Tag: Portfolio Night

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TAI Hosts Portfolio Night for Creative Advertising Students

Attendees at the event.

Wednesday, December 7, TAI hosted a Portfolio Night & Exhibition to display the work of creative advertising majors in both Concepting and Advanced Portfolio classes. The event was held in SMU’s Owen Arts Center and was attended by over 100 people. The night started off with an opening reception and exhibition viewing followed by a portfolio review.

During the portfolio review, DFW-area industry professionals from over 15 agencies reviewed the students’ creative work. Industry reviewers at the event included Amanda Fowler, The Richards Group; Randall Kenworthy, TM; Gus Granger, 70kft; Jason Shipp, Moroch; Kevin Sutton, Moroch; Matt Lindner, Moroch; Zack Ward, Johnson & Sekin; Kent Johnson, Johnson & Sekin; David Wilgus, The Launch Agency; Anna Lee Doughtie, TracyLocke; Arturo Lee, Dieste; Jose Benitez, Dieste; Raul Mendez, Dieste; Greg Hunter, Firehouse; Michelle Sensale, The Richards Group; Abraham Campillo, The Richards Group; Rob Wilson, Illustrator / Designer; Alan Lidji, Lidji Design Office; Keisha Whaley, LDWWgroup; Jim Sykora, Willow St. Agency; Larry Johannes, Willow St. Agency; Mallory Massa, 3 Headed Monster; Blake Cleavenger, 3 Headed Monster; Travis Hanson, 3 Headed Monster; Ken Koester, KoesterDesign; Ky Lewis, Infinite Agency; Jordan Spencer, Infinite Agency.

Some of the work featured at the event.

“The most common thing I heard from our reviewers over the course of the night was that the work was really strong and only seemed to be getting better and better,” TAI Lecturer and Creative Professor Mark Allen said. “After seeing the work in the exhibition and the portfolio review, I had several agencies ask for recommendations for internships and full-time creative positions. My favorite thing about the whole event is getting to watch the faces of my students light up as they finally get to see their work displayed in an art gallery full of creative professionals who are visibly impressed with what’s on the wall—this is the moment when they understand why I push them so hard; why all the late nights and the seemingly endless rounds of changes are worth it.”

Several of the reviewers were also SMU and TAI alums, which provides students with a familiar perspective and encouragement about where they could be in the future. It also serves as a special experience for the alums themselves.

“Getting a chance to sit on the other side of the SMU portfolio review was quite an experience,” TAI alum and Art Director at Dieste Arturo Lee (MA ’14) said. “Seems like it was only yesterday I was having my book evaluated. The only thing that has changed since then is the level of talent, which [has] gone up exponentially. Can’t wait to see what next semester’s students are able to come up with.”

At the end of the night, Stan Richards Professor in Creative Advertising, Willie Baronet, and Mark Allen presented awards to students who had particularly positive reviews and creative work. The student awards include:

Best Concept – Tiffany Giraudon & Caroline Moss, Bumble

Best Art Direction – Helen Rieger & Tiffany Giraudon, Hypnotic Donuts (campaign) and Morgan Hoff & Caroline Moss, Converse Chuck II Poster (single)

Best Copywriting – Nicki Fletcher & Jennifer Nelson, Lotrimin

Best Graphic Design (TIE) – Sam Butz (Cookie Cottage, Zero Gravity and personal branding projects) and Tanner Thompson (Hotel California and NASA Interplanetary Missions posters)

Best Video/Commercial – Tanner Thompson & Sofie Rosell, Anonymous

Best Digital/Non-traditional – Laura Walsh & Christina Skertchly, 1-800-GOT-JUNK App

Best Overall – Tanner Thompson & Morgan Hoff, Dallas Grilled Cheese, Co.

Students Morgan Hoff and Tanner Thompson with their awards.

“It was really rewarding to see all of the student’s hard work being shown off at Portfolio Night,” TAI creative advertising student Morgan Hoff said. “I couldn’t believe how many people came to see our work! It was also a great way to show my friends and family what I’m passionate about. The feedback I received from industry professionals was really valuable too, because it helps me improve my work and helps me understand what agencies are looking for when they are reviewing portfolios. Overall, it was a really exciting event.”

