It has been a rough semester trying to juggle school and job searching, and after a few interviews I still don't have a job. That is the reason why I have been missing from ppb for a long time. I am looking at mostly firms in New York (NYC) as there is a large array of strong design firms there. However, that means that there is a lot of demand for a lot of other students to try to get a job there making things more difficult. So, if anyone knows of any decent firms that are hiring for internships (although I know it's somewhat late in the hiring season right now) it would be helpful.

I would also like to get some crits on my portfolio. It was too big to attach as a pdf, so i divided it into three pieces. Hopefully that won't cause any problems or confusion. I apologize if that makes the process more difficult, and I'm sure it will disjoint the experience of scrolling through it. I had to add two blank pages for part 2 and 3 so that it reads well when seen in "side by side" format.

It was designed to be a printed booklet 4.5x7.5 inches, however I think it works well as a digital portfolio as well.

The portfolio has already changed 2-3 times from other crits that I have recieved on it, so hopefully it'll be in a polished state. But, a good crit is more helpful to me than a compliment :).

This is what I have been sending out as e-mail attachments to the firms I'm applying.

Hi!

Well, first of all, I got to say I liked your projects very much.
However, I feel your portfolio could use a bit of a touch-up.

Several things that cought my eye:

1. Your cover and 2nd page are great, but then comes Page 3 and quite frankly ruins your first impression.
It has too many colors and no apparent hierarchy...quite a mess.

2. you have nothing that divides each section/ project from the others.
for example, I would swap pages 4 & 5, thus making Page 5 (now as page no. 4) the 'Eco-Village Project Cover'.

3. I know those all are different project from different semesters, but you still need to maintain a constant 'look' to your portfolio...
not only Fonts, but also color scheme and layouts (as much as possible) in order to make it easy to digest within the minute.
You only got a single shot to impress.

So here are several link that might help you -
(i learned about most of them around here, just compilded it into a list to make it simple for you)


kuler.adobe.com -

great site for picking and testing color schemes.
with the new version you can generate a color scheme from a photo - VERY HANDY!

http://books.google.co.il/books?id=rWuict_SE-8C&dq=diy+design+it+yourself&pg=PP1&ots=T1rlOV8nlW&sig=B2BBqO2tc9n-3mEgRMnKATqJfx8&hl=iw&prev=http://www.google.co.il/search%3Fq%3DD.I.Y.:%2BDesign%2BIt%2BYourself%26ie %3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:he:official%26client%3Dfiref ox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail#PPA57,M1

D.I.Y. Design It Yourself Google book preview (Books are covered from Page 37).
Not the complete Book, but still quite handy.

http://www.tcaup.umich.edu/arch/UG_portfolio_workshop.pdf

Michigan Architecture School presentation about portfolio making.
written with prospective students in mind, but all the 'Ideas' still apply for a graduate/work portfolio...

And to sum it all up, here's VALERIO OLGIATI portfolio.
I really like the minimal use of text... just let the work speak for itself:
www.olgiati.net/book_25%20pages_A4.pdf

I am going through the same sh.. stuff. The images look top notch, I just wish there was a more obvious voice on your part. Is there a length requirement? Most projects you start with a nice overview and then boof, results. Is there more room to talk about and demonstrate your thoughts and ideas moving through or their progression from beginning to end? Maybe my school is different...

Also, what are you using to put it together with? I would definitly recommend picking up a seat of inDesign if you have not already. Makes life a breeze.

ebardhi
I think your portofilo is great. Some of the work is less good than others of course but overall you are a very srong graduate and will get offered a good job I'm sure.

I would however question the value of sending this whole thing out at first. I would rather a short cv with a few teaser images which could then be followed up later with more.

As others said the front cover image is fantastic. :craqueur:
(Personally I wouldn't put in the hand drawing of the GT car at the back - looks childish, sorry)

I'd like to thank everyone for spending the time to help me with this.

emage,

Thank you for the thoroughness and for taking the time to post the links. It is really helpful.

1. Your cover and 2nd page are great, but then comes Page 3 and quite frankly ruins your first impression.
It has too many colors and no apparent hierarchy...quite a mess.
2. you have nothing that divides each section/ project from the others.
for example, I would swap pages 4 & 5, thus making Page 5 (now as page no. 4) the 'Eco-Village Project Cover'.
I am a little confused with when you were mentioning pages by numbers (i.e. 3 and 4). A reason is because i'm using an unorthodox numbering system that restarts with each projects, but could you please be a little more specific with which pages you mean to move where. I apologize for not understanding.

