I would lose the gradient, its too dark and there's really no reason for it, and you can hardly read your content.

the part 2 stuff looks very dark as well, as if there's a grey overcast to all your images.

plus if you ever decide to print your portfolio, the images will most likely be EVEN MORE dark than on screen.

Thanks for your reply LethalMonk6. Your probably right, there isn't really a reason for the gradient, other than I like the look of it. I've printed it out, it's a bit dark but not too dark. I think works well when you fully fold out the accordion book. In PDF it's a different story.

I suppose the gloomy, desaturated look is another personal preference. It's a change from the supersaturated, overexposed architecture images you normally see. I might need to tone it down.

Employers sometimes go through thousands of these things.  I've been at offices that got 400 CVs and portfolios a month.  Therefore, you get about 2 seconds of attention in the first cull.  Obviously if your images are unreadable then you're automatically tossed onto the rejected pile.  The gradient isn't doing anything for you.

Secondly, the layout isn't doing anything for you as well.  Even negating text, you want to tell the stories of the projects.  Right now all of your images are the same size, which means they are all equally important, which means no one can easily understand which image is super important to the project and which merely supports.  Re-size all of your images as if you were telling the narrative or story of the project without words.   

Thirdly, if you want to take it to the next level, the layout and design of the portfolio should somehow relate to the content.  If the project is about intimate contemplation IE an artist's studio in a rural environment then I would go with single spread big images that support those feelings of solitude.  Likewise, if a project was about a large multi-unit housing development, then I would go with performance matrices showing clear diagrams of how it works and why the form is what it is.   

The portfolio should function as an example of your skills and ideas without you being physically present.  It should be so simple that your grandmother could understand it immediately and so interesting that an architect would buy it from a bookstore.  Good luck!

Thanks for your feedback jplourde. What your saying makes a lot of sense. I'm thinking that the entire portfolio needs to be remade from scratch.

It's times like these a grandma comes in handy...  ><

Haha, you'd be totallly sorted if your grandmother was an archiect as well.

the undersaturated thing is super popular in germany right now.. but its hard to understand the projects without diagramms/TITLES.

That's good news, I love the undersaturated look and want to work in Germany. Your right hailcien the portfolio is an incomprehensible mess. I've started a new one, but I'm way behind. I've tried to address some of the problems. Tell me what you think.

http://issuu.com/Pertl/docs/new_portfolio_work_in_progress_-_sebastian_pertl_0

 

2nd version is easier to understand.

if you are going to use desaturation it should be used as tool to improve explanation of building and not only an effect  Black or grey can blocks can simply be extensions of sections, etc., although maybe that is a bit obvious/boring.

the work has a certain poetry to it that defies logic and functionality and common sense in a lot of ways too.  a gloomy wedding chapel and a building that sinks and cannot be used because of sloping floors are both quirky interesting from my perspective - so it make sense that the presentation is equally quirky. 

a possible employer might want to know if there is a logic that makes those unusable buildings actually correct designs (a philosophy you are exploring, or some hidden requirement like the wedding chapel is for some funky light shunning sect?), and not just a fetish.  if you can explain that a wee bit might help.  or not.  probably can work both ways really, depending on how artsy you are feeling.

i still would recommend a strong title to distinguish one project from the next, especially since desaturation generally takes away a lot of character from the images.

you should apply to Kuhn Malvezzi.. i think you will fit in nicely there.

i like the simplicity of the layout and the rigourous perspective that comes across. i'm a strong believer in annotation though. if u have diagramms, annotate them, the ones on the first project are barely visible. you're compromising your work and effort !!

i also really like the type!! it goes well with the content.

i totally agree with hailcien, don't be afraid of type, it can be nice and break up images (like it's beginning to do on the one page), i think whitespace (or in your case, blackspace) is also underestimated in so many architecture portfolios i review (which is why that text looks even more lovely on that spread)

Thanks for all the feedback.

jump, I live in Ireland, it tends to be dark, gloomy and desaturated and that's when we have good weather. Still I probably over did it in some of projects.

