I know it's late, but hot damn, ain't it hard to apply to grad school while trying to resurrect a previously flogged college experience at 20 unit increments.
Anyhow, There will be a portfolio posted here in due time, but I needed a bit of advice before I zip the whole thing up. My question: Is three (count 'em, 3) projects enough? I've got a 12-page-max requirement at UC Berkeley, and my economics and english degrees have provided me with little to no academic design work (some funny poems and a thesis on Ghanaian policy reform, but that's about it) . I'm currently in an intro to sculpture studio, but all of my previous projects (guitars I've constructed for clients and some design work inspired by competitions I saw on bustler) trump the stuff I've done for that course (besides my masking tape shoe, that is. It is quite banging for my current skill level with tape [can I put that in a portfolio though? on the same playing field as designs and instruments I've spent hundreds of hours on?]).
So, three projects:
1) an adaptable house (3 pages)
2) a mobile media-centric research and habitation unit (3 pages)
3) an ukulele and a fretless bass guitar (2 pages)
Would they appreciate a short, high-effort portfolio? Does quality over quantity apply to this extent?
I will greatly appreciate any advice on the matter, but thanks in advance anyhow.
I think 3 projects should suffice, especially since you have that page limit to contend with... just make sure to include concept sketches and round out the ideas.
All of your projects appear to be very diverse and speak about a personal passion for design, which I think speaks louder than design work generated solely for school.
And that shoe outta tape sounds cool... why don't you include it as a 'warm-up' to the rest, or as a happy ending?
I really don't like the 12 page thing that berkeley does. I guess I understand the reasoning for it......to sift out the superfluous clutter and force you to isolate your strongest work.....but isn't that what a portfolio is???? and isn't that how you seperate good ones from bad ones? It just seems kind of like....
hey we want to be different....print 12 pages on paper only made before 1954 and then crumple one sheet.....the others must be moist...not wet and have no corners.
Yea, not exactly sure how to predict the overall file size when compressing individual slides from Photoshop. Any advice? I can make the overall file about three times bigger, but trial and error is frusterating. Thanks.
NLW, not sure how good my opinion is on these things but...
I think the shoe feels really random at the table of contents, I understand that you don't want it to be it's own "project" and saw that comment by Sbeth, but it's so random if people don't know the context. It looks pretty cool from that one photo, maybe you should go ahead and include a spread on it, provided the concept around it is well thought out.
On some of your descriptions, be sure to only include info that's really pertinent. The Ukulele is really cool and your description of the work and client interaction that went into it goes over really well, but does the acceptance committee really need to know if was for your girlfriend? Or where you say you made nine instruments, four for clients, and you're only going to show two... It just seems a little forced. Maybe you could do a spread showing a few images of more of the instruments (in your intro) and then just hone in on the two in more detail. Really incredible work on those btw, and the sketches to go with them are well executed and help me understand what's going on.
Also, on the third project, you bolded a couple sentences in your write-up that pertain the most to your concept (I think?). It's really hard for me to tell if those are bolded or not (might be that resolution issue). If they are, burying your main concepts in paragraphs like that can make them hard to find. Maybe you could look at the write-ups one more time and cut out just a little bit more of the fat?
Overall, I like the legibility of your graphics and layout. That section on the last project, showing the structure and spaces in your design is nice.
Good luck!
Dec 11, 09 6:11 pm ·
·
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.
Eventual Non-Arch MArch Portfolio Critique
Hey y'all,
I know it's late, but hot damn, ain't it hard to apply to grad school while trying to resurrect a previously flogged college experience at 20 unit increments.
Anyhow, There will be a portfolio posted here in due time, but I needed a bit of advice before I zip the whole thing up. My question: Is three (count 'em, 3) projects enough? I've got a 12-page-max requirement at UC Berkeley, and my economics and english degrees have provided me with little to no academic design work (some funny poems and a thesis on Ghanaian policy reform, but that's about it) . I'm currently in an intro to sculpture studio, but all of my previous projects (guitars I've constructed for clients and some design work inspired by competitions I saw on bustler) trump the stuff I've done for that course (besides my masking tape shoe, that is. It is quite banging for my current skill level with tape [can I put that in a portfolio though? on the same playing field as designs and instruments I've spent hundreds of hours on?]).
So, three projects:
1) an adaptable house (3 pages)
2) a mobile media-centric research and habitation unit (3 pages)
3) an ukulele and a fretless bass guitar (2 pages)
Would they appreciate a short, high-effort portfolio? Does quality over quantity apply to this extent?
I will greatly appreciate any advice on the matter, but thanks in advance anyhow.
I think 3 projects should suffice, especially since you have that page limit to contend with... just make sure to include concept sketches and round out the ideas.
All of your projects appear to be very diverse and speak about a personal passion for design, which I think speaks louder than design work generated solely for school.
And that shoe outta tape sounds cool... why don't you include it as a 'warm-up' to the rest, or as a happy ending?
Just my 2 cents...
Good call, I'll stick the shoe in 'unofficially'.
It's getting to done, this should be an official critique thread quite soon.
I really don't like the 12 page thing that berkeley does. I guess I understand the reasoning for it......to sift out the superfluous clutter and force you to isolate your strongest work.....but isn't that what a portfolio is???? and isn't that how you seperate good ones from bad ones? It just seems kind of like....
hey we want to be different....print 12 pages on paper only made before 1954 and then crumple one sheet.....the others must be moist...not wet and have no corners.
ha...sorry just a little annoyed
Okay, here's the 95% version. I would greatly appreciate any input on making it 100%. It's missing a final page, I think. Maybe not.
A quick recap:
Econ major.
www.megaupload.com/?d=H5NHABGO
format = good. nice, simple, clean, organized
mixing of image text (blurry) and non-image text (non-blurry) = nah
Yea, not exactly sure how to predict the overall file size when compressing individual slides from Photoshop. Any advice? I can make the overall file about three times bigger, but trial and error is frusterating. Thanks.
NLW, not sure how good my opinion is on these things but...
I think the shoe feels really random at the table of contents, I understand that you don't want it to be it's own "project" and saw that comment by Sbeth, but it's so random if people don't know the context. It looks pretty cool from that one photo, maybe you should go ahead and include a spread on it, provided the concept around it is well thought out.
On some of your descriptions, be sure to only include info that's really pertinent. The Ukulele is really cool and your description of the work and client interaction that went into it goes over really well, but does the acceptance committee really need to know if was for your girlfriend? Or where you say you made nine instruments, four for clients, and you're only going to show two... It just seems a little forced. Maybe you could do a spread showing a few images of more of the instruments (in your intro) and then just hone in on the two in more detail. Really incredible work on those btw, and the sketches to go with them are well executed and help me understand what's going on.
Also, on the third project, you bolded a couple sentences in your write-up that pertain the most to your concept (I think?). It's really hard for me to tell if those are bolded or not (might be that resolution issue). If they are, burying your main concepts in paragraphs like that can make them hard to find. Maybe you could look at the write-ups one more time and cut out just a little bit more of the fat?
Overall, I like the legibility of your graphics and layout. That section on the last project, showing the structure and spaces in your design is nice.
Good luck!
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.