Hey Everyone,
Would you kindly take the time to look over my portfolio and tell me what you think. I will be adding text descriptions later, for now the text is on the images.
Any questions or comments are welcome. Thanks a Ton!
-Ross
Design Portfolio: (Coroflot)
Awesome work. Architecture and interior section is great as compared to product section. Vanity nightclub is killer.
Ross,
I haven’t looked at it yet, but reading that you have “semi confidential” material there is not a good idea and just saying you are keeping it up for limited time doesn’t make you look more considerate.
I would urgently advise to take all confidential stuff out now and let the community know that you did this.
Your post tells a potential employer and everybody who reads it that you don’t take confidentiality all that serious and that you would not hesitate to share these projects.
Thank You!
Vanity was the last project I worked on at my previous job. It was an interesting project overall.
It recently won an HD Award for best Nightclub, Bar or Lounge
Done…
These projects were canceled a few years back. They were confidential at the time but since they were canceled I have been given permission to show this work in my portfolio. However, I am still restricting access to the projects for now.
I do take confidentiality very seriously. That’s why I had asked for permission before showing them. I guess I could have used a little better wording to start off with.
I’m getting ready to send out another round of emails and portfolios looking for a full-time position and just wanted to get some more feedback on my portfolio before doing so.
Ahh I see. That doesn’t sound as serious. With that explanation, it is of course not that big of a deal, especially if you have been given permission to show it publicly. It is just that word “confidential” that raises a red flag.
Your work looks good, I have seen it previously on these boards and I respond well to it.
I would however like to know more about your thoughts on these and what role you played in the development. You give descriptions but it would be interesting to learn more about specific design decisions you made and for what you are responsible.
I personally could do without plusONE, since I feel that it lacks the refinement that can be otherwise found in your portfolio.
I usually discuss my specific roles on each project during interviews. I’ve never found a good way to discuss these roles in a condensed form in my portfolio.
For instance… On the HR Tampa project. I was one of 5 main designers on an $800 million expansion. I worked on the design development, master planning, sun/shade studies, interior organization, hotel room optimization, material research and selection, massing layouts, parking structures, etc… as well as 100’s of exterior designs, hand renderings and 3d renderings. On the exterior designs there are some of my ideas along with ideas from 4 others and then consultants work on things such as the pool layouts. It can get really hard to pull out specifics when working on these massive team projects.
I worked for almost a year on that project plus many other projects at the same time. I think in total I was working on around $3 billion in design projects over the course of a year.
With the exception of the tequila project, all of the furniture/product work is 100% mine.
The 3d Visualization work is all 100% mine.
That is the type of feedback I really want to hear.
I’ve been trying to go through my portfolio and clean it out some. I’ve already taken out some of the weaker projects. I don’t think my page on plusONE does it any justice. It’s pretty cool to see in person.
I don’t have much critique for you other than pretty awesome stuff and cleanly presented.
This is your best sketch and I’d love to see more at this level:
http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_file.asp?from_url=true&individual_id=266928&portfolio_id=3852955&
The Vegas stuff is not my thing, but it is Vegas, and that is what goes there.
The logo for Ivory’s Piano Bar doesn’t seem to fit. I really love that project and your explanation of it otherwise.
What is your intention for the portfolio? Have you thought about mixing the furniture, product, and architecture projects together? I’m not sure you even need the 3d visualization section unless you are going for a position specifically in that.
Fantastic work! Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you for the compliments and comments Yo.
I’m really kind of sad about this. I had hundreds of renderings like this that I worked on. But I was only able to take 2 of the concept designs I did. I worked off and on the two Florida HR casinos the whole year I was in Vegas.
While I can totally agree with you on this subject. I learned a great lesson about branded environments because of the Vegas work. We worked on creating holistic designs that enveloped the image and lifestyle of the brand. Most of the designs were over the top, but they achieved the goals set forth by the companies we worked with.
I typically have a very refined sense of taste when it comes to architecture and design.
Going back and looking at the project you are 100% correct. I do not include the reasoning for the logo. The logo itself could use some more work in general (a graphic designer should have done the logo). The owner wanted to have the space be primarily be used as a bar with special performances in the theater. He wanted a piano bar in the front half of the space that could be opened up to the rest of the theater if needed.
My ideal job at this point would be working in a multi-disciplinary design firm that handles both architectural and interiors work as well as furniture and product design. I am very interested in branding and branded environments also. I feel I am much stronger at architectural work and desire the opportunity to learn about product design from a consultancy stand point.
The way I am approaching the portfolio is to have the separate sections marked out for ease of navigation (in the PDF version it’s bookmarked and easy to navigate to individual projects. With that said… I typically put together a specialized portfolio depending on what company I am applying to. So one might be heavy in architecture while another in furniture. I just mix and match as needed.
