Portfolio Critique

Hey everyone,

I’ve just finished my first attempt at a portfolio that I would take to an interview for an internship or work experience. I would really appreciate any feedback as it would help greatly help to improve it.

Updated Portfolio:
[u]Portfolio[/u]

Thanks!

Hey Andrew,

Couple of my thoughts after looking at it.

I would go back and render out some money shots for the drill that replace the hand made model shots, especially the one on the first page. The fidelity of your physical model is still pretty low so I spent more time looking at the irregular part lines and iffy paint job than the design itself. I think it’s great to show the physical model in the hand like on page 12 and 13 for scale, but for the other shots I would redo them as high quality renders

I think the stud finder is a cool idea. I’ve never seen a multi-material stud finder like that. The project/portfolio seems to end quite abruptly, might be nice to have a thank you page or something, right now it feels like the pdf didn’t fully download.

The Colani dock doesn’t really do anything for me, I’m not sure if it’s the right project to lead off with since it’s rather brief and doesn’t have much development work. Do you have any other projects that you were thinking about adding?

Is there a specific industry that you’re hoping to work in?

Good luck on your search!
Matt

For the stud finder project, I’m kinda confused as to the meaning of the different settings? Like what is the difference between each one? I kinda figured a stud was always a wooden post inside a wall…

So you have found that only 40% know what a stud finder is and does, but you never tell the reader what it is? :wink: I’d also suggest that you make it clear right at the start why the world would need another one.

Hey guys,

There are some other projects I could add in. It seems based on the responses so far that I’ve tried to make it too short, and that I need to make it a touch longer to properly show the details, other development and point of each project.

Industry wise, nothing specific at the moment.

Thanks for pointing these out. Mentioning what a stud finder actually is would be a good idea.

GHoge, a stud is a vertical support structure, so this could be timber or metal. The water sensor is a theoretical part of the project, but is to make sure that you don’t drill a hole into any piping inside of the walls.

Cheers for the feedback :smiley: I will get working on it!

Doh, I’m so used to studs being wood beams I didn’t even think they could be metal…

But, all of that should probably be something you put in your portfolio.

I’ve updated my portfolio. If anyone could give further feedback, that would be great. The thankyou page at the end isn’t completed yet, but will be once the work content is finished.

[u]Portfolio UPDATED[/u] (3mb)

Cheers

Hello Andy

There are 2 links, Portfolio & Updated portfolio ? Which one shall I look ? Its better to put the most recent updated one link, instead of confusing.
I will comment on the updated one.

Below your name is the name of the field, Industrial design, why not make it human by saying industrial designer, industrial design student.
Honestly I did not read any content of the first project, I think you need to simplify and keep the important information. Why not use icons/pictograms for User feedback, its easy to understand and interesting to see. We see that you have done lot of surveys etc… but you need to synthesis the data in summary and keep some information to speak during your interview.
Some thing which annoys is that your title are not in the left, right or center. They are floating mid air, its disturbing to see when you use the whole page and the title is not aligned to anything. Even if you want to keep white space in the page, balance both the sides.
Somehow you have done good research on style trends and values, somehow its not being translated well into the final design. You need to add more details in the product, give character, and balance the design.

Goodluck

Hi everyone,

I’ve now graduated and I’m searching around for opportunities to work and live abroad. My new portfolio can be viewed here: http://1drv.ms/143p4MX

I’d really appreciate your feedback of the good, the bad and the ugly! Any opinions are really useful for tweaking/mass-overhauling my folio so that the quality is suitable for entry level jobs.

Thanks!

-Andrew

Hey Andy,

Congrats on graduating! Hopefully you can find your way into the industry you want.

This feels like the same projects from when you posted in July 2013?

The good thing is that you have a lot of great process and insight to talk about in some of your projects like the Hypokit. The bad thing is that right now your work is presented in a way that’s rather dull and you risk getting passed over in that initial viewing. Hiring managers are like shoppers, they’re going to scan the shelf at a high level, then only deep dive into the few portfolios that catch their eye. To be brutally honest, especially if you’re hoping to work internationally (which might involve an employer sponsoring a visa) I think you need to invest significant work into updating with new work and bringing some of your core technical skills, sketching, rendering,up to the level that is competitive.

The drill project to me is really dull. It feels like a second year project and not something you could really talk to at length in an interview. The Collani speaker dock is borderline as well. I was excited to see that it looked like you made a full size mockup and retrofitted the components, but no final shots of the model. The final renderings are ok, but Keyshot by default makes most glossy things look cool.

What type of companies do you want to work for? What type of skills do you want to hone at your first job? And what are the skills you currently possess that you think differentiate you from the pack, and what can you do to make sure your portfolio really captures those things.

Hey Andy,

Congratulations on graduation. Currently I’m in the same situation as you, but I feel I can give you some useful advice.

What program did you use to generate the renders? The best program out there for creating the most realistic renders is Vray. To get the most out of the program you will need some technical know how, but you can find the best body of tutorials on the software for 3dsmax here:

http://grantwarwick.net/course/mastering-vray

You could replace the mockups with vray renders and it would take a trained eye to tell the difference if lit and rendered right.

Even after graduation, there is much to learn isn’t there?! It’s a tough, competitive world out there, but if you show you are of value the hard work pays off.

Just a quick thought, I had to get through a lot of text before I got to see any pictures. You might want to swap that around a little. Give it some flow.