An architecture portfolio is a curated collection of your best work, showcasing your skills, design philosophy, and creativity.
It encompasses a range of projects, drawings, models, and simulations, that effectively demonstrate both your approach to solving architectural problems and your capacity to innovative design.
As discussed throughout all of our portfolio guides, your portfolio is one of the most important tools you as an architect and/or student can possess.
Without a portfolio it is almost impossible to gain a position within a firm or practice, or a placement at a school or college/university.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Your portfolio is crucial for demonstrating your individual skills, creativity, and technical abilities to potential employers and/or academic institutions, serving as the primary tool for securing employment or admission.
- It must include a diverse range of work demonstrating design abilities, technical skills, and personal brand, tailored to the specific audience, whether for a job application or academic submission.
- The content of your portfolio should be carefully curated to include only the best and most relevant work, showcasing your individual involvement and capabilities in each project phase, emphasizing quality over quantity.
- An effective portfolio not only displays past and current projects but also communicates its authors unique style and problem-solving approach, significantly impacting career advancement and reputation within the industry.
There are many creative ways to present your work, from minimal and artful layouts to unique and design-forward thinking styles.
And through seeking inspiration from other successful architecture portfolios, you can create a body of work that stands out and effectively communicates your strengths and capabilities as an architect.
Everything in One Place
Stand out from the competition, and create an interview ready portfolio.
Presented through the careful selection of drawings, images, text, and photographs, it represents a timeline and record of experience that demonstrates its creators architectural skills, methods, and capabilities.
In this guide we aim to broadly cover all aspects of an architecture portfolio’s creation and presentation, discussing under the different types of portfolios, what should and shouldn’t be included, design and layout techniques, formats, and methods of presentation.
01 – Architecture portfolio basics
An architecture portfolio is a tool used to present and demonstrate the skills and services it’s author can provide to a future employer. Whether this is for a position within an architectural practice, or for a private project directly associated to a client.
The same can also be said for new students who are initially applying for a college or university placement, although here there is slightly more enthuses put upon presenting an interest and passion for the subject.
Nonetheless it is very unlikely that any employment or position will be given without firstly viewing the applicant’s portfolio, as it is simply the only item that can physically provide evidence of their abilities, and provide a certain level of guarantee that they are capable of carrying out the work required.
So like it or not, your portfolio is ultimately what decides whether your application will be successful, it needs to reinforce your resume/C.V, support your interview persona, and demonstrate that you will be capable.
Do you need a portfolio for architecture?
In short yes, having a portfolio is generally considered essential for pursuing a career in architecture.
Portfolios are an effective way for architecture students or licensed architects to showcase their design skills, technical abilities, and range of experience.
A well-designed and curated portfolio can help attract potential employers or clients, establish a reputation, and communicate effectively with clients.
However, the specific requirements for portfolios may vary depending on the type of architecture program or employment opportunity.
Some programs or employers may not require a portfolio, but having one is still considered a valuable asset that can set an individual apart from other candidates.
Students pursuing architecture need to create a portfolio to:
- Showcasing design abilities: A portfolio allows students to demonstrate their design skills, creativity, and ability to solve complex problems. It serves as a visual representation of their work, including design projects, sketches, and 3D models.
- Demonstrating technical skills: Architecture students can demonstrate their technical skills by including technical drawings, construction details, and other technical documents. These documents show that the student is capable of designing a building that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also structurally sound.
- Highlighting experience: A portfolio provides an opportunity for students to showcase their relevant experience, including internships, volunteer work, and design competitions. This can help students stand out in a competitive job market.
- Communicating personal brand: A well-designed and organized portfolio can also communicate a student’s personal brand and style, helping them to distinguish themselves from other candidates. It provides an opportunity to showcase their unique design style and approach to problem-solving.
- Supporting academic progress: A portfolio can also support academic progress by allowing students to reflect on their work, identify areas of improvement, and set goals for the future. It can be used as a tool for self-assessment and to receive feedback from mentors and peers.
