Where are u from? Ur portfolio is too practical...really depends on what kinda school u wanna apply...

From Northern VA, went to school at Univ of Maryland (College Park). IDK I'm confused I've seen a lot more abstract type portfolios, but that's never been style. Just need to figure out what direction to take it in, while still being me. If that makes sense.

This portfolio is ok (very simple and practical) for a job opportunity somwhere but for entry into grad school it needs a lot of work. This is an honest critique so please don't take anything personally.

-The font that you have chosen is border-line vulgar. I highly recomend you use something different.

-- Your resume looks a little confusing and a little contrived. It should read more straighforward. Right now it looks like computer specs to a database structure. Right now it is the most confusing page out of your entire portfolio especially since you have a very simple and straightforward formula for the rest of the pages.

-- You have a lot of text throughout the portfolio. That is fine but you need to seriously check your grammar. there are are a lot of sentence fragments.

-I think you should ditch that "port-fo-lio" thing. It's cutesy but to academics and professionals very annoying and even condecending.

- You really don't need that many pages about one project. Just pick the best and most moving images from each project. For grad school it's all about the design.

-- You can just eliminate the page about the unit plans for charles place. That page will do nothing for you or anyone else.

-- Eliminate the "rendering" of the Centreville Museum with the lego people. It is simply vile. Consider doing a real rendering or perhaps a hand sketch of what it might look like. Having digital renderings in a portfolio is great if it demonstrates your strengths with certain types of software. This rendering proves the opposite for you so it actually works against you.

-- The Performing Arts Center is a nice project and a nice rendering. If you have the ability to do this, I would go back and re-render all your other 3d stuff you have. It would do you great justice.
I love sketchup as much as the next person, but avoid showing it as a final render. You can always export into max or other rendering software.

-- Page 18. Atrocious. I would eliminate this project all together.

-- Page 19-22 You can consolidate into one page as no one is going to read all of that.

-- there are a LOT of images you don't really need in that portfolio. Try to sift out a few.

-- try to find some images from undergrad projects that were more design oriented.

-- I'm sure you can scan some of your best sketches, some painting, sculpture, etc from previous undergrad courses.

-- I think the color and simplicity of the graphic layout is fine. But the whole thing (particularly for grad school) needs to show that you are a good and worthy designer who can also understand architecture. You clearly have experience and education, but you need to show you are capable of designing.

Hope this helps and again, nothing personal. Good Luck!

Thanks. I did most of this portolio a year ago so I know it needs to "refreshed".

In my opinion content trumps format. On the other hand, the formatting can really become distracting, or boring. This portfolio reads more like a initech powerpoint presentation rather than your best effort at presenting your work.

Some projects begin on the left page, some on the right, and there isn't entirely a clear cut separation between different projects. Point being that if you insert blank pages,(or perhaps a full page spread of a rendering, drawing, photo etc.) after projects ending on a left page it would signify a conclusion to that project. The way it's structured now, I kind of gloss over and page through quickly. The border on the bottom probably isn't necessary on every page as it takes up real estate, and might best be used only at the intro of projects.

Some will admire you consistency in layout and presentation, but don't feel the need to be a slave to it. Even small changes to your existing format may help differentiate projects, like color changes for example.

Personally, I'd lose the quote. At the very least, maybe describe what it means to you or how you try to manifest that into your own work. Definitely, with out a doubt, get rid of "port-fo-lio: a selection of work". C'mon really? And unless you intend on getting a job doing cd cover art, lose the cover picture. If you feel the need to use an image, use a rendering, illustrationor hot ass axon. Something that is relevant to what you do or will be doing at school/work.

You didn't ask for content critique, so I've left it out. good luck.

I actually like it. If I was hiring, this shows a real, simple basic architectural approach and prob reflects the personality of the applicant - staight shooter type. No flashy eye candy, just an understanding of what everyday architecture is like.

That said, it could use some graphical sexing up.

sex it up and get rid of that ketchup and mustard diagram.

I agree with JoeyD here. It is definitely a vernacular, simple and safe approach to architecture which is what the vast majority of firms in the US practice. You would probably have no problems getting a job. Grad School on the other hand...there isn't anything exciting or new in terms of idea and thought. It seems like you had professors that were more interested in how buildings come together versus pushing concepts and ideas as far as you could.

One thing I have learned, rules are made to be broken. You set yourself up with a rule regarding layout and stuck with it. You need pages that break it that have sexy images, axons, perspectives, etc...

