so after a year and a half of grad school, i finally have a reason to update my portfolio - scholarship applications and internship opportunities.
looking through my work from the past year, I can't say I'm very proud of any of it, but I have to have something put together for these applications, plus I want to have ample time to work on the layout and content before I graduate, and I've gotta start somewhere.
Unfortunately, I lost my grad application portfolio, which i spent a lot more time and effort putting together, and was a lot less embarrassing. this is all fresh-from-school. All these are 3-4 week projects, which may have something to do with the poor quality. This quarter is our first quarter-long project, so hopefully it'll yield some more useful material.
I've been working on mine and can pass on things that I've been told by some really good designers.
Give us a little text. Maybe we won't read it, but it gives a nice texture and flow. Also, maybe we will read it, so tell about the project a little. Your reasoning etc. Keep it short, but some text is nice. It's my assumption that unlike school apps, if an employer sees something interesting (s)he is going to want to know a little bit more about it.
I'm guilty of this too, and think I have fixed it a lot for my latest portfolio. Get some kind of 'grid' or regularity to the layout. Such that, my eye knows where to go to see the title. Make sure we know it's a new project etc. Look at some arch books. You will notice there is a regularity for the project titles, captions are in the same place, little descriptive blocks are always in the same place. I'm not good at layout, so this was something that took some time. But you have to balance it with not being TOO rigid.
Can you add some process or conceptual stuff? Maybe to give a little idea where it's coming from. Again, even the pros in books will throw in a sketch or a rough concept model or something. These aren't finised buildings, so you don't have sweet interior photos and what not. Give us some candy. There is something about the layout that says "Here's my fucking apartment and my goddamn pizzaria." I truely understand how not being to fond of a project is. Try to give us a little more into your thoughts though. Pretend. Lie to us. But trick us haha. Imagine, someday you'll probably have to sell some shitty bread and butter project to a client, but you gotta seal the deal to take home the bacon. And the work isn't bad at all. But I think your distaste shows with the sort of "Here." presentation.
Also "name//portfolio," get rid of it. Text and fonts are important to the overall design and can really make it or break it. Tricks like [XXX]xxxx and // and excessive use of + and : can be terrible. There is something about // and [] that really get to me. I think it's too pseudofuturistic, reminds me of video games or something. Not sure. Maybe a change in color or case like simply XXXxxx or black and medium gray might be better?
ok, i think its a good start. i enjoy the black and white contrasts. i agree, you need to write something about what each picture is. i put together quite the portfolio to get a job, and because i was there when my boss was looking through it, i could discuss each picture with him in person. but if you send out this portfolio to a potential employer they need something to read. Something you might want to consider. When i did my portfolio i included a small blurb about myself, my design style and background along with a small picture of myself. Some people are going to shout NO! don't do that, yes it may cause people to judge you by your appearance BUT it will put a face to a name, and when you are interviewing many, and reading many many more portfolios and resumes it helps, i think it helps and you might want to consider it. That is if you are putting this portfolio together in a job search. if you are just doing it for your own records, well then.. nevermind.
I agree with everyone about adding a description of each project. I would also like to see a more process driven effort – add work that lead you to the finished product for each piece and complement each piece with a personal touch - it is a bit contrived at the moment.
yup, I agree with the previous posters-- adding some text would do you good, and I'd inject some regularity into the positioning of images so they don't jump all over the pages.
u need to add description of ur projects ... a brief summary of the elemnts of the projects, design concepts, problem solving approach, influences, studies ... etc
i think u need an index too ... and a cover, other than that it's nice, i like the pizzaria ... but u need to descripe it as i said.
i'll try uploading mine, i'll inform u then.
It needs to be VERY clear that these projects are short term, as you mentioned. Regardless, it seems that you could re-render some of these, with a very small amount of extra effort to give us a better idea of how these projects might feel in a different (read: not-blackness of space) environment. also, maybe include some different scales, and re-shoot your models.