A lot of the information you have posted is very helpful, but i think moreso for the next phase of my portfolio where I am planning to do a more thorough change than just cosmetic changes now.

Thank you again for the links. I am sure they will be helpful for me.



andrew,

I think photoshop is not the best program to use with portfolio making :)
Especially since I have changed the size 4 times already, and it's wasteful having to change every single image. I am planning on trying to learn InDesign soon so I can use it for this and also it will be helpful in writing my thesis portfolio next year.

It's interesting that you show the whole process in a portfolio. For some reason, I have always thought of it as a display of the final product. I figured it's easier to hook people with final images, and rarely will they take the time to read your concept text or look at the process. I tried to include a quick concept sketch for some of them that might help see the process, but I agree that it doesn't do much.



gorgon,

Thank you for the compliments. I agree with you that some of the projects are not as strong as the others. I would also love if you could expand on that and tell me about which ones you see as the weakest. It might be better to remove them, or to swap them with others that I'm not showing.

I completely agree with you on the production of a CV rather than a full-scale portfolio for a hook. At the beginning i'd send pictures of separate images, but it was nothing organized. I think I will try to design one that looks at the top 2-3 projects and that shows diggerent skills.

For the car drawing I can see what point you're raising. I thought it would show the ability of drawing. Do you think that it's childish just for the car picture, or also the drawings of the people?

Edmond,
I am not speaking of showing the whole process per say. Most students who do indeed graduate are capable of producing "good work". What sets your work apart? What is the big idea? Where did the big idea come from? How did it grow? How is it seen in the final result?

It may not be necessary for this professional portfolio and is probably a source of debate. Just food for though and by no means are my comments intended to discourage. Consider them points of discussion.

Hi Andrew,
I think I better understand the point you were making earlier. I agree with you. In some of the projects the "big idea" is not showing while on others it's diluted. I'm not sure if I should change the structure of the portfolio in order to show how the design derived from the concept, but I agree that it would add to the design. Also, I wasn't discouraged earlier.
Thank you for the comments. How are things going with your portfolio. How is indesign working for you. I'm tempted more and more to start using it.

I have made a shorter CV version that Gorgon suggested. It is pretty much a short, graphic-heavy version of the one that I had before.

I would also love if you could expand on that and tell me about which ones you see as the weakest. It might be better to remove them, or to swap them with others that I'm not showing.

I think the social housing project is one of the weaker ones, but not sure I would remove it as it shows depth of experince... I dislike the interior image the most, you could just remove that? Also I would make the exterior image on Social Housing 3 smaller - as this is less good than the sections.
The High Couture project is also quite weak (the name is weird by the way should be Haute Couture?) I would remove that one.
The dwelling for one starts off great, looks really interesting, but then you have that image of them sitting in the six lane expressway :eek: I think this is simply a bad idea - these pods would be great in central park or hanging of a cliff but next to a noisy, polluted great big road?

For the car drawing I can see what point you're raising. I thought it would show the ability of drawing. Do you think that it's childish just for the car picture, or also the drawings of the people?

I only meant the car - it's a bit heavy metal to be drawing cars. I do think though that there are too many hand drawings and the buildings being drawn aren't great. I would remove "Drawings 1, 2 and 4" and just leave the little boy page which shows you can draw. less is more.

Hey Edward
Your cv is still too long. I would remove eco village 1 (repeat), 2, 4, house of workship 6, detroit riverfront redevlopment 8 (just a model of trams), and drawings 12 (dodgy building)

(hope its ok tio be harsh for brevity) :D

Haha, no I really like that you're telling the truth like it is :).

I agree that graphically the social housing is one of the weakest. I put it in there to show that I had experience in that field.

Again you are right that it has to be Haute Couture (or High Culture) although i made a mix :D. I put it in there as it shows some theory as it pertains to the concept. But the three perspectives i have pretty much repeat the same information.

For the dwelling for one project, we were forced to have that site. It was more of a theoretical project and not something that we saw as pragmatic.

The buildings being drawn are 2nd year projects, so yes not the best quality. Instead of 4 pages, I might cut it into 2 for the large portfolio, and just one page for the shorter CV for drawings.

