Aaron Powers Portfolio Thread

I’m working hard on fixing all these problems in my portfolio and should have some updates in the next few days but I have a question that’s been on my mind a lot lately so I wanted to put it out there in the meantime.

I’m getting a bit concerned that I’m running out of time to fix these big flaws in my portfolio and I’m going to miss a chance at a Summer internship. Can anyone lend some advice on this topic? I know portfolios are a living document and are always changing, but I’m afraid if I send my portfolio knowing of these mistake I for sure won’t be considered.

More soon,
Aaron

So my goal was to make my stories a bit more coherent and explained, now the visuals are lacking. I hope they come across better and thank you for your time!

Looks better! On mobile so can’t see it all in detail well, but will check it out more later.

R

Thanks Richard, It’s been a heck of a few weeks balancing all my projects and portfolio. Being able to continuously check and reference feedback on here is really an invaluable resource, so thank you!

I just sent off my portfolio to get feedback from AAU Alumni at a bunch of companies also, and within the next day I’ll be sending it out formally to companies I would like to intern at.


Behance has all the updated slides. There is one major mistake on the music project which I’ve already fixed, will edit tomorrow.

EDIT: It looks like the maximum width for core77 is something like 800-1200 pixels in width so unfortunately I can’t upload larger image slides directly to the board.

Thanks again!
Aaron

Already got some feedback from a principle designer at Frog this morning, I’m gonna type out his main points just to share with the boards and other students who may look at this thread in the future.

Much like we had talked about, the final product visuals and details are lacking, however, I’m really happy that this is now the glaring hole to focus on. When I first started creating a portfolio it was difficult to pick a starting point when every aspect is weak.

  1. Graphics and specifically Gill Sans Typeface can be improved. Seek out graphic design friend to help massage.

  2. Lacking detail and believable execution on renderings for music project. Outlined figures are tired, adding photos with real people will take portfolio to next level. Also, Ideation page could use some 1-2-3 read to be more dynamic.

  3. Amazon vehicle is cool, again, needs same level of refinement needed for music project.

4.Last page of sketches in sketchbook are worse than page previous, this page isn’t needed.

  1. Quality > Quantity

  2. Competition to get into Frog is fierce

Lately I’ve been working on organizing my latest studio project into a portfolio format, as always it’s still a work in progress.

Would love to hear what you guys think!

Thanks for your time,
Aaron

Hi Aaron,

Nice project! I like the way you’ve portrayed the process. I have some questions and suggestions though:

  • How do you adjust the length of the nasal pillows strap?
  • How heavy is the PAP machine? Would it move sideways when you are sleeping? Is there a way to prevent that? Would it be possible to redesign the PAP machine and make it a bit thinner?
  • Could there be a way to adjust the position of the PAP machine? Some people sleep on their back, while others sleep sideways. I believe a little adjustment there could be interesting.

Other than that, where you explain the struggle with this kind of machine, I’d add a graphic explaining better the weak points. Maybe leaving the images as proof, but not the main source of information.

Last thing, in order to improve grip, most head mounts have a silicone stripes on the inner part. It’s just a detail, but it really helps. This is an example:

Cheers,

Ale

Thanks for taking the time to go through my project Alejandro!
- How do you adjust the length of the nasal pillows strap?
One of the main ideas behind my design is that the machine and straps are tailored to the individual. When a person is prescribed a CPAP machine they usually go into a sleep center, try on a few masks and take one home not knowing how it’s going to treat them when they try to use it at home. I wanted to change this experience so instead of going in the sleep center to pick up your machine and mask you would go in to be fitted for your machine. This would mean 3D scanning the head, and then printing the head cushion and nasal pillows. Those files would stay with the user for good and be used for future replacement parts (Currently, companies send out an abundance of replacement parts every month, many users I talked with have boxes full of these pieces)

As far as the strapping I intended for it to be fit for you as well during the initial experience. Both straps are designed to be stretched over your head and nose, so I didn’t intend for the users to be able to adjust the strapping, rather it would be fitted and the elasticity of the material would gently press the pillows against the nose. This decision came from finding a large community of users deconstructing their masks and using panty hose for strapping. The consensus was that by using a stretch material with a larger width it created less pressure points than current thinner strapping. One of the complaints with current straps is that they leave creases on the user’s face for a long time. My mom uses one of these masks and some days those creases don’t disappear until 3 or 4 PM. The other comment about using a stretch material for the nasal pillows was that it secured them in place fine and created a much more comfortable sensation.

- How heavy is the PAP machine? Would it move sideways when you are sleeping? Is there a way to prevent that? Would it be possible to redesign the PAP machine and make it a bit thinner?

