What was it like?
Previous portfolio classes were focused on how you presented your projects and the Senior Portfolio class focused on helping you create a strong and consistent identity. Selwa won't give you a formula you have to fit into but will give you the guidance to follow your own path while still being professional and following industry standards. Having my portfolio was an afterthought to me but having this class and all of its milestones has pushed me—it's the "kick in the pants" I needed. I learned to how to understand who I am, communicate who I am, and find a place for myself in the real world as who I am. You want your identity to be as authentic as possible so that you're attracting people who want that.
Memorable project?
The cool thing about Selwa (the professor) is that she has really challenged us to have group discussions, pair up with others to try things out. She does it in such a way that I'm not reluctant to my involvement and every time I come out of it I'm so happy I did that because I end up having a lot more clarity. I really like how she brings the entire class together through discussion. She has a great way of presenting the information and letting you take that in however way.
Advice for future students?
At first I was like 'why are we doing this the last semester?' But the timing of this class has been perfect because if I'd done this a year ago, I didn't know myself as well as I do now, my projects weren't at the quality that they are in now, so, it would have been premature. My advice would be to understand the value of the timing of this class and how it lines up with graduation. It gets you in the mindset of going from school to industry by keeping you productive and teaching you how to communicate yourself.Make sure you keep a process of everything you do from the very beginning of your IxD career. Make sure you have a file organization per project and within that you have your documentation, research, and media. If you don't do this from day one, it's really hard to redo all of this at the very end. Attempting to redo it is very tedious and usually you can't capture it in the same way.
From D. Laughton