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Portfolio Destruction

mcclurz

Hey everyone, please take a look at my portfolio and give me some constructive criticism. Of most of the schools I am applying to, the applications are due January 15. I hope I did this right... Thanks in advance!

http://issuu.com/zachmcclurg/docs/final_porto2

 
Jan 3, 13 11:56 pm
Noypi

you do realize that if anybody in the admissions board knows about Alex Hogrefe you're fucked right?

Jan 4, 13 1:39 am  · 
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JosephK

Critique : Read through a color theory book and drop the drop shadows.

Jan 4, 13 2:21 am  · 
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ka em

I will just comment on the portfolio, not the design of the projects.

You have many pages where they are either almost blank (title pages) or a large photo with a lot of text. Some people do this because they want to provide a visual break or a change of pace to their dense portfolio, but unfortunately your drawings, particularly the first 10 or so pages, are too sparse. In fact, it may be better if you spread those text around and weave a narrative. I think you're still confused with what exactly is the important bit (or rather what you want to achieve) in some of your projects, so you seem unsure of which one to blow up in size and which one to downplay.

Another thing is that great portfolio graphic design is really about the economy of space: the aim is so that each page will say or mean something meaningful. So you need to really carefully consider your use of colour, scale etc etc.

Jan 4, 13 2:29 am  · 
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tzuchang

The overlaying of multiple images or blocks of colour make it very hard to read. I think the colour blocks are hurting your portfolio. The underlining of words also seems to be done irresponsibly. Overall it is quite messy.

Jan 4, 13 2:37 am  · 
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Check up the colors!

Jan 4, 13 6:13 am  · 
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thakopian

Good for abstract design, not encouraging if I wanted to hire you to do drafting work of any kind. Show some hard project sheets alongside the expression.

Jan 7, 13 2:31 am  · 
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Median

Get rid of the drop shadows, the fading gimmicks and the color blocks. They are extremely dated, stale, ugly and used by people who don't know how to do anything else in indesign and photoshop.

Jan 8, 13 11:07 am  · 
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spotfrog

Your buildings all float off the page... Buildings have mass and mass needs to be supported. Draw some harder, linear shadows, and the absence of a foundation won't be so striking.

Jan 8, 13 8:00 pm  · 
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ms. medici

This portfolio is really, really hard to look at. The colors, the drop shadows, the text, the layering-for-fake-sophistication, the gradients, the exceptionally poor application of Alex Hogrefe's tutorials (even down to that parti diagram collage on the back page, which I think is one of the worst suggestions he's made).

If I were on an admissions panel I doubt I'd make it far past the table of contents.

Jan 9, 13 1:08 am  · 
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