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TH221
TheArchitectsPortfolio:AGuidetoEffectiveSelfPresentationintheMarketplace
Thursday,5/17/2012,2:00PM3:30PM
ProgramDescription
Thisseminarisforarchitecturestudentsandyoungprofessionalswhowishtodevelopandproducea
portfolioandresumetailoredtospecificrequirements.Theseminarprovidesthesettingnecessaryfor
concentratedreview,analysisandcreativedevelopmentofportfolios,resumesandpromotional
materials.
Thisseminarprovidesthedesignofportfoliosandresumesasacombinationofstructural,visual,and
conceptualexploration.Theabilitytocommunicateone'sselfsuccinctlyintheprofessionalenvironment
isparticularlyimportantfordesignerswhetherpresentingskillstoadesignfirm,orexpertisetoaclient.
Theprofessionalstandardforthisperformanceistheportfolio,andso,it'scurrency,it'sbrilliance,it's
'script'isessentialintheworldof"DesignConnects."
Thisseminar
will
be
an
opportunity
for
rehearsal
and
fine
tuning
of
visual
communication
skills
demonstratedwithinthetotalityofdesignpresentation.
LearningObjectives:
1. Participantswillbeabletodefineasixstepsprocessofmakingsuccessfulportfolioandresume.2. Participantswillbeprovidedhandsonstrategiesforselfevaluationallowingparticipantstodesign
intelligentlyanddirectlyfromtheirownsources.
3. Participantswilllearnnewwayofgaugingthe"success"ofanarchitectureportfolioandresume.
4. Participantswillbeexposedtoexamplesofprofessionalportfoliosandresumesfromaroundthe
globewithretrospectivesummariesoftheconceptualanddevelopmentprocessbythearchitect(s).
PROVIDER:BowlingGreenStateUniversity,OhioandRoutledge,Taylor&FrancisGroup
SPEAKER:AndreasLuescher,AssociateAIA,Ph.D.
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Role: Speaker
Andreas Luescher, PhD, Assoc. AIA.
Professor of Architecture and Environmental Design
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
Andreas Luescher is a Swiss architect, artist, writer, and Professor of architecture and environmental design at Bowling Green
State University in Ohio. His scholarship is widely published and he is a frequent presenter at national and regional American
Institute of Architects and Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture conferences. Dr. Luescher (Pennsylvania State
University, Ph.D., 1998) published thirty-refereed articles, (twenty-five as sole author) and recent highlights include a chapter in
the anthology Space, Travel, and Architecture (2009, Ashgate), and the book The Architects Portfolio (2010, Routledge).
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SeminarProgram2:002:10 WelcomeandPopQuiz
2:102:20 Introduction:
Planning,DesignandPromotion
2:202:40 Lecture:6MajorPanningStages
2:402:55 Exercise:EditorinChief
2:553:10 Showcaseofprintandelectronicportfolios&resumes
3:103:20 Discussiononstrategies
3:203:30 Conclusion,questionandanswerperiod
After Seminarevaluation
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Content
PopQuiz 4
Introduction 6
Sixmajorplanningsteps 7
1. Planit 11
1.1
EstablishingaProcess
2. Researchit 11
2.1 IdentifyingyourAudience
3. Writeit 13
3.1 BuildingaTheme
4. Designit 13
4.1 MakingIdeasappear
5. Promoteit 24
5.1
IntroducingYourself
6. Interviewit 27
6.1 CoachingYourself
Exercise:EditorinChief 27
AIADFormula 33
PortfolioChecklist 34
Reference 35
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PopQuiz
1. Whatisthepurposeofaresumeandaportfolio?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Howlongshouldaresumebe?
a.One
page?
b.Twopages?
c.Asmanypagesasittakestocoverallofyourwork.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Howlongshouldaportfoliobe?
a.Fifteenpageorless?
b.Twentypagesorless?
c.Asmanypagesasittakestocoverallofyourwork.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Whatdoyouimaginearethefourthingsmostfrequentlylookedbyresumerecruiters?
a.
b.
c.
d.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Whatdoyouimaginearethefourthingsmostfrequentlylookedbyportfolioreviewers?
a.
b.
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c.
d.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Whataretwoformatsforportfoliopresentationbesidesslides,orCDROMs?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Ifsomeonehasaskingtosendyouaportfoliowhatfollowupstepyouneedtotaketo
assuretoaccomplishyourgoal.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Employerswillfrequentlyaskyoutosendaportfoliocontainingexamplesofyour
workBEFOREtheydecidewhetherornottoinviteyouforaninpersoninterview.