For young and licenced architects, there are similarities to above but in addition they must:
- Demonstrate expertise: A portfolio is an opportunity for architects to demonstrate their expertise, including design skills, creativity, and technical abilities. It allows them to showcase their experience and highlight their ability to design buildings that are functional, aesthetically pleasing, and meet the needs of their clients.
- Displaying design style: A well-curated portfolio can showcase an architect’s design style and approach to problem-solving. It can communicate a personal brand and unique perspective, helping them stand out from other architects and firms.
- Demonstrating range and flexibility: A portfolio can demonstrate an architect’s range and flexibility by including a variety of project types, from residential to commercial, and small to large scale. This shows potential clients that they have experience working on different project types and can adapt to different design challenges.
- Building a reputation: Architects build a reputation and establish their presence in the industry. By showcasing their work to a broader audience, they can attract new clients, collaborators, and opportunities.
- Communicating with clients: A portfolio can be used as a tool to communicate with clients, helping them to understand the architect’s design approach, project process, and final outcome. It can help clients visualize the end result and make informed decisions about their project.
02 – What should your portfolio show?
An architecture portfolio needs to show and provide the person reading it with a clear image of the range, amount, and diversity of your architectural skills, knowledge, and current experience.
For this reason it needs to (as much as possible) demonstrate that you are capable and have experience in each phase of a projects development.
Your portfolio should be treated as a personal statement and present the type of work you do and the methods used to get there, this showcases how you see things and presents the type of designer you are.
It should be populated with only your best and most current work (as showing work that is 5 years old does not indicate who are).
The same can be said for the chose of work presented.
Be careful to show only the work that you have had the most involvement in, this is particularly relevant for large projects where you may have been part of a team.
Don’t just show the 3D rendering (unless you actually did it) or a picture of the finished building, show the construction detail or plan arrangement you, yourself produced. Show your part and involvement, and honestly state your role.
Architecture portfolio sample
When applying for an employment position, most firms and practices will firstly ask for a sample architecture portfolio to be sent with your C.V/resume.
This should consist of two to five A3 or A4 pages (three is preferred), and be a very careful selection of your best and most relevant work.
This is about quality and not quantity, so aim to present one to two drawings or images per page.
If advertising for a position, it is very likely that the firm you are applying to will also receive a high number of other applications, and so at this stage keeping it short will help maintain their full attention, and provide the best chance of getting an interview.
The below sample portfolios from students on issuu provide a great case study of the format, size, and amount of work to initially send.
Portfolio sample 01
A full online version can be found here.
Portfolio sample 02
…Similar to the above, a full online version is available here.
The above portfolio shows how to correctly arrange an A4 page with just one or two images, making it immediately easy to understand, read and print out.
Primary/main architecture portfolio
Your sample portfolio has got you through the door, but it’s your main and full architecture portfolio that will ultimately be responsible for proving you’re the right fit for the position.
It should include evidence of all the key projects and areas you have worked on and/or have been involved in.
For students entering into the profession for the first time, you should always aim to present key construction details, as well as drawings and representations, employers will want to see that you have a general understanding of all the procurement stages.
For licensed architects, site experience and completed projects become more important (if available), and always include a sample of your student work …employers are still interested in this.
For both, presenting projects that relate to the employers work will help to establish yourself.
For employment positions that are specific, you should predominately weight and tailor your work to that particular aspect, whilst still showing (although a lesser amount) a selection of the other areas you have experience in.
Primary portfolio sample 01
About the portfolio – Edanur Utkan is an Istanbul based architect specialized in landscape architecture. Her portfolio is divided into two halves: one for 5 architecture projects, and the other displaying 4 landscape projects.
Why we like it – The bright, cheerful color palette unifies the entire selection of projects. Plains of color aid in the presentation of drawings and renders in a playful yet strategic way.
Layout is systematic to allow for comparison, and rhythm is achieved by the counterpoint of diagrams and renders.
Primary portfolio sample 02
About the portfolio – Mine Öztürk is a Turkish postgraduate architecture student at Istanbul Technical University. Her interests span from illustration and graphic design to theory and criticism of architecture, topics which you can see reflected in her work.
