Just a bit of general info, I spent over a month compiling this final version. I have a 5 year B.Arch from Pakistan and am applying to some top tier schools in the US. My transcripts, GRE etc are just alright which is why I'm heavily relying on my Portfolio to pick up the slack.
I'm looking for general opinions but mostly, will this cut it and stand out from the crowd? Am i aiming too high with Ivy leagues based on this? I've been staring at this too long and have lost all sense of general perception.
My major concern was adding the non-architectural work at the center of the portfolio. I feel like the 'scrambled eggs' portion is not as well done as some of the other spread and might lead to viewers losing interest and not completing the portfolio. Should i push it to the end?
The attached image is how the initial spread actually looks, ill be adding a brief statement for every school I'm applying to.
Thank you!
Non Sequitur
Nov 13, 16 12:05 pm
edit, edit, edit.
terrible layout: too busy, images are too small, colours too aggressive, text boxes within text?
cut the length in half and focus on a few images per project, not everything you've ever outputted.
archibitch
Nov 13, 16 12:22 pm
Hi non sequitur,
Thanks for taking a look. I've seen your comments in lots of threads now and they're usually troll-worthy (for the lack of a better word?) So for clarity, is this your 100% serious take on this. Im sorry i honestly dont know how else to phrase this nicely.
I understand your point about color, but I wanted to give an accurate and honest representation of my work and graphically i DO use a lot of color. Although for this portfolio I did try to streamline and bring them together. Apart from the first project, I've displayed 20-40 percent of each project to give weight to individual graphics.
And lastly, 'text boxes withing text' >>> what?
,,,,
Nov 13, 16 12:34 pm
I agree with NS.
It is information overload.
NS has given you an honest appraisal. You should take the advice.
archibitch
Nov 13, 16 12:57 pm
Alright guys, thanks for the input
Non Sequitur
Nov 13, 16 12:58 pm
No trolling here.
archietechie
Nov 13, 16 1:02 pm
While I appreciate your portfolio coming from a graphic designer's perspective, it may not go hand in hand with architecture. Both disciplines at extremes simply don't mix.
I also understand your use of colors with the thesis, thereby establishing a precedence for the other projects to follow. If you must insist on using non-pastel colors, refer to how Alex Hogrefe does it in his blog.
As for the output you have, you could try creating a standard grid layout for all pages to follow, that way there's some semblance of coherence for the user's eyes to follow through. Not only is it jarring right now, my eyes struggle to run all over the place to gather data. (Text justifications and paragraphing would help too)
Again, this doesn't fall to your inabilities as a designer but rather the wrong approach. Hope this helps ;)
Beepbeep
Nov 13, 16 7:34 pm
This recent portfolio was a good example with some color, organized and well laid out
Agree on the overload, it just makes the projects more difficult to comprehend,especially the first one, make them more easy to understand please, it hurts my eyes
on a side note i really liked ur hospital project
archibitch
Nov 15, 16 2:33 am
Critique duly noted everybody, thank you so much for your advice!
dawnchorus
Nov 15, 16 3:46 am
I actually think it shows more potential than most of the posts here. It would help to let us know what schools you are interested in applying to. The content is nice, but you definitely need a lot more white space. Schools look more at how you curate your work rather than including every single drawing for each project. Blow up some of your more impressive drawings and images to take up a whole page by itself. I would say you need to kick out at least 50% of all of your content for each project. If you showed a nice section in one project you can show a nice render in the next one instead of showing an equal amount of sections, plans, renders, diagrams for each project. Also, yes, push the 'scrambled eggs' portion to the end.
Here are some examples of nice portfolios that I just found on issuu, although they are a bit long for m.arch applications:
Hello Everybody,
Looking for some urgent critique on my M.Arch portfolio.
https://issuu.com/masshalsaif/docs/masshal_saif_portfolio-compressed
Just a bit of general info, I spent over a month compiling this final version. I have a 5 year B.Arch from Pakistan and am applying to some top tier schools in the US. My transcripts, GRE etc are just alright which is why I'm heavily relying on my Portfolio to pick up the slack.
I'm looking for general opinions but mostly, will this cut it and stand out from the crowd? Am i aiming too high with Ivy leagues based on this? I've been staring at this too long and have lost all sense of general perception.
My major concern was adding the non-architectural work at the center of the portfolio. I feel like the 'scrambled eggs' portion is not as well done as some of the other spread and might lead to viewers losing interest and not completing the portfolio. Should i push it to the end?
The attached image is how the initial spread actually looks, ill be adding a brief statement for every school I'm applying to.
Thank you!
edit, edit, edit.
terrible layout: too busy, images are too small, colours too aggressive, text boxes within text?
cut the length in half and focus on a few images per project, not everything you've ever outputted.
Hi non sequitur,
Thanks for taking a look. I've seen your comments in lots of threads now and they're usually troll-worthy (for the lack of a better word?) So for clarity, is this your 100% serious take on this. Im sorry i honestly dont know how else to phrase this nicely.
I understand your point about color, but I wanted to give an accurate and honest representation of my work and graphically i DO use a lot of color. Although for this portfolio I did try to streamline and bring them together. Apart from the first project, I've displayed 20-40 percent of each project to give weight to individual graphics.
And lastly, 'text boxes withing text' >>> what?
I agree with NS.
It is information overload.
NS has given you an honest appraisal. You should take the advice.
Alright guys, thanks for the input
No trolling here.
While I appreciate your portfolio coming from a graphic designer's perspective, it may not go hand in hand with architecture. Both disciplines at extremes simply don't mix.
I also understand your use of colors with the thesis, thereby establishing a precedence for the other projects to follow. If you must insist on using non-pastel colors, refer to how Alex Hogrefe does it in his blog.
As for the output you have, you could try creating a standard grid layout for all pages to follow, that way there's some semblance of coherence for the user's eyes to follow through. Not only is it jarring right now, my eyes struggle to run all over the place to gather data. (Text justifications and paragraphing would help too)
Again, this doesn't fall to your inabilities as a designer but rather the wrong approach. Hope this helps ;)
This recent portfolio was a good example with some color, organized and well laid out
http://archinect.com/forum/thread/149977798/portfolio-critique-needed
I agree with NS. Sorry.
Agree on the overload, it just makes the projects more difficult to comprehend,especially the first one, make them more easy to understand please, it hurts my eyes
on a side note i really liked ur hospital project
Critique duly noted everybody, thank you so much for your advice!
I actually think it shows more potential than most of the posts here. It would help to let us know what schools you are interested in applying to. The content is nice, but you definitely need a lot more white space. Schools look more at how you curate your work rather than including every single drawing for each project. Blow up some of your more impressive drawings and images to take up a whole page by itself. I would say you need to kick out at least 50% of all of your content for each project. If you showed a nice section in one project you can show a nice render in the next one instead of showing an equal amount of sections, plans, renders, diagrams for each project. Also, yes, push the 'scrambled eggs' portion to the end.
Here are some examples of nice portfolios that I just found on issuu, although they are a bit long for m.arch applications:
https://issuu.com/sogkarimi/docs/ali_karimi_portfolio2
https://issuu.com/karamichellemoore/docs/151012_moorekara_portfolio_web-comp
also this is a very helpful book on making your portfolio, it discusses layout, printing, binding, graphics, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Design-Architects-Manual-Communication/dp/0415522617