Book Information

Book ID Asin: 0321918681
Book Title: Burn Your Portfolio: Stuff they don't teach you in design school, but should (Voices That Matter)
Book Author: Michael Janda
Book Format and Price:
Book Format Name: Kindle
Book Format Price: $17.27
Book Format Name: Paperback
Book Format Price: $18.28-$34.99
Book Price: $34.99
Book Category: Books, Computers & Technology, Hardware & DIY and unknown
Book Rating: 280 ratings

Book Product Detail

• Best Sellers Rank: #310,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Computer Hardware Design
  • #59 in Desktop Publishing
  • #76 in Design & Graphics Software Books

• Customer Reviews:
  4.6 out of 5 stars 280 ratings

Book Review

Name: will gibbons
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Full, in-depth review! Highly recommended (by someone other than a graphic designer)
Date: Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2015
Review: I did a full review of this book on my website pdn9.com, and then realized I should share the review with others considering buying it on Amazon.

Score: 7.3

Amount of Content 7/10
Value of Content (Usefulness) 7/10
Originality of Content 8/10
Relevance of Content (To a Product Designer) 7/10
Entertainment Level 7/10
Length of Read 8/10
Inspiration 7/10

I just finished reading Michael Janda's book, Burn Your Portfolio, Stuff They Don't Teach You In Design School, But Should. This book's score of a 7.3 is pretty good, especially considering it was written by a graphic designer for graphic designers and I'm a product designer.

This book doesn't grind down into the technical processes in creating digital art, rather Janda focuses on widely-applicable skills and habits that nearly all successful entrepreneurs have. A visual indication that I enjoyed this book is all of the shreds of post-it notes marking pages I found particularly helpful.

For those unfamiliar with Michael Janda, he's the owner and operator of renowned design agency Riser. As an independent designer and director of Riser, Michael Janda has worked with clients that freelancers and agencies dream about having. Riser has proven profitable and grown year after year, and Janda's ability to understand design as a service as well as business is apparent. I'm very glad he took the time to share what he's come to learn and publish it into a great book for everyone to learn from. Now, let's look at why it scored the way it did.

Amount of Content
Although this book is only 361 pages long, there are a lot of words on those pages, haha. Not sure how else to say it. This book is just incredibly dense. Little room is wasted and the book is deceivingly heavy. I'll go ahead and pretend that the weight is indicative of the amount of information contained within. There's plenty of information in this book in my opinion.

Value of Content
I gave this category a 7 of 10. I found the content quite valuable. One way I'd find to improve this category is to include more actionable steps rather than high-level ideas and concepts. Another reason I only gave it a 7 in this category is because the book is really intended for graphic designers. Being a product designer, some of the content wasn't that valuable to me as it simply didn't relate.

Originality of Content
This book is full of original content. That's why it scored an 8 in this category. Michael's take on design is that it's a services. People skills matter in services and so he focuses on how to improve as a business owner and a human who's paid to provide a service. He pulls lots of experience from his own life which makes it entertaining and original. He also shares what he's seen work and not work. Finally, there's lots of concepts from other successful business owners and authors in this book, but Janda discusses exactly how it applies to designer.

Relevance of Content
This is a bit surprising. I'd think the relevance would be a 5 or 6, but I felt it deserved a 7. Again, since it's geared toward graphic designers, I was impressed. As a product designer I got lots of great insights on how to improve as a designer, a communicator and consultant. The merit of thoroughness and hard work is talked about in an uplifting way in this book.

Entertainment
Another 7 for this category. It's not as entertaining as an adventure or thriller book, but then again, it's about business as a designer. For the subject matter, it's well-written. There are some funny stories, but perhaps most useful are the actual experiences Michael shares which are inspiring as he's had a very successful career.

Length of Read
I assigned an 8 for this category as it took me a while to read this book. It's got many short chapters (over 100), so it's pretty easy to pick the book up, knock off a few chapters and then put it down. Also, at 361 copy-heavy pages, there is a generous amount of content between the two covers of this book.

Inspiration
Seven again! This book is perhaps a bit more aspirational than inspirational. Being pretty young in my career, Janda's accomplishments are more like milestones I'd like to hit than things I'm about to go do. The evidence he provides that a thorough, hard-work approach will take you far is inspiring and all the practices he mentions provides some sort of blueprint no matter where you're at in your career as a designer... unless you're Mr. Janda. (If that's the case, thank you so much for reading!!)

Final Thoughts
Burn Your Portfolio is a fantastic book. It's full of original information that provides a look into the design business through the eyes of an agency owner. this is valuable to anyone who ever wishes to be more than just a production artist. I think there are loads of valuable resources for Product designers and (other) designers alike. It's reminded me how my clients deserve to be treated and provided some stepping stones to advance my own career.

The Verdict
Buy it.

Name: Benni Quinn
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: So good I bought it twice.
Date: Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2022
Review: I had a physical copy of this book but loaned it to a colleague at the university where I used to work. When I left there, I left it with him and purchased my own. It's a great resource for someone who is designing for a university and how to make that university's recruiting materials stand out.

Name: Parka
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Packed with practical advice for graphic designers
Date: Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2015
Review: Michael Janda is a graphic designer who worked his way up from the trenches to where he is now, a creative director who works with big clients such as NBC, Fox, Disney, National Geographic and more.

Burn Your Portfolio is a refreshing no-nonsense guide for designers who are embarking on their career. The book talks about the best practices when it comes to handling your clients, common pitfalls to avoid and a lot of other insights.

This book assumes you already have the technical graphic design skills. The focus is on managing your relationships with your clients. It's all about the soft skills, making sure that there's mutual and concrete understanding of any particular project on hand.

Design schools don't teach this kind of client relationship skills because most of the time you're not working with someone who's paying your salary. The relationship becomes tricky when money is involved. This is where the book shines because Michael Janda has been there and done that before. He talks about the many mistakes he made and how they could have been avoided. Now that he's managing other designers, he also has tips on how to handle employees, outsource jobs and managing internal workflow.

I highly recommend this book to all graphic designers. It might save you a lot of trouble and inconvenience in the future. What Michael Janda has learned throughout his career, you can now learn in a book.

Name: WhiteDog
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent
Date: Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2013
Review: This is an excellent book, informative and not too difficult to read. A voracious reader himself and a successful businessman, Michael Jonda conveys a wealth of knowledge accumulated through study and real world experience. This book should be required reading for everyone contemplating a career in graphic design, or who has already embarked on one. Jonda covers the problems and pitfalls anyone can expect to encounter - and practical solutions that can help resolve those problems and avoid or circumnavigate the pitfalls. Whether you work for a design agency, are a freelance artist/designer or are building your own business, Jonda has been there and done that. He has worked on nearly every side of the graphic design business, experienced the ups and downs, the stresses and anxieties common to the trade. Thus his advice is not merely theoretical in nature, but based on what you will inevitably encounter in the real world of graphic design. The point of the book's title is that to succeed, you need to be more than a good - or even great - designer. Jonda explains in detail what else you need to know, as the subtitle indicates - all the essential stuff they don't teach you in art school.

Name: Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great condition, Great book
Date: Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2020
Review: This book was assigned as reading for a class so I ordered the physical version with Prime. (since I was spending over $10 I wanted it as quick as possible). It came a day early. I've started reading the book and love it already! What's different with this book and another I've had to read for graphic design class, is that Janda makes it clear that this is his advice and you should take what fits you and discard what doesn't. So he's really helping you find out what type of person/designer you are while also steering you in the right direction.

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