Workshops

Looking for your next workshop?

One way that I try to help the creative community is to show artists and designers how to improve their portfolio language in my online workshops. I get creatives to think about how they’re explaining their work and suggest ways they can do it more effectively. Typically, these workshops are interactive, 90-minute sessions where participants can join the discussion via chat, but I’m happy to personalize them to meet your group’s needs.

First, I’ll cover the rationale behind writing good portfolio descriptions and how to use storytelling. Then, I’ll give some tips on what content to include. We’ll talk about how to write for a specific audience and how to use the best words to evoke emotion.

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In the second half, I typically show examples from real artists or designers and invite several participants to share their sites for a group brainstorming session. I also provide a PDF handout of the tips to all participants. These workshops have been really fun, so I’d love to do more of them. If you’re interested, let’s talk!

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Reviews from past workshop hosts

Lee-Sean Huang

AIGA Design Education Manager

“Jessica generously volunteered her time and expertise in offering a 90 minute workshop for members of AIGA, a non-profit organization and the largest professional association for design in the United States. The workshop had just over 100 participants and included designers ranging from recent graduates to more experienced professionals.

Jessica offered tips and tactics for more effective writing for professional design portfolios, and offered specific feedback to participants’ work. She fostered a great learning environment by offering feedback in a patient and positive way.”

Dianne Hoffman

Artspan Artist Services Manager

“I want to express again my genuine gratitude for your time and wisdom shared at the artist workshop. The conversation covered a broad range of useful points on portfolio presentation and the interactive elements were particularly engaging.

I think the attendees really benefited from visually applying these techniques to formulate dialogue about their own artworks. We’d love to have you back to speak on similar topics for our Professional Development series in the future.”

Yudy Herrera Orellana

Program Manager at Bridgegood

“BRIDGEGOOD, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit design studio that prepares student Creatives of color for tech careers had the pleasure to work with Jessica Gardner of Artglish. Jessica gave a thoughtful presentation to BRIDGEGOOD Creatives titled “Design your Portfolio Language.”

Our students were excited and engaged throughout the presentation and asked Jessica many meaningful questions. Without a doubt, the lesson helped students amplify their writing skills.”

Grace Ling

Founder of Design Buddies

“Jessica hosted a Design Your Portfolio Language with Design Buddies, a fast-growing design community. Her presentation was very organized and had content that both beginners and experienced individuals could take away from.

She also walked us through examples of different portfolios while relating it back to the content in her presentation which was helpful for understanding. We had over 120 attendees and members of the community attend and overall they had a great time! I’d recommend Jessica’s workshop to other organizations!”