Junkolio
An old co-worker of mine once frequently used the term “Junkolio”. He would often say, in a voice not dissimilar to Jack Burton, from Big Trouble in Little China, “Yeeeeep. Well, just gonna finish this up real quick and file it in the íol Junkolio.”
I bring this up today as Junkolio has much been on my mind. In conversations with other designers and in conversations with myself. For Junkolio actually refers to all that work that never makes it into your portfolio. The work that never sees the light of the day. The work that pays for your ham and cheese sandwich and your ability to use running water and electricity. Yep. You guessed it. Itís the work that was largely unglamorous but did the job and allows you to practice in this special profession we know all to well called graphic design. However these days, Iíve noticed an alarming increase in the Junkolio. I am myself guilty of this. There are some things I look back after a few months/year and cringe/shudder and carefully slide back under the rug. But I have noticed a great many folks who I meet and chat with are in under the same quandary. What to show? Does one take heed in the age old saying of showing only the type of work one wants to work with? Can one survive following such a mantra? Physically? Financially?
Iím becoming increasingly interested these days in what makes it into the Junkolio? It’s funny. In a day when print is becoming increasingly more difficult to survive with, I’ve found that many a website, big or small, makes their way to the Junkolio. I’ve seen portfolios with a broad section of ‘work’ and then a whole other section simply labeled ‘web’. As if to say, yep, we sweep this under the carpet as well. Hopefully nobody notices. Iím not sure where I’m going with this other than to wonder, who is making use of the Junkolio these days and what goes in it? Is anybody Junkolio free? Is anybody showing everything in the entire year they worked on?
The other reason I bring up Junkolio, is what appears to be the ever maddening state of design. For I’ve noticed in numerous conversations, that everything that ever did make it into the ‘work’ section of a portfolio had practically zero budget. A ‘fun portfolio piece’ or a project for a buddy that was zero in funds but allowed for some creative freedom. The sad fact is, that it appears that designers can not live from what they show? It is the Junkolio that makes that peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But poor Junkolio never sees the sun. I guess I’m curious if anybody else is making use of the ’ol Junkolio? And if so, what ’cha got in there? Can I trade ya for my PB&J?
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Interesting. I think your quintessential junkfolio piece becomes such when the client’s intervention outweighs the designer’s input. Not to sound malicious or even pompous – my point being the potential portfolio piece you’ve been striving for crosses the threshold most times at an earlier stage in the design process, than ever forseen or anticipated. I kind of ‘shit – where did it go wrong with this job’ scenerio. In terms of a filing system – the junkfolio piece would be VIS (version) 9 or 10, say.
But you’re absolutely correct – it’s these bread and butter jobs which pay the way and keep the bigger, more creative jobs afloat (which coincidentally aren’t necessarily the most profitable, whoever your clients are). But why would a designer want to showcase their junkfolio? Who benefits? The potential client usually can’t distinguish the difference between a piece of good or bad design, fellow peers certainly won’t be bookmarking it and for potential employers: hell, if anything it might just result in becoming a shop window for siphoning competitor’s business.
I’m not ashamed to say that my junkfolio correlates with my bank balance – the more it piles up, so does the pay-off. Like a guilty sideline almost, to the jobs I take pride in and remind me why I became a designer. However needless to say I don’t intend on the contents within it seeing the light of day – the designer shall remain invisible, shall we say.
I remember attending a Pecha Kucha night a couple of years back on the theme of ‘what inspires you?’, amidst the talks of chinese woodcuts, pets, Andy Goldsworthy and anything else as far-flung as you can imagine, my former creative director leanned to me and said ‘you know what inspires me? getting paid.’ I admired his honesty and to a large degree he was right, but we never won any design awards.
Sometimes when I look at portfolios I go directly to their self-initiated project section. I think that’s were all the creative freedom thrives. I’ve noticed lately the growth in self-initiated projects amongst designers. Maybe doing those projects are just a way to keep us sane.
I’m still pretty new to the “real world” of design. Slowly coming out of design school and taking up freelance projects, I’ve realized how difficult the world of design is when you have opinionated clients and sucky budgets. When I show people my portfolio the most common comment I get is “Oh boy…this project has no budget…it could never happen in the real world”. But now I ask…why can’t we make these projects happen! Why can’t we persuade the client? Do we not have good enough sales skills? Or do we just not want to deal with it…just want to get paid and move on. Maybe I’m just being naive. =)
Dude, maybe we could start up a Junkolio support group of some sort. An online gallery of anonymous work that we’re not particularly proud of? Perhaps it would function like a collective round of applause for admitting to having done it. Sounds cathartic, right? Or would it be depressing?