I'm for India with two year work exp. and a B.Arch. degree. Made a portfolio for applying to various US universities to attend M.Arch. for Fall 2015. Please criticize. Constructive criticism should help me in future. :)
I know.. I can be an asshole- will elaborate a bit later..
LeOmkr
Jun 8, 15 12:12 pm
I would LOVE the pin-pointed criticism. Look forward to it!
natematt
Jun 8, 15 2:14 pm
I don't know about your style of architecture, I don't feel like most of it fits well with US schools...
I think the images need some work. The renderings need to be refined, and the color pallets for the diagrams are not great.
That red bar scheme for a layout is not appealing.
LeOmkr
Jun 9, 15 1:14 am
@natematt: I feel the same about the red bar scheme after uploading it to issuu. Until yesterday, it seemed good.
I agree that the renders need a lottt of work. But, I don't see a problem with the color palette. Do you mean, simple yellows and greens are not good for schematic diagrams?
Thanks very much!! :)
@Bulgar Blogger:
Still waiting for your elaborate comments.
no_form
Jun 9, 15 1:41 am
My favorite part is the miscellaneous section. It's the only part where I get a sense of you as a person doing art and making interesting things by your own rules. The rest looks like a boring corporate office portfolio. However, I would admit you to a program here in the U.S. because you have a lot of skills and potential. You just need the mentoring and studio culture here to bring out your best. Good luck.
natematt
Jun 9, 15 1:50 am
You use a wide range of very saturated colors in different images for different projects that do not work well together. If you want to use bright colors, that's fine, but they can't clash. Otherwise stick to more neutral, and lighter colors.
BulgarBlogger
Jun 9, 15 9:04 am
I agree with all the comments above... here are a few of my own:
Aside from the particularities of color (that is neither here nor there, but red is generally considered irritating), your most successful pages are pages 01 and 02. They are clean and well organized and there is a nice balance of text sizes and hierarchy. Your other pages lack the same finesse.
Most of your projects are super boring and your concepts super literal. Maybe this has something to do with the education system in India, but when I see an image/rendering of a plant breaking through the ground next to an image/rendering of a tower (just for example)- yes, I get it - but I lose interest immediately. Your project instantaneously becomes a gimmick rather than a representation of a concept. It just cannot be critiqued. It is what it is.
You also have a wide variety of colors and scales, both in your renderings and other images/drawings. Stick to one color palette and 2 or 3 scales. Always show a north arrow and/or a graphic scale, where your sections are taken, and where your elevations are taken.
Finally, your details are not convincing- not one bit.
Not sure if this a portfolio that you are applying to for work, but don't be surprised if you cannot get a job in the West without significant improvements.
BulgarBlogger
Jun 9, 15 1:31 pm
That struck a chord... Maybe?
LeOmkr
Jun 9, 15 3:56 pm
@ rob_c: Thanks for the encouragement! :)
@natematt: Yes, your point seems very valid when I compare my presentation with a whole lot of examples lying around. Maybe, there's a lot left to learn for me!
@BulgarBlogger: Very straightforward. Just like natematt. I agree to everything that you've pointed out. Yes, probably the system is to be blamed. Or is it? Maybe, my evolution as a student of architecture is not at the stage where it should be at the end of five years, which reflects in the way I've have tried to establish a relationship between inspirations and the end product, as you have rightly pointed out.
Seems like there's a long way to go before I start to dream of matching the quality of you worthy lot!
Love the dissection of what I once thought was a 'good' piece of work.
.3006.
Jul 7, 15 3:51 am
@LeOmkr Don't feel demotivated, I too am from India and the system is broken. Right now the work you have is what you need to work with. Your portfolio mainly lacks graphical skill. This is not too difficult to rectify. I suggest you refer to some good portfolios which have a simple layout and minimum text. Just one or two images on a page. Some of the renders need to be improved. I believe this will really improve the whole document and make your work more understandable.
nappy
Jul 7, 15 11:25 am
I am not going to comment on the work as it is what it is, good or bad.
But the red has to go.
Also, maybe adjust the colors of your images and desaturate it to give it more of a conceptual feel and cleaner feel
Try to use fades for some of the images so it fades into/becomes the background to give it a more airy and lighter feel. Really work on the layout as this is something you can control. Either make it look more "clean" or more "layered" depending on what would match your projects conceptually.
nappy
Jul 7, 15 11:45 am
Your cover page the image is way too dark and the wood structure doesn't look very clean kinda rough. I would maybe try to make the image lighter, with less contrast almost into a watermark. Then use illustrator and overlay a line drawing over top of it with line weights to make it look more contemporary and graphic.
