wanna get into CSM for a design foundation but lost about the portfolio, thanks!

Hey!

I am from Spain but I spent some time a while ago in London doing some art/related courses. Now as I-m 21 I feel it's time to settle down and do a degree and I feel like doing it in London. The thing is as I've done so many things I'm quite lost about what they exactly ask to get a foundation place at CSM as the website doesn't make it really clear. They talk about making sketchbook and showing a process and so on but here we have my questions

1. If you're supposed to get into a foundation (which is for deciding what you want to do?) Shouldn't you throw into your portfolio different kinds of things (such as paintings, photographs, etc...) that you've made just to show a bit who you are?

2. I'm quite lost about what to throw into mine, any advice?

3. Is it tough to get in?

ANy answer or kind of tip, even some example of someone who already went through that would be awesome, as I kinda feel this is my last year to go "thinking about what I want to do" (I think it's fashion design)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

xxx

Reply 1

polyesterday

OP

oh and by the way. A good answer could be some example like "I remember I put this and that and that..." not that you have to be really exact, just some vague idea.
It-s not i'm hysterical (haha). it's just the spanish learning system is really deficient in many ways and it's really hard for us students to cope with good universities' demands when trying to study abroad

cheers!

Reply 2

kittensmittens

8

polyesterday

Hey!

I am from Spain but I spent some time a while ago in London doing some art/related courses. Now as I-m 21 I feel it's time to settle down and do a degree and I feel like doing it in London. The thing is as I've done so many things I'm quite lost about what they exactly ask to get a foundation place at CSM as the website doesn't make it really clear. They talk about making sketchbook and showing a process and so on but here we have my questions

1. If you're supposed to get into a foundation (which is for deciding what you want to do?) Shouldn't you throw into your portfolio different kinds of things (such as paintings, photographs, etc...) that you've made just to show a bit who you are?

2. I'm quite lost about what to throw into mine, any advice?

3. Is it tough to get in?

ANy answer or kind of tip, even some example of someone who already went through that would be awesome, as I kinda feel this is my last year to go "thinking about what I want to do" (I think it's fashion design)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

xxx

For foundation, they are always going to want to see drawing, no matter what you think you may want to specialize in - drawing is a basis for everything. You don't have to have examples from all possible media in your portfolio, but maybe a few that you are good at. They are really not looking for anything specific but they want to see originality and creativity, so your portfolio should be all about showing your style and personal direction rather than trying to guess what they want to see. At foundation they are looking for potential more than anything else - the idea and your process is more important than having a perfect finished piece.

Reply 3

polyesterday

OP

ok thanks, i-m just a bit lost with "the finished product" thing. I don-t really know what they expect you to transform your sketchbooks into.

:smile:

Reply 4

Aiko

16

I would recommend reading my portfolio advice thread, which can viewed here:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=974132

In particular, I would suggest watching the videos included in the thread. They were produced by the UAL (Arts London) and will pertain to CSM's foundation course.

Reply 5

polyesterday

OP

Matisse

I would recommend reading my portfolio advice thread, which can viewed here:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=974132

In particular, I would suggest watching the videos included in the thread. They were produced by the UAL (Arts London) and will pertain to CSM's foundation course.

TANKS ABOUT THAT!!!

Reply 6

polyesterday

OP

Matisse

I would recommend reading my portfolio advice thread, which can viewed here:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=974132

In particular, I would suggest watching the videos included in the thread. They were produced by the UAL (Arts London) and will pertain to CSM's foundation course.

in the website they say your porfolio should contain "a personal inquiry into artist and designers both past and present". Do they mean you're supposed to mix references in your sketchbooks or is it some kind of essay you're supposued to write..." I know i'm going back to silly questions

xxx
thanks

Reply 7

Aiko

16

polyesterday

in the website they say your porfolio should contain "a personal inquiry into artist and designers both past and present". Do they mean you're supposed to mix references in your sketchbooks or is it some kind of essay you're supposued to write..." I know i'm going back to silly questions

xxx
thanks

Possibly both. A "personal inquiry" can be anything you like, regarding you can demonstrate, in some form or another, who influences your work. Whether it be Yves Tanguy (past) or Anish Kapoor (present). This can be shown in your sketchbook, with cut-outs of their work. Maybe there's a particular style or approach you liked from them, in which case, print it out and place it in your sketchbook, noting this. On the other hand, you could write an essay, should you wish. Basically, the key word is "personal", it's your own personal inquiry. They're not looking for anything definitive, as such. If you need any further help, just quote my post. :smile:

