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Hand bound or perfect bound portfolio
I am applying to BEDs at Dalhousie, and can't settle on a style for my portfolio. I have the content, much of which is sewing based as I have previous experience as a costume designer. Part of me wants to make something simple and clean and have it printed by blurb.com and another part wants to use my sewing skills and bind it by hand. My concern with binding it by hand, is the printing quality, as I would want to do it on a sturdier maybe slightly textured paper to give it a really nice tactile feel.
Any opinions on the matter?
You can do a perfect-bound cover by hand, also.
I prefer seeing binding-posts or perfect bound on portfolios. It is much easier to fuck up a nice portfolio by trying to get fancy with your binding than it is to improve it.
When portfolios come in that are in boxes or have acrylic covers or are a bunch of loose sheets, I usually throw them away, but that is for professional use, so your results may vary.
I took a box full of drawings to an interview once. Got the job. If what you're showing them is good enough, you'll get it. But, what you're showing them better be good enough to make up for any display problems.
Safe bet: pay for binding.
My opinion is to go with whatever approach gets a portfolio that can lay flat. Perfect binding can look nice, but if the portfolio keeps trying to close itself whenever you lay it down, that can be a pain. If you can do a hand binding that allows the book to lie flat, I think that is well worth the effort.
Isn't the point of perfect binding that it lays open? I personally tried perfect binding my own portfolio for M.ARCH apps but since it was my first experience, it came out kinda messy. So I just kept that one for myself and I ended up paying for printing and binding. One less thing to worry about. I'd say if it's done cleanly and looks professional, and is easy to handle, go for it.
My grad school application portfolio dates me without anyone needing to look at the project dates. I drilled all the pages and held everything together with a large bolt.
Apparently this was all the rage back then... and I was oblivious to that. I still got some compliments from the grad committees who reviewed it.
I'm a fan of perfect-bind. Get the printers to print your front and back covers on heavier paper for extra points!
I've sat on the admissions committee for BEDS at Dal and I'd say keep it simple. We go through them pretty quickly and as long as its sturdy thats good. If it can lie flat thats great too. My portfolio was perfect bound at The Printing House, and I definitely relied on my portfolio to get in.
If anything, focus on the RANGE of projects you have in there as well as your layout. Don't be too gimmicky. Last year we had someone who had a fancy looking portfolio for the covers and the projects were kinda just meh.
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