Shadowing Practice: Presenting Your Graphic Design Portfolio: A Creative Director's Expert Tips - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey friends, welcome back to the channel.
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If you're new here, I'm Tearsil and I'm a creative director based in New York City.
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How many of you know how to talk about your portfolio?
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The make or break during an interview is how a designer talks about their portfolio.
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I have interviewed hundreds of designers, the questions I've asked and the answers I've received.
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God bless their hearts.
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I know, interviews are super nerve-wracking, but presenting your work is the largest part of it.
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My guide on how to present your graphic design portfolio is the fine difference of being prepped versus being prepared.
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Most everyone uses their website, but I highly recommend that you create a presentation for your portfolio.
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The main advantage here is that you get to take control of the conversation.
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Unlike a website, the person you're presenting to can't choose random projects.
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You control which specific visuals they see and the order in which they see them.
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Second, the presentation feels custom to the person you're presenting to.
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Brownie points for you because the other candidates are not doing this.
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This can be in the form of a PDF.
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If you're presenting in person, you can show it on an iPad or a laptop.
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If it's a video call, just share your screen.
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The point of the PDF is that after the interview, you can create an abbreviated version and include it in your follow-up email.
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For any overachievers out there, I actually design my portfolio as an app in Figma and then I present the prototype.
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Not necessary, but I do it because the other candidates aren't.
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This really depends on what you're interviewing for and who you're interviewing with, but do not include everything.
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Your portfolio should feel very curated.
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I would include at least five projects, but prepare eight in case there's time.
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Keep all the projects well-rounded, but fairly strategic.
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Perhaps it's a project that you're proud of because of the amount of work that went into it.
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A 360 project is always great because it shows a breadth of different executions, but it could also just be a passion project.
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No matter what, all the projects should highlight your abilities as a designer.
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So here is the meat of the video, or tofu for any of you vegetarians out there.
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What you should say should be scripted, and when I say scripted, I really mean just having talking points.
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You still want to be human and you don't want to go into the meeting cold.
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We love examples, so I'm going to go through my projects and present them as I would an employer.
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There's a few ways to go about this, so consider using a mix of the approaches.
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It'll keep the conversation feel more natural and less templated.
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This is the most clear-cut way to go about a project.
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What was a problem and how did you solve it?
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Here are some sidebars that I used to work on way back in the day.
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The art every month was dependent on images courtesy of the brands.
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Since I never knew what was available, I limited the amount of photos used.
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Later on, I ran the images in black and white to keep the images consistent with each other.
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I mean, seriously, what a concept to have a concept.
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Designers who talk about concepts these days are a rare breed, but I highly recommend this angle in particular
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if you're applying for an art director position because it really showcases that you know what you're doing.
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Simply explain the concept and how you carried it through the design.
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Do not complicate this.
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All you want to do is show
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that there was thought behind your design decisions and that you can take ideas into execution.
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For example, in this project, Nespresso collaborated with Travel and Leisure for a branded content campaign promoting their holiday collection.
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The concept for the project was hygge, which is the Danish way to live well.
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For the execution, we did a takeover at the Edition Hotel in Miami for Art Basel.
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The goal of the takeover was to create a space of comfort and calm which aligns with the hygge lifestyle.
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I used a warm color palette with knit and cashmere blankets for comfort, a reading section, and of course incorporating Nespresso throughout.
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I produced and directed the photo shoot where I shot vignettes of the space.
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The photos were used to create a branded content story
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that ran on Travel and Leisure's Instagram which drove readers to purchase Nespresso's holiday collection.
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For this, just explain what you learned during the project.
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Nobody's perfect, so it actually showcases your potential as a designer.
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It can also be angled that this is how you problem solve.
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Literally, we're checking all the boxes here.
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Starbucks partnered with Real Simple to promote a new line of coffee.
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Our concept here was how to elevate your morning routine.
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This project had some challenges to it.
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We had a limited budget, so we had to become more resourceful.
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I saved on cost by using a parts model, and in post-production, I just handled the retouching myself.
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We did actually go a little over budget, but it's important to execute at the highest standard.
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The client was happy and renewed business twice, so it was worth it.
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I want to call out a few things here.
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I very strategically mentioned that I can retouch photos, which is beneficial to every art department.
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I also stress that I don't sacrifice quality for cost.
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And lastly, I ended on a positive note with successful results.
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They already forgot that I went over budget.
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When I say a little over budget, I was actually 30k over, but somebody undersold it, so whatever.
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The idea here is to use common terminology to demonstrate that you really understand the design space that you're interviewing for.
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Basically keywords.
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For a social extension, we took advantage of the high impact canvas unit on Facebook.
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It allowed Time Magazine to be able to extend the compelling Empathy Suits content in a creative and impactful way.
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The scroll included the trailer video, a slideshow demonstrating the functionality of the suits, as well as infographics that provided more context.
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Additionally, we amplify the campaign with a social strategy that ran across all of Merida's O&O.