In terms of explaining the projects most of them started as a joke or something that I thought was entertaining. The cutaway bog is this alien lunar landscape with no sense of scale, but unlike the moon it's wet and squishy, every step you take you sink into the ground. I imagined the artist studio as a sort of lunar lander, that instead of touching the ground lightly would be swallowed by it. The chapel project had it's genesis in boats, specifically my addiction to the seventies sitcom The Love Boat, Viking long boats, and the detailed drawing of the slave ship Brookes. It's very had to explain this sort of thing though without sounding nuts.

hailcien and Dani Zoe, I definitely agree the I think the text needs some work. I've put the name of each project in bold but it might not be strong enough. I'm really wary of annotating anything, I'm definitely scared of putting images and text together because I think it's very tricky to do well. But if you can't understand the images...

Kuhn Malvezzi is super sick, was there any his project in particular that reminded you of me. I really enjoy the wakey Austrian guys Walter Pichler and Raimund Abraham.

i think at one point u need to decide between the "perfection" versus "comprehension". in my opinion/experience, firms in germany (and anywhere else really) want to understand WHY THE BUILDING LOOKS LIKE THAT. most arch students can make nice images, but few can explain their designs.

the representation is important, but i dont think annotation will take away from the aesthetics at all. (maybe if you're doing it in bright neon green.. although i think that would also be quite fun)

take at look at Bruno Fioretti Marquez (they're fantastic!!) as well!

i like your explanations (loveboat etc) sebastien.  l also like the projects.

they are slightly off kilter already so if the inspiration is as shallow as love boat and a fetish for hulls than why not say it.  ditto the bog explanation.  unless you can dress it up nicer in which case you met get bonus points for depth and quirky-ness.

not sure where this all takes you though if you are looking for a job.  tough market to be oddly interesting in...

at least the work stands out from the shiny baubles that are more common today.  surely that counts for something.

Hailcien, I need to get my priorities straight, it's not just about pretty pictures, it's about meaningful pretty pictures with annotations. I feel bad that I've never heard of Bruno Fioretti Marquez, they are very good, exactly the sort of thing I'm into. Any more architect suggestions?

Jump, thanks and I agree I probably wouldn't hire myself either to do a house extension. Luckily I'm still a student and can afford to be quirky.

At the moment there are two other projects that I'm working on for the portfolio. I'll keep you updated when I have them done. Thanks again, I think I've really benefited from the discussion..

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its about telling your story and convincing people you're a great architect! :)

dont beat yourself up, i really liked your work! just work on selling it to the germans!!

Sebastian, I love the rendered drawings in your revised portfolio.  The series of little sections for your bog project do a great job at explaining the concept in a very simple way.  The plans, however are unnecessary and irrelevant and I wish the axons were bigger so I could actually read them.  Your wedding chapel project could benefit from a couple of simple parti diagrams as well (instead of the B&W line drawings).

It's getting there, just be a little more selective with the images you show.  As far as the text goes, you don't really need to explain much with words based on the images you are showing.  They have a very cinematic quality that establishes a mood before you even need to say what the project is about.  For example, the rendering of the bog building sitting in the landscape establishes a sort of doomed-to-destruction feel. Just a very simple description of the program and concept would serve you better.

Medusa, thanks I really appreciate your feedback, I've only started learning how to render over the summer so it's great to hear that people like them. It's very encouraging hearing feedback, and I'm really looking forward to working on the portfolio again since I haven't had a chance to do for the last while.

I'm going to reluctantly agree about the plans in the first project, they're too dominant, nobody likes reading them and architects love an Axonometric. I'll probably need to rejig that page.

There are two pages that I'd like to add to the Chapel project which include the missing site plans, sketches and parti diagrams, as well as some of the boat references. It's missing because I really need to redraw some of the stuff.

Text is ... I never like working with text. Which is why I usually box it up and hide it in a corner and hope people don't notice it.

I'm working on the some other projects and I'm almost tempted to upload them before they're reworked. I was happy with them at the time but I worried you guys might rip them apart. One a reuse project using scaffolding poles and railway sleepers needs a major overhaul.