The Perfect Portfolio

What is a portfolio and why does it matter? We cover the difference between academic portfolios (showing your learning journey) and professional portfolios (tailored to win jobs). You'll learn what content types to include—sketches, models, technical drawings, renders—and how to target your portfolio to potential employers, academic institutions, or clients.

Selecting projects for a job application. We demonstrate choosing your strongest work first, then matching projects to your target employer's sector. You'll learn to order projects by relevance and include the right media mix with captions, descriptions, and role/responsibility callouts.

Setting up an InDesign document: choosing between ISO and US paper standards, portrait versus landscape orientation, and why standard sizes matter for printing and compatibility. We explain margins for binding, bleed zones for edge-to-edge printing, and when custom sizes might cause more problems than they solve.

Layout fundamentals: grid systems, margins, gutters between columns, visual hierarchy, and whitespace. We explain how layouts work like a building's structural grid—providing order while allowing creative breaks. You'll set up InDesign guides and columns, prioritise content within the grid, and maintain consistency across pages without being rigid.

Typeface versus font explained, and why the distinction matters. We cover serif versus sans serif, how to choose pairings that complement each other, and why you should stick to two typefaces maximum. Legibility, versatility, contrast, and emotional response all factor into your choice.

Developing your portfolio's visual identity by studying examples on Behance and Issuu. We critique several architectural portfolios, pointing out effective use of whitespace, full-bleed images, page markers (year, location, project type), and consistent annotation styles. You'll develop your own graphic system with colour schemes and visual markers.

Building the portfolio page by page. We use Adobe Bridge to organise assets, create parent pages with placeholder layouts, then place actual project imagery—adjusting frames when content doesn't fit the template perfectly. You'll work through three example projects, testing different grid densities and maintaining visual hierarchy.

Creating a table of contents with InDesign's automatic numbering. We cover paragraph styles, custom list formats, and setting up numbered lists that span linked text boxes correctly. Chapter divider pages separate project sections and give readers visual breaks.

Front cover essentials: document title, your name, period of works, and your current or target role. Optional elements include academic degree, volume number for editorial flair, and graphical artwork. We also cover the back cover—ending the reader's experience with contact details or a simple graphic.

Exporting for print versus digital. Print requires bleed zones, while digital can skip bleed for smaller file sizes. We walk through InDesign's PDF export dialog, explaining presets for high-quality print, smallest file size, and custom settings. Contact your printer early to get the right bleed dimensions.