Anyone feel like taking a break or just plain bored?
Feel free to leave me some feedback on my undergraduate portfolio, don't worry I've got thick skin.
I graduated about 4 years ago, and I'm finally ready to apply for grad school. Going to redo my portfolio, but I want to see what I can include from this old thing, before I add in my professional projects from the office.
Do you think it's good practice to have seperate portfolios for Grad application and Job applications?
Non Sequitur
Aug 14, 17 4:58 pm
Hurray for hand drawings.
Besides that... I despise the intro and blue gradients.
If you're going to include CAD drawings in your application, try to make them all look the same (ie. line weights). Those renderings look unfinished so either reduce their weight in the folio or rework a little photoshop to spice them up.
Job and school portfolios highlight different skill sets but don't necessarily need to be different portfolios... but putting in heavy office generated work in an academic application in lieu of creative or design progress work will not go too well.
Josh Mings
Aug 14, 17 5:06 pm
I thought there were actually going to be sharks.
Josh Mings
Aug 14, 17 10:40 pm
Ok - actual critique.
1) I don't like the paragraph on the cover at all. No one is going to read it anyway.
2) The large gradient blocks aren't adding anything to the portfolio as of right now. I think you can incorporate them better (and maybe change the blue to a "fresher" shade - look at the Pantone Colors of the Year for the last couple years or so).
3) Hand drawings = awesome. I think overall your content is ok.
4) Text - hardly anyone will read it, make all text areas short and concise for when they do (this will also help you explain your project in a concise manner when interviewing)
5) You don't really have your voice yet, but you'll find it. Show off yourself with the portfolio too. (this is more of a longer-term critique)
6) ADD SHARKS
archanonymous
Aug 14, 17 11:08 pm
You should do a portfolio of all your professional work first, then go back through with student projects and fill in the gaps of your professional portfolio where necessary.
If you need to re-do projects, do so.
archinine
Aug 14, 17 11:56 pm
Get rid of the MS word art '97 blue gradient. Besides being dated it clashes with your wonderful hand drawings. You'd be better with just a plain white background. While I appreciate very much the later free hand sketches and especially the watercolors, the sketches feel cramped with no clear reason why they are grouped in that way. The first page is very odd with all that white space, then never repeated in that fashion. You don't need that many building sketches as you've already shown your skill in this area with full length projects. Some are much better than others and I think you know which, cut the fat in this section to trim the overall length of the portfolio. The water colors are easily my favorite of the entire portfolio. Really beautiful. You may consider trimming down the length of the document by omitting some of those houses as they appear similar in typology scale etc, while you have a pretty broad range of stuff in here.
The hand drawings coupled with computer drawn house I find odd. It feels disingenuous to your hand drawings to include random Revit sections.
The renderings need work. Particularly the one with the busy textures on the floor tile and columns, tone down the patterns there and reduce the saturation on all the renders. That hostess staring at me in the empty cafe is slightly terrifying. Same with the floating shadowless vehicle. Photoshop elements to look more real and subdued, employ your clear talent for sketching to the digital realm.
Some of the later building projects looked interesting but I and most other architects aren't going to read all that text so you need some diagrams to convey whatever is going on there. I would advise against ever having a full page of text period. Agree with others the intro page is weird and unnecessary. You'll be submitting other documents with your application that will cover anything written there.
Overall I recommend shortening this to the best works rather than creating an anthology. Regarding professional work, it's enough to include 1-2 well documented good looking projects in which you played a key role and fill the rest with studio/personal works in which you displayed your sole thought process. Consider organizing professional and school work in separate sections rather than shoved between each other. Consider delineating school and professional work graphically, add graphics to call things out when necessary, and generally assume no text other than titles and floating captions right next to an image will be read.
I realize the irony in my own verbosity.
Good luck!
randomised
Aug 15, 17 12:33 am
I'd say either get rid of the gradient or go full throttle, but definitely update the colour, you can also skip the cover text, work on the computer renderings and don't put too many similar projects, houses, sketches or watercolours in your portfolio, feels a bit repetitive. And that typeface of "the special corner house"...kill it with fire.
auninja91
Aug 15, 17 3:34 pm
Thanks everyone, once again appreciate your critiques.
