hmack i knew you were a fellow hamptonian. krissy= c/0 '06 i'm checkin out this p-folio of yours... which degree type are you pursuing?

M. Arch II

some assumptions:
i am assuming you did grad from hu, in which case you have a professional b.arch 5 yr degree. so i am also guessing you must be applying to these schools as post-pro m.arch or m.s. either that, or youre looking into urban planning.
i saw your other post about gsd vs. ysoa vs. columbia, etc... and you got some negative response. basically the grad school horse has been killed here. i think a lot of us have been in your position, only to be naively shot down by these "brand" schools... not because we weren't smart enough or the grades/experience weren't there, but more because we didn't quite know how to play the game. those schools and schools of thought/theory are very different.
that being said...

you have some good work in your portfolio, but you have to learn how to market it. although it's academic, it's still a career. i noticed you were in the paper, you need to market that as a critique and publication of your work... not so much in a cut out of the newspaper, but in your CV.
you need to be specific about honors and competitions. those schools are excruciatingly competitive...
use InDesign to control your fonts + explanations. and be very careful of color contrasting.
it's generally better to show a physical model with either a white or black background- you are showcasing your work. it is NOT against the rules to retouch or rework projects you have already completed. obviously an entire redesign is like shooting yourself in the foot... but adding foliage, people, etc to sections and other drawings give scale and dimension.
i especially like the ODU Arts model.
where are your explanations of the projects???? they get lost in the background.

obviously take my suggestions with a grain of salt.
best of luck!

i applied last year + was accepted to all schools i applied to:
UVA= post-pro M. Arch Program
Carnegie Mellon + Virginia Tech= Ph.D Programs

i'll email you some worksamples.

whoa i+, that was the best explanation of the Ivey League Grad School nightmare ,I have ever heard. I feel better having read it..hahaha I rememeber you from last years app process...If i remember correctly, you had a nice portfolio, and you got into GSD?! right.


Hmack my portfolio's on the commiserate thread ..you should go there with stuff like this from now on ...we don't bite... all these other non MArch applicant nectors are cynical about fresh threads dealing with application questions...

My degree that i am graduating with is a 5 year M. Arch I professional degree as the curriculum has been recently changed

ok- either way, it's still a first professional degree. just make sure you are explicitly clear in your application you have a first professional degree... as HU's degree type is brand new in academia. most are not familiar... yes, even the admissions boards. many admissions boards contain current graduate students who help to pick the incoming class. so make sure your placement in each program is correct... as an M.Arch II is not the same everywhere. which i am sure you already know

overall the portfolio has strong content but i think the design is slightly too "loud". perhaps try toning it down a bit to let the work speak for itself?

I hate to break it to you, but unless you are exceptional in some other way, on the basis of your portfolio alone, you won't get into the GSD. Your portfolio might work for the MArchI program, but the MArchIIs that I studied with were generally truely exceptional. Assholes, yes. Exceptional, yes.

My class had 22 students. Half were female and half international. That basically leaves 11 spots to battle for. Many had already worked for "starchitects" (mayne, hadid, eisenman, oma) and likely brought their recommendations with them. Maybe only two of them came directly from undergrad, and they had probably done some of the most competitions/writing/publishing.

I'm not saying you should aim lower - you can definitely dress up a portfolio, write a good letter, find some important references and enter a competition if you're forced to apply again, but you should focus on what truely you want out of these schools and why they are the best for you (because those three are definitely not the same).

Good luck.

I am also applying for March II...I actually showed quite a bit less academic work, mainly because I have been working for 7 years since undergrad. I am unsure if it will hurt me or not, being so professionally oriented, but in all fairness I had a strong hand in everything in my portfolio. I also disregared putting my name on each page..thought that was very distracting. So..we will just wait and see.

so...my applications also went to yale and harvard, but since I live in Boston...harvard is my only real desire. Otherwise I will just continue to work, since it is quite stimulating anyway.