I'm for India with two year work exp. and a B.Arch. degree.
Made a portfolio for applying to various US universities to attend M.Arch. for Fall 2015.
Please criticize. Constructive criticism should help me in future. :)
Otherwise, just rip it apart. It's all yours.
http://issuu.com/omkarleolele/docs/lele_omkar_portfolio/1
*FROM
kind of... horrible...
Thank you for being the first!
I know.. I can be an asshole- will elaborate a bit later..
I would LOVE the pin-pointed criticism. Look forward to it!
I don't know about your style of architecture, I don't feel like most of it fits well with US schools...
I think the images need some work. The renderings need to be refined, and the color pallets for the diagrams are not great.
That red bar scheme for a layout is not appealing.
@natematt:
I feel the same about the red bar scheme after uploading it to issuu. Until yesterday, it seemed good.
I agree that the renders need a lottt of work. But, I don't see a problem with the color palette. Do you mean, simple yellows and greens are not good for schematic diagrams?
Thanks very much!! :)
@Bulgar Blogger:
Still waiting for your elaborate comments.
My favorite part is the miscellaneous section. It's the only part where I get a sense of you as a person doing art and making interesting things by your own rules. The rest looks like a boring corporate office portfolio. However, I would admit you to a program here in the U.S. because you have a lot of skills and potential. You just need the mentoring and studio culture here to bring out your best. Good luck.
You use a wide range of very saturated colors in different images for different projects that do not work well together. If you want to use bright colors, that's fine, but they can't clash. Otherwise stick to more neutral, and lighter colors.
I agree with all the comments above... here are a few of my own:
Aside from the particularities of color (that is neither here nor there, but red is generally considered irritating), your most successful pages are pages 01 and 02. They are clean and well organized and there is a nice balance of text sizes and hierarchy. Your other pages lack the same finesse.
Most of your projects are super boring and your concepts super literal. Maybe this has something to do with the education system in India, but when I see an image/rendering of a plant breaking through the ground next to an image/rendering of a tower (just for example)- yes, I get it - but I lose interest immediately. Your project instantaneously becomes a gimmick rather than a representation of a concept. It just cannot be critiqued. It is what it is.
You also have a wide variety of colors and scales, both in your renderings and other images/drawings. Stick to one color palette and 2 or 3 scales. Always show a north arrow and/or a graphic scale, where your sections are taken, and where your elevations are taken.
Finally, your details are not convincing- not one bit.
Not sure if this a portfolio that you are applying to for work, but don't be surprised if you cannot get a job in the West without significant improvements.
That struck a chord... Maybe?
@ rob_c: Thanks for the encouragement! :)
@natematt: Yes, your point seems very valid when I compare my presentation with a whole lot of examples lying around. Maybe, there's a lot left to learn for me!
@BulgarBlogger: Very straightforward. Just like natematt. I agree to everything that you've pointed out. Yes, probably the system is to be blamed. Or is it? Maybe, my evolution as a student of architecture is not at the stage where it should be at the end of five years, which reflects in the way I've have tried to establish a relationship between inspirations and the end product, as you have rightly pointed out.
Seems like there's a long way to go before I start to dream of matching the quality of you worthy lot!
Love the dissection of what I once thought was a 'good' piece of work.
@LeOmkr Don't feel demotivated, I too am from India and the system is broken. Right now the work you have is what you need to work with. Your portfolio mainly lacks graphical skill. This is not too difficult to rectify. I suggest you refer to some good portfolios which have a simple layout and minimum text. Just one or two images on a page. Some of the renders need to be improved. I believe this will really improve the whole document and make your work more understandable.
I am not going to comment on the work as it is what it is, good or bad.
But the red has to go.
Also, maybe adjust the colors of your images and desaturate it to give it more of a conceptual feel and cleaner feel
Try to use fades for some of the images so it fades into/becomes the background to give it a more airy and lighter feel. Really work on the layout as this is something you can control. Either make it look more "clean" or more "layered" depending on what would match your projects conceptually.
Your cover page the image is way too dark and the wood structure doesn't look very clean kinda rough. I would maybe try to make the image lighter, with less contrast almost into a watermark. Then use illustrator and overlay a line drawing over top of it with line weights to make it look more contemporary and graphic.