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Portfolio Critique

SLD

Hi Everybody, I'm going cross-eyed and thought I'd stop and get some feedback on my portfolio draft:

http://issuu.com/durrett/docs/portfolio_draft_saturday2/64

I'm a mid-career landscape architect and putting together a new book for job applications. While I want to appeal to a range of firm types and styles, think I could stand to trim out a few projects and I'm too biased to hack away. There are other inconsistencies and pages I'm not enamored with and need some help. I'd love to have your suggestions, trimming related or otherwise!

I know all of you youngsters will say, "What? no 3-D modeling?!", and the veterans "What?! no perspective sketches?!", I'm frantically working on them both and expect to be finished over the holidays, then life will be complete :) (But in the meantime, I still need something reasonable to send out.)

Also, has anyone had success (or not) printing with Blurb?

(The text is all placeholder/inaccurate at the moment so don't worry about reading it FYI)

I appreciate everyone's help! Thanks!
Susan

 
Dec 4, 10 10:29 pm
Distant Unicorn

Yes, yes... yes! The front cover is excellent.

I like the text layout on the sides. I don't think you'll really need that much text.

However, if you want a kind of magazine book like approach...

I'd copy over that red text from your name on front, use a narrower variation and use it from subtitles describing individual projects on those big block text pages.

I'm not sure if this translates over... but on your project management page, do something like this:

Project Management (title big serif text)
Introduction paragraph
[return]
Subtitle (red font, 14 pts, small caps)
details (slightly smaller red font, 12 pts, standard)
subparagraph
[return]
Subtitle (red font, 14 pts, small caps)
details (slightly smaller red font, 12 pts, standard)
subparagraph
[return]
Subtitle (red font, 14 pts, small caps)
details (slightly smaller red font, 12 pts, standard)
subparagraph

Dec 4, 10 10:36 pm  · 
 · 
Distant Unicorn

Also, don't use jpegs (unless you really have to) for your fancy pants project overview pictures.

If you're using indesign, you can embed PDFs of those files right into indesign. So, just print those documents straight to pdf and then better looking snapshots that are legible.

Dec 4, 10 10:39 pm  · 
 · 
SLD

THANKS SO MUCH! I was hoping *YOU* would respond Marxist Unicorn! I've enjoyed seeing your feedback on other people's portfolios :)

Dec 4, 10 10:40 pm  · 
 · 
Rusty!

2008 was a very busy year for you seeing every single project you worked on was done that year :)

The issue that I have here is that all of the place-holding text states the same 'Role on team': image board assembly and material palette selection.

These are all very mature, professional projects. I imagine large teams were involved putting these projects together. Without knowing what your role on each project was, it becomes very difficult to judge your portfolio objectively. It's like saying "I was there for the original Woodstock". Performing? Selling drugs? Or taking them?

In my own portfolio such lack of proper clarification would lead a dumb person to conclude that I singlehandedly redesigned the World Trade Center. And I don't want that clusterfuck credited to me any more than my limited role.

I would love to crit your portfolio once you (at least) complete the credits.

btw. It's nice to see a more mature portfolio on here.

Dec 5, 10 2:54 am  · 
 · 
Distant Unicorn

Larger size here

I think it could work. You'll have to play around with it more. I spent 10 minutes.

I just saw that you're a landscape architect. And that's good and bad. Like planning, your design work doesn't pop that much.

Who wants to really look at road center lines or berm designs?!

But I think an intro page like this will allow you to expand on each individual piece of work while giving supporting pages more free room to breathe (since you'll basically be posting a series of maps, design diagrams and excel spreadsheets.) And none of those things need neat little paragraphs explaining every one of them.

Dec 5, 10 3:37 am  · 
 · 

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