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." Thisseminarwillbeanopportunityforrehearsalandfinetuningofvisualcommunicationskills 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.

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).

 Seminar Program 2:002:10 2:102:20 Welcome and PopQuiz Introduction: Planning, Design and Promotion 2:202:40 2:402:55 2:553:10 3:103:20 3:203:30 After _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Lecture: 6 Major Panning Stages Exercise: EditorinChief Showcase of print and electronic portfolios & resumes Discussion on strategies Conclusion, question and answer period Seminar evaluation

 Content PopQuiz 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 13 24 27 4 6 7 Introduction Planit 1.1 2.1 3.1 4.1 5.1 Researchit Writeit Designit Promoteit Interviewit 6.1

Sixmajorplanningsteps

11 11 13

EstablishingaProcess IdentifyingyourAudience BuildingaTheme MakingIdeasappear IntroducingYourself

CoachingYourself 27 33 34 35

Exercise:EditorinChief AIADFormula PortfolioChecklist Reference

 PopQuiz
1. Whatisthepurposeofaresumeandaportfolio? ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.Howlongshouldaresumebe? a.Onepage? b.Twopages? c.Asmanypagesasittakestocoverallofyourwork.

___________________________________________________________________________________________ 3.Howlongshouldaportfoliobe? a.Fifteenpageorless? b.Twentypagesorless? c.Asmanypagesasittakestocoverallofyourwork.

___________________________________________________________________________________________ 4.Whatdoyouimaginearethefourthingsmostfrequentlylookedbyresumerecruiters? a. b. c. d.

___________________________________________________________________________________________ 5.Whatdoyouimaginearethefourthingsmostfrequentlylookedbyportfolioreviewers? a. b.

c. d.

___________________________________________________________________________________________ 6.Whataretwoformatsforportfoliopresentationbesidesslides,orCDROMs? ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 7.Ifsomeonehasaskingtosendyouaportfoliowhatfollowupstepyouneedtotaketo assuretoaccomplishyourgoal. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 6.Employerswillfrequentlyaskyoutosendaportfoliocontainingexamplesofyour workBEFOREtheydecidewhetherornottoinviteyouforaninpersoninterview.

Ifajoblistingdoesntspecifyaportfoliopresentationmedium(forinstance,CDROM) whatformatwouldyoubepreparedtosendforthejobofyourdreamsTOMORROW? ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________


Introduction Designingaportfoliooftenrequireslotsofcreativeproductioninashorttimeschedule.Havingaprocess methodologyasetofstepstorefertohelpsyoumanagethesimultaneousintegrationofallnecessary considerations.Processmethodsareasvariedaseachindividual.Theyrangefromthosebasedonintuitionand experiencetothosebasedonformalandinflexiblelogic,butallproceduralmethodologiesincludethefollowing actionsinoneformoranother: 1) Recognitionanddefinitionoftheproblemandobjectives 2) Observationandcollectionofdatarelevanttotheproblem. 3) Developmentofalternativeideasandsolutionssuitableforthespecificproblem. 4) Synthesis,ortheputtingtogetherofideastoformcompletedesigns. 5) Evaluation,orthetestingofalternativedesignsagainstrequirements,andoptimization. Proceduralmethodsallowyoutobeconsistentinyourcreativeprocessandgenerateadocumentofwhat youvegiventhoughttoandhowyourideashavedeveloped.Processdocumentsareinvaluableforproviding colleagues,andclientsaplatformforunderstandingyourideas.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Thesequencepresentedhereismyrecommendedbestpractice,butisbynomeanstheonlyapproach.

Plan it Research it Write it Design it Promote it Interview it

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3

4
5 6

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Plan it

Whetheryouaremakingyourfirstportfoliooryourtwentieth,whatpersistsisyourjobofdisplaying,inastyle appropriatetoaparticularaudience,certainmaterialandideas. Thestartingpointisalwaysthesame:analysisanddescriptionofthenatureandpurposeoftheproject. Analysismeansmakingacriticaldiagnosisofthenatureandoverallrequirementsoftheproject;inotherwords establishingenoughinformationabouttheyouraimsandtheoverallrequirementsofyouraudiencetoallowthe feasibilityoftheprojecttobeassessed.Descriptionmeansestablishingaframeworkwithinwhichtowork.Itis theprocessofsettingboundaries,anddetermininglimits.Settinguplimitationsandparametersgiveyou somethingtograb,somethingtooppose,somethingtohelpyoudefinewhatitisyouresearchingfor.Your analysisanddescriptionwillbesummarizedinaprogramorstatementofintention.

Figure 1: Process of visual editing

Research it

2.1 Understandingyourself o o o o o whatareyourskills? whatareyouraspirations? wherewouldyouliketolive? wherewouldyouliketowork?

