Hi, this is my first time posting here. I am an architecture student getting ready to graduate soon and was curious about what firms seem to be looking for today as older and younger architecture professors have given me very different answers to this question. I have a clean and simple digital portfolio, but instead of being a PDF it is instead an interactive website. I've had no problem getting internships with this portfolio but since I am graduating soon I want to know if I should start over and create a more traditional PDF portfolio or if most firms would be alright with clicking through my works on a website if I attached the link to it instead.
natematt
Aug 3, 23 11:53 am
When I graduated 10 years ago, I submitted a few pages of PDF work samples and a link to a website... I also had an actual portfolio too if people wanted it, no one ever asked.
That said, recently being on the other end of this, helping review portfolio's for my office, something like 98% of people just submitted a PDF portfolio. So I'd say that is the more straightforward approach. If you're going to submit a website, I feel like you need to include some sort of teaser. Where I think that is particularly beneficial is if for some reason you have content that is hard to include in a PDF. One of the two website portfolio's we got had a lot of animation type stuff that was really impressive and worked better in that format for obvious reasons... we still didn't hire that person though, just wasn't the right fit.
Steven Ward
Aug 3, 23 11:55 am
I don’t know why web-based wouldn’t be fine.
For entry-level, the primary things we want to see are design sensibility/attentiveness and demonstrated software skills (with types of software ID’d). The rest we assume we’ll teach as you grow with us.
monosierra
Aug 3, 23 2:20 pm
If the firm has guidelines (Some require hard copies still, some mandate portfolio page sizes, many who use standard HR websites have digital file size limits), follow the guidelines. You can always include your website in your resume, portfolio, or cover letter header.
lacalr
Aug 4, 23 10:31 am
I would have create a PDF of at least a summary of the samples of works. This would make it easier for the hiring firm to file and compare the applicants. A PDF is easier to drag and drop into a shared folder as opposed to a web link.
Josh Mings
Aug 4, 23 11:01 am
Web-based is largely fine for me and others, but also have a PDF backup in case they immediately look for an attachment. Plus a hiring manager is potentially putting all the resumes and portfolios into a folder for firm leaders' review.
archanonymous
Aug 4, 23 1:05 pm
I'm old at this point, but I don't understand why you would ever do anything other than a pdf.
You can make it into a website relatively easily, you can print it, people you send it to digitally can print it, you can compress it, you can extract pages from it.
Specifically you should do a letter or a3 size portrait format as spreads, which will print to a letter/ a3 size front/back or to an 11x17 as spreads, and can be printed at an online printing service easily. Have an InDesign file that you continuously update throughout your career that has every project in it and you can easily pull out relevant ones for different job aps, quals, or whatever.
Will your hosting service always be available? Are you using a service or coding your own html? What happens when it goes offline? What about when you want to apply for a job that has specific pdf requirements? InDesign will always be here, switch while it's easy and you only have to reformat your school work.
will galloway
Aug 4, 23 6:25 pm
Something about the choices used to make a pdf are easier to read than those used to make a website. Its hard to get a sense of the person when looking at a standard online portfolio system.
Personally, i have my office website to share with people but it is more like a quick intro and not a portfolio. For clients, RFQs, etc PDF is easier to customize and share (as per comments above) so we do that. More flexible than a website for sure, at least as things stand right now.
Hi, this is my first time posting here. I am an architecture student getting ready to graduate soon and was curious about what firms seem to be looking for today as older and younger architecture professors have given me very different answers to this question. I have a clean and simple digital portfolio, but instead of being a PDF it is instead an interactive website. I've had no problem getting internships with this portfolio but since I am graduating soon I want to know if I should start over and create a more traditional PDF portfolio or if most firms would be alright with clicking through my works on a website if I attached the link to it instead.
When I graduated 10 years ago, I submitted a few pages of PDF work samples and a link to a website... I also had an actual portfolio too if people wanted it, no one ever asked.
That said, recently being on the other end of this, helping review portfolio's for my office, something like 98% of people just submitted a PDF portfolio. So I'd say that is the more straightforward approach. If you're going to submit a website, I feel like you need to include some sort of teaser. Where I think that is particularly beneficial is if for some reason you have content that is hard to include in a PDF. One of the two website portfolio's we got had a lot of animation type stuff that was really impressive and worked better in that format for obvious reasons... we still didn't hire that person though, just wasn't the right fit.
I don’t know why web-based wouldn’t be fine.
For entry-level, the primary things we want to see are design sensibility/attentiveness and demonstrated software skills (with types of software ID’d). The rest we assume we’ll teach as you grow with us.
If the firm has guidelines (Some require hard copies still, some mandate portfolio page sizes, many who use standard HR websites have digital file size limits), follow the guidelines. You can always include your website in your resume, portfolio, or cover letter header.
I would have create a PDF of at least a summary of the samples of works. This would make it easier for the hiring firm to file and compare the applicants. A PDF is easier to drag and drop into a shared folder as opposed to a web link.
Web-based is largely fine for me and others, but also have a PDF backup in case they immediately look for an attachment. Plus a hiring manager is potentially putting all the resumes and portfolios into a folder for firm leaders' review.
I'm old at this point, but I don't understand why you would ever do anything other than a pdf.
You can make it into a website relatively easily, you can print it, people you send it to digitally can print it, you can compress it, you can extract pages from it.
Specifically you should do a letter or a3 size portrait format as spreads, which will print to a letter/ a3 size front/back or to an 11x17 as spreads, and can be printed at an online printing service easily. Have an InDesign file that you continuously update throughout your career that has every project in it and you can easily pull out relevant ones for different job aps, quals, or whatever.
Will your hosting service always be available? Are you using a service or coding your own html? What happens when it goes offline? What about when you want to apply for a job that has specific pdf requirements? InDesign will always be here, switch while it's easy and you only have to reformat your school work.
Something about the choices used to make a pdf are easier to read than those used to make a website. Its hard to get a sense of the person when looking at a standard online portfolio system.
Personally, i have my office website to share with people but it is more like a quick intro and not a portfolio. For clients, RFQs, etc PDF is easier to customize and share (as per comments above) so we do that. More flexible than a website for sure, at least as things stand right now.