I don't know if I am qualified to critique your portfolio, but at first glance I agree with smellen, sometimes a little more white space..a little less is more. Just tone it down and space it out a bit. Sometimes things are better unsaid.

Good luck on the applications.

here is my portfolio, in case you want to another applicants shot at it.

http://www.onlinefilefolder.com/index.php?action=getshare&type=0&user_num=15383&share_id=181811&hash=7e95eff384906b8ee013f8a0de28eece

dxap.

You are a more typical GSD applicant and I imagine you will be accepted (pending competion and your other deliverables). Eric N*lman was in my class and nearly in yours at CalPoly - seems you worked with him at Morphosis.

One thing I would suggest is - being that a 67 page portfolio is a little on the long side - I would take out those projects for which you weren't the designer. Those, although maybe award winning, aren't the best in the booklet. They also dwarf your personal/academic work. You can list the project names in your CV under those offices if you feel the need to show them. The length of the book with those included starts to feel like you're showing off - just taking from your (respected) employers, or covering up for a limited academic skill.

I would also ask you: why are you applying? If you're already working for a great firm, doing great work, what more are you going to accomplish with an MArch II? Are you going to continue working while at school? You won't end up making much more anywhere (but you'll certainly end up in the hole, financially). Maybe MAUD or MLA or MDES could be a more precise (expanded) degree? You have enough credentials to get in on reviews and such at the GSD - is the Masters holding you back from teaching positions? Not at the BAC I see.

Lastly, interesting how your graphic aesthetic changes when you get to your Morphosis projects...and, anyway to tone down those Rivertopia images? They stand in contrast to the rest of the booklet.

Good luck.

agreed with posters above.

definitely shoot for some publications, hmack. if you are going to do academic-style publications, shoot for national publications and not regional. attempt the annual national ACSA publication- and get the university to help submit it as they are members.

you didn't mention who wrote your recommendations... but get the president of HU to write a recommendation. he went to harvard and he would be more than happy to meet with you and help you get in. trust me, getting the president of your university to write your recommendation most certainly helps. be specific about what you want them to focus on.

Thanks Evo...

Of course I know Eric well, knew him at Cal Poly and then Morphosis.
I would assume that Simon, Brian Price and Jonathan Lott was in your class as well? (other Cal Poly alumns from GSD)

Rivertopia is thick...third year work and not workable. Flattend PSD's of the boards..so that is how it stays. Other earlier work, while not the 'main designer' I had considerable input and, at least I felt, it shows an evolution in architectural thought. Besides, I don't have a whole lot of data on academic works, usually a token photo here and there. Just not as comprehensive as the later work. Lesson learned.

I am applying for one main reason (as you guessed), I enjoy teaching quite a bit and can never get a respected position without MArch. I have had opportunities as an adjunct and been told by a couple of different dean's that I couldn't get past the bureaucracy of the school, regardless of talent or how much the school of architecture wanted you, with a BArch. I will not be working while in school, only on the breaks and maybe a bit first semster (finish up CA on one of our projects here).

I also know that I could benefit from going to get my masters, I am always amazed at how little I know.

Forgot to mention that I am also applying for MDdes. Still haven't decided which way to go, and I will wait to see if I get into either before torturing myself.

BTW..the graphic aesthetics for the Morphosis was the first spread I did..then realized that it was taking WAY too long (I only had 2.5 weeks to get this together). So...changed tactics and went with a little less graphic integration..as you noticed.

Thanks for the thoughts..and we will soon see what the future holds. It is in Jorge's hands now.

dierxap, i think you portfolio was great. I do see what your saying about the professional work, but seeing how the average age is 27 years old, I dont think that it is uncommon to have professional. I was a bit confused about which work was your alone and what your exact role was in the group projects.I also agree with eVo in wondering why you would want to leave a firm that does work that good.