___________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.2 Identifyingyouraudience o o o o o generalortargeted? Academic,Business,Government,Nonprofit networking informationalinterviewing

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Write it
3.1 Building a Theme o o o o o

yes, no, maybe (potential for improvement) visual editing clustering begin to express your idea or theme

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Whose attention do you want and why do you want it? What do you want to say and what do have to say it with? Summarize your aim State your theme Describe the purpose and nature of your portfolio What initial ideas do you have about your portfolio? What medium will you use? (print or digital) Who is the audience at whom the portfolio will be aimed? What are the aims and effects on the audience which you hope to achiev

Design it

Weuseportfoliostomakeourideasapparent.Thedesignbriefencapsulatesthatinitialidea.Itis,amongother things,arecordedstatementofintentandasetofcriteriaandinstructions.Onasinglesheetofpaperanswer thefollowingquestions.Evenifyoucanonlystatetheanswersingeneraltermsgoaheadandwritethemdown. Don'tgethunguponthis.Don'tletyourprojectgetboggeddownforthelackofasetinstoneobjective.You're betteroffdeclaringanaimthatyoucanlivewithfornow.Itisinthenatureofthedesignprocessthatyouwill developandrefinethisaimastheprojectcontinues.

Figure 2: Sketch of design brief


PrinttoWebPortfolios Webbasedportfoliosofferauniquelyfluidandsustainablevehicleforthepresentationofyourwork.Wide rangingversatilitycomeshoweverwithahostofrequirementsincludingwritingfortheWeb,crossplatform design,responsetimeconsiderations,multimediaimplementation,navigationstrategies,searchboxes, internationalconsiderations,justtonameafew.Andthenthereareallthoseattractivenuisancesand meaninglessdistractions...thebellsandwhistleswhicharefuntoplaywithbutwhichoftendetractmore thantheyadd.Itisessentialtostayfocusedonwhetheryourwebdesignactuallyaccomplishesitsgoal,whichis usuallytosell,teach,orentertain. Figure3:Awebpagelayoutincludingthegrid


Design Style vs. Usability Design Everyone wants to design cool web sites but if your web users can't figure out how to use your website in a minute or so, they will leave, or they will bring a very bad disposition about you your design sensitivities and technical competencies to the task of continuing. Just as with a print portfolio, your audience must be your central concern. From content and page design to designing for ease of navigation and users with disabilities, you need to remained focused how to connect with your web users hope that he or she can a.) find what they're after quickly; and b.) browse quickly and access information they come across in a logical manner. With literally tens of millions of web site currently competing for attention, usability and design for usability is the subject of intense commercial interest. Research into works and what doesn't work in interactive media has produced a number of books and web sites about web usability, page design, content design, site design, and intranet design. Noteworthy concept is based on things users most want described by Jakob Nielsen (he also has an excellent website on usability : www.useit.com.) in his book Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity are four criteria for the foundation of a good Web design: H O M E highquality content often updated minimal download time Ease of use

According to Jakob Nielsen but you need to go beyond the four basics to have a truly stellar site. To move form HOME design to a HOME RUN design and add three extras: R U N relevant to users needs unique to the online medium netcentric corporate culture


Linearvs.RandomAccess ImportantcriteriafordesigningnavigationsystemsforWebsiteshavetobekeptassimpleaspossible.Its importanttoalwaysgivetheuseraclearwaybacktothestartofthepage.Itiswrongtoassumethatausercan learnanavigationsystemandrememberitunlessthesiteisdesignedasagameandisintendedtotakeuserson ahunt. Thenavigationsystemsholdbeusedasconsistentlyaspossiblethroughoutthesite.Thenavigationsystem shouldbethoughtofnotonlyasfunctionalmeanstogetaroundthesite,butalsoaspartofthesitesidentity. Thesimplestofallwebsitestructuresisalineardesignvs.randomaccess.Thehomepageleadstopagetwo. FromthereyoucangoBACKtothehomepageorFORWARDtothethirdpage.Andonthethirdpage,youhave thechoiceofgoingBACKtothesecondpageorFORWARDtothefourth. Youstartaddingcomplexitiesifyouaddadirectlinkbacktothehomepagefromanyofthesepages.Stillmore complexityisaddediftheviewercanjumpoffthesecondpageinsixdifferentdirections:toaphotogallery,a linkpage,anemail,etc.Theseinturnleadtootherpages,andsoon.Itseasytoseehowthecomplexitiesof navigationstartaddingup.Thepointofthisistohaveaplan,andthevariouspathsmakesensetoyour audience,includinganeasywaytogetbacktothehomepageoneveryotherpage.Ifthevisitordoesntfindit easyandobvioustoaccessthepartsofyoursitetheyreinterested,theyjustmightnotbother. Designaninterface Youcanuselogos,symbols,icons,menubars,buttons,etc.todeliverthecontext.Thoseinterfacearethe mechanismthroughwhichvisitorsunderstandandinteractwithsite.Agoodinterfacegivesvisitorsassurance thattheywillbeabletofindtheinformationtheyneedwhentheyneedit.Youwanttogivevisitorsasenseof control;theyaremakingthechoicesaboutwheretogoandwhattosee.Usingflowchartingconventionsforthe developmentofthenavigationalaidtospecifiedforeachsectionofyourdesign. Whenyoudesigninterfaceelements,tailorthemtoyourexpectedaudience.Theselinkswouldenabletheuser tomoveeffortlesslythroughalltheportfolioentries,followingupaninterestingleadinoneentrysimplyby clickingonakeygraphicandgoingtothelinkedentry;thenperhapsreturningtotheoriginalitem,orfollowinga linktoanotheritem.Itissafetoassumereadersarefamiliarwithscreenbasediconsystems.Donotlosethis familiaritybycreatingaseriesofnewsymbolsforthemtolearn.