I'm intrigued by the pizzaria, among all the models; I'm sure with a decent lens and some good lights you can enter the space a bit more and capture some good light/shadow to dazzle us a bit more.
The scripted loft is most interesting to me from a digital standpoint...you've got a good start on focusing how the layers of space carve out an inhabitable void, without showing us too much of the whole. I would tend to explore that further...give us some diagrams of how exactly it is scripted, and try to get rid of the jarring black shadows; they betray your work a bit and remind most of us of the '90s.
Overall, I can feel that there is a level of technical profficiency at play, so that is good, but I can't judge much else from what you've shown. It'll be very important to document all phases of your next project, which should fill the bulk of the eventual final portfolio.
Evanc, it seems like everyone is interested in critiquing the portfolio but I would like to say that the projects are already quite legible and you should be commended for that. I think the above comments are legitimate, but don't worry too much...the work reads very well without any additional inofrmation.
ditto that grass rug- otherwise good start. No need for a grid, but figure out some logic for the black versus white pages. also look at the two page spreads and get them to work together better- unless you're planning on printing single-sided. much has been said about process and craft in the other portfolio crit threads, you'd benefit by the most of that advice (though I like your cardboard springs).
thanks for all the advice. (some of which seems pretty obvious, in retrospect). I'll be doing some quick updates tonight. I'm trying to have this relatively polished by mid feb.
your designs are very good. scripted loft looks like force fed. i found that to be least interesting. i think that kind of stuff requires much better rendering technics. the other work can speak for it self even it was to be drawn on the sand.
good luck.
firstly: eliminate page 3 (not needed doesn't help your portfolio), simplify the images on page 5, maybe reduce to just those on the left hand side, page 6 you need to do some colour editing to the "black", those plans need work on page 7, the urban apartment on page 8 is fantastic how about some text on the left 3 paragraphs, 9 perhaps seperate to 2 pages, the study models on the left of page 10 don't help your porject.
EvanC here's the reality. The work in your portfolio is some of the better I've seen posted on archinect or had to review in my professional/academic roles. However despite all of that I would seriously have to question choosing you, simply because I would wonder why your portfolio isn't better. Leads to many questions, is your interest somewhere else, etc etc
I'd love to see your portfolio after all this is said and done.
looks good. rotate the urban loft perspective to a 2 point perspective instead of a 3 point. add some people...and maybe a little color. not too much-keep it diagrammtic...awesome craft on your models!
the main critique that i would have of your portfolio is that although it is clear and concise, it doesn't necessarily draw one into the projects. maybe you just are producing a mailer for offices, in which case it might work alright (although i have to say that 8 1/2" x 11" mailers are kinda generic and the proportion doesn't work well for architectural projects, typically...but that's really another discussion). If this is, though, your portfolio. I'd have to believe that you're brevity is a severe detriment. Consider multi-page layouts. tell a story, what is this thing about? what inspired it? what are you proud of about it? what interesting aspect did you solve? what is the foreground and what is the background aspects of the project? remember it's not a bad thing to have a few full-bleed money shots of something beautiful and intersting that allow your eye to rest and ponder what came before...typically analysis likes to crowd a page and create a info-flood, creating a context and defining the parameters of a project. that's where you can have a napkin sketch or a photo of something that inspired you or even a precedent image....with student work you really need to create this otherwise it comes off a bit flat and one-dimensional.
another "crit my portfolio" thread.
so after a year and a half of grad school, i finally have a reason to update my portfolio - scholarship applications and internship opportunities.
looking through my work from the past year, I can't say I'm very proud of any of it, but I have to have something put together for these applications, plus I want to have ample time to work on the layout and content before I graduate, and I've gotta start somewhere.
Unfortunately, I lost my grad application portfolio, which i spent a lot more time and effort putting together, and was a lot less embarrassing. this is all fresh-from-school. All these are 3-4 week projects, which may have something to do with the poor quality. This quarter is our first quarter-long project, so hopefully it'll yield some more useful material.
anyway. let me know what you think. rip it apart.
http://evanchakroff.googlepages.com/portfolio-sm.pdf
put some text in there, the reader has no idea what any of the projects are about
I've been working on mine and can pass on things that I've been told by some really good designers.
