Do’s and Don’ts of Architecture Portfolios

The most crucial application material in our field is architecture portfolios, without a doubt. But the tricky thing is, that there are so many unwritten rules. And though it may be hard to find relevant advice for your situation, this short list of do’s and don’ts is here to help you.

Architecture portfolio websites

Portfolio websites are a surefire way to stand out from other applicants. It allows you to share without stressing about file size limitations and gives you much more opportunities regarding layout and customization.

So, let’s jump into what you should pay attention to when you’re creating your architecture portfolio website!

• Do have easily understandable navigation.
• Don’t have typos or grammar mistakes in your architecture portfolio. Ask somebody to proofread it, and use online writing tools (e.g. Grammarly),
• Do have loads of impressive pictures, but make sure that your website loads fast by compressing your images (with e.g. TinyPNG).
• Don’t choose a font that’s hard to read and make sure that it’s not too small (start with 16px and adjust to the legibility).
• Do use a professional scanner for your sketches.
• Don’t be afraid of whitespace, avoid visual clutter.
• Do update your portfolio frequently to keep it relevant.
• Don’t forget to send your architecture resume and cover letter with your portfolio.
• Do give credit to your teammates and show that you are a team player.
• Don’t be humble – be proud of your achievements and show your future employer your potential.
• Do ask for feedback from your peers and alter your portfolio accordingly.

At Archifolio we’ve made it easy to follow these pieces of advice above. If you build your site with Archifolio, you’ll find layout suggestions and guiding questions to help with the writing.

Want to build your portfolio quickly and easily? Try Archifolio for free!

Build your portfolio website in no time with Archifolio.

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Offline architecture portfolios

Offline portfolios have been the industry standard for the last decades, and there are still some situations when you can only submit a PDF file in an application. Therefore, you need to cover your bases and have both a traditional portfolio and one that’s always accessible.

Now let’s look at the do’s and don’ts of offline architecture portfolios:

• Don’t send a file bigger than 10 MB (if you are wondering how to compress an architecture portfolio, check out Adobe Acrobat’s PDF compressor).
• Do name your file professionally (something like: YourName_ArchitecturePortfolio.pdf
• Don’t have more than 50 pages.
• Do have a neat table of contents and clearly visible page numbers.
• Don’t save your portfolio as a JPG or PNG, it looks unprofessional.
• Do choose an architecture portfolio template that reflects your design aesthetic.
• Don’t have typos in your texts.

Ready to try these tips in real life? Create your portfolio quickly and easily with Archifolio.

You’ll find:

• free architecture portfolio templates,
• built-in writing prompts and guiding questions,
• unique, designer-made color palettes and font combinations,
• intuitive, what-you-see-is-what-you-get-editor,
• industry-specific project page layout suggestions, and
• easy domain purchase possibility (so your site will be yourname.com),
• among other helpful features.