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TAI Student Participates in Portfolio Night All Star Week in New York

Paul-Curry
TAI Student Paul Curry attends PN All Star Week

At its core, Portfolio Night is an event where aspiring young advertising copywriters, art directors and designers meet with several renowned advertising creative directors in a fast-paced evening of advice, networking and recruitment. Hand picked from Portfolio Night 11, twenty-three creative students from across the country assembled in Manhattan for the purpose of completing a week-long creative advertising challenge, one of whom was TAI’s very own Paul Curry.

The Portfolio Night All-Stars competition was sponsored by Ford and Adobe. The week began with the presentation of the creative assignment on August 5th. After five long, hard days and a few sleepless nights, the All-Stars presented their creative concepts on Friday August 10th. Each team had ten minutes to present to a panel of representatives from Ford, Team Detroit and the Art Directors Club.

Senior TAI student Paul Curry reflects on his experience at Portfolio Night All Star Week: “The trip was frustrating, hard, stressful, awesome, freeing, long, short, and exactly what I thought it was gonna be. It was the kind of experience that gives you experience. Personally I loved talking to these people from all over the country and world about advertising and just life in general. I learned a lot about my own creativity, as well as how to relish frustrating things.”

Curry was selected as Dallas’ All Star on May 22 at Portfolio Night Dallas, which was held at TM Advertising and sponsored by the Temerlin Advertising Institute. His portfolio was ranked highest amongst other top young creatives in the Dallas/Fort Worth advertising community.

To read more about Portfolio Night All Stars and their collaboration with Ford Motor Company, check out their website at http://portfolionight.com/11/archives/10085.

2013 Portfolio Night All Stars
Participants in Portfolio Night All Stars Week
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Temerlin senior Paul Curry named Advertising All-Star

SMU advertising major Paul Curry will join 23 other designated All-Stars from around the world in August to compete in a special Art Directors Club challenge to create the best advertising campaign for Ford Motor Company.

Paul-Curry

Curry, a senior at the Temerlin Advertising Institute in SMU Meadow’s School of the Arts, won a slot in the competition and was named an All-Star on May 23 at the regional “Portfolio Night/Dallas.”

“This is the next generation of young creatives,” says Curry. “I look forward to working with them and I’m going to work hard when I’m there.”

Portfolio Night was founded in 2002 by ihaveanidea and is presented by the New York-based Art Directors Club. The event is held annually in multiple cities around the world on the same night. The Dallas Portfolio Night has been hosted by SMU Meadows’ Temerlin Advertising Institute (TAI) for the past two years; this year’s Dallas event partner was TM Advertising.

“Any time you get an opportunity like this you have to treat it like it’s your big break,” Curry says. “I’m going into it with full expectations that I – and my team – can win.”

A camera crew will shoot the entire week of the competition and post webisodes on the Portfolio Night website.

“We will be watching back in Dallas to see the exploits of a hometown hero,” says Steven Edwards, director of the Temerlin Advertising Institute. “Paul represents the best TAI has to offer and we are glad his work will be showcased in the global competition.”

Curry built his portfolio with knowledge gained at SMU in classes such as Concepting and Art Direction Studio. His student projects include campaigns for Texas Instruments and Sherwin-Williams Paint.

To read the full SMU and Art Directors Club press releases, visit: http://www.smu.edu/News/2013/paul-curry-28june2013.

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Join Us for Portfolio Night – Wednesday, May 22

Calling all creative advertising students and young professionals!  Don’t miss the opportunity to get your portfolio reviewed by Dallas’ best Creative Directors.  Join the Temerlin Advertising Institute and TM Advertising for Portfolio Night – Dallas on Wednesday, May 22.

At its core, Portfolio Night is an event where aspiring young advertising copywriters, art directors and designers meet with several renowned advertising creative directors in a fast-paced evening of advice, networking and recruitment. While the evening has been jokingly called “speed-dating for creatives”, it’s really much more than that. In the eleven years since its inception, Portfolio Night has grown to a global event, reaching creative hubs in every continent in an evening where the best of the present meets the best of the years to come.

What: Portfolio Night

When: Wednesday, May 22

Time: 6:00 – 10:15pm

Where: TM Advertising, 3030 Olive Street, 400 Victory Plaza East, Dallas, TX 75219

Cost: $30 (includes portfolio reviews with Dallas’ best Creative Directors, food, drinks, and official Portfolio Night gear.  We promise – it’ll be worth every penny!)

Click here to register by Tuesday, May 21! 

Questions?  Contact the Temerlin Advertising Institute at temerlin@smu.edu

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