The portfolio spans across 6 projects with an emphasis in experimentation.
Why we like it – This portfolio succeeds in having its own graphic vocabulary that enhances the architectural concepts being displayed. The approach is playful yet systematic, and the disposition of drawings regarding images a
What should an portfolio include?
An architecture portfolio should include a selection of the your best work, along with information about your education, experience, and design philosophy. It should include drawings, models, photographs, and other visual materials that demonstrate the yout skill and range.
Additionally, it should include project details such as location, date of completion, budget, and any awards or publications the project has received.
The portfolio should be well-organized and easy to navigate, with clear, concise descriptions of each project and its design challenges and solutions.
It should also be tailored to the specific audience and requirements, whether it is for a job application, academic program, or personal use, and showcase your progress through architecture school, internships, and the profession, so to must the content of your portfolio.
Starting out and as a student and/or graduate, your portfolio will most commonly consist of academic and theoretical work from architecture school, unless you have gained extra experience outside of your course.
When transitioning from an intern architect / architectural assistant to a newly qualified architect, there should be a greater and more diverse mix of academic and built work experience.
Employers understand however that each applicants experience and exposure to live projects will be different.
As a newly licensed architect and as experience grows, so should the amount of live and built projects in your portfolio, and upon reaching a mid-career level and beyond it should be predominately focused on completed projects.
However aside from the type of projects presented, they should all aim to demonstrate a very similar set of skills, that include:
- Hand sketching and drawing (freehand / digital)
- Creative problem solving
- Model making
- Construction detailing (and knowledge)
- Architectural visualization (showcasing atmosphere, story, narrative)
- Versatility (showing other interests such as photography, sculpture, furniture design, film making)
- Visual / graphical communication (software and digital skills)
- Industry involvement (blog, published work, lectured)
- CAD skills (general software skills)
- 3D modelling (general software skills)
If your portfolio is weighted towards one area and particular skill set such as construction detailing, then this is what the employer will focus on and what ultimately you may be employed to do. …so careful consideration must to taken to present the skills you want to be hired for.
03 – Architecture portfolio types
In this section we highlight the various types of architecture portfolios and provide separate links to our dedicated articles on how to best tailor your work to each scenario.
Whether you’re a new student looking to gain entry into architecture school, applying for your first internship, or a seasoned licensed architect seeking a new opportunity, your portfolio needs to be structured accordingly and grow with your level of experience.
Universities and colleges
Most of what is discussed in this article covers the methods and content that can and should also be included in a portfolio used by a student looking for an architecture school placement.
However new and prospective students need to demonstrate that they have the skills, basic understanding, and passion for the subject, rather than the physical work to prove it.
This as talked about, may mean doing some extra work to boost your portfolio outside of high school / college.
We have a full and dedicated article on undergraduate architecture portfolios that discusses how to create a portfolio for this exact scenario, where we provide a 14 step outline for high school and college students looking to apply to architecture school for the first time.
Internships and assistant positions
As an architecture student looking for an intern or assistant position in a firm, it’s crucial to make a lasting impression on the reviewer of your portfolio.
In just a few short seconds, you must showcase your design skills and demonstrate the competent and visually appealing manner in which you present your work.
To do this effectively, it must have a strong cover page (we has a full article on architecture portfolio cover pages here), include your best and most relevant work, display your design process clearly, be visually appealing, and of course concise.
The advice provided in our guide focusing on solely on architecture internship portfolios aims to help you produce a successful body of work that will help you stand out and increase your chances of being noticed as a young and aspiring architect looking for experience…
Student portfolios
In this article on graduate student portfolios, we discuss how to create a portfolio for applying to an architectural firm for the first time.
There will of course be a lot of overlap with the above intern portfolio in the work you present, but by now having had some industry experience, your portfolio can begin to show real and possibly built projects.
Keep in mind that the format and content of a portfolio may vary depending on the firm, location, and position you are applying for.
Licensed architect portfolios
Lastly, this article on architecture portfolios for licensed and qualifiyed architects, discusses how to create a body of work with one or more years of qualified experience.