Ifajob listing doesntspecifyaportfoliopresentationmedium(forinstance,CDROM)
whatformatwouldyoubepreparedtosend forthejobofyourdreamsTOMORROW?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
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Introduction
Designingaportfoliooftenrequireslotsofcreativeproductioninashorttimeschedule.Havingaprocess
methodology asetofstepstoreferto helpsyoumanagethesimultaneousintegrationofallnecessary
considerations. Processmethodsareasvariedaseachindividual. Theyrangefromthosebasedonintuitionand
experiencetothosebasedonformalandinflexiblelogic,butallproceduralmethodologiesincludethefollowing
actionsin
one
form
or
another:
1) Recognitionanddefinitionoftheproblemandobjectives
2) Observationandcollectionofdatarelevanttotheproblem.
3) Developmentofalternativeideasandsolutionssuitableforthespecificproblem.
4) Synthesis,ortheputtingtogetherofideastoformcompletedesigns.
5) Evaluation,or
the
testing
of
alternative
designs
against
requirements,
and
optimization.
Proceduralmethodsallowyoutobeconsistentinyourcreativeprocessandgenerateadocumentofwhat
youvegiventhoughttoandhowyourideashavedeveloped. Processdocumentsareinvaluableforproviding
colleagues,andclientsaplatformforunderstandingyourideas.
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Thesequencepresentedhereismyrecommendedbestpractice,butisbynomeanstheonlyapproach.
1 Plan it
2 Research it
3 Write it
4 Design it
5 Promote it
6 Interview it
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1 Plan it
Whetheryouaremakingyourfirstportfoliooryourtwentieth,whatpersistsisyourjobofdisplaying,inastyle
appropriatetoaparticularaudience,certainmaterialandideas.
Thestartingpointisalwaysthesame:analysisanddescriptionofthenatureandpurposeoftheproject.
Analysismeansmakingacriticaldiagnosisofthenatureandoverallrequirementsoftheproject;inotherwords
establishingenoughinformationabouttheyouraimsandtheoverallrequirementsofyouraudiencetoallowthe
feasibilityoftheprojecttobeassessed.Descriptionmeansestablishingaframeworkwithinwhichtowork. Itis
theprocessofsettingboundaries,anddetermininglimits. Settinguplimitationsandparametersgiveyou
somethingtograb,somethingtooppose,somethingtohelpyoudefinewhatitisyouresearchingfor.Your
analysisanddescriptionwillbesummarizedinaprogramorstatementofintention.
Figure1:Processofvisualediting
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2 Research it
2.1
Understandingyourself
o whatareyourskills?
o whatareyouraspirations?
o wherewouldyouliketolive?
o wherewouldyouliketowork?
o
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2.2 Identifyingyouraudience
o generalortargeted?
o Academic,Business,Government,Nonprofit
o networking
o informationalinterviewing
o
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3 Write it
3.1BuildingaTheme
o yes,no,maybe(potentialforimprovement)
o visualediting
o clustering
o begintoexpressyourideaortheme
o
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Whoseattentiondoyouwantandwhydoyouwantit?
Whatdoyouwanttosayandwhatdohavetosayitwith?
Summarizeyouraim
Stateyourtheme
Describethepurposeandnatureofyourportfolio
Whatinitialideasdoyouhaveaboutyourportfolio?
Whatmediumwillyouuse?(printordigital)
Whoistheaudienceatwhomtheportfoliowillbeaimed?
Whataretheaimsandeffectsontheaudiencewhichyouhopetoachiev
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4 Design it
Weuseportfoliostomakeourideasapparent. Thedesignbriefencapsulatesthatinitialidea.Itis,amongother
things,arecordedstatementofintentandasetofcriteriaandinstructions.Onasinglesheetofpaperanswer
thefollowing
questions.
Even
ifyou
can
only
state
the
answers
in
general
terms
go
ahead
and
write
them
down.
Don'tgethunguponthis.Don'tletyourprojectgetboggeddownforthelackofasetinstoneobjective.You're
betteroffdeclaringanaimthatyoucanlivewithfornow. Itisinthenatureofthedesignprocessthatyouwill
developandrefinethisaimastheprojectcontinues.
