Art Portfolio for Architecture?

A university that requires a portfolio as part of it’s application will generally explain the request very clearly. To find this information, read the catalogue or call the department directly. It is very important that you find out what each university expects to see and send them EXACTLY that: number of images sized to their specifications, work that demonstrates particular skills, etc. Since many universities, colleges and museums are still in the middle of a transition from slides to digital images, you will need to look carefully at each application.

My daughter is working on one of these as well. Some of the ones she’s shown me are unbelievably creative in themselves. Keep in mind that, unless the university has specific requirements for the portfolio, then the portfolio itself becomes a sales tool to “sell” your creative abilities. In other words, it’s not just the content you put in, but how you handle the design of the presentation—how you bind the piece, color, page layout, paper selection, is it a dimensional presentation, etc.

Here’s some tips from Penn on this subject.

How you put it together is very important, (but not as important as the work itself.) because it shows your level of care for your work. Go for consistency. if you scan them or photograph them make sure you display them at a consistent size, and location on the page. spend some time on the portfolio layout. Talk with a graphic designer at your school if you get a chance.

http://www.pinazangaro.com/ this is a great way to present your work. I would highly recommend the Machina screw post portfolio.

I had to submit a portfolio as an interior design student, and though it’s not exactly the same as your situation I’m betting there are some universal tips you can follow (since it’s all design-related :) ). First of all, whatever specifications they give you (and if you don’t have them, find them before you start anything—call them if you have to and speak with a live person who actually knows what they’re talking about, lol)...make sure you read them all and follow them to a tee. You don’t want to unnecessarily lose out on vital points. You’ll want to bang your head against a wall if you realize you didn’t do something as simple as labeling the exterior of the portfolio the way they wanted.

Secondly, only put your best work in your portfolio. They don’t really care to see how you’ve progressed from your first project to where you are now. Progression is not the point. They want to see where you are now and how great your work is. So don’t be tempted to put any so-so pieces in just to “fill” your portfolio. It isn’t worth it. Quality is preferred over quantity in this case.

Thirdly, once you’ve decided what pieces you want to put into your portfolio, I suggest you lay them out visually (on a computer or with low-quality mock-ups, whatever works) and decide on what order you’d like to place them in. Do you want to begin with your strongest piece and end with your second strongest with the rest in the middle, or some other way? Will you organize it by project, theme, or some other category? Will you use actual page numbers (if that’s left as an open option, not a requirement). These are the types of things you’ll want to be thinking about.

Fourthly, you want consistency, and there are several ways of going about achieving this. The use of color, graphic elements, and the type of header or footer (or both) you’d use on each page are all some things to consider. The layout of certain elements of your projects/works is also important if you are showing more than one image per work. It should be consistent throughout your portfolio.

In addition to layout, you might want to consider the hierarchy of your presentation. Using differing text sizes for titles, descriptions, etc. can help a lot to do this. Some of my (interior design) professors were very picky about text sizes. They generally encouraged me not to use anything larger than a size 14–16 font if I could help it (but you also don’t want to go too small), but when you are using text just remember that your work is what’s more important and that the text should not overpower it in any way. (As o0 said above, talking with a graphic design student/professor can give you more direciton in this area, as they are more the experts when it comes to the use of fonts and whatnot.)

And lastly, this may or may not concern you, but if there is any written portion required that will be considered as part of your overall score, then please, please do not wait untill the last minute to do this. It will be tempting to focus all of your energy on the portfolio itself, but any written portion deserves the same amount of care, as it is (or may be) part of the portfolio itself. My written portion was the reason I didn’t get into my school’s progam (I had to transfer to another school :( ) because I did not give it as much thought as the rest of my work. Have someone, or several peopel, read over it to see if it actually addresses the topic and whether it’s a good response or not. Trust me, you’ll want to kill yourself if you find out the reason you didn’t get in was because your essay wasn’t up to par.

…now take a deeep breath.

If it sounds like a lot of things to consider and a lot of work…that’s because it is. Leave yourself plenty of time to make changes later on (meaning start early!). :) And don’t be afraid to talk to professors and other students, epscially upper classmen who’ve already gone through the process. Or even take a look at their work in previously submitted portfolios, if you can. (When you say you have to mail in your portfolio, it sounds like you are applying to an out-of-state/district college, but I’m not sure so I just suggested that last bit anyways.)

Sorry for the long post, but I hope it really helps you! Good luck!

OMG, I didn’t even answer your last questions! lol.

As briefly as I can…if you’re really going for a professional look (which you should be if you’re serious about getting into the program) then you’ll only want to use copies if they are already in digital format. Otherwise you’ll probably want to take some good quality photos or scans of your work at, I’d say, around 300dpi (dots per inch). Can’t go wrong with a setting like that; your images are sure to be crisp at that level. Plus, if you are going to be putting your portfolio together using a program like Photoshop or InDesign or something similar, then it will sure make getting a cohesive look at lot easier. Heck, you can even use PowerPoint to put it together! (Personally, I wouldn’t, but that’s really up to you.) That way, you’ll always have it saved and handy to make multiple prints. If you do go this route, then I’d take the time to get it printed professionally like at an Office Max, FedEx-Kinko’s, AlphaGraphics or whatever similar printing companies you have where you live. It won’t be cheap, but you really want to make it look ar professional as possible. It’ll give it a nice polished look.

(If you weren’t looking to go digital, then I’m this won’t be of much use to you, as everything I’ve done has been converted to digital files. My school is pretty big on utilizing technology, as I’d imagine many are these days. I’ve honestly never viewed a portfolio that hasn’t been done in a digital format and printed, but I am young, after all.)

And yes! Always submit completed works! If you have a really good project that you haven’t completed but think it would add a lot to the quality of your portfolio, then do complete it (if you have time) before adding it in. Unfinished work will only show your judging panel that, as a potential designer, you don’t understand the concepts of craftsmanship and getting stuff done—finished—on time. You don’t want that, and you haven’t come this far to let them think that about you, so give it all you’ve got!

And try not to worry too much about it. Yes, it can be hard work, but if you work steadily at it, give it your best shot and get it done before the due date then you should be fine. :)

Correction: ”...you’ll only want to use originals if they are already digital format.” Good lord, I apologize for the typos. It wouldn’t let me edit again…

Goodness, thank you guys so much for all your answers.

You’ll are the sweetest (: