Architecture Portfolio Tips – Part 1: Taking Aim

October 15, 20091 Comment Tagged: architectural, design, layout, portfolio, student, target, tips

This is the first of Design+Build series of posts outlining some tips and suggestions for Architecture Portfolios. One of the major rites of passage for an architecture student is the preparation of their final architectural portfolio.

So let's get cracking on part 1 - Taking Aim.

Before we even start to think about design or layout we're going to take a step back and take stock. Let's have a think about the aims and goals for this architectural portfolio of yours. We could jump straight into the fun stuff, but I want to encourage you to take a bit of time to look at the big picture.

Finding Your Target

The first step is to have a think about WHO your portfolio is for. At the end of the day your architectural portfolio has to appeal to someone other than yourself. This puts you in a bit of a pickle. It's easy to know what you would want to see in a portfolio, but it turns out that isn't so important. The key is that it appeals to the person you are showing it to.

So who might the target for your portfolio be? If you're recently graduating then chances are your target is going to be prospective employers, or possibly graduate school. What about the different firms you would like to work at? There's also the chance that you might be trying to target clients directly with your work, so that could be worth considering. Have a think about  yourself, and who it is you will be trying to show your architectural portfolio to. Write out a list of prospective targets for your portfolio.

Feet in Someone Else's Shoes

Now we have an idea of who we are targeting we need to try something that may be a little unfamiliar. We need to figure out what sorts of things your target market might be looking for in an architectural portfolio. Take a few minutes to jot down some ideas of what each of your "targets" would see as important in a portfolio of work. Maybe they would place priority on variety of work, or quality of documentation. Perhaps they will be most impressed by innovation and wild new ideas. For different firms - maybe they are most interested in the style of work they do themselves.

Once you've taken some time to think this through, you should have a few points jotted down that will help you to know what your architectural portfolio should be like.

Picking and Choosing

The information you have gathered so far about the targets for your portfolio, and what they are looking for, are valuable in a couple of ways.

Firstly, you can use that information to help you with selection of projects for your portfolio. You will doubtless have a handful of work to choose from when putting things together, and the key is that you can't use everything. There will be projects that fit with what you are trying to show your targets, and doubtless there will be projects that fall outside that.

One of the hardest things to do with your architectural portfolio at this point is be objective. That project which is your pride and joy? The one you slaved over, and documented carefully, constructing painstaking models to much acclaim? It might not be what your target wants to see.

It probably will be (after all, high quality work is always an asset), but it might be nothing like what would impress them. You need to be willing to think objectively about your work, and which projects are going to best present you to your target.

Taste and Style

Another way the information about your target can come in handy is in deciding the style and look of your architectural portfolio. Different targets may well have different expectations of how your portfolio will look and be presented. A portfolio that looks timeless and elegant might not be so appealing to firms that specialise in new, modern, ground breaking designs - and vice versa.

Have a look at the way your targets present themselves. This can often (though not always) be a strong indicator of what they will be looking for in an architectural portfolio for a prospective employee.

Take some time and scribble down some thoughts on the way your targets might like you to present your work visually.

Be Flexible

After all the work you have put into thinking about your targets and what they want this might be a bit disappointing - but the key is to remain flexible. In terms of your different projects, it may be wise to have more projects covered in your architectural portfolio than you want to show at one time.

That way when you go to a meeting or an interview, you can select the pieces that most suit the particular person you are meeting. This can mean some extra work, and remaining flexible can sometime be worth it. However the reality is that one size never fits all. It pays to be able to customise a little bit.

So What Now?

Well, you have finished thinking about the target for you architectural portfolio, and what that is going to mean. We've taken the first step.

In the next installment of Architectural Portfolio Tips we'll be taking a look at style and theming of your portfolio. Stay tuned.