BOTW: New Years Resolution

The brief

Work in crit groups to make a new years resolution more possible.

For this brief, we decided as a group to create a portfolio each, with a set of rules in order for it to be good quality and effective in communicating your work. This is because we all agreed a good resolution for us would be to document our work better for archiving to be able to show  to people in future, as keeping something you made in perfect condition can be difficult.

Research
To find out what makes an effective portfolio, I read through Its Nice That interviews with studios to find out what makes an effective portfolio. Notes on this read:

• Don't mock up projects. This makes it harder to stand out.
• Don't claim everything as your own. Signpost your role in the project, explain what you did & didn't do. Be honest.
• Present your text well. It is just as important as the images.
• It's all about the first impression.
• Lead with the work, not with an image of yourself.
• Show the process - what lead you to this outcome?
• Keep it simple. Allow the reader to see the work as quickly as possible.
• Show work that is relevant to the job. Show your love for this position.
• Spelling, punctuation, grammar - proof read!
• Include your own opinion on your work, and what you want to find more about.
• Your descriptions shows what you are passionate about.
• Show different ways of working. Keep variety throughout. Let the work breathe.
• Don't use portfolio templates, it is very noticeable and off-putting. It makes it look the same as others.
• Make sure it flows. Focus on relevant highlights. Quality over quantity.

Examples

David Voss

One example, designed by David Voss, aimed to to create a visual archive of his studios work that appeared something like a bookshelf in a library. This was presented by placing the work in orderly rows against a stone-colored background, each rectangular icon jumps to life with a drop shadow when you hover over it, bringing the works to life. The reason for this design decision is to hint evocatively at the studio’s context and background: Voss studied at Leipzig Academy of Visual Art, which is known for its emphasis on editorial design, and linked closely to the city’s rich publishing and bookbinding history. Another link is a shop he set up won the Prize for Young Book Design. This shows they have a love for books, which the design of this portfolio links successfully.

NODE

NODE designed the website for the work of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, who have designed hundreds of buildings, as well as delved into media, politics, technology, publishing, and renewable energy, etc. NODE tried to represent the endless ways in which the company views their work. One aspect is the way that the buildings change over time, leading to the design decision of refreshing every 30 minutes, to reveal information gathered from all over the web. This acts as a stream of consciousness, collating any media such as Instagram photos, news sites, architecture blogs, OMA’s own articles and essays by Koolhaas. This represents the unfixed nature of their work and the multidisciplinary roles. An algorithm was also put in place to change the appearance of the homepage every time. This meant there was no structure, something the the company wanted in order to achieve a unique look. This algorithm re-designs the homepage, and collages Instagram pictures all over their project sketches.

ANNA DORA LASCSIK
A clear yet exciting portfolio that uses type and image to represent the bold and contemporary nature of their work. Has structure to create a flow throughout the read.

ELLIOTT TAYLOR
A simplistic and straight to the point portfolio that follows a structure for a quick and flowing read. Represents his professionalism and often minimalistic design. Also notably easy to update with new work due to the simplicity of the structure.

Plan of action for a good portfolio:
1. create a set of rules.
2. Tailor the rules to the individuals work.
3. Apply and create the portfolio.

The rules:

1. FLOW (it should be easy and simple to go through.)
2. WORK FIRST (they want to see the work, not you! Harsh but true.)
3. QUALITY NOT QUANTITY (focus on the relevant highlights. Let the work breathe.)
4. SPEAK FOR YOURSELF (the writing is important, it shows what you are passionate about. What do you think of the work?)
5. NO-ONE ELSE (Don't fib! If you are including collaborations, signpost your role. Be honest.)
6. PROCESS (what lead you to the outcome? This is just as important.)
7. PROOF (read. Spelling, punctuation, grammar. Want to prove your worth? Then do this!)
8. VARIETY IS KEY (a variety unlocks new opportunity. Show the different ways you work.)
9. DON"T DO IT! (don't use pre-existing templates! They are noticeable, unoriginal and just entirely off-putting.)
10. MOCK OFF! (you may think mocking up projects looks professional, but they don't. The design is important, not the stock image.)

With these rules we decided to make a rulebook that you would follow when creating a portfolio. 

I also thought it would be a good idea to create a grid system that people can use as a guide for placing text and images. This will keep their portfolio easy to follow and simple, allowing them to customise everything else to keep it unique.
The grid will be perforated so that the user can pop out the sections they want to use for creating their guidelines.

Initial sketches for the rulebook:

As the idea changed from a rule book to a set of cards (similar to revision cards you would use when preparing for an essay), the designs where switched to landscape. The decision was also made to keep the layout card just a card without the perforations in order for the size of the back of cards to be small. 

Designs

Title card:
The title card 

Chosen design

Rules:
Each rule has a different type sets in order to communicate the rule. This gives each card more of an interesting appeal and therefore helps the reader remember them.

Bellyband:
A belly band is designed to wrap around the cards to keep them together.

Outcome:
The outcome is effective in that the communication is successful and the cards look professional. Feedback stated that the rules are helpful and the cards are easy to use. However they suggested that the layout guide should not be included as it doesn't make sense due to rule 9. Also two of the rules didn't match with the rule number. An improvement would be to have rule 2 as the first rule as it would make more sense.