Give us a little text. Maybe we won't read it, but it gives a nice texture and flow. Also, maybe we will read it, so tell about the project a little. Your reasoning etc. Keep it short, but some text is nice. It's my assumption that unlike school apps, if an employer sees something interesting (s)he is going to want to know a little bit more about it.
I'm guilty of this too, and think I have fixed it a lot for my latest portfolio. Get some kind of 'grid' or regularity to the layout. Such that, my eye knows where to go to see the title. Make sure we know it's a new project etc. Look at some arch books. You will notice there is a regularity for the project titles, captions are in the same place, little descriptive blocks are always in the same place. I'm not good at layout, so this was something that took some time. But you have to balance it with not being TOO rigid.
Can you add some process or conceptual stuff? Maybe to give a little idea where it's coming from. Again, even the pros in books will throw in a sketch or a rough concept model or something. These aren't finised buildings, so you don't have sweet interior photos and what not. Give us some candy. There is something about the layout that says "Here's my fucking apartment and my goddamn pizzaria." I truely understand how not being to fond of a project is. Try to give us a little more into your thoughts though. Pretend. Lie to us. But trick us haha. Imagine, someday you'll probably have to sell some shitty bread and butter project to a client, but you gotta seal the deal to take home the bacon. And the work isn't bad at all. But I think your distaste shows with the sort of "Here." presentation.
Also "name//portfolio," get rid of it. Text and fonts are important to the overall design and can really make it or break it. Tricks like [XXX]xxxx and // and excessive use of + and : can be terrible. There is something about // and [] that really get to me. I think it's too pseudofuturistic, reminds me of video games or something. Not sure. Maybe a change in color or case like simply XXXxxx or black and medium gray might be better?
ok, i think its a good start. i enjoy the black and white contrasts. i agree, you need to write something about what each picture is. i put together quite the portfolio to get a job, and because i was there when my boss was looking through it, i could discuss each picture with him in person. but if you send out this portfolio to a potential employer they need something to read. Something you might want to consider. When i did my portfolio i included a small blurb about myself, my design style and background along with a small picture of myself. Some people are going to shout NO! don't do that, yes it may cause people to judge you by your appearance BUT it will put a face to a name, and when you are interviewing many, and reading many many more portfolios and resumes it helps, i think it helps and you might want to consider it. That is if you are putting this portfolio together in a job search. if you are just doing it for your own records, well then.. nevermind.
..shaner
its a bit bare, put some more stuff in it for the number of pages.
I agree with everyone about adding a description of each project. I would also like to see a more process driven effort – add work that lead you to the finished product for each piece and complement each piece with a personal touch - it is a bit contrived at the moment.
yup, I agree with the previous posters-- adding some text would do you good, and I'd inject some regularity into the positioning of images so they don't jump all over the pages.
OT the pool/patio thing looks neat, btw!
u need to add description of ur projects ... a brief summary of the elemnts of the projects, design concepts, problem solving approach, influences, studies ... etc
i think u need an index too ... and a cover, other than that it's nice, i like the pizzaria ... but u need to descripe it as i said.
i'll try uploading mine, i'll inform u then.
It needs to be VERY clear that these projects are short term, as you mentioned. Regardless, it seems that you could re-render some of these, with a very small amount of extra effort to give us a better idea of how these projects might feel in a different (read: not-blackness of space) environment. also, maybe include some different scales, and re-shoot your models.
I'm intrigued by the pizzaria, among all the models; I'm sure with a decent lens and some good lights you can enter the space a bit more and capture some good light/shadow to dazzle us a bit more.
The scripted loft is most interesting to me from a digital standpoint...you've got a good start on focusing how the layers of space carve out an inhabitable void, without showing us too much of the whole. I would tend to explore that further...give us some diagrams of how exactly it is scripted, and try to get rid of the jarring black shadows; they betray your work a bit and remind most of us of the '90s.
