During their senior years, WHSAD seniors engage in collecting their work from their previous three years and select which of those works to feature in their portfolios. In the following interviews, three WHSAD seniors in Mr. Alain Codio’s class, The Business of Architecture, provide insights as to how they went about creating their portfolios, challenges they faced, and why a portfolio needs to be a staple product of any architect or designer.
Mekhi Brown
How would you describe the process of creating your portfolio?
“I’d describe this memorable process, as a trip down memory lane. I was required to search for my pieces of work, dating all the way back to freshman year. Seeing how I started out, and then, how much I’ve grown brought an unexplainable feeling of satisfaction. My initial reaction to seeing some of my first projects at WHSAD was a small smirk on my face, but a huge smile in my mind. I felt like a parent looking at baby photos of their children, as I took a moment to admire my creations. I’ve always had this weird obsession with nostalgia and taking a look back at certain moments and/or time periods in my life, so this was a very fulfilling experience for me.”
Were there any difficulties you’ve encountered? If so, how did you overcome/move past them?
“Although this was a very enjoyable experience, it was not necessarily an easy one. In order for me to put a portfolio together, I need copies of my work. This was my first challenge. I had to actively search through my photo gallery, which contains over a thousand photos, to find a lot of my work. This required me to think back to the months and years that certain pieces of work were completed which is not an easy task to do when you are years removed from completing one, of many, projects in a certain year. If that wasn’t already challenging enough, I now had to remember almost everything that went into that specific project for my artist statement. All in all, it took a lot of digging both within myself and through my photo gallery, in my phone, to find the pieces of work I wanted and relive the purpose and desire that went into each art piece.”
How have your previous three years in architecture classes developed who you are as represented in your portfolio?
“The previous three years in architecture class have helped me develop into the student I am today, and my portfolio is a direct reflection of that. As I said in my presentation, starting out at WHSAD, I was a small fish navigating his way through a large sea full of opportunities, but I have ultimately evolved into a larger fish, in a much larger and complex sea of opportunity, who can hold his own against any challenge. In my portfolio, I show my progression of skills and perspective by showing a timeline of my work, starting from my freshman to my junior year work that I completed before COVID-19. What is seen through this timeline of my work is the improvements in my sketching, painting, and AutoCAD skills. “
Why is assembling a professional portfolio important to you?
“It is a very effective way to show others, along with myself, how I’ve grown as a student, by putting forth some of my best work from over the years. It also allows me to sit back, for a moment, and admire my work and how much I’ve accomplished.”
Breyana Santos
How would you describe the process of creating your portfolio?
“I would describe the process of creating my portfolio as tedious. It takes a lot of time and a lot of dedication. You must love the work you are submitting and love the overall process, no matter how challenging. Even though the process is long and difficult, the feeling you get when you successfully finished it is tremendous.”
Were there any difficulties you’ve encountered? If so, how did you overcome/move past them?
“There were many difficulties I encountered while creating my portfolio. I struggled mostly with making it seem like my work. I struggled to make my portfolio look very professional but not monotonous. To overcome this, I had to find my own style as an artist. I had to dig deep inside myself and remember why I love architecture. In doing this, I was able to make my portfolio feel like my own and make it resemble my character.”
How have your previous three years in architecture classes developed who you are as represented in your portfolio?
“My previous three years in architecture has allowed me to learn the skills that were presented in my portfolio. As a person without prior architectural experience, my past three years have truly helped me be the artist I’ve aspired to be.”
Why is assembling a professional portfolio important to you?
“Assembling a professional portfolio is an asset to having a strong resume for a school. One of my biggest goals is to get into an incredible architecture college. With my portfolio, that goal just might be achieved.”
Jasmin Vidal
How would you describe the process of creating your portfolio?
“When creating a portfolio the main idea is to always keep it professional and organized. A portfolio usually contains work/projects a person has done throughout their previous years. In this case, my work in my portfolio demonstrates these three years in high school and showcases the work I have collected and skills I have gained throughout those years till now.”
Were there any difficulties you’ve encountered? If so, how did you overcome/move past them?
” A difficulty I have encountered is choosing which projects, from easy to difficult, to put into the portfolio. The goal is to demonstrate a big change that shows improvement in the portfolio.”
How have your previous three years in architecture classes developed who you are as represented in your portfolio?
“Through my previous three years in architecture classes I have developed as a person who has experienced and has gained using the ideas that are collected in projects to pass that experience on and demonstrate it in new ones.”
Why is assembling a professional portfolio important to you?
“Assembling a professional portfolio is important to me because it demonstrates my growth over these past three years and will help me in the future. The portfolio will also help me for college since I want to be an interior designer.”
