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My burning question is how do I make my online architectural portfolio stand out from other portfolios? I found a blog at www.thinkvitamin.com by author Mike Kus that had some great ideas. One of his ideas was to keep it simple and not be afraid of having blank space. I think this is really good input because having a clean and unfettered layout is attractive to potential employers. How the items are arranged on the site and where the blank areas are can also showcase design layout skills. Another one of his ideas is to have a good set palette of colors. Having a specific palette that is consistent throughout the portfolio helps to give the site a coherent sense of identity and character. Also, the color palettes in the example portfolios he gives compliment and contrast with each other very effectively. I plan on doing further research on effective and attention grabbing color combinations as this seems important. Other important aspects that he can make a portfolio stand out if done effectively are imagery and typography, bucking current web trends, and attention to detail. His examples of portfolios are not all architectural but their merits are definitely applicable and are worth taking a look at.

I have been very impressed with youtube architecture portfolios from students. I like the way their work is presented as a small 2 minute film. Its fast, its visual and its a great way of introducing your work, designs and projects to this type of profession. What I like about this portfolio: 1. I love the first image you see: "How I do architecture" its a great "pow" and intro to what comes next (your work) 2. I like it when he shows a project in almost a scrapbook kind of way. You see one large picture of the overall project, then you see smaller pictures of different views of the same project. This is how I thought I might show my architecture projects with a plan, perspectives and a small collection of materials. 3. The ending of his portfolio is very surprising, I like it! It is a final quote from F. Wright about architecture and its connection to the heart. 4. I like his second page set up: a sketch of a seating area he designed. It looks very professional. 5. It is great how he shows sketches/black and white pictures and then it turns into a colored rendering of the sketch. What a great way to show design and drawing skills then to bring that sketch to life with color or turning it into a 3D model. Its fascinating to watch the development of the project. What could be changed with this portfolio: 1. I think this is a great way to introduce yourself and get viewers excited about what you can do, but this video is lacking a Homepage, contact and resume (at the least). I would be using this as an interactive tool (a small slide show) to introduce the viewers to my portfolio. (it will serve as an invitation of who I am to the profession) 2. Its too long. 3. Its not consistent and smooth. Its a bit choppy and shows too many different ways and styles, it feels like a little too much distraction of movements, when it should all be about the work. 4. It feels like an archive, a collection of all he has done. There is no direction or reasoning behind his selection

I like that the page is clean and readable. The simple layout make navigation easy, however many of the pages have far too much information on them. I enjoy reading as much as the next person, but for a design portfolio, I feel that the images should convey the ideas more than words. I like that the contact information is readily available and isn't too distracting at the bace of most of the pages.  The pages move way too fast. One can control where they go but the pages fly by kinda erratically. I like the personal touch, however don't understand why people put their picture in their portfolio. I appreciate her looking professional, however care more about her designs. I don't care for the sounds. I like the fact that it comes in automatically disabled, but then what is the point? If I didn't scroll to the bottom and look at the very light and very tiny font, than I would have never known it existed.