Overall, I can feel that there is a level of technical profficiency at play, so that is good, but I can't judge much else from what you've shown. It'll be very important to document all phases of your next project, which should fill the bulk of the eventual final portfolio.
evanc, I havent seen your work, but do slip in some currency notes at the end of your portfolio. it works everytime.
Evanc, it seems like everyone is interested in critiquing the portfolio but I would like to say that the projects are already quite legible and you should be commended for that. I think the above comments are legitimate, but don't worry too much...the work reads very well without any additional inofrmation.
the work is very good
i like the starkness of it
but it could use some text with descriptions and stuff.
get rid of that green grass. it's awful!
the work looks pretty interesting and good for 3-4 week projects, though.
ditto that grass rug- otherwise good start. No need for a grid, but figure out some logic for the black versus white pages. also look at the two page spreads and get them to work together better- unless you're planning on printing single-sided. much has been said about process and craft in the other portfolio crit threads, you'd benefit by the most of that advice (though I like your cardboard springs).
I'd like to re-iterate the text sentiments. I love the font.
-Add perhaps page numbers, in colour? Maybe the titles of each project could be on a coloured background, with plain text.
-Could use some graphic on the cover/back?
I really like the work.
thanks for all the advice. (some of which seems pretty obvious, in retrospect). I'll be doing some quick updates tonight. I'm trying to have this relatively polished by mid feb.
your designs are very good. scripted loft looks like force fed. i found that to be least interesting. i think that kind of stuff requires much better rendering technics. the other work can speak for it self even it was to be drawn on the sand.
good luck.
had a little time this weekend to reorganize this thing. any further comments?
version 2
Very simple but effective.
Much better. Now it's presented rather than just put there.
firstly: eliminate page 3 (not needed doesn't help your portfolio), simplify the images on page 5, maybe reduce to just those on the left hand side, page 6 you need to do some colour editing to the "black", those plans need work on page 7, the urban apartment on page 8 is fantastic how about some text on the left 3 paragraphs, 9 perhaps seperate to 2 pages, the study models on the left of page 10 don't help your porject.
EvanC here's the reality. The work in your portfolio is some of the better I've seen posted on archinect or had to review in my professional/academic roles. However despite all of that I would seriously have to question choosing you, simply because I would wonder why your portfolio isn't better. Leads to many questions, is your interest somewhere else, etc etc
I'd love to see your portfolio after all this is said and done.
btw good luck
Sh*t i should of scrolled down didn't see volume 2
f*ck me you scrum up nice! Much better
looks good. rotate the urban loft perspective to a 2 point perspective instead of a 3 point. add some people...and maybe a little color. not too much-keep it diagrammtic...awesome craft on your models!
the main critique that i would have of your portfolio is that although it is clear and concise, it doesn't necessarily draw one into the projects. maybe you just are producing a mailer for offices, in which case it might work alright (although i have to say that 8 1/2" x 11" mailers are kinda generic and the proportion doesn't work well for architectural projects, typically...but that's really another discussion). If this is, though, your portfolio. I'd have to believe that you're brevity is a severe detriment. Consider multi-page layouts. tell a story, what is this thing about? what inspired it? what are you proud of about it? what interesting aspect did you solve? what is the foreground and what is the background aspects of the project? remember it's not a bad thing to have a few full-bleed money shots of something beautiful and intersting that allow your eye to rest and ponder what came before...typically analysis likes to crowd a page and create a info-flood, creating a context and defining the parameters of a project. that's where you can have a napkin sketch or a photo of something that inspired you or even a precedent image....with student work you really need to create this otherwise it comes off a bit flat and one-dimensional.
yeah, i'm doug's ta this quarter. kipnis's seminar is great. if you don't take his class at some point, you're wasting time and money.
LISTEN TO FURTUREBOY. HE CLEARLY KNOWS HIS SHIT.
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