The PAP machine weighs just over 8 ounces (half a pound). This came from research on current CPAP Centrifugal blowers used in standard PAP machines. I referenced one of the most quiet blowers on the market for size dimensions. A key insight into my research was that by moving the blower closer to the nasal pillows and drastically reducing the length of tubing the machine would run at a much lower speed which means a quieter experience and less dampening materials needed in the housing. I verified that this is a logical assumption with a few professionals involved in flow dynamics and these types of blowers. I did bring up the question about reducing the size of the blower, and we agreed that it could potentially use an even smaller blower, however, the larger the blower the quieter it will run. So by shrinking the size, it would run harder and louder and the only way to verify how small is too loud would be to do a whole lot of testing. I felt that shrinking the blower without any hard evidence on how small it could go would be dishonest and misleading.

As far as movement on the top of the head: I tested many strap iterations, such as a horizontal strapping method. The horizontal strap proved to be a lot worse for people who slept on their back as it wanted to fall right off the back of the head. What I found while testing my mockups was that when the PAP machine was in contact with the pillow it was entirely weightless, you would have no idea that it was there. So I placed the blower towards the back of the head as it served as a good axis of rotation for any sleeping position and had more contact to be supported by the user’s pillow.

- Could there be a way to adjust the position of the PAP machine? Some people sleep on their back, while others sleep sideways. I believe a little adjustment there could be interesting.
I’ll look into this some more, thanks for the suggestion!

Other than that, where you explain the struggle with this kind of machine, I’d add a graphic explaining better the weak points. Maybe leaving the images as proof, but not the main source of information.
Agreed!

Last thing, in order to improve grip, most head mounts have a silicone stripes on the inner part. It’s just a detail, but it really helps. This is an example:
This could be interesting, I’ll look into it!


Thank you!

Ok I’ve been working on presenting my music project better. It’s still confusing. Once I’m able to convey the story I think I’ll understand better what renderings I need in order to lift the quality of the project.

Here’s where I am so far: Behance

There’s a lot to improve, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of this whole portfolio process. Will be improving all the sketches, renders, etc. One thing I can do a lot better is present my ideation sketches in a way that leads the viewer to understand how I got to my final system. That first ideation page is causing a harsh transition into the final direction.

And here’s my CPAP project: Behance

Hey Aaron,

To me, I think your portfolio would be taken to the next level if you incorporate your great sketching/rendering abilities from your “sketchbook” on Behance into your portfolio projects. They seem to be at different levels and I think your projects would pop a lot more if they were delivered at a higher level.

Great work man!
-Patrick

Thanks PJ,

I’m on it!

Some more updates!

I’m not sure I like the blue boxes on the initial ideation page, trying to give some commentary on how my thinking evolved…



Hey everyone,

I wanted to share my progress on my portfolio, a lot of work has gone into it, and I still have a long way to go!

Thank you to everyone that has helped me along the way!

Here are some links to see larger images:

http://sketchpowers.com/

Disclaimer on this project: I contributed on initial process from research to initial product experience and aesthetic development for Vytl.

Thanks for your time!
Aaron

pics not working for me Aaron. How about anyone else?

They work here.

Hopefully it’s working now, I look forward to hearing what you all think!

It works for me now. Looking good Aaron. My only advice is to double the size of the sketchbook section. I know you have the content!

Thanks Michael!

I’m working on adding those now!

Hey all,

I’m finishing up my last semester of ID school, it’s been a wild ride! This past year I was interning and then hired as a full time designer at a consultancy in the bay area while also going to school full time. After nearly a year of working in a consultancy, I felt that I needed a change of direction in my life, and wanted to pursue my passion in footwear design.

Going into my last semester of school, I decided that I wanted to tackle this new venture head on with all of my effort, and made an extremely difficult decision to resign from my full-time position to focus solely on trying to land a technical footwear design gig. Athletics has been ingrained in my life since I can remember, and my time at Under Armour two summers ago was phenomenal. It’s my goal to get back into this environment of pushing to make athletes better.

Here’s some of my latest work, I’ve received some amazing input over the past few weeks from friends and mentors and hope to keep improving to get my foot in the door. I’ve been told that the level of work is there, but my personality isn’t shining through. I’m going to be working on this ASAP.

Overview of my body of work: Behance



Hey Aaron,

My 2 cents! Great visualization, similar to what Matt Choto had on his portfolio. In terms of design skills I’d say you definitely are there. I’m not very familiar with the footwear industry, but it seems you have the conceptual skills. It’d be nice to see a raw prototype, shouldn’t be too complicated to 3D print the sole and laser cut the fabrics to fit your design. Not sure if you have any pattern-making skills but that a cool visual model would be beneficial.

However, at brand level, I see Under Armour as a much more functional and loud brand. The pattern in your concept looks soft and adaptable, I’d rather go for something more aggressive and technical. I’d also apply a bigger logo.

Good luck with the job hunt!

Cheers!

Alejandro