Nice layout, clean graphics. You draw well. I wish my graphic design skills were at your level when I was in third year.

What is missing is more design content and process drawings. I can't imagine that 1/2 way through architecture school that you only have a few pages of work. Work on your copy...Consider the reader. If this is for academia, then you are on the right track (but I would focus more on the design concepts and strategies rather than just a synopsis of the program). If its to get a job, then not so much. Also, it was a pretty big file for only a couple of pages.

All things considered, I would say it is an good job. Keep working at it and you will hit a homerun.

I like the layout - the pages are very clean...

however, I'd add a couple pages of process (site analysis, program analysis, iterations, etc...) to each project to understand how you arrived at your final design.

jersey boy:

You're right, it is kind of short. I guess I was thinking "short and sweet" would be a good idea, but after giving it more thought I think you're right. Is a short, concise portfolio best for pursuing employment? What about for app'ing to grad school?

toasteroven:

thanks - and you're sort of echoing what jersey boy said about adding more process. that's something I'm definitely going to work on!

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A general question I had is, what sort of place does graphic design work have in an architectural portfolio? If I really like a few design projects I worked on should I put them towards the back? I did a few album covers and illustrations.

And, also, I wanted to know when you've worked on company projects and want to put that work in your portfolio... do you only place what YOU yourself have made, or do you put in images and drawings that describe the project but were made by real architects at the firm. Some of my peers' portfolios went the latter approach and it looks really good, but I'm afraid to have their work mistaken for mine.

On your resume you are stating you are class of 2010 for your BSarch and also Barch for 2012??? I would think about revising that! Overall I think that your presentation drawings are very clear, although I would agree with some of the previous posts that you should include more diagrams/process images. Is this you entire portfolio or are these just samples?

i agree with the previous comments

you clearly have an eye for graphics now you have to have an eye for content and meaning. remember a portfolio is cohesive and complete whereas say a monograph is intentionally incomplete and abstracted. for example the last page - choose one and tell the full story.

no need to tell how the image was created/what 3dsoftware was used

eventual binding type? it's gonna have to lay flat since content is right in the gutter

put you graphic design stuff in as long as you can convey your design methodology for the project

but seriously, great start. your graphic devices are clean and unobtrusive and your images are captivating

poop876:

this is my entire portfolio as of yet, but I've only had to use it for phone interviews. I guess it seemed like a substantial amount when I was making it, but looking it each spread in adobe acrobat you definitely go through it fast. I guess my portfolio needs to be probably twice as long for when I app to grad school?

amensiac:

all my employers ask for .pdfs - will I need hard copies when I app to grad school? I'll work on adding more process drawings.

jk,

the lenght of the porfolio is totally acceptable if it is only showing sample of your work. Like I mentioned before, including process images and analysis will definetelly increase your portfolio. You probably already know that a lot of schools focus on diagrams and analytical process of a project (I went to Knowlton Arch.) so including those in your portofolio when applying for schools will definetlly be a plus. I believe when I applied to graduate schools only had about 5 projects included but it spread out over about 35 pages and most of it was iterations and diagrams which are more interesting and explain the thought process of an individiual. After all the final images only explain the outcome of your analysis. The last thing you want to say to explain your project is "well it looks cool". Good luck at Cinci if you still decide to go there after you are done with undergrad.

One more thing...you will be applying to graduate school with a printout of your portfolio and don't be cheap when printing, but try to avoid kinkos, office max etc. Its just a waste of time. Go to a local print shop, which you can look up in the yellow page etc. The quality is usually amazing and its very cheap. I printed my porfolios after I finished my masters for about 12 dollars each and I was impressed with the quality. And since you are from Newark, there is a print shop of off Stelzer Road (Citicom Print I believe) they do it really cheap and the quality is amazing. Good luck and good job on your work so far!!!

What I am going to write applies to 90% of the student portfolios that i have reviewed, not just yours. This is mostly taken from a design guide i wrote a few years ago. Think of it as constructive criticism, sorry it is so long;

1. You need a better format, if you are going to have people view it online....7 mb is bigger than almost any website. if you want a quick 5 minute online portfolio, the best one ive seen so far is from krop. (http://krop.com/creativedatabase/)

2. I would look at published architecture books that you like, (ones not designed by architects) and take design cues from them. There are very good reasons books are designed the way they are. You are designing a book, not designing a design.
Some things you will notice:
a. Graphics and drawings almost never have their own borders /boundaries.
b. Photographs and renderings are frequently full bleed.
c. Main body text is almost always in the same spot on every page that there is text, but not every page....
d. Text is broken up into 2 types. Main body, and annotations. The main body explains the 'story'. the annotation explains the image.
e. Text for annotated images is always smaller than the main body, and consistently placed. Try using a numbering system, or place it in the same position against the image...constantly.
f. Page numbering is not the focus of the page, if present at all.
g. Fonts are chosen for their readability, not just their aesthetics. Make sure your font can be read when small. Helvetica and other blocky fonts do not work well with this. Either do thin or odly shaped fonts. Some will not print as expected, especially against colored backgrounds.

3. Think hard about how you are going to bind this.
a.If it is spiral bound, your gutter is going to be cut up and much of the careful design put into it will go to waste. This can be ok, but it needs to be planned.
b. If it is going to be perfect / hard bound...a lot of that design will be hidden in the books gutter. text should always be on the fore-edge for these reasons. no one likes lines of text to be cut up, or text to buried in the book gutter.
c. If it is going to be saddle stitched, you don't have to worry about the gutter as much, but, you need to make sure that the pages are in the right order. Some printers take care of this for you, others don't. There is also the danger that graphics will bleed into the wrong page in the back of the book if it is too thick.

4. Consider the printer, and the borders. Most printing (even professional ) has a 1/16 to 1/8 inch offset between the front and back of a page. They usually do not line up perfectly. If you have images with a white background, imagine how it will look if a 1/8" of the top or bottom is cut off. Images like that should be given a 1/4" margin. Full bleed images (they go to the outside edge) should have the subject towards the center, and bleed outside of the page by 1/8" in-design(or what ever you are using). This will compensate for this problem. That is called adding a slug.

5. Be aware of the QUALITY of YOUR work. If you think that an image is strong, it IS OK for it to be the only thing on a page. Show off your best work, don't bury it in clutter, and don't put work you are not proud of on the same level of work that you think could be better. If you want to show process....do so carefully to not overpower the final product.

6. Be aware of your audience. We know if something is a drawing, or a rendering. Avoid redundancy, and be precise with language. Explain your intent, not your 'concept'. What do you want your work to be? How does it achieve these goals? Too many architecture students start with a variation of "My concept for this project is (insert word that is not a concept. i.e. technology, space...etc..)". We pick up on this right away.

Flip through some of these books for more ideas...they are some of the best designed ever.

http://www.youworkforthem.com/list.php?cat=12
also read this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookbinding
http://www.antcolbks.com/BookParts.gif

carl:

Thanks a million for that post - I feel seriously enlightened. I'm going to revisit my portfolio and lay down some groundwork for something worthy of submitting to grad schools.

Again, I really appreciate it - if you have any more links to helpful resources, examples, or other successful portfolios, please don't hesitate to send me them on the forums or at james.kehl@gmail.com

Gratefully yours,

jk3hl

sure thing...if i come up with anything else i will let you know, but i think by far that your best resource is your local architecture library, most students do not spend enough time there just browsing.

let me know how it turns out.....


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Kindly comment on my work so that i'll able to change and edit the corrections