Sharks are probably still on their way <º)))>< <º)))><
Seriously, that was not so bad at all...
RCIXM24
Aug 15, 17 5:27 pm
Hi there!
First of all, I want to congratulate you on your hand sketches and models they are very nice. My biggest critique is that this portfolio has no visual process, in other words, as I read I have no idea how you got to the end products.
In industry this is a minor thing but for grad school (academia) this is paramount. The review board wants to see how you think, how you come up with solutions for design problems. Your grad school portfolio is a design project that talks about you, and who you are as a designer. I highly recommend you spend sometime looking back at sketches and early drafts of your projects and see how you came up with them.
Now for the nitpicking:
1) You have three fonts in there, stick to one and use something less frilly, stick to sans serif or something clean and minimal.
2) As I mentioned on the paragraph, the portfolio is a design project, its not just a book you put together over a few hours. Why do you have that blue thing on each page? Be very deliberate on your design decisions. I recommend you design the cover first and then each page will flow from there.
3) To quote Depeche Mode "Words are meaningless, and forgettable". Lose about 70% of the text, nobody reads it. You don't need to explain your designs in text, it should be explained via your visual process and final products.
3) Divide By Project/Not Architecture or other concept (aren't models part of architecture?) I recommend you choose only 5 projects and spend serious time on beefing them up.
4 Quality not quantity, piggy backing of the previous comment. Choose your best and only put your best. Review boards go over hundreds of portfolios in a very short time.
I think that does it. I too am heavy on the hand drawings and sketches so I understand having a lot of them but stick to the best. Take the time to gussy up your previous work and come up with a good portfolio design. I wish you the best of luck fellow sketcher! If you have questions or concerns feel free to ask.
-Cheers!
null pointer
Aug 15, 17 7:52 pm
Highly dislike your font choices. They are too conservative. You want to aim for neutral with a portfolio. You generally do that by mixing serifs and sans serifs (one for body, one for headings).
Hi All,
Anyone feel like taking a break or just plain bored?
Feel free to leave me some feedback on my undergraduate portfolio, don't worry I've got thick skin.
I graduated about 4 years ago, and I'm finally ready to apply for grad school. Going to redo my portfolio, but I want to see what I can include from this old thing, before I add in my professional projects from the office.
https://issuu.com/tanikacorion...
Thanks, appreciate it
Do you think it's good practice to have seperate portfolios for Grad application and Job applications?
Hurray for hand drawings.
Besides that... I despise the intro and blue gradients.
If you're going to include CAD drawings in your application, try to make them all look the same (ie. line weights). Those renderings look unfinished so either reduce their weight in the folio or rework a little photoshop to spice them up.
Job and school portfolios highlight different skill sets but don't necessarily need to be different portfolios... but putting in heavy office generated work in an academic application in lieu of creative or design progress work will not go too well.
I thought there were actually going to be sharks.
Ok - actual critique.
1) I don't like the paragraph on the cover at all. No one is going to read it anyway.
2) The large gradient blocks aren't adding anything to the portfolio as of right now. I think you can incorporate them better (and maybe change the blue to a "fresher" shade - look at the Pantone Colors of the Year for the last couple years or so).
3) Hand drawings = awesome. I think overall your content is ok.
4) Text - hardly anyone will read it, make all text areas short and concise for when they do (this will also help you explain your project in a concise manner when interviewing)
5) You don't really have your voice yet, but you'll find it. Show off yourself with the portfolio too. (this is more of a longer-term critique)
6) ADD SHARKS
You should do a portfolio of all your professional work first, then go back through with student projects and fill in the gaps of your professional portfolio where necessary.
If you need to re-do projects, do so.