I have been applying to Architectural Visualization firms also, so for now I have an extra section in the Viz department.
I’ve been out of full-time work for over a year now. So it doesn’t really matter what type of design work I do as long as I can continue to build my portfolio. I’ve had plenty of interviews and some freelance work to keep me busy but I’m ready for that full time job.
Thank You for looking and commenting! I really do appreciate it!
Totally understand on the Vegas explanation, and it makes sense. I also like seeing how the Hollywood Hard Rock is dialed way up and the Miami one is a little more refined and the KC one a little different as well. Cool to see the same brand applied in 3 different ways for different cities. You might be able to do a macro slide ahead of that showing that concept.
Awesome Work. I really love your architectural work. What software are you using to get those incredible interior renderings?
That’s a pretty good idea of doing a macro branding slide before going into the projects.
Pretty much all of my visualization work is finished in 3ds Max with the V-Ray render engine and then taken into photoshop for tweaks. Occasionally I will use adobe after effects for some of the advanced features that photoshop lacks.
I model a lot of the furniture with Rhino and T-Splines or 3ds Max. Most of the Architectural work starts with an Autocad layout that is brought into 3ds max and then finished out.
Very nice work, your accomlishments shine through. This was the first time I have seen a resume done such, and found it awkard to position properly for reading. The book like format and clean lines of the descriptive areas are wonderful. As an aside, is the desire to be more in the design arena and less involved in the complications of running your own firm the reason for seeking a full time position? I wish to ask why you are looking for a job, but I don’t want to seem impersonal.
Thank you for the compliments!
I don’t find this impersonal in any means. I think sharing our experiences is one of the ways to help fellow designers.
The main reason I am seeking full time work is that I am not established enough to maintain my own profitable firm. I am picking up enough freelance work to stay afloat. But with only 3 years of experience and not enough contacts I’m finding it hard to make any progress towards an enjoy and sustainable way of life. I’ve been scraping by for the last year.
With that said… I’m also needing to finish my IDP in order for me to start taking my architectural licensing exams. I am half way through my IDP and I am required to work under a licensed architect in order to finish up. It’s one of the requirements of the American Institute of Architects.
While I want to finish up my architectural exams I am also very interested in all areas of design. In my schooling I grew a great appreciation for human-scale design and trying to create strong holistic design solutions. This holistic approach includes the grand concepts for architectural work down to the tiny details and custom design furniture and products that go inside buildings. I find it really hard to stop creativity at just one discipline. One problem this has lead to is that I have become a jack of all trades and not specialized enough to really help out my career at this point.
One of the things I don’t like about doing the freelance work at this point is having to deal with clients and money. There are some growing pains I’ve had to go through which has not been fun. However, I would still like to continue to do freelance work once I find a full time position. I found that working on furniture projects while designing large scale casinos tended to keep me somewhat sane. It provided a nice balance to the large conceptual projects I dealt with.
Running your own firm has it’s pluses and minuses. One nice thing is setting your own schedule. I am a total night owl and find I am the most productive if I do any meetings or group work in the early afternoon. Then later on at night, say from 8pm -4am, I can be the most productive since there are fewer distractions to deal with. It works for me and It’s nice to make my own schedule.
The down sides have really just been dealing with clients and getting paid. After getting burnt a few times you start to become pretty jaded about the pay thing. I’ve read a ton of books and searched relentlessly through various forums trying to find any pointers I can about how to run my own business. I had some luck. But ultimately there are no set formulas for how to run your own business. You have to figure out what you need to make in order to cover your business and personal expenses, profits to grow your business, and plan for retirement. And at this point I am not able to make what I need. The freelance work will continue to provide an extra source of income and a nice creative outlet from the day to day work.
Anyway, If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.
Oh I saw your BONE chair at the DesignQuest Comp!
Very cool.
Thanks!
I really enjoyed the DesignQuest show. There were a lot of cool projects to see. Grand Rapids was an awesome town too.
Ross,
I’m really digging your work man. Nice stuff!!! The nightclub is top notch and those architectural renderings are great too. My only question is where is the background process work? I would love to see the background work from the nightclub. All those different interior concepts, if you had sketches for all of that it would really pop. Not that it does not already, but with the process work it would make it really strong.
My 2 cent.
yes, process work is fun to see but I can understad if you want your portfolio that you put out for everyone to see to stay clean.
It appears to be more of a work sample folio that is designed to razzle dazzle clients.
And it does this successfully.
I am doing it a bit the same way since I have experienced that clients don’t really care about the process. They just want to see what they will get in the end. Suddenly a lot of ill-lit and badly photographed process images look messy and unprofessional.
In my case, I have two portfolios. One on the website with glitzy stuff and one to later send out to potential employers, should they care.
Another aspect might be that the process work and ideation sketches could be classified by the company you worked for. Since it is not yet published material.