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Portfolio

Hiya, I’m applying for an interior design and architecture course in September (not sure which yet) and I was wondering what to include in a portfolio, I want to start now so I can produce good quality work and I would like to add I have no expiernce in this considering A Level subjects and equivalents don’t teach you this specifically
Hey there, it's a good thing to be proactive :smile: Nice to hear you want to start on stuff now - will give you plenty of time to get your work formatted!

Even if you're not sure where you want to apply yet, I would have a good look at what architecture and interior design courses often ask for in their portfolio guidance. There's some great resources out there and some examples of people who have submitted successful portfolios for these courses. Try doing some googling for "Architecture portfolio examples" etc. It might give you some benchmarks of what to aim for.

Some generalist advice - it's a good idea to have examples of iteration/development/design work (often the kind of thing you might do in A level Art & design), some drawings from life (e.g. still life, figure drawing, technical drawing) and imaginative work (work that demonstrates combining ideas imaginatively). Some places might request a variety of mediums, and these might be specific to the course you're applying for.

In your specific case I would expect to include more technical drawing and still life drawing - observational drawings of buildings and interiors, focusing on getting your perspective as right as possible. Specific technical drawing - being able to draw multiple angles and perspectives of an object/building/thing with a good degree of accuracy - will also likely be particularly valuable to you. This demonstrates an ability to think in 3D space - as does model making, prop making, 3D mediums like woodwork and metalwork or digital 3D visualisation and modelling (i.e. with SketchUp), which I would also include examples of if it's possible for you.

Reply 2

Original post
by aspalax
Hey there, it's a good thing to be proactive :smile: Nice to hear you want to start on stuff now - will give you plenty of time to get your work formatted!
Even if you're not sure where you want to apply yet, I would have a good look at what architecture and interior design courses often ask for in their portfolio guidance. There's some great resources out there and some examples of people who have submitted successful portfolios for these courses. Try doing some googling for "Architecture portfolio examples" etc. It might give you some benchmarks of what to aim for.
Some generalist advice - it's a good idea to have examples of iteration/development/design work (often the kind of thing you might do in A level Art & design), some drawings from life (e.g. still life, figure drawing, technical drawing) and imaginative work (work that demonstrates combining ideas imaginatively). Some places might request a variety of mediums, and these might be specific to the course you're applying for.
In your specific case I would expect to include more technical drawing and still life drawing - observational drawings of buildings and interiors, focusing on getting your perspective as right as possible. Specific technical drawing - being able to draw multiple angles and perspectives of an object/building/thing with a good degree of accuracy - will also likely be particularly valuable to you. This demonstrates an ability to think in 3D space - as does model making, prop making, 3D mediums like woodwork and metalwork or digital 3D visualisation and modelling (i.e. with SketchUp), which I would also include examples of if it's possible for you.


Thankyou so much 😁

Reply 3

Original post
by m00z_
Hiya, I’m applying for an interior design and architecture course in September (not sure which yet) and I was wondering what to include in a portfolio, I want to start now so I can produce good quality work and I would like to add I have no expiernce in this considering A Level subjects and equivalents don’t teach you this specifically

Have you looked at potential universities? Many have detailed guidance on their websites of what they want to see (and it can vary quite a lot from one place to another). Can’t help with your specific subject but websites are a good place to start.

Reply 4

Original post
by DeeRog
Have you looked at potential universities? Many have detailed guidance on their websites of what they want to see (and it can vary quite a lot from one place to another). Can’t help with your specific subject but websites are a good place to start.


Hi yes I have, it’s just that all of the websites only have help for Art and Design overall, not subject specific which is helpful but not specific enough, I didn’t want to take a general approach just in case so I thought I’d ask for extra guidance

Reply 5

Original post
by m00z_
Hiya, I’m applying for an interior design and architecture course in September (not sure which yet) and I was wondering what to include in a portfolio, I want to start now so I can produce good quality work and I would like to add I have no expiernce in this considering A Level subjects and equivalents don’t teach you this specifically

Hi, Im starting uni this september and i have gotten into architecture. Some unis really don’t have much guidance for what they’re looking for. As well as that i didn’t do art GCSE or ALevel so it was difficult. The best advice i found was really just focusing on a variety of mediums, subjects and overall pieces of work. Another big this is not to focus on just building and show a variety of skills and interests even. Most unis want to see what you can do and your personality through your portfolio so just have a variety of different work. For the unis that do provided guidance try and follow that as best as you can since it’ll just help make you seem as the perfect candidate. I would look for some inspo if you can find any but ik i struggled finding some but the most important thing is to be creative and unique. I had no experience with architecture or doing an art subject but i just really tried to express myself and my intrest through my portfolio. I would advise to play around with different styles of work and mediums, one thing i also tried was to make some really simple structures and sculptures out of cardboard just to show some variety. It wasn’t key for most unis but it was something fun to add in to show my interest in architecture and sculpture/ model making.

Apart from that best of luck x

Reply 6

Original post
by luschiousss
Hi, Im starting uni this september and i have gotten into architecture. Some unis really don’t have much guidance for what they’re looking for. As well as that i didn’t do art GCSE or ALevel so it was difficult. The best advice i found was really just focusing on a variety of mediums, subjects and overall pieces of work. Another big this is not to focus on just building and show a variety of skills and interests even. Most unis want to see what you can do and your personality through your portfolio so just have a variety of different work. For the unis that do provided guidance try and follow that as best as you can since it’ll just help make you seem as the perfect candidate. I would look for some inspo if you can find any but ik i struggled finding some but the most important thing is to be creative and unique. I had no experience with architecture or doing an art subject but i just really tried to express myself and my intrest through my portfolio. I would advise to play around with different styles of work and mediums, one thing i also tried was to make some really simple structures and sculptures out of cardboard just to show some variety. It wasn’t key for most unis but it was something fun to add in to show my interest in architecture and sculpture/ model making.
Apart from that best of luck x


Thank youuu

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