Now as it concerns the CV I agree with you except for page number 4 and 6. I seem to be missing a page numbered 5. Can you give more explanations as to why you dislike these pages.

Thank you for your time and comments gorgon

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for the comments. How are things going with your portfolio. How is indesign working for you. I'm tempted more and more to start using it.


Things are coming together, but it is a lot of work. My portfolio is all about process and concept. This is an area where I am/was pretty weak. So diving into the portfolio meant trying to figure out exactly what I was trying to say again. I will post mine when completed.

InDesign is great. I just laid out a graphic heavy 70 page programming document over the course of 4 days. The best thing is ability to visualize multiple pages at the same time and to quickly edit and make changes to text and it has a spell checker. I have been using it in place of word lately in putting documents together as well.

My school has discounted software packages. I ended up picking up a copy, not a license, of Design Standard CS3 for $200, which is a steal.

Hello guys i hope you dont mind me jjumping into the conversation. So ive looked at your stuff and skimmed the comments and thought i might add something. I did an independant study in school for a portfolio and learned a lot from my prof about it and it definately helped me get a job. General comments (since i saw some1 else in here doing theirs) keep it under 20 pages. My first thoughts were that they overall portfolio needs a concept/theme something to tie the whole thing together. I would also suggest organizing it so that your stongest work is at the end (drawings are nice but i mighta started with that not ended with it, just my opinion). Some comments i remember my prof asking me was, what are my thoughts on architecture and about myself and maybe come up with a brief statement to put at the beginning. I think it helps set the mood for who you are and ultimately what to expect once u start flippin pages. I would disagree with not using photoshop, i did and with simple guidelines and some know how its very easy and helpful to use. I think verstality helps and it was good to show drawings, i think good photos of models you have built (if any would be nice to add also). brief project descriptions might help. I attached 2 pages of mine just to maybe help illustrate some stuff i was tryin to say, i can show you the rest to see how it gets built up from cover to cover if u want.... sorry i rambled and my thoughts are pretty much in no order but maybe u can get something useful from it.... finaly thought after lookin back, personally i would say dont use a project photo for the cover, save all that stuff for the inside

andrew,

I am pretty weak also when it comes to graphically displaying process and concept. This semester I worked on a competition which we had to send boards in, and knowing that I couldn't not verbally communicate my ideas, it was tough trying to use sketches, graphs, drawings in order to show everything clearly. I want to develop those skills with time.


oneslice,

You're most welcome to jump into the conversation. You bring some good ideas like having a simple introduction with some thoughts on architecture. Thanks for showing some of your samples too.

Some points I don't necessarily agree with but that is because there is no one way to make a portfolio.

have you checked www.archinect.com for NY job postings? A great forum, they seem to be pretty NY heavy when it comes to job postings so it might be a place to look, plus most of the firms that post there are not run-of-the-mill design wise. From what I heard a month ago most places in NY had still not been hit all that hard by the economic troubles, but I dunno I thought Atlanta was going strong and now I'm hearing of layoffs around here too. Good luck, I thought your portfolio was solid, its just a really lousy time to be looking for a job here.

Yes I have applied to the archinect internship openings that I was interested in for NY. I agree with you. I think it's the fault of the economic conditions. I have talked to numerous people from school and they're all having trouble with finding a summer internship. Thank you anyway cvankley :)

Ok this is my final CV variation so far. I like it much better as a first material to send to firms as it's smaller and "flashier" (which could be both good and bad). At least it'll be easier to grab attention. Thanks for the help so far everyone :D

Its a nice portfolio edmond, and I think the changes made were the right ones.. :cheers:

I still have a problem with the drawings, they stand out a bit and look more like scribbles that you did being bored during a lecture...
If you had some seriously good drawings of i.e. life / nude drawing where one can see that you spent some effort studying proportions I'd say put em in if you insist on drawings, otherwise leave them out. Even the boy drawing (...it might be 'cute' if you like kids...) does not really match imho and the girl...eeeh...well...you know... :D

I can see your concerns.
The girl was a sketch type drawing (1-2 hrs) on a letter size paper. The boy was a charcoal drawing on an 18x24 inch paper (~A2 size in about 8-10 hours). But it's kind of hard to show the size of it in a small portfolio.
I am hoping I have the time and motivation to do some detailed architecture sketches/drawings during the summer that I could use to replace these. Thank you thebear.