30-35 pages for the interview portfolio. My rule has always been five good projects @ 4 to 6 pages per project. As I moved ahead in my career, I started to bring a half size set of some working drawings to interviews in addition to the portfolio.
When I had my portfolio on Issuu I noticed a big drop in page views after page 25 so I tend to stick to that, unless the situation calls for otherwise (like an award submission or RFQ)
I also bring half sized sets as well, since so much of what I do lately is manage and make projects real.
And yes, put your drunkest happy picture on the cover.
Probably the most important thing is that it will represent you as a professional. It should show your uniqueness. if you want to get a job, it's important to have a good resume (you always can get help https://resumegreatness.com/ ) If it's great, your chances to get the desired job are very high.
It really depends on what you have to show for. I personally don't mind flipping through 50+ pages of quality student and/or professional work, simply because I enjoy architecture. But when the work is sub par it will be difficult for me to go beyond the first spread. Having produced 50+ pages of interesting work, then you'll be probably not the one sending out applications to begin with but will be on the receiving end ;)
Just don't include work you know is of inferior quality and difficult to defend or be very precise and specific in your involvement in those kinds of projects e.g. if you made amazing renderings or technical details of an otherwise awful project. Also, if the cover letter/email doesn't show any interest in the particular studio it is sent to, which I find incredibly rude, I wouldn't even bother to download the pdf or click the link, so make sure to pay enough attention to those "details" as well.
Think of your portfolio in terms of a marketing brochure, since that's basically what it is. That means it should be short and focused on your key message. Generally each project or thing gets one spread, at most two for something really complex or special. The whole thing is probably no more than 10 to 12 spreads (so slightly more than twice that many pages).
A trick you can borrow from the marketing folks is to make your portfolio modular. Each project spread is a standalone piece that can be inserted or rearranged in whatever collateral you're sending out in order to tailor its message to a particularly target. That way, you may have 20 or 30 spreads set up and defined, but only use a few of them when sending a portfolio to a potential employer. There are a whole bunch of different ways to do that, but it's very effective. It's exactly the same technique we use when responding to RFPs for potential clients.
I've done this with my own portfolio and it works very well. I've even taken this to the extreme of making my portfolio unbound loose-leaf with each standalone spread in a folder rather than being bound in a book (the top-most spread including my summary and resume as well as teasers). That works well in interviews because I can spread them out on the table and the marketing-brochure look automatically entices people to pick them up and browse through them.
I was taught many moons ago always show your skills and ability not projects. with that said, I typically only show in min. pages as possible:
(1) 3d rendering
(1) 2d rendering
(1) building Section
(1) Wall Section
(1) plan with code analysis / zoning info
I was taught it helps with hiring staff due to if they want more I let them call me to ask for more which puts me in front of them, which is the last presentation piece, YOU! plus as was said, hiring staff doesnt want to sit looking at 6million projects
I do projects instead of skills/abilities because I'm a lead designer. So the projects ARE a reflection of my skills and abilities (and I show my design process work as part of each brochure to indicate how each project got from idea to reality).
Your mileage may vary depending on what sort of job you are pursuing and what sort of architecting you do. If I was going to follow the advice I gave above and apply it to the list theta made immediately after, I would suggest doing a spread for rendering, spread for sketching, spread for detailing, spread for code analysis, etc. Market a specific skill instead of a specific project. And then if there IS a specific project which showcases all that stuff, do a spread for it as well.
Also, to echo theta's last point: your portfolio is just a teaser, not comprehensive. You want it to get people to invite you in for an interview. It's sole job is to make the phone ring.
How long should a portfolio be?Advise on content.
-Sample online portfolio for applications 15-20 pages
-Printed portfolio for interviews 30-50 pages
Content:
Student projects
- Sketches
- Renderings
- Plans
- Rendered sections
- Physical models
Professional projects
- Renderings
- Plans, Sections, Elevations
- Construction Details
Do you agree with these guidelines?
30-35 pages for the interview portfolio. My rule has always been five good projects @ 4 to 6 pages per project. As I moved ahead in my career, I started to bring a half size set of some working drawings to interviews in addition to the portfolio.
I also bring half sized sets as well, since so much of what I do lately is manage and make projects real.
And yes, put your drunkest happy picture on the cover.
Probably the most important thing is that it will represent you as a professional. It should show your uniqueness. if you want to get a job, it's important to have a good resume (you always can get help https://resumegreatness.com/ ) If it's great, your chances to get the desired job are very high.
It really depends on what you have to show for. I personally don't mind flipping through 50+ pages of quality student and/or professional work, simply because I enjoy architecture. But when the work is sub par it will be difficult for me to go beyond the first spread. Having produced 50+ pages of interesting work, then you'll be probably not the one sending out applications to begin with but will be on the receiving end ;)
Just don't include work you know is of inferior quality and difficult to defend or be very precise and specific in your involvement in those kinds of projects e.g. if you made amazing renderings or technical details of an otherwise awful project. Also, if the cover letter/email doesn't show any interest in the particular studio it is sent to, which I find incredibly rude, I wouldn't even bother to download the pdf or click the link, so make sure to pay enough attention to those "details" as well.
Think of your portfolio in terms of a marketing brochure, since that's basically what it is. That means it should be short and focused on your key message. Generally each project or thing gets one spread, at most two for something really complex or special. The whole thing is probably no more than 10 to 12 spreads (so slightly more than twice that many pages).
A trick you can borrow from the marketing folks is to make your portfolio modular. Each project spread is a standalone piece that can be inserted or rearranged in whatever collateral you're sending out in order to tailor its message to a particularly target. That way, you may have 20 or 30 spreads set up and defined, but only use a few of them when sending a portfolio to a potential employer. There are a whole bunch of different ways to do that, but it's very effective. It's exactly the same technique we use when responding to RFPs for potential clients.
I've done this with my own portfolio and it works very well. I've even taken this to the extreme of making my portfolio unbound loose-leaf with each standalone spread in a folder rather than being bound in a book (the top-most spread including my summary and resume as well as teasers). That works well in interviews because I can spread them out on the table and the marketing-brochure look automatically entices people to pick them up and browse through them.
I was taught many moons ago always show your skills and ability not projects. with that said, I typically only show in min. pages as possible:
(1) 3d rendering
(1) 2d rendering
(1) building Section
(1) Wall Section
(1) plan with code analysis / zoning info
I was taught it helps with hiring staff due to if they want more I let them call me to ask for more which puts me in front of them, which is the last presentation piece, YOU! plus as was said, hiring staff doesnt want to sit looking at 6million projects
I do projects instead of skills/abilities because I'm a lead designer. So the projects ARE a reflection of my skills and abilities (and I show my design process work as part of each brochure to indicate how each project got from idea to reality).
Your mileage may vary depending on what sort of job you are pursuing and what sort of architecting you do. If I was going to follow the advice I gave above and apply it to the list theta made immediately after, I would suggest doing a spread for rendering, spread for sketching, spread for detailing, spread for code analysis, etc. Market a specific skill instead of a specific project. And then if there IS a specific project which showcases all that stuff, do a spread for it as well.
Also, to echo theta's last point: your portfolio is just a teaser, not comprehensive. You want it to get people to invite you in for an interview. It's sole job is to make the phone ring.
As long as it needs to be.
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