Portfolio Review

Hello everyone,

I’ve been looking at all the other portfolios posted here and always been put off posting mine because I feel like it’s below the level it should be.
Ive decided thats a stupid feeling to have and the best way to improve the portfolio is to get lots of eyes on it.

So anyway, here it is!

https://goo.gl/72LoCj

I am currently looking for a new role so all constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, I know that there is improvements that I can make on it, one of which would be making a website to showcase the work.

Thank you in advance!! :smiley:

You have pretty good sketches, and it seems like a good understanding of how things are made.
A quick glance; seems like a lot of the work is very mechanical, and engineering based is this the kind of work you want to do?

Tommy

And I would omit the vodka glasses, unless you want to design for that type of thing.

Hi Tommy,

Thank you for taking the time to look through the portfolio and for giving some feedback.
I don’t really have a desire to work with overly engineering based products which is why I’ve tried to show as much sketch work and the creative input behind each project. I am at a point in my career where I am looking for the next step to take and feel like a more creative role wold suit me better so I should probably try and show that side more.
I also think you might be right about the vodka glasses project. It was a fun project to work on, but I can definitely replace it with a stronger project now.

Thanks again,
Matt

Echoing above, I also agree your sketching looks strong. However, I would increase the lineweight, some of the sketches in blue are extremely hard to read on my screens, and one screen it actually even disappears completely. I would either change the line color, or increase the weight, or both. Luckily this is simple :smiley:

Edit: I would also omit the Vodka glasses. Aside from being on the controversial side of things (which some may look down on, some may not just know this if you keep it that you may be overlooked by more conservative companies.) there’s just not alot of interesting content and its basically a copy of an existing design.

Thank you AVclub for the comments.
You are right, the line weight is an easy change so I can make that straight away.

You are both right about the glasses, it was a cool project to work on as a student in one of my placements but its definitely not the right fit for my portfolio anymore.
Ive started working on an update to replace this project so I’ll replace the link once I’ve got it swapped out.
Thanks again for taking the time to look over it.

I see some good work but I think the presentation is holding it back a little. Some of my thoughts:

Pg 1: Portfolio 2017 (take off the year, add your name. Its the first slide, let me know I opened up the right thing)

Pg 2: Intro page: this page is hard to read. What is with all of the (…) in front of the left column? Why are all of the columns center justified? This page makes my eyes go nuts. Also, you say you have experience working in house and with a consultancy… name them.

I recommend adding a chapter break slide between Pg 3 and 4 similar to Pg 18

Pg 4-5: good

Pg 6: a little context would help here. I didn’t realize I was looking at a handle at first.

Pg 7-8: good

Pg 9: I would crop it in a lot more and photoshop the wall to a medium grey so the doors pop

Pg 10: too boring to be a chapter break

Pg 13 - 14: good sketches, but they recede too much. not enough hierarchy. Recommend making one sketching bigger and darker on each page

Pg 17: good image, but don’t forget to show it in context as well

Beach locker, solid project. Sketch on pg 23, really nice!

Need a chapter break before pan 26

Pg 26: who is “we”? What is the brand?

Pg 27: nice sketches!

Vodka Glasses. I don’t ming having this project in there because it makes the presentation a bit more fun and I remember it, but don’t end on it. That is one you put in the middle.


Your first and last projects should be your very best work.

I hope this helps a bit! You have some good stuff, the presentation just needs a little more polish. I’d also like to see one more project.

Always run a spell check: p.8 intergrated → integrated and p. 26 furntiure

Overall you have a good portfolio for a junior level designer. It is clear that you understand what ID is and you like what you are doing.

Your focus on mechanical aspects is great because it communicates that you consider these solutions and integrate them into your process early on. That often makes a great difference in streamlining an ID project. You also come across as a good decision maker and you tell a concise story about your projects, exactly what we need to know.

Page 3 is great because it introduces what is in the portfolio so readers can select what they are going to focus on.

Your sketches are good, they communicate well. All in all you can focus on enhancing them with a more 3D feel through stronger linework, richer shading and texturing.

The rendering on p.9 is extremely good if you did that yourself.

I can’t say I love your design work, but it works and it’s there so there is success. The soft furniture legs are nice, I sometimes also go for that approach to make something with an industrial feel, say 3d printers, more appealing to the general audience. However in this project I don’t think it fits the design aesthetic and more exploration will be good next time.

I love the beach locker as a product but I can’t say I like or dislike the design.

The glasses are not an ID project but it shows a good skill you have for running short assignments so you can include them into the body of your portfolio, even though generally employers will skip over those and get to your core activities.

So keep expanding your portfolio and see if you can find more focus in your work!

Thank you Yo and Ralphzoontjens
Its great to hear some good things about it and I’m glad you have both picked out so much that I can improve on.
I’m going to do some work on it this weekend to change the bits you have mentioned, I have a project in mind that I can add in so I will probably change the layout so the strongest are at the start and the end.

Good spot on the spelling mistake! -_-

Thanks again!