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 o o o o selfinitiatedevents&exhibitions cultivatemediacontacts,peers,clients,etc. exchangelinkswithfriends,distributors,blogs,etc. submityourwebsitetosearchenginesandwebsitedirectories

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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 Thedifficultyofaninterviewisthatyoucanimaginethekindsofquestionsthatrecruitersaregoingtoaskyou 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 yourweaknessesandyourstrengthsbecausetheseareaspectsthatareregularlydiscussedatmeetings. Lesson5:Giveagoodimpression Thismayseemcontradictorytoyoustayingwithoneself.Beingyourselfdoesnotmeannotmakingefforts,quite thecontrary.Recruitersneedtoseethatyouaremotivated,you'vereallywantedtoworkinthisbusiness,you understandtheissuesrelatedtobusiness. Lesson6:Doesnotseemstressed

It'shardnottohavethevoicethattremblesandpeaceofmindbeforeoneormorerecruitersthatyouarejust tryingtodestabilize.Thiscanhelpyoucontrolyourstress:adoptacomfortablepositionwithbothfeetonthe groundandbreathedcalmly.

Exercise1:EditorinChief Totellastoryrequiresasequenceofimpressionsthatwillformaproperexpositionofthesubject.Aportfolio usuallyincludesadiversecollectionofrepresentations.Thejobofarrangingtogether,anddesignedintoone cohesivecompositionis,asmuchasanything,amatterofeditorialskill. Aseditorofyourownportfolioyoumustbeactiveinthreeareasofdecisionmaking: 1. Encapsulatingtheinitialidea 2. Identifyingtheobjectschosentotellthestory 3. Clusteringrelatedobjectsandbeginningtoexpressyourideasorbuildyourtheme Thisexercisecallsattentiontothisimportantideaofdesignasaneditorialprocess.Basedonthepage layoutsnextpages,determineasequenceofideasandtheirplacementinit. Determinetheorderinwhichtheycanbemadetotellastory,andwhatchunksofinformationhavetobe interpolatedorattachedtomakesensetotheintendedaudience. Youwillbebothvisualandverbaleditorinthisprocess.Youmayaddtitlesandbriefexplanatoryorinterpretive textorcaptionstodirectthepresentationforyourreader/audience.Keepinmindthatthemosteffective portfolioshaveasinglenessofpurposebestachievedbybriefcaptionsorheadlines,notbylong compositions. Objective:designtomovethereaderforward.


AIADFormula AIDAisanacronymusedinmarketingthatdescribesacommonlistofeventsthatareveryoftenundergone whenapersonissellingaproductorservicebuthereweapplyitforjobsearch: AAttention(Awareness): attracttheattentionofthefutureemployer. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ IInterest: raisefutureemployerinterestbydemonstratinghis/herabilitiesandskills. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ DDesire:

convincefutureemployerthattheywantanddesirehis/herabilitiesandskills thatitwillsatisfytheirneeds.

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ AAction:

leadfutureemployertowardstakingactiontobehired.

 ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

PortfolioChecklist Design 1. Doestheportfolioshowyourbestworkonly,eventhoughitmaybeonlyafewpieces? 2. Doesyourportfolioamplifyandcomplimenttheworkitisdisplaying? 3. Doesyourtextsupportyourportfoliodesign? Sequence 4. Isyourportfolioworksetupinlogicalsequences? 5. Doesyourportfolioworkprovideasmoothflowfromcovertocover? 6. Hasyourportfoliosequencebeentestedandrefined? ResearchandProcess 7. Areyourconceptualthinkingapparent? 8. Haveyouincludedsamplestodemonstrateyouranalyticalcapability? 9. Doestheportfolioincludeevidenceofyourdesignprocess? CraftandSkill 10. Isyourcraftimpeccableanduncompromising? 11. Areyourcomputerskillsclearlydemonstrated? 12. Doyoushowexpertiseintechnicalareas? Communication 13. Willyourcreativesamplescommunicateatheme? 14. Doesyourportfoliocommunicatethatyouwillgrowonthejob? 15. Isyourportfolioformatflexibleenoughtotargetavarietyofemployers?


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

SOMFoundation TheSOMFoundationhasawebsitewiththeportfoliosofpastfellows. http://www.somfoundation.som.com/

ContactInformation AndreasLuescher,AssociateAIA,Ph.D. ProfessorofArchitectureandEnvironmentalDesign CollegeofTechnology BowlingGreenStateUniversity BowlingGreen,OH434030301 Officephone4193720347, Cell7348831598 Email:aluesch@bgsu.edu