Of course, all the strategies discussed here and in the above article can be adapted to suit both students and licensed architects.
04 – Creating your portfolio
For those that have not created an architecture portfolio before or who may be looking for some advice on how to improve their current one. The below 8 stages outline how to best prepare and create a new architectural portfolio:
01 – Choose your projects
You should aim to show only your best and most relevant work, and this may be tailored to the audience that will be viewing your portfolio, and/or be a selection of successful projects and experiences.
You are (and must) showcase your talent and so careful selection is key, the projects you choose should demonstrate your range of skills, diversity of experience and be available to present in a variety of media’s.
02 – Select appropriate drawings and images
As mentioned above, the range of media you choose to present your work is just as important as the drawings themselves, diversification is important in order to demonstrate your varying skills and talents.
When selecting your drawings and images, you should aim for quality not quantity, one well produced and presented drawing or image is much more powerful than 5 average ones.
If you choose to present hand drawings, then make sure that the scanner you use is of high quality. You can take your drawings to print shop if needs be, and have them scanned properly.
03 – Choose a format
Your portfolio format and layout should be focused on an A4 / A3 sheet size, as anything larger becomes too uncomfortable to carry and physically present, and anything smaller becomes too limiting.
A lot of practices and institutions will require you to firstly send either a sample or the full document via email before you get selected for an interview.
An A3 document enables your work to be easily printed out to scale, or downsized to an A4 without too much trouble and detail being lost.
Slightly unfortunately, the easier you make it for the recipient to view your work the more likely they are to engage with it …it’s not always initially based on the quality of work.
04 – Create a portfolio template layout
Creating a template unifies your portfolio and creates consistency for the viewer, it also makes the whole arrangement process much easier and efficient, as you are effectively creating a concept for your portfolio.
The general arrangement is a personal choice, but be mindful to not over saturate your pages with information, less is more here, and quality over quantity!
In our opinion a simple white background is best, unless a particular project specifically calls for an alternative. But be mindful to not overbear your work.
Programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator can be used to edit and revise your drawings and images, and Adobe InDesign is without doubt the best desktop program for organizing and producing documents such as these. (Links to these can be found at the end of this article).
Other web based programs such as Behance, Issuu and Calaméo are also available, however as discussed below they can have severe limitations.
05 – Arrange in a visual format
The order in which you choose to arrange your portfolio in, should run chronologically and demonstrate each of your key skills.
Order and neatness are vitally important, and help to tell the story of your licensed development and career to date.
This process does (and should) take time and therefore should not be rushed and left to the last minute. Ideally you want to produce several drafts, and then leave and come back to them, show your peers, ask for opinions and get feedback.
To help guide you and speed up this process, we have created a set of over 300 cover, contents, title, and project template pages.
Built in InDesign, effortlessly copy and paste text and import drawings, diagrams and images straight into place, or adapt and edit their locations and proportions into further presentable formats. For information on this below…
Don't waste valuable time.
Forming a layout strategy takes time. Speed up this initial step with tried and tested arrangements that are ready to go.
06 – Create a front cover
The front cover of your portfolio will be the first insight into your work for the person about to view it, and it is wise to keep this simple.
The portfolio covers featured here demonstrate what you should aim for and provide a simple aesthetic, that is both interesting and minimal. It can consist of typography, a graphic, an image, and/or a representation.
The front cover as a minimum should have a title (often just portfolio) and your full name. You may also wish to state the college or university you come from (if a student) and what academic or licensed architect status you are.
The inside cover and neighboring pages are a good opportunity to place your C.V/resume, this forms one full and concise document, that will be useful both during and after the interview for the interviewer.
07 – Create a digital PDF file
Some practices still prefer physical copies of portfolios (often just the sample) to send via post and will refuse to view anything that is not. Others are the complete opposite, and so read the submission requirements carefully.
For those that accept digital submissions you should choose one the methods described below. If sending your portfolio in a PDF format, make sure that the file size is no larger than 10MB (15MB max) to enable it to be easily sent via email.
