We haven't been able to get "Make the Logo Bigger" out of our heads, either, ever since the DJs at Speak Up added it to their playlist. The song is performed by the band Burn Back (get it?) who have since released another single, "Squeeze My Whipple" (get it?), and created a "Behind the Music" about their rise to fame. This clever ploy promotes the global advertising event Portfolio Night, which will be holding reviews in dozens of cities on May 3. It seemed pretty exciting until we saw this:

How do you know if your book is good enough to attend Portfolio Night?

Send your ads to education@ihaveanidea.org and we'll tell you.

Maybe we've had one too many bourbons this morning, but isn't the whole point of a portfolio review to have people tell you in person if your ads are good enough? We emailed them to find out and here's the deal: Should you send them some of your ads, the staff of ihaveanidea will review it themselves, and tell you if you'd benefit from the event. They may even tell you that there's too much work needed on your portfolio, and not to bother attending.

Huh? We turned to our friend Spencer Cross who just happens to be holding a portfolio review here in LA the same day...

This still sounds pretty bunk to me. Essentially what they're saying is they're willing to help you as long as they decide you're worth helping. Also, how is somebody with such a bad book supposed to know what work needs to be done if they're being turned down without explanation before they ever even walk through the door? Telling somebody "Sorry, your book's just not good enough," and not telling them why isn't just rude, it also perpetuates the elitism that I've found to be such a turn off among design organizations.

I've reviewed miserably bad portfolios, and I think it's a cop out to say that you can't help those people. In fact, I can help those people a lot more than I can help the wunderkind design prodigy who's going to get a pick of jobs anyway. You can always talk to people about basics and fundamentals that will improve their book exponentially, and they're usually thankful to hear it

So, bottom line, if your portfolio's not good, don't bother coming to Portfolio Night. But be sure to make the logo bigger, bro.