What is a portfolio and what are its uses?
In addition to meeting academic needs, art and architecture schools, universities, and colleges often require practical artwork as part of the application process. Based on the portfolio definition of the University of the Arts LondonA portfolio is a collection of portfolios of your work that reflects your skills and ideas over a period of time that reflects your growth and development over time. “The portfolio shows your creativity, personality, abilities and commitment, and helps the university assess your potential.”
One of the important factors for applying and admission to universities outside the portfolio. To apply in arts such as animation, graphics, architecture, and… In addition to the motivation letter, CV, score of one of the language tests, another document must be submitted as a portfolio. In fact, the portfolio is an album of an artist’s portfolio that is sent to a university with a resume. That is, a complete file and an illustrated resume with content that an artist uses to display examples of his/her work.
Because a portfolio is a complete record of an artist’s work that demonstrates his or her style and skills in practical and design work, most professors assess a applicant’s abilities based on the portfolio. To build a portfolio, you can get ideas from successful examples on the Internet and build it using your background, portfolio and style. Making an art portfolio should be taken seriously, as art schools often accept a very small percentage of applicants and it is important for them to understand how portfolios are produced.
How to present a portfolio
Portfolios are built in different contexts, some of the most common of which are described below.
1- Using the ISSUU platform
Portfolio creation is prepared by many students as a PDF file and sent to professors. First of all, you should note that creating a portfolio in PDF format is wrong for some reason. One of the reasons is the low quality of work and the other is the high volume of files. So instead of sending a PDF file, you can submit your portfolio online. One of the sites that provides such facilities is the ISSUU site.
2- Using social networks of art disciplines
Among the artists, websites such as Behance and Dribbble are some of the most well-known websites. Dribbble is a great way to connect with many business owners. Because in this network, they are looking for the designer they want. In addition, Behance, like Dribble, provides a community for sharing designs and connecting with other designers. In addition to these two, it is one of the oldest design platforms DeviantArt with more than 32 million members.
3- Using auxiliary sites
These websites provide a platform for portfolio design. Carbonmade and Adobe Portfolio are some of the sites that help build portfolios. These platforms are approved by many universities. In addition, SquareSpace or Weebly websites are used by many people.
4- Designing a personal website
In general, having a personal website is recommended for everyone who wants to apply and is not limited to the arts. Creating a personal website is an attractive visual resume and is also very useful for providing a portfolio.
Important points in building a standard portfolio:
Important points in building a standard portfolio:• Size : The file you provide should be less than 20 MB in size. Of course, try not to reduce the quality of the images.
• Content: It is better to have two types of portfolios. That means having a short copy to send and a more complete copy for the interview.
• Select images: Use a variety of high quality images.
The following tips will help you leave a distinctive and lasting image when creating a portfolio.
Prioritize the best things that show all your abilities. Describe in full. You do not have to submit all your work because the quality of the work is more important.
2. Always maintain a line of thought and consistency. Because it must show harmony and creativity.
