The Student Room Group

What is a good program to create a portfolio for uni

It would have to be easily able to be put into pdf format, and I have tried using website builders and see no clear way to convert into pdf, also ideally I don’t want to use things like word as my ms office is buggy recently. I also want it to be somewhat decorative (with my own art) ideally.
Reply 1
You can export from photoshop as pdf which would be ideal. You might have access to photoshop on a computer at your school/college, but if you don't - you can try the free trial or try Adobe Express. There's also some photoshop-similar programs that you can get for free like FireAlpaca.
Original post by Charlx133
It would have to be easily able to be put into pdf format, and I have tried using website builders and see no clear way to convert into pdf, also ideally I don’t want to use things like word as my ms office is buggy recently. I also want it to be somewhat decorative (with my own art) ideally.


Powerpoint or the google alternative is ideal if you want it to be in a pdf. You can mount your work or pages of your sketchbook and then include a caption giving details (media, date, size etc plus title and any brief to work was addressing) and then save as a pdf.
Original post by Charlx133
It would have to be easily able to be put into pdf format, and I have tried using website builders and see no clear way to convert into pdf, also ideally I don’t want to use things like word as my ms office is buggy recently. I also want it to be somewhat decorative (with my own art) ideally.

Hi @Charlx133

Google Docs, Google Slides and Canva all have a free version and you are able to create pdfs pretty easily.

Hope that helps

Andrea. Student Ambassador.
Arts University Plymouth Rep
Aup.ac.uk
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Original post by Charlx133
It would have to be easily able to be put into pdf format, and I have tried using website builders and see no clear way to convert into pdf, also ideally I don’t want to use things like word as my ms office is buggy recently. I also want it to be somewhat decorative (with my own art) ideally.

Hi there, many of my friends use adobe Photoshop to edit and format each page before exporting it into Indesign or Illustrator which can be very useful in laying out all your pages! Canva or Google slides work too ! 🙂

Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Pretty disappointing to see so many people recommending software that is expensive to a 16/17 year old.
My daughter just used PowerPoint for her uni application portfolio. She got offers from all 5 unis she applied to, so it must've been fine.
Reply 7
Pretty disappointing to see so many people recommending software that is expensive to a 16/17 year old.

Everyone in this thread who offered a paid software as an option also suggested free alternatives. And OP stated they had issues using MS Office.

Access to Photoshop (and even Illustrator) isn't uncommon at all if you're studying Art and/or Graphics at A level, which granted - isn't a given - but if you're applying to a program that asks for a portfolio that isn't exactly a huge leap. I did when I was doing my A levels at a not-particularly well funded college 5/6 years ago. I didn't have access to paid software at home at 16/17 either, but I stayed late and used lunch breaks in the classrooms at college to make my university portfolio using Photoshop on the school PCs. Which maybe doesn't work for everyone, but it worked for me.

Not to antagonise you, PQ. I see you around the forums and think you offer great advice, this is just feedback.

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