Reply 8

polyesterday

OP

Matisse

They're not looking for anything definitive, as such. If you need any further help, just quote my post. :smile:

Thanks

I found myself a place in a fashion surgery workshop in December so I can finally put my things together and forget about the thing until march, it's better for my psychological health... haha

Reply 9

Nikolla

Hi! Was reading your discussion. I am applying to foundation this year to csm, do you actually know how many of your own projects (idea development) should be ideal to include in portfolio? as an international student i will send portfolio on CD so I plan to put around 5-7 images to represent each project (including pics from sketchbooks).
Thx! :smile:

Reply 10

Nikolla

Hi! Was reading your discussion. I am applying to foundation this year to csm, do you actually know how many of your own projects (idea development) should be ideal to include in portfolio? as an international student i will send portfolio on CD so I plan to put around 5-7 images to represent each project (including pics from sketchbooks).
Thx!

Reply 11

VmArt

I've got my portfolio review on the 27th January and really worried about what I need to do to get their attention. Any Ideas????xxx

Reply 12

polyesterday

OP

VmArt

I've got my portfolio review on the 27th January and really worried about what I need to do to get their attention. Any Ideas????xxx

MIXED MEDIA, A QUITE WIDE RANGE OF EXPERIMENTATION AND AN INTEREST IN ART AND DESIGN...

Reply 13

VmArt

polyesterday

MIXED MEDIA, A QUITE WIDE RANGE OF EXPERIMENTATION AND AN INTEREST IN ART AND DESIGN...

thanks. i know but is there anything in particular that will make them think wow?!

Reply 14

polyesterday

OP

VmArt

thanks. i know but is there anything in particular that will make them think wow?!

I had a quick talk with a foundation tutor few months ago in a trip to london. they wanna see you know enough of the techniques to experimen with them. is that making sense? A friend of mine went in last year to the fine arts foundation and honestly her portfolio was crap, but it's much easier to go into the fine arts one than the design cos eventually csm is recognised for fashion and textiles but not that much for art and installations.
include pencil drawing, charcoal, life paintings, 3d construction (sculpture, garments...) and sketchbooks. you should be fine then.
the tutor told me that the admission team is not there to judge the work but for making sure you have technique. Once again, technique hahaha....

hope i helped. BEST OF LUCKS.I hope I get in too...

Reply 15

polyesterday

OP

VmArt

thanks. i know but is there anything in particular that will make them think wow?!

I came up with a way of expressing myself better...
let's say for example you're experimenting with vinyl paint (just to say something). If you have a very beautiful drawing and you think that by adding vinyl paint you could spoil it... then go ahead and spoil it! they're much more excited to see you're making mistakes trying to do something personal than sticking to cute things...

I hope that made much more sense.

xxx I'm so nervous!!

Reply 16

blondesse

I'm a current foundation student, and I think generally they want to see your level of enthusiasm and experimentation with different media. They also want to see examples of things that interest you personally, that you may have done on your own or outside of a course.

It helps if you can demonstrate in your sketchbook the whole process of a piece, from start to end. You don't need to have only highly finished work, or "successful" work. With my portfolio, they asked me about my influences and how they related to my work. A knowledge of current exhibitions helps.

Finally, they really like to see *good* traditional life drawing skills, so if you can do that you will get brownie points :wink:

Good luck! :smile:

Reply 17

MissImportante

Original post by Aiko

I would recommend reading my portfolio advice thread, which can viewed here:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=974132

In particular, I would suggest watching the videos included in the thread. They were produced by the UAL (Arts London) and will pertain to CSM's foundation course.

Thanks for that :smile:

I have some questions too I'm a student from Austria and next year i want to study aboard. So I want to become a designer and heard a lot about Csm and my questions are should i apply to the summer course Foundation preparation for 16 and 18 year IB students this year? Can i apply to CSM fashion without the Foundation year? What should the portfolio contain for BA fashion? any advice tips? well i'm very young i'm 17 so would be great if anyone can help me. Is it there a lot of competicion? :colondollar:

wanna get into CSM for a design foundation but lost about the portfolio, thanks!

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