Also, take out the Aalto reference for the museum. You only used its formally and not to the true idea that Aalto had for his fan and bar libraries (which in term come from ancient Roman theaters). To use Aalto as a reference the exhibits would have to be in the skewed geometry with all the service and staff spaces in the bar. Right now it looks like just a study area, which is auxillary space in a museum. Aalto's libraries had the reading area and stacks in the fan, which was a large open space with everything else in the bar.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Im definitely trying to use this portfolio for dual purpose grad school and work. I well try to make things "sexier" and makes things visually more exciting. Well also work on the text, cover page, etc.

Thanks again.

"just an understanding of what everyday architecture is like."

If this is the best a portfolio can aspire to, it is a sad portfolio indeed.

Comments:

I was bored with this portfolio by the 3rd page. As someone mentioned, this looks like it is designed in PowerPoint by someone who thinks they are being creative, but is in fact doing the exact opposite. The formatting of these pages is honestly so awful it's all I can focus on. It's like watching a movie with a horrible soundtrack... it ruins the entire experience.

The blue box on the bottom of the pages... delete it. It's not doing you any good. This information could easily be incorporated into with the title and project description (and in fact the project title already is). "My Idea" should just be called "Project Description" because after all this is all your own work. You can leave the Fall 2008 or whatever, but I think Professor names are really unnecessary. It's your work, not theirs.

Now, for the blue... just make it black or gray. This shade of blue in particular is only helping to make this look like it was made by someone in HR. The typeface is awful. Just stick to the basic san-serifs until you know better.

I would opt for one image on the title page. The one image that really sells the project. Full-bleed it and float the text box over it so that your title pages have a strong visual presence.

Break up the content on the remainder of the pages so that they don't all contain the same amount/size of images, otherwise it all becomes wallpaper that someone is going to gloss over.

The custom-shelf project... not the best way to end a portfolio. That last page needs to be something WOW, not something meh.

I would stick to a pretty plain cover, possibly just your name and a solid color (that isn't PowerPoint blue). This current cover is really off-putting and could easily land your portfolio in the rejection pile without even cracking the cover.

Just remember that admissions people get literally hundreds of portfolios to review and at best they might spend 5 minutes looking though your entire application (of which the portfolio is only a small part).

Cover: lose pot-fo-lio. One it should be port-fo-li-o. Two it is ridiculous. Keep it simple, maybe put your best project image on the front.

Page 1: The flow chart resume isn't too hot. Related coursework probably isn't necessary. It's assumed

page 3: Lose the model image, it is bleh. Reduce your process images. Actually lose them all or redo them.

Condense Charles Place. The "Site" photo on page 8 is uncessary. What's with the yellow diagram? I went to UMD and that shit was not tolerated. Things have changed...

Cube house is cute - re-do the images, make it one page.

i didn't even look at pages 18-23. Neither will anyone else.

The strength of the Chinatown facade drawing is weakened by the photo of the model. The auto showroom is nice.

Ditch the custom shelf. It's the opposite of sexy.

the revit box has done you in :P

I'd say if you're gonna include sketches, you should really work on your sketching skills and put in drawings that look a lot more elegant. If you're having a hard time improving your drawing ability, ditch the hand-drawn sketches and use illustrator or something to create diagrams.

I don't mind the blue bar on the bottom, it gives a uniting element to the portfolio. Maybe shrink the size of it though.

I think a really critical problem is that I can't get the "big idea" from each of your projects without having to read that paragraph of text. Oftentimes people skip the text and go straight to the images. I mean ok, I get the "big idea" in terms of spatial organization by your labeled diagrams, but I feel there is really something missing in the 'why' of your projects. There's no real defining idea that makes a compelling argument of "this is why the building should have been designed the way I chose to design it". It's a tough thing to bring out and it's easy to say something like that from my side, but if you work at it I'm sure you'll end up with a better portfolio.

One other thing that kinda irks my OCD.. try to avoid having your text spill off the side with the hyphens as much as possible. Simply adjusting the text box width slightly can reduce it and I think its a simple thing to make the text a little more pleasant to read.

^ or you could just uncheck the hyphen option in Illustrator/InDesign... assuming this was produced using Adobe software.

From a design standpoint, I absolutely detest the font and color blue, it takes away from your work. I am unsure where to look on your pages at first glane.

I would lose the quotes, and your cover page must be simplified. Also, it seems as though there is very little concept in your work, rather a very pragmatic, so to speak, approach to architecture.

By the way- never have a dual-purpose portfolio. You must cater a portfolio for each school and each job application.

It needs more comic sans and...




RAINBOWS!!!

Ok, I now realize it needs A LOT of work. The cover page has already been scrapped and I'm going to redo every page. Also the blue box is gone....

Just remember content is more important than format.. Well unless the format is that bad that it becomes a puzzle for someone to read the portfolio.