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I know not everybody has a project like this, but if you do, I would include it every single time.
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It's an opportunity to help them relate to you on another level.
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It could be a passion project, it could be a subject that you enjoy, or a topic that's important to you.
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I feel like we sometimes forget that success in this industry requires passion.
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When people talk about things they love, their faces light up, their energy changes because they're excited to talk about the project, and it becomes contagious.
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For myself, I genuinely enjoy food.
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I mean my Instagram handle is TearsInTheSoup.
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So this next project actually includes a subject that I love and a topic that's important to me.
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This was an editorial series for Food & Wine in partnership with Ford.
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We feature the stories of five first-generation chefs across America.
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The concept highlighted how they create Thanksgiving celebrations that acknowledge their heritage.
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This is very close to me because I'm an immigrant with first-generation siblings
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and we celebrated Thanksgiving in similar ways as a chef's by incorporating Filipino cuisine.
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This is definitely one of the projects that I'm most proud of.
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It might be a bit much to say that I'm an immigrant, but I'm proud of that.
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You should say whatever you're comfortable with as long as it's authentic.
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First impressions matter, so start with your best project.
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Last impressions are also important, so end with your second best project.
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Everything in between should just highlight your abilities.
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Something to consider is how you transition.
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Let's take this project I did for Ford Expedition.
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It's a 360 project.
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I would start with the website first explaining the concept, then talk about the print magazine, and end with the social.
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For the project to follow after, I would choose something that has or primarily is social, like this one for Chateau Saint-Michel.
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I'm just reinforcing that I've done more than one project in social media and strategy.
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You want to be able to find those connections so that the transitions between projects feel seamless.
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Basically the order of projects should be designed so that you can control the pacing throughout.
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If there's a project that takes quite a bit of time to explain, perhaps the next one is really easy to explain.
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Let's go through a sample of order.
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Alright, so we have our list of projects.
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Start with your strongest and then end with your second strongest.
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The appendix are the additional projects to have in case.
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I'll I'll be frank that a 360 project is often the strongest because it shows a breadth of work in one project, which is great for almost any job you're applying for.
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For the second strongest, it can but it doesn't have to be a 360 project, but something with multiple executions.
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If I end the first project with social, I can then transition into a social first project.
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It would be nice if it ran across different platforms and also included photo and video.
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If you look at the first two projects, you've already demonstrated a significant amount of experience and skills.
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For number three, a project in art direction could be great.
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Since it's photo-based, we should end project two with photo, not video.
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And then project four is a passion project, but includes other skills not already shown.
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From project four, find a link that transitions nicely into the last project.
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This is a solid portfolio going into an interview.
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Again, work with the projects that you have and curate them for what you need.
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If you're looking into a branding agency, have more projects on branding.
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If you want to work at a magazine, then show a breadth of different layouts.
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So what did you think?
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Is this how you've been presenting your portfolio?
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Are you overwhelmed?
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Do you want to let yourself on fire?
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I haven't met a single designer that likes to put together their portfolio, but hopefully these approaches make it a little bit less bad.
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I know it's a lot of work, but if cauliflower can become a pizza, you can be anything.
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So good luck.
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I believe in you.
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What Speaking Skills Can You Build from This Video?
This clip is perfect for practicing conversational fluency in professional contexts, like explaining your work or pitching ideas. You’ll learn to structure stories clearly—from problems to solutions—and use natural transitions. It’s a great milestone for anyone aiming to speak confidently in job interviews or client meetings, where clarity and storytelling matter most.
Phrase Bank: Reusable Expressions for Professional Talks
- "The make or break [moment] is..." – To highlight a critical point
- "Brownie points for you because..." – To explain a competitive advantage
- "The meat of [the topic] is..." – To introduce the most important part
- "Here are some sidebars that I used to work on..." – To share past examples
- "Do not complicate this" – To emphasize simplicity
Fix Your Weak Spots: Pronunciation and Rhythm Tips
This video is ideal for practicing natural pausing and stress on key terms. Notice how the speaker slows down for phrases like "the make or break" and "the meat of the video" to emphasize importance. To improve, try shadowing—repeat the dialogue aloud, matching the pace and stress. A good shadowing site can help you compare your rhythm to the speaker’s. Also, focus on pronouncing "hygge" (HYOO-guh) correctly—this tricky word is a great test of your ability to tackle new vocabulary. By practicing with videos like this, you’ll build confidence in both pronunciation and professional communication. Whether you’re using a shadow speak tool or just repeating lines, the key is to mimic the natural flow of the conversation.
Ready to start? Grab a notebook, pick a section of the video, and try shadowing. You’ll be surprised how quickly phrases like "brownie points" or "360 project" become part of your active vocabulary. Remember, learning English with videos isn’t just about words—it’s about sounding natural, even in high-pressure situations like portfolio presentations.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being prepped · should be scripted · was thought |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have interviewed · I've done · you've already demonstrated |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | hygge, which is · photos, which is · project, which is |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.