This is a collection of my Undergraduate work. I would greatly appreciate if I could receive any type of criticism but truthful and logical to my work. I am a big boy so I think I can handle the comments.
My goal essentially is to land an internship where there's room to truly learn how to put a building together, from conceptual to schematics to construction to final production.
Thank you for your time.
natematt
May 27, 15 2:07 am
Brief opinion.
The cover and ToC bore and annoy me respectively. I think the general graphic design template is a misfire, but the use of hierarchy of images for each project is nice albeit inconsistent. On a more positive note, I think the actual projects are pretty good for an undergrad. I don’t care much for the timber project, and I wish there was a little more diversity of style in the perspective (your world is quite spectral). I think your text is on the weaker side and yet quite excessive, I would consider trying to condense it into better/shorter blocks, even if it doesn’t provide as nice of a graphic fill. I think you could drop in with a stronger project at the start, and also remove a couple of projects… it is a bit long to send to employers anyway.
I could write again as much about the CV, but I don’t want to. So I’ll just say this. It is more accurately a resume than a CV. I don’t think your GPA is necessarily bad, but I don’t know that I would show it on a resume. I would not show a high school GPA unless it was really good, I’m not sure I would show the SAT scores unless I got a 1600 (old scale).
Stephanie Braconnier
May 27, 15 9:57 am
The projects and drawings seem good but I agree with above - the layout/graphics are holding you back. Stick with a template and present projects similarly so that your eyes don't have to jump all over the page to understand what's going on. I've found a 5-column grid to be really helpful, with a judicious use of large, focused graphics.
I think you have the right idea with keeping white space, you just need to use it more effectively.
Re: cover - the thin line weight header text and unbalanced positioning don't leave a positive impact on me. I'm not opposed to white/text covers, but they have to be done very skillfully. At this point maybe introducing an image you're particularly proud of would be good, as well as choosing a bolder text and re-positioning the information.
ramirezl
May 27, 15 10:15 am
natematt & Stephanie
Thank you for you comments. I think they help me towards the right direction.
natematt
May 27, 15 12:34 pm
re:re: Cover
I think the chance of it working out well digitally is pretty low. If you are doing a physical portfolio there is a lot more opportunity to make something nice and white.
Either way, this is not an example of a nice white portfolio cover.
x-jla
May 27, 15 12:51 pm
Agree with everyone.
Trevor Boyle
May 27, 15 6:54 pm
I'd be interested in seeing a few different attempts at the cover, first impressions are pretty important.
It's pretty funny how easy it is to identify a bunch of UF projects when quickly browsing through an online portfolio.
rationalist
May 27, 15 11:17 pm
Agreed with the above, but I also want to add that you projects from the middle to the end are much better looking than the first couple. This concerns me because there are a lot of people who will just stop looking if the first one doesn't impress. The strategy I tend to advocate for portfolios is to "bookend" them—that is, make sure your two best projects are first and last, sandwiching lesser projects in between. That way the reviewer gets the instant gratification that propels them forward, and also ends on a high note.
BulgarBlogger
May 28, 15 8:16 am
Some your hand drawigs look like the shroud of turin... Too small to understand what's going on....
Anyway- I dont understand why so many portfolios try to "explain" the entire thought process behind a project. There is no way you can ever summarize that in a few pages... Your portfolio should represent your skills more than your thought process. If an emplpyer os interested in your thought process, they will ask you about it at an interview. Many job candidates confuse the title "designer" with the responsibilities of a chief and sole designer... Unless you are a senior designer or a principal in charge, you will most likely be in a design circle where your opinion is considered, but most likely not heavily weighted.... Therefore, your portfolio should represent and emphasize the skills that you will utilize more in the actual work setting rather than what your consider to be a "brilliant" thought process.
One last point: employers like efficieny. You may have spent 100+ hours developing a portfolio or doing renderings, and it might lool great... But in reality, you 90% of the time, you won't have the same amount of time in a work setting... The fees are just not there... Therefore, your portfolip should represent a skillset that comes naturally and quickly to you, not something that will take you so long that a firm will blow its fee on.
