Acsys Interactive To Participate in Portfolio Review at Prestigious Art College

On Tuesday, March 10, representatives from Acsys Interactive will participate in a review of graphic design student portfolios at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), the nation's pre-eminent post-secondary school for art and design. This annual, invitation-only event is designed as a platform for established businesses to provide constructive feedback to students about their portfolios as they start to network and forge job links in advance of joining the professional workforce. By participating, qualified companies like Acsys Interactive also are afforded the unique opportunity to view the creative work of RISD students and scout talent for recruitment and future association.

Over the course of a spring-semester afternoon, RISD students will have the opportunity to make contact with Acsys Interactive, as well as nearly 30 other leading agencies and employers, such as Microsoft and Time Warner. All current graphic design students at RISD wishing to have their portfolio of work examined are encouraged to sign up for 15-minute timeslots with the businesses that interest them. During each brief session, one to three company representatives will review each subject's professional prospects and offer insight on the state of the current graphic design marketplace. This open review process, which takes place at individual company tables in two large rooms on RISD's downtown Providence campus, is designed as an educational event with free exchange of agency information, market perception, and design opinion, rather than as a competitive job fair.

Nonetheless, with the world economic situation driving dire predictions about the job market for new graduates, it is anticipated that students seeking employment opportunities will be particularly eager to have their portfolios judged by industry leaders this year. Students may even be surprised to find out that the world of graphic design, particularly in the interactive realm, has not been as hard hit by the financial downturn as other industries. This has proven especially true for well managed design firms, including the privately held, debt-free agency Acsys Interactive.

"To be sure, we plan on offering professional direction and an honest assessment of real-world prospects," offers Deb Peterson, VP of Human Resources and Organizational Development, who will represent Acsys Interactive along with the VP of Creative Services, Pat Phalon, and the Director of Creative Services, Kieran McCabe. "But we'll also have our eye out for exceptional talent and a possible good fit for our own organization."

Acsys Interactive currently promotes an agency internship program at several Connecticut colleges, and often offers successful participants permanent employment or regular contracting work. It is hoped that Acsys Interactive's participation in this upcoming portfolio review event will mark the beginning of a similar partnership between the award-winning agency and the RISD career development office. The college provides its students with an online job and internship database, ArtWorks, and qualified businesses, like those invited to attend the review event, can post resource needs. Acsys Interactive intends to list both internship and employment opportunities on the database in support of its presence at the portfolio review event.

"As an industry-leading interactive agency, we feel a real responsibility to share our insight with young artists and guide their development. Passionate, budding designers should understand that they have the best chance of flourishing as industry leaders if they choose employment with a company like Acsys Interactive, where they'll have the freedom to push the envelope and the support to continuously improve their design skills," adds Peterson. "But in the end, by participating in this review, we're just hoping we can help smooth the sometimes bumpy transition from student to professional for these talented young people."

About Acsys Interactive

Acsys Interactive (acsysinteractive.com) is an award-winning, full-service interactive agency providing strategy, branding, design, digital marketing, software development, and hosting services with an emphasis on client results. Acsys Interactive takes a technology agnostic approach with expertise in Web 2.0, rich media, intranet, extranet, ecommerce, portal and mobile delivery. Its 10+ years of experience span across the consumer, financial services, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, education, and non-profit industries. Clients include ESPN, Amica, Timex, ING, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Sikorsky, and New York University. Acsys Interactive is headquartered in Farmington, CT, with an office in New York City.