I'm a high school student (10th grade) and just recently started to consider architecture as my college major. I'm anxious about creating my portfolio and I'm afraid that it won't be good enough since I haven't taken any architecture/design classes ever. I used to take art classes when I was younger though.
My main concern is deciding what to include in it. I have lots of drawings and paintings but again, I just don't know if they're good enough. I also have Google SketchUp and I was wondering if displaying some of those projects would be appropriate in a portfolio when applying to college. Or would they rather see my hand-drawing abilities? Does sketchup fall into the category of digital art?
Lastly, I want to include photography but just like with everything else, I'm not sure how "good" mine is since I just recently got my first camera. I will be travelling to Germany very soon and am planning on taking lots of photos of the architecture there.
So that's my situation in a nutshell. I would REALLY appreciate if anyone could share their portfolio because I just want to better understand the level and type of work that's being looked for.
Thanks!
PS: Once I do get all my work together, should I make a digital portfolio? What's the best option if that's the case?
accesskb
Mar 24, 18 5:25 pm
Put in some thought provoking work that you can talk about or will make the admission panel question what it means. A stick figure drawing that is highly enlightening and can show all the thoughts going on in your mind is better than a super realistic plate of fruits you painted which don't really mean anything, in my opinion.
And don't worry if you don't have any architecture related work to show. You are going there to study architecture. No one expects you to be knowledgeable about architecture already, although that might help you in your studies. I think the admission panel don't really care about what you know about architecture. They'd rather prefer to see what is unique about you and what you will bring to the school, not prior 'architecture' knowledge they already know about.
Non Sequitur
Mar 24, 18 6:01 pm
I agree with access. Show unique works (aka not art assignments) that demonstrate good control of light, scale, and perspective. I would also recommend you choose any sketchup work carefully. It’s easy to tank a portfolio with juvenile 3D unless you’re some sort of modeling wizard.
Same with photography.
Everyone wants to think they are photographers just because they have a dslr. Don’t put too much in that unless you’ve won awards or been published.
username_af
Mar 26, 18 6:13 am
Hello you,
First of all, so glad you are considering architecture for your bachelors degree. It is a lot of late nights and hard work but (most likely) will be in a studio setting where you are working with some really cool and interesting people from all walks of life!
Please keep in mind that I am an architect by previous education (Bachelor's) and I learnt all these doing my Master's applications for real estate development.
If I could give you some tips on portfolio, here's what I would suggest:
BEFORE STARTING YOUR PORTFOLIO
If a digital portfolio is required, I would say get yourself familiar with the basics of Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator (in that order). InDesign will really help you with layouts, and making sure you have a nice running theme. Photoshop is great because (at minimum) you could edit photographs to make them all look similar - for example, some people opt for black and white portfolios with high contrast.
Browse ISSUU! My favorite thing to do when applying was to go on ISSUU and browse other people's portfolios. I also found that typing in the school's name & admitted can help you understand the kind of students who have been approved before, and their portfolio styles. You can also see the portfolios of current students and graduates. For example, if you are interested in Parsons, you can search for 'Parsons admitted' and you're likely to get a good indication.
You're early enough that you could probably enter one or two architectural competitions to build your portfolio. I would say browse websites like DeathByArchitecture or run a simple Google search. Some competitions are small enough that you could complete an entry within 1 week even -I did an awesome Playhouse competition like that! Others could take between 2-4-6 weeks! It doesn't even matter if you win, but it will give you some more material to put in there. Also keep in mind for Bachelor's they do not expect you to be a great architect just yet. They are interested in your process, how you think, and how you handle design challenges.
FORMAT
Make a decision on whether you want to have a landscape or portrait portfolio - this will affect your placement of images, font sizes, cover page design, etc.
Think of how the universities will want to look at it (1) do they want original work such as small A4 paintings, etc. (2) are they looking for a digital copy - you could scan your work and place it nicely, etc.
Some digital platforms like ISSUU display publications portfolios like a book; a cover page and then two side-by-side images. So basically, if you have a really big gorgeous photograph, you could spread it over the two pages.
Decide on a theme early on; colors, fonts, etc. You can either have something that really pops, or a very simple theme (which I personally prefer).
My advice would be to stick with two - three fonts at maximum. Even three seems like a lot. I used one very bold font for titles, one almost-handwritten for taglines describing the project and one simple Arial for the actual content used to describe my projects.
INTRODUCTION
Always start off with an introduction, it could be two short paragraphs about what the reader should expect to see and what you hope they get out of it.
I'm not sure how applicable this may be for a Bachelor's degree (assuming you are 16/17/18 years old), but I included a CV in the intro of my portfolio. Do a quick Google or Pinterest search for 'pretty resumes', 'simple resumes', etc. and you'll get lots of inspiration on how not to make it boring.
If needed, consider a table of contents. I didn't have one but I've seen a lot of people use these and it looks nice as well.
CONTENT
I divided mine into Professional and Personal - each section started off with a cover page introducing what was to come ahead.
Professional Cover Page: I clearly stated my role on the projects (as I was not part of the design team in any), gave credit to all designers for the images, renders, etc. and listed the name of each project.