I also understand what you guys mean about adding alittle more work space, but i must be honest in saying that the style was intended to do one thing; STAND OUT. I saw it as a way to draw more attention to my work. I figured that beacuse this process is so competitive, it is important to gain as much exposure as possible. But with it coming off as loud, I guess it does have it pro's and con's. Do you guys think that it is A. distracting B. hard to understand C. an attractive compliment to the work.

dierxap - it seems the link is dead to your portfolio - I'm interested in seeing you you handled teaching work.

hmack,

space seems to stand out more than loud work. busy, complicated work can many times overwhelm a reviewer.

this is not to say that your work was not good. it looks great, but i would consider the previous advice...

all the links are dead .. i'd luv to look at them .. can u kindly put them back?

whether a good layout should basically convey your work and never confuse the reviewer; even a frank gehry museum has all white and flat internal walls to display artworks

i reckon that there're millions of creative ways to STAND OUT an architectural portfolio without risking to disturb the reader leaving a negative impression


p.s.
i m new to archinect
nice to meet you all

This link will work

http://hmack1116.googlepages.com/home

I dunno, but I always kinda chuckle when i see photos of people in their portfolio - it comes across as personal versus professional.

To be brutally honest there is a crafty aspect about your protfolio that I find takes away from your work.

Too much of your academic work is focussed around the studies and sketches. And the layout with the revered images are distracting particularly when your central image is a simple line drawing in b&w. Try also in reducing the colours used.

Although your professional work is limited to model making, you have presented it very well. I think you should use that same language in building up the academic work.

hmack - pg 17-18 and 23-24 are the best layouts. simple and effective, and shows enough of the project to generate a discussion but not so much as to be overwhelming (like many of the other spreads).

you should try looking at other people's portfolios, just do a quick pass. i spent about 40 seconds total, and that's what stood out.

there is some nice work.

some comments, without any particular order...

the portfolio is too busy for my taste, and others too, if i read the above correctly. sometimes featured images feel more like they should be support dwgs and i end up looking for an image that will clarify - but there isn't one. that feels a bit unfinished to me.

as a basic piece of advice...don't try to stand out. if the work is good enough it will do that job for you. look at rems work. he uses cheapass materials to make models and there is duct-tape and crap all over the things but they still tell amazing stories without embellishment. not that you should aim for messiness, just clarity of expression so that the portfolio can be simpler. even flamboyant noisy designers like Philippe Starck are simultaneously very very clear. that is an important skill in our biz.

this is also entirely personal but the left hand page numbering title bar thingy is very offputting to me.

anyway...much of the above is about graphic design, not about content. it is important to get that right though. look at other people's portfolios and study what works.

good luck. i hope you get into the schools you are aiming for.

Dierxap,

The link to your portfolio has died..any chance you can repost it?

As you said, once you get past the first few levels of screening, it's pretty much up to Jorge, Scott Cohen and some of the other senior faculty in terms of final decisions.

My year's class (the latest, entering in Fall 2007) is 28 people, and again roughly half of them international students. Yes, many worked for starchitects, but others like myself came from foreign countries or firms that probably have zero recognition in the states, so I wouldn't worry about it; your portfolio speaks for itself, and how you are unique.

As for MArch vs. MDesS, it comes down to a question of whether you are more intersested in pursuing research through lecture(or seminar/workshop) classes, or in a design studio based curriculum. You usually will not have time to do both, which is why MDesS students are not allowed to take studio courses but take the limited enrollment courses that require heavy time investment, sometimes on par with studio.

Good luck, the admissions offices are sorting through applications right now I hear...

HMack,

I agree with some of the above posters, the spreads are probably too busy and lack visual focus; you need to keep in mind the applications reviewers probably have 30 seconds per portfolio. Given that, I've always had a rule of thumb: for each spread, one main image has to stand out and cacth my eye, i.e. the "Money Shot"...all the other elements on that page should be supportive of that image, not competing with it (in terms of size, composition, color saturation etc...). It was actually harder for me to decide which images to keep, and which to discard. Figuring what to leave out is always the hardest part. Give your layouts some breathing space. I agree with jump, the left hand thing is kinda nagging to me, the idea of doing that is good, it's probably just too large and overdone. There are ways to get it done with much less real estate and more elegantly, at the same time not interfering with the main images. Probably changing the thumbnail pictures to Black / White or reducing them to simplified linework, a simplified or more abstract diagram/expression of each project would work better, and look much more unified graphically.