You may wish to send it via WeTransfer or Dropbox to avoid large attachment sizes, however this adds an additional layer of inconvenience for the interviewer, and as discussed above, may move you to the bottom of the pile.
Don’t under any circumstances send Jpegs or PNG’s, this will look extremely unprofessional.
08 – Cover letter
Lastly and to add a finishing touch to your portfolio, you will need to add a personalized cover letter to each submission.
This doesn’t need to be an in depth analysis of why you appreciate their work, but at least make sure it is addressed to a singular (and the correct) person.
Portfolios addressed to “Dear Sir or Madam” or “To whom it may concern” are incredibly impersonal and make it very clear that the recipient reading it is just one of many. So please find out who to correctly address it to and provide yourself with the best chance of getting through.
09 – Orientations and proportions
This is also discussed in “what to take to an interview”, where we advise that you should base your portfolios on an A4 or A3 size.
If you want to experiment with a square format (keeping similar proportions), then this is also fine, however it does create more work when preparing and printing a final physical copy.
The reason for this sizing is simply because as long as you have been mindful to not overcrowd and cram your pages with information, then an A3 sheet printed at A4 is still easily legible.
We have a dedicated article on architecture portfolio sizes here, covering paper size, length, orientation, and file size.
Featuring exemplary portfolios and advice from a range of current students and young architects, “The Portfolio Guide” teaches you the tools, techniques, and principles to building a highly adaptable portfolio.
Take control, and learn how to craft and package the perfect catalog of work for both academic and licensed architects portfolio scenarios that can fit into any interview scenario…
Every interview is different.
Know where to start and how to prioritize your presentation, for any interview scenario.
10 – Architecture portfolio websites
A portfolio website (online portfolio), hosts a digital portfolio that has been uploaded and stored onto a specific platform. This could be a section on your own personal website or commonly a dedicated hosting site such as Behance or issuu.
These web hosted portfolio sites are great for quick and instant online presentations of your work in a digital format, however they can have certain limitations.
For instance when firstly applying for a position, and simply sending a link of your work via email, online portfolios can become far less reliable and may even count against you.
This is primarily caused by students and young licensed architects insisting on using the free versions these websites offer, which are littered with advertising and/or do not allow copies of your work to be physically printed out.
This creates a terrible first impression and almost certainly contributes to putting you at the bottom of the pile!
However, fortunately many of these sites also provide a subscription based service that has far fewer restrictions and most importantly are ad free.
This (among other benefits) will remove all unwanted advertising, enable full and adaptive screen viewing, provide unlimited uploads and allow your work to be printed and downloaded, making it much easier for the administration team to analysis and assess your application.
Which in turn contributes to a expertly presented digital portfolio.
11 – Choosing a hosing platform
When choosing which platform to use, there are several good file hosting websites available, however issuu is by far the most popular and widely recognized between applicants, institutions and firms.
They have an extremely intuitive and user friendly online reader that adapts to fit any device in full screen mode, and provide ad free social sharing and printing functions via their paid subscription service.
For a demonstration of what to expect and for those unfamiliar with the service, follow this link to be taken to a shortlist of their most popular published architecture portfolios.
Exporting and sending your portfolio via a PDF attachment, is another common method of portfolio submission, and one that is normally done in tandem with the above web hosting method.
This provides you (the applicant) with greater control over its formatting and presentation, and also makes it as simple as possible for the employer to receive and view it.
You should however be careful to keep your file size down and even firstly introduce yourself to the recipient, letting them know that they should expect a large attachment to be delivered.
As some architects and institutions do not like or except attachments.
Portfolio app’s
App’s such as “portfolio for iPad” and Minimal Folio provide a simple method to present images and videos on your iPad or tablet.
This can be a good presentation method for a one to one conversation and when presenting on the move. However as a primary method it falls short due to the requirement of needing the app to view it.
Self-hosted website
The best, most reliable and specialist method of presenting a digital portfolio is via your own website. This enables your work to be easily shared, found and updated with a range of text, imagery, video and audio.
For architects in particular it is hard to exist in the modern world without one.
There are many arrangements and platforms to choose from, but for ease of use and design, squarespace is by far the best.