Professional Content Pages: I would suggest you keep a consistent theme to allow the reader's eyes to glide through the projects. I have never been on an admissions committee but I suspect they do not spend more than 10 minutes per portfolio (if that). Mine was simple: on the left - project name, design team members (companies), sector (residential, hospitality, etc.) and my exact role on the project (design management, project management, cost control, etc.). Next to that - I gave a brief overview of the project, the challenge and my exact responsibilities in it
Personal Cover Page: Similar to the professional cover page, just an overview of my personal projects; some were from my time in university, some were design competitions I entered, etc.
Personal Content Pages: I made sure I wrote a personal account on each of the projects - my thoughts during the design process, what I learned from the experience, what I would have done differently (without dwelling too much on this point - because then they might think well, why didn't you!)
Images - obviously! Support every single project with quality images. Always pick quality over quantity. Make sure the images are somewhat balanced and consistent in terms of their colors, tones, etc.
WINDING DOWN AND CONCLUSIONS
You may not require this - but I found it both informative and fun to have a small about me section towards the end. It covered both aspects of my application from professional to personal. For example, in the professional, I created a flowchart of my process for initiating projects, and in the personal section, I 'introduced' them to my four current favorite books - some were to do with design basics, others fiction! I think it adds a human element, and it shows also your breadth of knowledge. If you are in any sports, clubs, etc. I would say create a section to speak about these things. Show them you are human, and how you draw from each of these experiences.
Similar to the introduction paragraph, I ended by reflecting on the actual process of creating my portfolio and how it has taken me both down memory lane and showed me how much I have grown over the years.
Sorry for such a long response but creating my portfolio last year was actually one of the most intense, difficult and rewarding experiences for me so I hope that you find this helpful!
Erine Lellu
Jan 1, 23 9:35 am
Hi there,
My name is Erine and I'm a 3rd year architecture student at the Bartlett, UCL.
I believe the more personal your work is, the better your portfolio will be! Don't be worried your work might not be good enough, it just needs to show who you are, what you are interested in and what you might be interested in exploring in your studies. The technicality of it you will learn in uni !
Try to be different from the rest: explore different kinds of techniques and media to portray your idea (sculpture, body painting, mirror work...).
Try as many things as you can and let your creativity do the work !
Hope this helps ! I give even more advice in my podcast "The Good Crit." available on every platform, in case you are interested :)) https://open.spotify.com/show/...
Hello,
I'm a high school student (10th grade) and just recently started to consider architecture as my college major. I'm anxious about creating my portfolio and I'm afraid that it won't be good enough since I haven't taken any architecture/design classes ever. I used to take art classes when I was younger though.
My main concern is deciding what to include in it. I have lots of drawings and paintings but again, I just don't know if they're good enough. I also have Google SketchUp and I was wondering if displaying some of those projects would be appropriate in a portfolio when applying to college. Or would they rather see my hand-drawing abilities? Does sketchup fall into the category of digital art?
Lastly, I want to include photography but just like with everything else, I'm not sure how "good" mine is since I just recently got my first camera. I will be travelling to Germany very soon and am planning on taking lots of photos of the architecture there.
So that's my situation in a nutshell. I would REALLY appreciate if anyone could share their portfolio because I just want to better understand the level and type of work that's being looked for.
Thanks!
PS: Once I do get all my work together, should I make a digital portfolio? What's the best option if that's the case?
Put in some thought provoking work that you can talk about or will make the admission panel question what it means. A stick figure drawing that is highly enlightening and can show all the thoughts going on in your mind is better than a super realistic plate of fruits you painted which don't really mean anything, in my opinion.
And don't worry if you don't have any architecture related work to show. You are going there to study architecture. No one expects you to be knowledgeable about architecture already, although that might help you in your studies. I think the admission panel don't really care about what you know about architecture. They'd rather prefer to see what is unique about you and what you will bring to the school, not prior 'architecture' knowledge they already know about.
I agree with access. Show unique works (aka not art assignments) that demonstrate good control of light, scale, and perspective. I would also recommend you choose any sketchup work carefully. It’s easy to tank a portfolio with juvenile 3D unless you’re some sort of modeling wizard.
Same with photography.
Everyone wants to think they are photographers just because they have a dslr. Don’t put too much in that unless you’ve won awards or been published.
Hello you,
First of all, so glad you are considering architecture for your bachelors degree. It is a lot of late nights and hard work but (most likely) will be in a studio setting where you are working with some really cool and interesting people from all walks of life!
Please keep in mind that I am an architect by previous education (Bachelor's) and I learnt all these doing my Master's applications for real estate development.
If I could give you some tips on portfolio, here's what I would suggest:
BEFORE STARTING YOUR PORTFOLIO
FORMAT
INTRODUCTION
CONTENT
WINDING DOWN AND CONCLUSIONS
Sorry for such a long response but creating my portfolio last year was actually one of the most intense, difficult and rewarding experiences for me so I hope that you find this helpful!
Hi there,
My name is Erine and I'm a 3rd year architecture student at the Bartlett, UCL.
I believe the more personal your work is, the better your portfolio will be! Don't be worried your work might not be good enough, it just needs to show who you are, what you are interested in and what you might be interested in exploring in your studies. The technicality of it you will learn in uni !
Try to be different from the rest: explore different kinds of techniques and media to portray your idea (sculpture, body painting, mirror work...).
Try as many things as you can and let your creativity do the work !
Hope this helps ! I give even more advice in my podcast "The Good Crit." available on every platform, in case you are interested :))
https://open.spotify.com/show/...
Good luck with your application !