Figure2:Sketchofdesignbrief
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PrinttoWebPortfolios
Web basedportfoliosofferauniquelyfluidandsustainablevehicleforthepresentationofyourwork. Wide
rangingversatilitycomeshoweverwithahostofrequirementsincludingwritingfortheWeb,crossplatform
design,responsetimeconsiderations,multimediaimplementation,navigationstrategies,searchboxes,
internationalconsiderations,justtonameafew. Andthenthereareallthoseattractivenuisancesand
meaninglessdistractions
...the
bells
and
whistles
which
are
fun
to
play
with
but
which
often
detract
more
thantheyadd. Itisessentialtostayfocusedonwhetheryourwebdesignactuallyaccomplishesitsgoal,whichis
usuallytosell,teach,orentertain.
Figure3:Awebpagelayoutincludingthegrid
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DesignStylevs.UsabilityDesignEveryonewantstodesigncoolwebsitesbutifyourwebuserscan'tfigureouthowtouseyourwebsitein
aminuteorso,theywillleave,ortheywillbringaverybaddispositionaboutyouyourdesignsensitivitiesandtechnicalcompetenciestothetaskofcontinuing.
Justaswithaprintportfolio,youraudiencemustbeyourcentralconcern.Fromcontentandpagedesigntodesigningforeaseofnavigationanduserswithdisabilities,youneedtoremainedfocusedhowtoconnect
withyourwebusershopethatheorshecan
a.)findwhatthey'reafterquickly;and
b.)browsequicklyandaccessinformationtheycomeacrossinalogicalmanner.
Withliterallytensofmillionsofwebsitecurrentlycompetingforattention,usabilityanddesignfor
usabilityisthesubjectofintensecommercialinterest.Researchintoworksandwhatdoesn'tworkin
interactivemediahasproducedanumberofbooksandwebsitesaboutwebusability,pagedesign,content
design,sitedesign,andintranetdesign.
NoteworthyconceptisbasedonthingsusersmostwantdescribedbyJakobNielsen(healsohasanexcellentwebsiteonusability:www.useit.com.)inhisbookDesigningWebUsability:ThePracticeof
SimplicityarefourcriteriaforthefoundationofagoodWebdesign:
H highqualitycontent
O oftenupdated
M minimaldownloadtime
E Easeofuse
AccordingtoJakobNielsenbutyouneedtogobeyondthefourbasicstohaveatrulystellarsite.TomoveformHOMEdesigntoaHOMERUNdesignandaddthreeextras:
R relevanttousersneeds
U uniquetotheonlinemedium
N netcentriccorporateculture
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Linearvs.RandomAccess
ImportantcriteriafordesigningnavigationsystemsforWebsiteshavetobekeptassimpleaspossible.Its
importanttoalwaysgivetheuseraclearwaybacktothestartofthepage.Itiswrongtoassumethatausercan
learnanavigation
system
and
remember
it
unless
the
site
is
designed
as
agame
and
is
intended
to
take
users
on
ahunt.
Thenavigationsystemsholdbeusedasconsistentlyaspossiblethroughoutthesite. Thenavigationsystem
shouldbethoughtofnotonlyasfunctionalmeanstogetaroundthesite, butalsoaspartofthesitesidentity.
Thesimplestofallwebsitestructuresisalineardesignvs.randomaccess.Thehomepageleadstopagetwo.
FromthereyoucangoBACKtothehomepageorFORWARDtothethirdpage. Andonthethirdpage,youhave
thechoiceofgoingBACKtothesecondpageorFORWARDtothefourth.
Youstartaddingcomplexitiesifyouaddadirectlinkbacktothehomepagefromanyofthesepages. Stillmore
complexityisaddediftheviewercanjumpoffthesecondpageinsixdifferentdirections:toaphotogallery,a
linkpage,
an
email,
etc.
These
in
turn
lead
to
other
pages,
and
so
on.
Its
easy
to
see
how
the
complexities
of
navigationstartaddingup. Thepointofthisistohaveaplan,andthevariouspathsmakesensetoyour
audience,includinganeasywaytogetbacktothehomepageoneveryotherpage.Ifthevisitordoesntfindit
easyandobvioustoaccessthepartsofyoursitetheyreinterested,theyjustmightnotbother.