Digital portfolio storage
Digital portfolios are great until the file gets corrupted, lost, forgotten and/or saved over, so backing up and carrying a copy of your work to your interviews is vitally important.
Unless you use a an ad free subscription service such as the one mentioned above, do not under any circumstance present your work in an interview via a website, and do not rely on the email attachment you sent to either yourself or the interviewer prior.
You must carry your own copy, along with a backup, via an external hard drive and/or a USB flash drive with a large memory.
05 – Useful portfolio tools
Architecture portfolio templates
As discussed in great detail here, architectural portfolio templates provide a very effective and relatively quick method of generating what can be a very successful portfolio layout and presentation, but only if used correctly and with the right template pack.
A good portfolio template must provide sufficient format and layout inspiration, as well as suggested and directed forms of arrangement.
But they must never be considered as a quick or easy route to a portfolios creation, and instead be seen as a guide that can be used to speed up and aid the process.
There will never be two architecture portfolios that are the same, and so nor should there be a template. However we see many architecture portfolios advertised as a “one size fits all” with very specific style options and highly limiting bespoke design capabilities.
Portfolio arrangements must allow us to tailor its layouts and formats to fit with our bespoke overall portfolio presentations and the individual requirements of the projects contained with it.
The final and overall graphical compilation is a result of the portfolios contents, not what is sometimes (often) supplied in formats.
This can be summarized by providing:
- A strong selection of templated layouts for cover, contents, title and project pages.
- A variety of appropriately sized and proportioned image and drawing locations.
- Simple drag and drop media placement.
- The option of both portrait and landscape page orientations.
- A section of key paper sizes and types.
- Be supplied in an InDesign format.
In our article dedicated to portfolio template types and selection, we highlight the pro’s and con’s of using such arrangements and discuss exactly what to look for when selecting and buying such a product.
Software
You can subscribe in part or in full to the below Adobe products, where students receive up to 60% off the subscription price…
The next page in layout design. Create, organize, and publish printed books, brochures, digital magazines, iPad apps, interactive online documents, and presentation boards.
Start with Photoshop. The go-to for all digital creators. Impressive images, rich graphics, and incredible art Anyone can do it all with Photoshop. Get Photoshop on desktop and iPad with free trial.
Create beautiful vector art and illustrations. Drawing is just the beginning of what you can do with Illustrator. Create logos, icons, packaging, web graphics and so much more.
The Portfolio Kit
Building upon all of these discussion points, the below Portfolio Kit contains a highly detailed guide teaching you how to craft and package the perfect collection of work for both academic and licensed architect portfolio scenarios, and in both digital and physical formats.
This has been created through our many years of firsthand experience and using current exemplar work, we are very proud to able to present this guide, template pack and range of tutorials.
This kit teaches and shows you how to create a powerful and meaningful portfolio of work, that can (and should) grow and adapt as you progress through the profession.
More info on both elements of this pack can be found below…
Everything in One Place
Stand out from the competition, and create an interview ready portfolio.
To sum up…
In summary, an architecture portfolio, meticulously compiled with drawings, images, text, and photographs, serves as an essential showcase of an individual’s architectural skills, methods, and capabilities.
It is a vital component for securing a position within an architectural firm, practice, or for gaining admission to an architecture program at a college or university.
Here we have aimed to cover every facet of creating and presenting a portfolio, including the types of portfolios, the content that should and shouldn’t be included, design and layout techniques, formats, and presentation methods.
Portfolios not only demonstrate an individual’s design and technical skills but also their personal brand, style, and unique approach to solving architectural problems.
They serve as a platform for showcasing a range of experiences, from academic projects to professional works, highlighting the breadth and depth of one’s expertise in the field.
For those entering the architecture profession or seeking to advance their careers, a well-crafted portfolio is indispensable.
It supports one’s resume, enhances their interview presentation, and ultimately plays a decisive role in the success of their applications.
Whether for academic purposes or professional advancements, an architecture portfolio is a powerful tool that reflects an individual’s journey, skills, and potential in the realm of architecture.