The format of your portfolio is passable I think.. Its simple and that's fine. Focus on improving the content of your work. Good luck! Post updates :)

Content may be important, but format/design is what is going to get you noticed.

Quentin I think you have a good start, are you finished with you undergraduate work or is there a final project not included in this portfolio? If anything I think you should consider a few things to improve the work you are showing.

1 on floor plans it is a good idea when they are at a small scale to add a light tone or shade to distinguish between floors and space that is open to below. Color to delineate program space is also helpful since you can avoid labeling tiny spaces

2 You have a lot of large ambitious projects and unfortunately you have not developed or designed the finer details for a few of those designs. Some schools are interested in your technical skills as well as design ability, so find a way to tastefully introduce an interesting detail or wall section that demonstrates you have some idea how a real building goes together. What you have now is nice and you could make it better with some color and a restrained effort at making the details read or at least grab attention as reviewers rapidly flip through you portfolio

3 Grids are your friend, line up text and images to make clear grids, only stray from the grid for good reasons, otherwise keep the gaps between images text and other stuff consistent.

4 Have a beginning middle and end. Make the first and last projects the most compelling so the reviewers slow down and take it all in, break free of chronological order. If your weaker projects are first the reviewers will simply give up before they get to the good stuff.

5 If you go to grad school what building types do you want to learn about? You should come out and let the reviewers know right away and focus on those building types in your beginning middle and end.

6 If you are going to show details show complex or interesting details that are unique to the projects you are featuring if it is standard out of a book don’t show it.

7 You need to edit, some projects are not portfolio material, and you should consider designing a few small projects to fill in the gaps such as a retail build-out or a café or restaurant. Do not revisit old design work it is emotionally draining and not a productive use of your time.

I'm not sure if someone has already mentioned the follow but I hope they help!
-Overall I think the color blocks around the text and the footer are too strong. If you were to quickly open your portfolio your eye immediately jumps to the text rather than the images- which is most important when critics may only have a short amount of time to look through your porfolio. A more subtle color may fix the problem or maybe another approach?

-I like how you're consistent between pages in how you present the project and that the images are allowed to speak for themselves- rather than overly stylized with graphic layouts. However, I think you need to edit down some of the projects. Not all projects have to have the same number of pages. Try to create a rhythm between projects with 1 spread vs. 4 spreads for example. This will also help the reader focus on your most important work.

-Also, I think you need to make each first spread of a new project more obvious. The text paragraph is helping but maybe the title should be called out again or larger to create a hierarchy. Also- only use spreads! No finishing 1 project and starting another in the same spread. I.e. pg. 8-9.

-I think your cover is too contrived- probably the hardest page to design! I know it's boring but maybe just an image from your portfolio?

-I don't like the font but that's a personal preference. I wouldn't underline though. It almost looks like you would be printing out a website with underlined links.

-You need some hierarchy between the project titles and the description of what's on the page (Charles Place --- Early Planning). Also don't be afraid to mix different types of images together. You don't need a whole pages of elevations but maybe one elevation and a detail dwg/image tell a better story.

Hope that helps!

Can i have a critic of my portfolio...(for M.arch I with structural engineering degree)

http://issuu.com/sheeks/docs/portfoliopetit

Sorry but some fonts are missing in the .pdf format.

^ easy way to fix that (if working in Illustrator/InDesign)

Outline Type. It will turn your type into a vector (which means no more editing so save your file before and then again after as a different name). Not only will this make sure your fonts show up here in this .pdf it will also avoid printing problems later (or if you email for a job app or something).

@Cherith Cutestory
Ok thx, but what about the content of the porfolio, is it good enough for top grad arch school?

To be honest Sheeks they are going to look at this and think you are going for graphic design. The only two things architecture wise are buried. The sketch is ok but the engineering project doesn't show off anything.

To be honest looking through your portfolio I was wondering what the hell am I looking at. That's not good, as a professor told me as I've been working on my own portfolio you have to be lean, mean and clear.

^ agreed. The ONE "engineering" project is the last thing in the portfolio and has so little content it blends in with the other pages.

So to start with, I would work that engineering project as number 1 and if you have anything other work that supports it I would include it so you can fill it out to being a good quality project that demonstrates you have some background and desire to pursue a degree in engineering.

After that, I would probably condense the amount of sketch/drawing work (although it is good) to fewer pages. Again, you want the weight of the portfolio to show your interest in engineering, not graphic design/cartooning as this current portfolio suggests.

I hate to be a downer but I would throw the whole portfolio out and consider a summer architecture program like career discovery where you could develop completely new design projects. Graphics aside, I think the content is competent but too practical and not ambitious enough to get you into a good school. In fact, right now I think it actually hurts your chances vs. showing them less.

