The Mentee Zone
The Mentee zone is the place for all lowerclassmen getting ready for their graphic design portfolio review. I remember going through the review and being super nervous about what to expect or how to prepare myself. I hope that the following resources can help you further your graphic design journey no matter what level of designer you are!
**DISCLAIMER: SOME OF THE RESOURCES REGARDING THE REVIEW ARE SPECIFIC TO PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR OWN PROGRAMS WEBSITE FOR ALL CRITICAL INFORMATION**
pSUGD Resources
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Soph return is a page that showcases past portfolio that got through the review.
These examples are updated yearly check them out here!
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Here are a few resources that are worth looking into if you are in the PSUGD Program.
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Can’t find something in this list? Go here and you'll find it
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This list has almost anything you can think of, from printing on campus , to paper companies to type foundries. you can find it all right here!
PSU Riso Information
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The Risograph printer, is based on the stencil method of printing, much like screen printing. While the machine looks very much like a photocopier, it functions quite differently. Black & white artwork is sent to the Riso either from the connected desktop pc, or on the scanned on top of the machine. The image is ‘burnt’ on to a paper-like master, which can then be used to duplicate it up to thousands of times. The master wraps automatically around an ink drum. The ink is pushed through the screen/master, and then prints onto paper that makes contact with the drum.
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For the most up to date hours please check out the Riso information page located on the PSUGD website here
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Check out Kate Bingaman-Burt’s Print shop, called Outlet! They have amazing services for great prices and its always a joy working with Kate and her team. Check out their prices and more here!
Inspiration and other Links!
The rest of these links can be used by anyone anywhere. A fair amount are Portland-based businesses. If there is something you think should be on this list, feel free to reach out to me!
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If you are doing the portfolio review or any important project that you will need to compress at the end, use this or any other file compressor. BUT DO NOT WAIT UNTIL AN HOUR OR LESS BEFORE ITS DUE. Compression can take awhile so give yourself time.
Compress2Go - PDF Compressor
Tiny PNG - PNG Compressor
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Adobe’s take on how to make Pixel Art
Behance - Like Pinterest but with higher quality projects
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Kelly Paper - Sells a wide variety of Paper!
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Spectrolyte - A program for MAC only that allows you to turn any photo or design into a ready made Riso file.
Risolve - Risograph Printing
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Marmoset- Pixel Art maker
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Walter Wick is the creator of the ISpy Books.
Deadly Prey - A Poster Designer
Em Jon - Makes cute Zine Illustrations
Goodspeed - Cute Drawings on Objects
Tom of Finland - Tom has been protecting and preserving erotic art from over the years and for future years to come (18+)
Amir H. Fallah - An LA Designer
Pot Studio - An LA based Design studio.
Mario Alaya - An LA based Designer
Amanda Ross-Ho - An LA based artist
Francois Gheblay - An LA based artist
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Victionary - Amazing designer book company
TASCHEN - Another Great designer book company
Phantasmic - WEIRD but cool design inspo books
Floating World Comics
Design Reviewed - An online Design Archive
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Aseprite - Sprite Animation tool
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Pyrex Potluck - All the patterns you can think of found on kitchenware
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Color Method - Train your eye on matching color harmonies
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Broccoli - A local Portland OR Magazine
Nylon - Fashion Magazine
Guilded - My own Fashion Magazine
AIGA Eye on Design - Editorial inpso
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Inspiration Grid - Illustration inspo
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Alphabets - an online type website that has a ton of col typefaces
My Fonts - Typeface Hub
Google Fonts - A giant library of free fonts
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It’s Nice That - A design Blog
Phone Case Design - but WEIRD
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These are all inclusive links, they have basically anything you could need for a project
Creative Tacos - If you sign up for their email list, you will get 6 freebies every week!
Creative Market - Similar to Creative Tacos, has both free and paid resources
Pixel Buddha - This is one of my favorite places to go for mockups, they also have other free resources
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Tiny PNG - Will shrink your PNG’s for use on your website, or website project to decrease loading times.
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Mockups are a great way to help your designs come to life. However Bad or low quality mockups can really effect how the client preserves your idea. It s important to have a good stash of mockups in your arsenal when working on any project. Below are some of my favorites that I use!
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Hanzi - A documentary on Chinese typography