Creative Bites: Alexis Bouckaert

ALEXIS BOUCKAERT

DIGITAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR
ROTHCO
PORTFOLIO NIGHT 8 DUBLIN PARTICIPANT
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What was the reaction you got, the advice you received the very first time you showed your own book?

“No real advice, just something about cobblers and barefoot kids…It was a very simple website I’d thrown together to showcase my college and freelance work at an interview. It was the first and last time I applied for a job without a proper portfolio site.”

Who was your biggest creative idol when you broke into the business? How did he or she influence you?

“Probably Hillman Curtis. His experimentations with video for flash showed me that all you needed to give a go at directing shoots for web was a passion for storytelling.”

How important is it for a portfolio to be highly polished?

“I suppose it depends on the person’s experience. If there’s a fair bit of great work to show, I prefer a simple website which emphasises the work and the thinking behind it. If it’s someone with very little experience, I’d expect the portfolio site itself to be brilliant.”

Do you prefer to look at work on a laptop or in a physical portfolio?

“As a digital creative director, I very rarely get shown a physical portfolio. I do get applicants who send me a PDF or flats of their work. Not a good idea…”

What is the stupidest thing somebody has done to get you to see them or their work?

“Probably not the worst story ever, but someone turned up at the office once, uninvited. It was a very busy day but I didn’t have the heart to turn them down. Unfortunately the portfolio wasn’t good enough to pull off a stunt like that.”

Economy notwithstanding, is it tougher to break into the business today than it was when you first got in?

“Digital’s gone through excessive ups and downs…I’d say that there’s probably more jobs than when I started, but much more is expected of them now. To be a creative, a designer, a coder, an animator etc….”