This is a collection of my Undergraduate work. I would greatly appreciate if I could receive any type of criticism but truthful and logical to my work. I am a big boy so I think I can handle the comments.
Again advance thank you for your collaboration.
http://issuu.com/ramirezl2044/docs/undergraduate_portfolio_lgr_separat
My goal essentially is to land an internship where there's room to truly learn how to put a building together, from conceptual to schematics to construction to final production.
Thank you for your time.
Brief opinion.
The cover and ToC bore and annoy me respectively. I think the general graphic design template is a misfire, but the use of hierarchy of images for each project is nice albeit inconsistent. On a more positive note, I think the actual projects are pretty good for an undergrad. I don’t care much for the timber project, and I wish there was a little more diversity of style in the perspective (your world is quite spectral). I think your text is on the weaker side and yet quite excessive, I would consider trying to condense it into better/shorter blocks, even if it doesn’t provide as nice of a graphic fill. I think you could drop in with a stronger project at the start, and also remove a couple of projects… it is a bit long to send to employers anyway.
I could write again as much about the CV, but I don’t want to. So I’ll just say this. It is more accurately a resume than a CV. I don’t think your GPA is necessarily bad, but I don’t know that I would show it on a resume. I would not show a high school GPA unless it was really good, I’m not sure I would show the SAT scores unless I got a 1600 (old scale).
The projects and drawings seem good but I agree with above - the layout/graphics are holding you back. Stick with a template and present projects similarly so that your eyes don't have to jump all over the page to understand what's going on. I've found a 5-column grid to be really helpful, with a judicious use of large, focused graphics.
I think you have the right idea with keeping white space, you just need to use it more effectively.
Re: cover - the thin line weight header text and unbalanced positioning don't leave a positive impact on me. I'm not opposed to white/text covers, but they have to be done very skillfully. At this point maybe introducing an image you're particularly proud of would be good, as well as choosing a bolder text and re-positioning the information.
natematt & Stephanie
Thank you for you comments. I think they help me towards the right direction.
re:re: Cover
I think the chance of it working out well digitally is pretty low. If you are doing a physical portfolio there is a lot more opportunity to make something nice and white.
Either way, this is not an example of a nice white portfolio cover.
Agree with everyone.
I'd be interested in seeing a few different attempts at the cover, first impressions are pretty important.
It's pretty funny how easy it is to identify a bunch of UF projects when quickly browsing through an online portfolio.
Agreed with the above, but I also want to add that you projects from the middle to the end are much better looking than the first couple. This concerns me because there are a lot of people who will just stop looking if the first one doesn't impress. The strategy I tend to advocate for portfolios is to "bookend" them—that is, make sure your two best projects are first and last, sandwiching lesser projects in between. That way the reviewer gets the instant gratification that propels them forward, and also ends on a high note.
Some your hand drawigs look like the shroud of turin... Too small to understand what's going on....
Anyway- I dont understand why so many portfolios try to "explain" the entire thought process behind a project. There is no way you can ever summarize that in a few pages... Your portfolio should represent your skills more than your thought process. If an emplpyer os interested in your thought process, they will ask you about it at an interview. Many job candidates confuse the title "designer" with the responsibilities of a chief and sole designer... Unless you are a senior designer or a principal in charge, you will most likely be in a design circle where your opinion is considered, but most likely not heavily weighted.... Therefore, your portfolio should represent and emphasize the skills that you will utilize more in the actual work setting rather than what your consider to be a "brilliant" thought process.
One last point: employers like efficieny. You may have spent 100+ hours developing a portfolio or doing renderings, and it might lool great... But in reality, you 90% of the time, you won't have the same amount of time in a work setting... The fees are just not there... Therefore, your portfolip should represent a skillset that comes naturally and quickly to you, not something that will take you so long that a firm will blow its fee on.