@Thanx for the comments, i will take it into account (joshuamings and Cherith Cutestory)

I thought that i should include some sketches to prove that i can use free hand drawings...because i do not have a background in architecture... just engineering, but i would like to apply for the M.Arch I.

Should i make more technical drafts about my projets? Painting showing buildings??? Photography?

Please help

@987654321
The fact is that i'am working for an engineering company...i would like to leave for summer studies...but i can't .... cause $$$... i will probably take some art courses...(part-time)

Sheeks, you would get a better response by starting your own thread. Keep that in mind next time.

I think your portfolio would be somewhat, and to a minimal degree, acceptable if you had a undergrad degree in art, journalism etc., but I'm being led to believe that you have a degree in engineering. Where is that work then? The one project that has relevance looks like it may be interesting, (the drawings) but lacks any real description. Did you build that? Design it? Conceive it? How long did it take? Did it solve any existing problems? If you don't have a body of architectural work, then you will have to demonstrate to the best of you abilities that you understand the concepts of space through whatever makes you comfortable, i.e. drawing, painting, modeling. Nearly every one of us can tell you how we had some predilection towards architecture at an early age. Maybe you did too. So where is that evidence?

Sheeks, I actually came from a construction/engineering background before going into architecture school. One of the things you will have to overcome is going from thinking "Can I build this?" to "How can I build this?". Needless to say due to Purdue all of my structures classes were extremely easy at Tulane.

Engineers design as well. Find a couple projects that you had aesthetic influence on and show them off. They will like the fact that you know how to put a building together. That is half the battle (and one that some people out of school still don't know judging from previous work experience). I would keep some freehand drawing but focus it on architecture, and do some sketching of buildings as an attempt to dissect them with diagrams/etc... Photography, construction documents, graphic design is all good to include as well, just don't make them dwarf the architecture.

I'm going to put my portfolio up here as well, but keep in mind this is 4 years into architecture school, with a couple of internships under my belt as well, and that my university is predominantly a design school.

My Portfolio

Sheeks, I hadn't even seen your portfolio and didn't realize you'd hijacked this guys thread. My comments were in reference to the original poster.

Thx for the comments,
Sorry for the hijacking, i will make some big improvement.

you mentioned that you already got into a grad school.... where did you get into?

@"Unknown Arch Student"
To whom are u talking with?

@unknown arch student - Hampton Univ in VA

@ 98765... - Portfolio is getting redone from front to back, as mentioned earlier

I think my main prob was when I first did this, I just tried to take my presentation boards and jam them into 8.5" x 11"s which clearly was the wrong direction to go.

I should have InDesign and the new Revit on my computer this weekend so I can start reworking lots of things. I will make it more exciting and will update you guys with the new portfolio when I'm done. Cover page, index, and resume have all been changed. Just not starting to work on the project pages, it's going to take a while. I'm going to add new projects and clean up the other ones.

Also several of you have questions why I have "x" drawing or w/e, most of the drawings were required for the project I had to do for a particular class. And sometimes they even required certain things be mark by certain colors, like the “yellow/red” diagram (there was a reason for that). And yea I realize after I graduated that I didn't push the envelope far enough, oh well. I've already graduated now (w/a 3.6, I wasn’t a slacker). And maybe I just prefer a more conservative approach to architecture.

Would anyone recommend having cuts and fold outs in a portfolio for grad schools? I dont think it a good idea for a professional portfolio unless its a scale issue and fold outs are need.

littleArch - it isn't necessarily a bad idea - alot of times those fold outs and inserts can be passed around an admissions committee table, generating some buzz or conversation around the table. unless the fold outs are entirely superfluous it won't hurt you

The grad schools aren't going to care if your drawings were required for a class or what colors they required your drawings to be ... the portfolio is independent from all that and it has to look good objectively.

^ no one cares what your school required or not. The audience doesn't know this and don't care, they read what you put in front of them. To say, XX required this and that is just an excuse. You can even go back and change the site of a project if it's going to make it better。

I would defiantly remove the custom shelf project. ASAP.

And these so-called "abstract portfolios," maybe you can learn something instead of dismissing them because they are not your style. I'm also confused to what you mean by a practical approach to architecture, your portfolio doesn't really show any sort of approach at all - It just seems like you arrive at a building.

- Instead of writing out your idea, try to show it through conceptual vignettes, diagrams or illustrations. Since this is probably not your "style" then show it through strict analysis of site/context, etc.

- I do see potential in your museum project (but be sure to remove all that Aalto bullshit).

Well yea I know that now....