Have you been slaving over your portfolio? Are you on your fifth or sixth different version of it? Do you think about page layouts and binding as you fall asleep? Stop!
Portfolios are built up to be the ultimate in self-expression as if the design and quality of them will define your young career. The sad truth of the matter is that they aren’t even the most important thing an employer looks for. So here’s how to put together a killer portfolio without going insane.
The Problem With Portfolios
After I graduated, I was ready to take on the world. Aren’t we all? However, designing your portfolio can become a major barrier to your success in starting out in the field. We have high hopes of getting a great job and we want our work to have a professional quailty; it makes sense. But often, people don’t let their work stand for itself. We forget that we have an architecture degree and believe that we are graphic designers. We have put together presentation boards in school…we have also flipped through all the cool architecture books with their pretty fold-outs and glossy images. So of course we should be able to put together a small book showcasing our hot stuff…right?
However, we soon find that recreating these glossy pakcages is not as easy as we once thought. Making those foldout pages actually requires folding it accurately…for each portfolio and then half the time it just looks messy. Or making those pretty images with all the layers of information in execution becomes muddled and the actual intent of your project is lost. We take our many images for each project and try to cram them into what should be a few portfolio pages. Anyone who has sat down and tried to organize their cherished work into a booklet knows how many pitfalls are involved in creating a portfolio.
The real problem, however, is that all of this tweaking, reformatting and obsessing results in longer and longer delays. Delays are no good when you are unemployed and desperate.
So, without further ado, here are some guidelines to create a great portfolio without losing your mind:
Choose Simple Software to Use
When starting a portfolio, you must first decide what software you want to use. InDesign is what I prefer to use but even this is a little more complicated than you really need to get. I use InDesign because I find it closely matches the Photoshop functions, which I am familiar with anyways. However, using a simple Powerpoint application should be just fine. The key here is that we don’t want to butcher our portfolio and images with the different enhancements, filters, and adjustments available in complicated software.
Create a Simple Layout
Next you need to consider your layout. Sit down with a pen and paper and really figure out what you want the look of your portfolio to be. Using pen and paper instead of a computer is important so that you gain a sense of the actual proportions you will be working with. When designing your layout, I urge you to keep to no more than 3 images on a page. My preferred layout incorporates a large image with one supporting image off to the side or below. You also need to devote no more than 4 pages to each project. You should be able to get across the basic ideas of each project with no more than one flip of the page.
Here is where you should spend the bulk of your time. You should focus on the most economical layout that will facilitate the images that you have. Creating guidelines not only allows you to professionally organize your pages, but also lets you break rules here or there for effect. Chose one specific color, header or tab that will be a key element repeated in all pages to tie the design together. You should also focus on dwindling the images down to the core information for each project. Eliminate your process sketches, matrices, or study model photos. Keep the “money-shot” renderings, a model image and basic plans, sections, or elevations. You could also consider site photography as well.
Make it Easy to Assemble
Also, think about how you will bind the portfolio. In my experience, the best, simplest, most economic way to approach binding is by simply having your printer staple in the crease. Plastic bindings are bulky and messy. Loose pamphlets get disorganized quickly. And developing ways for the portfolio to unfold, swivel or whatever contortion you want to put it through, will be largely a waste of time and energy. It will probably also come off as messy too.
Once you have created a basic format/layout and have organized your portfolio, make a concentrated effort to stick with it. By that I mean don’t redo the work you just did a year later. Get it right the first time and simply add to it as you get more projects under your belt.
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