Just my 2 cents.

nice work, but the layout needs improvement in my opinion. maybe you could try using a common grid for all pages, and have more white breathing space as part of the grid.
like many said, rethink your fonts too.
the washed images for background is not working to your advantage, just try trmoving them.
i hope you get in into the univ. of your choice .... atb ...

I think the link will work for a bit again, apparently there is a bandwidth limit that was reached. I assume it will be reached again soon....

Balagan...I will wait to see if I get in before deciding between MDesS and March II. I understand the differences, as I have had, and have a number of friends in both programs there. I am really on the fence though, I mean do I need three more design studios? If I am so lucky, I will decide after open house.

I am about to turn in the MDesS portfolio in a couple of days. A few more hours of printing and it will be ready. Sucks that I need to give GSD two, you would think they could share.

Thanks for the words of encouragement...a few more months it will all me sorted out.

http://www.onlinefilefolder.com/index.php?action=getshare&type=0&user_num=15383&share_id=182428&hash=7e95eff384906b8ee013f8a0de28eece

Hmack..

I think you are right about being clear about what I did in the portfolio. I actually did, contributed and directly worked on everything in the portfolio; from 3d modeling, to rendering to model making to design..etc My roles were more support in the early stuff and more in charge in the later stuff.

Toasteroven..

I didn't put any student work from teaching in there at all. Only listed the two studios I taught in my CV.

wow dierxap, ive always been blown away be the models that come out of brain healy's office - truly incredible.

the one i produced... http://www.mediafire.com/?6myumegmb4x

ANY FEEDBACK would be greatly appreciated, A few of you have already taken the time to respond, thanks again.

Good luck to all!

I'm applying for a few MLA programs for Fall 08. I have a B.Arch and have been working for 8 years. I've just finished all my applications and have sent in the last of my portfolios.

My advice - whatever you show, just show the work simply. Don't feel the need to "Design" your portfolio with a capital "D." If you apply to a school as high profile as the ones you mention, they will receive hundreds of application packages. If it looks too busy they will likely toss it in the "thanks, but no thanks" pile, because they are going to make a big cut from the pool early on. And if you ask me, the same goes for project explanations, etc. The portfolio, in my opinion, is about images, not words. They have to read your letters of recommendation and your personal statement already - they don't want to have to read your portfolio as well.

I think the most you need are striking images, titles, and whether the work was professional, personal, academic, etc. I also listed the year in which the work was done.
If the work is good on its own, I don't know why you'd need anything else.

dierxap -

I am going to steal some of your representation techniques.

ah - so you are teaching a foundation studio? I've heard that if you are applying for a teaching position you should include examples of student work, in addition to the course description. I'd be interested to see what is being produced in your studio. did you get to design the syllabus?

dierxap

I'm loving your portfolio. But I will aim to add some useful criticism nonetheless. 67 pages is a bit too much no matter how energetic your graphics are. You may also find alternative options for presenting your floor plans particularly the larger ones. What I'm also not certain of is your level of involvement with the models, project, drawings etc. Notwithstanding I believe you should show more of your academic work as well.

good luck on your academic/professional endeavours

Toasteroven...

I am sure nothing in my portfolio is truly unique, somehow probably bit a little here and there over the years from different people...so...have at it, better yet improve on some of the techniques.

If you are applying for a teaching position, you should include student work etc..of course. I am just applying for MarchII. I will search for some of the student work, it was rather nice stuff. Had some good students. At the BAC the C level studios have freedom to design the syllabus, at the B level we take what is given and have the freedom to tackle the problem however you want.

architecnophilia...thanks for the kind words. It is a bit long, and if I had to do it over I would weigh the academic much more. The plans are tricky in a portfolio, almost more graphic than information. At least that is what is coming off in mine. Hopefully I won't be doing a portfolio for another 10 years...the two weeks it took for this one was tough.