Hey, this is my first post on this website and was wondering if I can get some advice on which portfolio I should present to employers. The first is rigidly formatted while in the second, the projects are all shuffled and is meant to be held and sifted through.
I agree with Rem, kind of. Your portfolio should reflect the personality of the place you want to work, and the type of architect you are working on becoming.
Above all else, make sure your portfolio is pleasant to look at in Adobe Acrobat. That usually means 2-up display of letter-size pages, which also translates into print well.
Definitely option 1, no one would ever wade all the way through the second one. If your printing this out you need to be really careful about the black background. It can be done but the paper has to be good and the printer has to be good otherwise it looks like stripes and the paper ripples. I recommend finding an employer who likes boxes.
If you show up anywhere with a printed portfolio, it should be a professional-quality product printed at Blurb or Lulu.
At my previous job, I did two rounds of interviews and every time someone came in with a custom-made box or fancy acrylic covers or a bunch of pages you shuffle through, I was just like WTF is this?
A well-made, professional 8.5 x 11 portfolio in full color with perfect-bound spine tells me that A) you understand my time is valuable. B) You can make a good presentation within a standard template (very important in most firms) C) you realize you are not a "special snowflake" and are willing and able to work within a larger organization towards common goals.
If you really want to make something unique, do it for yourself, not for job seeking.
I'd actually go for a middle road. The first is too rigid - if I was an employer I'd wonder why you took up all those extra pages just for a few lines of text, and a waste of ink on the black background. The second portfolio is too haphazard.
Maybe try a third layout that has a family of grid-based options, so you can include some of the descriptive sketches and diagrams in a smaller (non-full-page) format, alongside some of the larger imagery.
To my mind, your portfolio is not a competition between 'them and you' - you should be applying to firms that fall in line with the work you want to do, so hopefully there's not too much of a difference in personalities. That said, there's nothing bad about trying to tie in your personality--which should come through in your design approach--to a particular style of presentation that's favored by the firms you are applying to.
so, i thought about this for a while one time and decided a bound edge may not be the best. laying things out in such a way as you can compare them next to each other can be a good thing. then, get a portfolio of sorts that allows you to stick things back together in an 8.5x11 format so it can be stuck in whatever drawer or filing cabinet things are stuck in.
The portfolio method that archanonymous is referring to is exactly what universities encourages. Completely unpractical. Another example of bad schooling. When will they ever learn to teach practicality.
To the OP. I also agree that option 1 would be better. Just a suggestion. You should do some background study / research about the firm you are applying to and move all relevant projects you may have to the front of your portfolio. If you can attract their attention in the first 10 mins then it's a good sign they are interested. For example, If the firm does mainly residential work, there's no point showing a bunch of art galleries projects. It's nice to look at though.
just one little thing, Bachelor of Architecture is a professional degree, it is not the same as a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, it appears you listed both as if they are the same thing, they are not.
Aug 14, 14 7:04 pm ·
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How much should your portfolio reflect your personality when looking for work?
Hey, this is my first post on this website and was wondering if I can get some advice on which portfolio I should present to employers. The first is rigidly formatted while in the second, the projects are all shuffled and is meant to be held and sifted through.
1st: http://issuu.com/amdie/docs/amdie_portfolio_2
2nd: http://issuu.com/amdie/docs/amdie_portfolio_
I'd really appreciate some feedback on which is more appropriate to present to employers. thanks.
It shouldn't reflect your personality. It should reflect the personality of the kind of firm you are applying to.
^ Perfect robotic logic. Does not apply to creative, intelligent beings.
I agree with Rem, kind of. Your portfolio should reflect the personality of the place you want to work, and the type of architect you are working on becoming.
Option 1, though.
Above all else, make sure your portfolio is pleasant to look at in Adobe Acrobat. That usually means 2-up display of letter-size pages, which also translates into print well.
Definitely option 1, no one would ever wade all the way through the second one. If your printing this out you need to be really careful about the black background. It can be done but the paper has to be good and the printer has to be good otherwise it looks like stripes and the paper ripples. I recommend finding an employer who likes boxes.
as with any great performance, presentation, or pretense....."know your audience".
If you show up anywhere with a printed portfolio, it should be a professional-quality product printed at Blurb or Lulu.
At my previous job, I did two rounds of interviews and every time someone came in with a custom-made box or fancy acrylic covers or a bunch of pages you shuffle through, I was just like WTF is this?
A well-made, professional 8.5 x 11 portfolio in full color with perfect-bound spine tells me that A) you understand my time is valuable. B) You can make a good presentation within a standard template (very important in most firms) C) you realize you are not a "special snowflake" and are willing and able to work within a larger organization towards common goals.
If you really want to make something unique, do it for yourself, not for job seeking.
I'd actually go for a middle road. The first is too rigid - if I was an employer I'd wonder why you took up all those extra pages just for a few lines of text, and a waste of ink on the black background. The second portfolio is too haphazard.
Maybe try a third layout that has a family of grid-based options, so you can include some of the descriptive sketches and diagrams in a smaller (non-full-page) format, alongside some of the larger imagery.
To my mind, your portfolio is not a competition between 'them and you' - you should be applying to firms that fall in line with the work you want to do, so hopefully there's not too much of a difference in personalities. That said, there's nothing bad about trying to tie in your personality--which should come through in your design approach--to a particular style of presentation that's favored by the firms you are applying to.
so, i thought about this for a while one time and decided a bound edge may not be the best. laying things out in such a way as you can compare them next to each other can be a good thing. then, get a portfolio of sorts that allows you to stick things back together in an 8.5x11 format so it can be stuck in whatever drawer or filing cabinet things are stuck in.
The portfolio method that archanonymous is referring to is exactly what universities encourages. Completely unpractical. Another example of bad schooling. When will they ever learn to teach practicality.
To the OP. I also agree that option 1 would be better. Just a suggestion. You should do some background study / research about the firm you are applying to and move all relevant projects you may have to the front of your portfolio. If you can attract their attention in the first 10 mins then it's a good sign they are interested. For example, If the firm does mainly residential work, there's no point showing a bunch of art galleries projects. It's nice to look at though.
Btw by "unpractical" I was referring to the custom made fancy box and loose paper everywhere portfolio.
Is your mind option 1 or option 2 ?
just one little thing, Bachelor of Architecture is a professional degree, it is not the same as a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, it appears you listed both as if they are the same thing, they are not.
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