

As for efficiency, it depends on how you define it. You will probably find
your candidate pool is now relatively limited and it may take you a bit longer
to find the right designer but it will certainly filter out those that just
aren't destined to be the right fit anyway.

There is only one person that knows what the absolute perfect candidate for
the job looks like and thats you. If that picture of perfection involves
having an accessible online portfolio then so be it.

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RiderOfGiraffes
I think you should have a stock response that outlines alternatives. Say that
with the number of applicants you expect, each one should provide a simple way
to view examples of their work, and extracting a .rar file doesn't qualify.

Say that a single attached example of best work might qualify, but an online
portfolio would be better. You might like also to suggest a free hosting
service for them to use to showcase their work.

Be polite, be constructive, but be definite.

Just my $0.02

~~~
petervandijck
A web designer should know where they can showcase their work, right?
Suggesting a free hosting service is making the hirer do all the work. Just
saying.

I'm just posting these to share my frustration with the applications I get.
The majority of them are so incredibly lazy. Spell check. If you're a
designer, have an online portfolio. Etc.

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
I would be unsurprised to find a talented designer had only ever designed for
someone else, and that someone else had always done the web stuff. Just
saying.

And I share your frustration - I get equivalent things constantly. I have
several form letters that can be sent with minimal effort to maximal effect.
Depends how much you care.

~~~
petervandijck
Trying to parse this, how do you mean "designed for someone else"? I'm just
looking for screenshots, surely a designer must have some screenshots. Even of
work that never went live, was rejected etc?

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
Sorry - very little time. E.g. for an intranet with a customer who is paranoid
about designs getting out, or someone who insists on the work being sole-
licensed. I've met some right 'nanas in my time.

But I agree that any decent designer _should_ have stuff they can show you,
it's just that I can imagine ways for it not to be completely cut'n'dried.

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mapster
I wouldn't have strict rules when finding talent. If the person is wonderfully
talented, a strong worker, professional, and nice, but w/o online portfolio VS
less talented person with portfolio?

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bmelton
Fair? Absolutely.

As has been mentioned though, you may miss out on some real gems.

I'm working hard to change it of late, but almost everything that I am most
proud of has been done for intranet-work. I've built a number of quite
impressive applications, all of which are shrouded in secrecy behind a
firewall -- happily (and ably) servicing the requests of the customer. This
means, of course, that none of that work is 'showable'.

I often ask permission of my customers to keep screenshots (with details
obscured), and except for my government customers, most of them are pretty
amicable, but of them, many won't allow it to be online where their
competitors can see them.

Does this make me a sub-par developer? I don't think that it does. It does
imply other things, of course, in that I might have trouble building to
internet scale, for example, but I'm happy to SHOW you my work, it just might
have to be in a zip file, or behind a password-protected website.

~~~
petervandijck
And you can't even take a 100px x 100px cut out of some of those excellent
screens to put in a portfolio? A widget? Obscuring actual client information?

Somehow, that just doesn't sound right. You have to put yourself in the shoes
of someone hiring. Make an effort to show me your work.

Password protected is ok, by the way, just send me the password in your
application.

~~~
bmelton
I personally have never had a hard time finding work, so don't consider it a
complaint from my end, but I've also always been able to work with the hirer
to get them that information.

To put it into perspective though, most of my clients are federal government
agencies, and yeah, to them, even a 100x100 pixel screenshot is tantamount to
treason.

~~~
petervandijck
Don't want to encourage treason either :)

I just want to be able to discard really bad designers (and there are a lot of
them) with a 30-second glance at their work. Similar to the supersimple coding
test to weed out the developers who can't actually code.