Get rid of the MS word art '97 blue gradient. Besides being dated it clashes with your wonderful hand drawings. You'd be better with just a plain white background. While I appreciate very much the later free hand sketches and especially the watercolors, the sketches feel cramped with no clear reason why they are grouped in that way. The first page is very odd with all that white space, then never repeated in that fashion. You don't need that many building sketches as you've already shown your skill in this area with full length projects. Some are much better than others and I think you know which, cut the fat in this section to trim the overall length of the portfolio. The water colors are easily my favorite of the entire portfolio. Really beautiful. You may consider trimming down the length of the document by omitting some of those houses as they appear similar in typology scale etc, while you have a pretty broad range of stuff in here.
The hand drawings coupled with computer drawn house I find odd. It feels disingenuous to your hand drawings to include random Revit sections.
The renderings need work. Particularly the one with the busy textures on the floor tile and columns, tone down the patterns there and reduce the saturation on all the renders. That hostess staring at me in the empty cafe is slightly terrifying. Same with the floating shadowless vehicle. Photoshop elements to look more real and subdued, employ your clear talent for sketching to the digital realm.
Some of the later building projects looked interesting but I and most other architects aren't going to read all that text so you need some diagrams to convey whatever is going on there. I would advise against ever having a full page of text period. Agree with others the intro page is weird and unnecessary. You'll be submitting other documents with your application that will cover anything written there.
Overall I recommend shortening this to the best works rather than creating an anthology. Regarding professional work, it's enough to include 1-2 well documented good looking projects in which you played a key role and fill the rest with studio/personal works in which you displayed your sole thought process. Consider organizing professional and school work in separate sections rather than shoved between each other. Consider delineating school and professional work graphically, add graphics to call things out when necessary, and generally assume no text other than titles and floating captions right next to an image will be read.
I realize the irony in my own verbosity.
Good luck!
I'd say either get rid of the gradient or go full throttle, but definitely update the colour, you can also skip the cover text, work on the computer renderings and don't put too many similar projects, houses, sketches or watercolours in your portfolio, feels a bit repetitive. And that typeface of "the special corner house"...kill it with fire.
Thanks everyone, once again appreciate your critiques.
Sharks are probably still on their way <º)))>< <º)))><
Seriously, that was not so bad at all...
Hi there!
First of all, I want to congratulate you on your hand sketches and models they are very nice. My biggest critique is that this portfolio has no visual process, in other words, as I read I have no idea how you got to the end products.
In industry this is a minor thing but for grad school (academia) this is paramount. The review board wants to see how you think, how you come up with solutions for design problems. Your grad school portfolio is a design project that talks about you, and who you are as a designer. I highly recommend you spend sometime looking back at sketches and early drafts of your projects and see how you came up with them.
Now for the nitpicking:
1) You have three fonts in there, stick to one and use something less frilly, stick to sans serif or something clean and minimal.
2) As I mentioned on the paragraph, the portfolio is a design project, its not just a book you put together over a few hours. Why do you have that blue thing on each page? Be very deliberate on your design decisions. I recommend you design the cover first and then each page will flow from there.
3) To quote Depeche Mode "Words are meaningless, and forgettable". Lose about 70% of the text, nobody reads it. You don't need to explain your designs in text, it should be explained via your visual process and final products.
3) Divide By Project/Not Architecture or other concept (aren't models part of architecture?) I recommend you choose only 5 projects and spend serious time on beefing them up.
4 Quality not quantity, piggy backing of the previous comment. Choose your best and only put your best. Review boards go over hundreds of portfolios in a very short time.
I think that does it. I too am heavy on the hand drawings and sketches so I understand having a lot of them but stick to the best. Take the time to gussy up your previous work and come up with a good portfolio design. I wish you the best of luck fellow sketcher! If you have questions or concerns feel free to ask.
-Cheers!
Highly dislike your font choices. They are too conservative. You want to aim for neutral with a portfolio. You generally do that by mixing serifs and sans serifs (one for body, one for headings).
Here's a good read:
https://designschool.canva.com...
Thanks for the link null, great resource!
It's awesome! Seriously way to really excel at multiple mediums, model, hand drawing and computer.
Great feedback thanks guys!
null pointer love the article.
RCIXM24 thnxxx