Designaninterface
Youcanuselogos,symbols,icons,menubars,buttons,etc.todeliverthecontext. Thoseinterfacearethe
mechanismthroughwhichvisitorsunderstandandinteractwithsite.Agoodinterfacegivesvisitorsassurance
thattheywillbeabletofindtheinformationtheyneedwhentheyneedit.Youwanttogivevisitorsasenseof
control;they
are
making
the
choices
about
where
to
go
and
what
to
see.
Using
flowcharting
conventions
for
the
developmentofthenavigationalaidtospecifiedforeachsectionofyourdesign.
Whenyoudesigninterfaceelements,tailorthemtoyourexpectedaudience.Theselinkswouldenabletheuser
tomoveeffortlesslythroughalltheportfolioentries,followingupaninterestingleadinoneentrysimplyby
clickingonakeygraphicandgoingtothelinkedentry;thenperhapsreturningtotheoriginalitem,orfollowinga
linktoanotheritem.Itissafetoassumereadersarefamiliarwithscreenbasediconsystems.Donotlosethis
familiaritybycreatingaseriesofnewsymbolsforthemtolearn.
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5 Promote it
Thenexttolaststepisntcompleteuntilyourportfolioreachesitsfinaldestinationwithoutmishapordamages.
Considerthestepsonthefollowingpagetoensurethattheportfolioarrivesontimeandinperfectcondition
withoutgettinglostinthemaileither.
Remember,everythingmeanssomething. Forexample:yellowstringandbuttonenvelopesareusedfor
internalpostandcarrieswithittheimplicitmessageofworkrelatedpapers/bulkitems/andother
undesirables(!).
Onceyourportfolioeitherinprintoronlineisavailableyoushouldmakesuretopromoteyourwork.By
submittingespeciallyyourwebpagetosearchengines,designwebsites,magazinesandapplyingforawardscan
makeadifferenceinenhancingyourvalueinthemarket.UsingtheInternetasitsmessageisquiteeasyformula
forsuccessbecauseitislesstimeconsumingtoproduceincomparisontoprintmedia. Aportfoliowebpagecan
beaccesseasilyandanonymouslybyvisitors.Forstarterssmallprojectsandundevelopedideascanbe
presentedinsuchawayastoappearcomplexbecauseyoucanbluffandusuallyvisitorsdontexpectindepth
content.
Atthesametimemaintainingyourportfoliohomepageitisaimportanttaskthoughcanbedoneeasilyand
quicklyatanytime.ObviouslytheInternethasthereputationofbeingoftheforfrontofnewdigitaltechnology
thatfunctionalonerequiresthatyourdesignandanimationsofyourportfoliowebsitekeepuptheevolutionof
themedium.IfyoucreateCDROMorwebbasedportfolioitstillimportanttocollectasmuchfeedbackas
possiblebyusingpreaddressedformatstoyousuchasaskingtheviewerstofilloutasmallquestionnaire,or
leavecommentsbyhavingaEMAILbuttonwhichwillopenupanemaillettertoyouorincludingreplypostcard
whichadditionalmaterialscanberequest.
o selfinitiatedevents&exhibitions
o cultivatemediacontacts,peers,clients,etc.
o exchangelinkswithfriends,distributors,blogs,etc.
o submityourwebsitetosearchenginesandwebsitedirectories
o
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6 Interview it
Inanycasegettingtheimmediateattentionofyouraudienceisessentialtoasuccessfulsubmissionofyour
resumeandportfolio.Thatsmeanfollowupwithyouraudiencebysimplyprovidingselfaddressedenvelopeor
contactthereceiverbymakingatelephonecallaskingforintervieworpresentationtime.
Lesson1:Beyourself
You hope that I will give you answers that you can repeat it as such in interviews? You are mistaken.The
difficultyliespreciselyinthefactthatwemustavoidanyformattedoutput.Thegoalistokeepyourselfandyour
waytomeetwithyourvocabularyandyourownideas.
Lesson2:Learntoimprovise
Thedifficulty
of
an
interview
is
that
you
can
imagine
the
kinds
of
questions
that
recruiters
are
going
to
ask
you
butyoucanneverbesurewhattheywillasked.Thatiswhyitisimportanttoimprovise.Neveransweryoudo
notknow.
Lesson3:Knowtowhomyouspeak
Never go to interview without to be informed in advance of the company for which you apply.Refer to any
websitecanbeagoodstart.Findsomeonewhoworksorworkedthereisevenbetter.Theimportantthingisto
understandthe"philosophy"ofthecompany,whatservicesorproductsitoffers.
