Currently my folio is 35 pages: 6 projects (3 academic, 3 professional).
What is your preferred length for an interview portfolio? How many pages is too much?
(My background: BA graduate with 2 years experience)
SpontaneousCombustion
Sep 1, 19 6:44 pm
3 to 4 good projects, of 2 to 4 pages each, and perhaps another 2 to 4 pages of miscellaneous work, if you wish to include it (furniture design, freehand drawing, sketchbook excerpts, etc.). So total 6 to 8 pages minimum, and 20 pages max.
When I interview people with longer portfolios I usually ask them which one project is their favorite, and try to get them to focus on that one only - because people who can't bring themselves to edit their portfolios to just a few good projects are also usually people who ramble in interviews.
robhaw
Sep 1, 19 7:18 pm
How can you present a thesis project in 4 pages?
Non Sequitur
Sep 1, 19 10:03 pm
^with skill.
AlinaF
Sep 2, 19 9:11 am
Hey Non, how long is yours?
Non Sequitur
Sep 2, 19 9:17 am
^ don’t remember but I doubt it was above 20 pages for all projects. Each page was only 4x6 inches tho, so less real estate back the. Thanks for asking.
AlinaF
Sep 2, 19 10:06 am
I didn't mean your portfolio.
Non Sequitur
Sep 2, 19 10:28 am
Ah, then you must have meant buildings completed. That list is long.
AlinaF
Sep 2, 19 10:40 am
I bet it's tiny.
Non Sequitur
Sep 2, 19 10:54 am
That’s rather unlikely, but at least I’ve got a more successful career than you.
Jaetten
Sep 2, 19 11:37 am
Think you've got yourself an admirer NS.
Non Sequitur
Sep 2, 19 11:39 am
More like a desperate stalker.
jwsd
Sep 2, 19 12:42 pm
Contrary to what has been mentioned, I think that 30 pages is a good length. As the NS has mentioned before showing design process is important and a complex thesis project would require about 8-10 pages.
robhaw
Sep 3, 19 2:33 pm
I reduced my portfolio down to exactly 30 pages. Thanks.
Bloopox
Sep 4, 19 10:24 am
30 pages is very long - it may make it more difficult for you to direct and focus the interview, and if you encounter one of those interviewers who doesn't want you to narrate while they page through it then you'll be sitting awkwardly for quite a long time with so many pages. It could waste a lot of interview time. With 2 years of experience since graduation I wouldn't keep very much academic work - definitely not so much that it makes up half the portfolio, and possibly none at all.
Jaetten
Sep 4, 19 11:28 am
Do you have a sample of your portfolio?
3tk
Sep 6, 19 10:51 am
Mine: 5-8 projects, 4-6 pages each + 4-6 pages of misc (drawings, art, photography). Selected for the firm, typically 2-3 academic work that is more model/diagram heavy, 2-3 professional work with both technical and presentation material. During the interview, I'll focus on 2-3 projects and then reference others if they reinforce an interview topic. The misc works comes in handy as a "look I'm creative" bit and leads to topics of free time, values, etc.
Currently my folio is 35 pages: 6 projects (3 academic, 3 professional).
What is your preferred length for an interview portfolio? How many pages is too much?
(My background: BA graduate with 2 years experience)
3 to 4 good projects, of 2 to 4 pages each, and perhaps another 2 to 4 pages of miscellaneous work, if you wish to include it (furniture design, freehand drawing, sketchbook excerpts, etc.). So total 6 to 8 pages minimum, and 20 pages max.
When I interview people with longer portfolios I usually ask them which one project is their favorite, and try to get them to focus on that one only - because people who can't bring themselves to edit their portfolios to just a few good projects are also usually people who ramble in interviews.
How can you present a thesis project in 4 pages?
^with skill.
Hey Non, how long is yours?
^ don’t remember but I doubt it was above 20 pages for all projects. Each page was only 4x6 inches tho, so less real estate back the. Thanks for asking.
I didn't mean your portfolio.
Ah, then you must have meant buildings completed. That list is long.
I bet it's tiny.
That’s rather unlikely, but at least I’ve got a more successful career than you.
Think you've got yourself an admirer NS.
More like a desperate stalker.
Contrary to what has been mentioned, I think that 30 pages is a good length. As the NS has mentioned before showing design process is important and a complex thesis project would require about 8-10 pages.
I reduced my portfolio down to exactly 30 pages. Thanks.
30 pages is very long - it may make it more difficult for you to direct and focus the interview, and if you encounter one of those interviewers who doesn't want you to narrate while they page through it then you'll be sitting awkwardly for quite a long time with so many pages. It could waste a lot of interview time. With 2 years of experience since graduation I wouldn't keep very much academic work - definitely not so much that it makes up half the portfolio, and possibly none at all.
Do you have a sample of your portfolio?
Mine: 5-8 projects, 4-6 pages each + 4-6 pages of misc (drawings, art, photography). Selected for the firm, typically 2-3 academic work that is more model/diagram heavy, 2-3 professional work with both technical and presentation material. During the interview, I'll focus on 2-3 projects and then reference others if they reinforce an interview topic. The misc works comes in handy as a "look I'm creative" bit and leads to topics of free time, values, etc.