Lesson4:Transformyourweaknesses
Agoodwaytoaddressyourpotentialweaknessesistotalkandturningthemintopositives. Thinkinadvanceof
your
weaknesses
and
your
strengths
because
these
are
aspects
that
are
regularly
discussed
at
meetings.
Lesson5:Giveagoodimpression
Thismayseemcontradictorytoyoustayingwithoneself.Beingyourselfdoesnotmeannotmakingefforts,quite
thecontrary.Recruitersneedtoseethatyouaremotivated,you'vereallywantedtoworkinthisbusiness,you
understandtheissuesrelatedtobusiness.
Lesson6:Doesnotseemstressed
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It'shardnottohavethevoicethattremblesandpeaceofmindbeforeoneormorerecruitersthatyouarejust
tryingtodestabilize.Thiscanhelpyoucontrolyourstress:adoptacomfortablepositionwithbothfeetonthe
groundandbreathedcalmly.
Exercise1:EditorinChief
Totell
astory
requires
asequence
of
impressions
that
will
form
aproper
exposition
of
the
subject.
A
portfolio
usuallyincludesadiversecollectionofrepresentations. Thejobofarrangingtogether,anddesignedintoone
cohesivecompositionis,asmuchasanything,amatterofeditorialskill.
Aseditorofyourownportfolioyoumustbeactiveinthreeareasofdecisionmaking:
1. Encapsulatingtheinitialidea
2. Identifyingtheobjectschosentotellthestory
3. Clusteringrelatedobjectsandbeginningtoexpressyourideasorbuildyourtheme
Thisexercise
calls
attention
to
this
important
idea
of
design
as
an
editorial
process.
Based
on
the
page
layoutsnextpages,determineasequenceofideasandtheirplacementinit.
Determinetheorderinwhichtheycanbemadetotellastory,andwhatchunksofinformationhavetobe
interpolatedorattachedtomakesensetotheintendedaudience.
Youwillbebothvisualandverbaleditorinthisprocess. Youmayaddtitlesandbriefexplanatoryorinterpretive
textorcaptionstodirectthepresentationforyourreader/audience. Keepinmindthatthemosteffective
portfolioshaveasinglenessof purposebestachievedbybriefcaptionsorheadlines,notbylong
compositions.
Objective:designtomovethereaderforward.
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AIADFormula
AIDAisanacronymusedinmarketingthatdescribesacommonlistofeventsthatareveryoftenundergone
whenapersonissellingaproductorservicebuthereweapplyitforjobsearch:
A Attention(Awareness): attracttheattentionofthefutureemployer.
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I Interest: raisefutureemployerinterestbydemonstratinghis/herabilitiesandskills.
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D Desire: convincefutureemployerthattheywantanddesirehis/herabilitiesandskills
thatitwillsatisfytheirneeds.
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A Action: leadfutureemployertowardstakingactiontobehired.
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References
TheArchitect'sPortfolio:Planning,Design,Production
AndreasLuescher
ISBN:9780415779012
Publishedby:Routledge,2010
http://www.routledgearchitecture.com/books/TheArchitectsPortfolioisbn9780415779012
ArchitecturalRecord
TheArchitecturalRecordhassectiontitledProjectPortfoliowhereinnovativearchitecturearebeenfeatured.
http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/
Fabrica
FabricaistheBenettonResearchandDevelopmentCommunicationCentre. PortfolioofyoungFabricaartists
canbefoundunderFABNEWS.
http://www.fabrica.it/fabnews/
MetropolisMagazinePortfolio
Metropolispresentshowcasesworkbyemergingdesignersandartists.Submissionsof12to15images,in
portfoliopresentationoronCD,shouldbeaddressedtoSaraBarrett,Metropolis,61West23rdStreet,4thFloor,
NewYork,NY10010.
http://www.metropolismag.com/portfolio
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SOMFoundation
TheSOMFoundationhasawebsitewiththeportfoliosofpastfellows.
http://www.somfoundation.som.com/
ContactInformation
AndreasLuescher,AssociateAIA,Ph.D.
ProfessorofArchitectureandEnvironmentalDesign
CollegeofTechnology
BowlingGreenStateUniversity
BowlingGreen,
OH
43403
0301
Officephone4193720347,
Cell7348831598
Email:[email protected]