Portfolios can take a myriad of forms — drawings on paper, data compressed on a DVD, sculptures made of found objects, products that don't yet exist except on a napkin.

While there's no formula for creating a successful portfolio, all portfolios have some things in common:

tech•nique n
1. the procedure, skill, or art used in a particular task
2. the way in which the basics of something, for example, an artistic work or a sport, are treated
3. skill or expertise in handling the technique of something
4. a special ability or knack

Technique is the most obvious, accessible and visible component of any piece of art or design. While technique will vary from media to media and discipline to discipline, developing an understanding of "how things work" is critical to your portfolio development. The most basic technique to develop is observational drawing skills.


Concept / Idea

con•cept n
1. something that somebody has thought up, or that somebody might be able to imagine.
2. a broad abstract idea or a guiding general principle, such as one that determines how a person or culture behaves, or how nature, reality, or events are perceived
3. the most basic understanding of something
4. a method, plan, or type of product or design

From the most basic gesture drawing, to the most complexly designed advertising campaign, it all starts with an idea — a concept. For the gesture drawing, the concept may be simple, i.e. "capture the arch of the spine" or "get a feel for the space". And obviously the thought put into a company's entire presence is created in a long, deliberate process to realize that concept. While defining a "strong" concept is too difficult to address properly here, you should realize the importance of idea in your work. What you trying to accomplish / convey / express in a given piece or series of pieces?


Design / composition skills

com•po•si•tion n
1. the way in which something is made, especially in terms of its different parts
2. the way in which the parts of something are arranged, especially the elements in a visual image
3. the act or process of combining things to form a whole, or of creating something such as a piece of music or writing

Whether you are working on a traditional drawing, a photograph, or a commercial art piece, composition (the creative arrangement and placement of parts in a work of art) is one of the most important elements. After all, composition is the most basic way of looking at a piece of art, whether it is complicated or very sparse. Whatever the project, make sure to spend as much time working on the composition as you do working on the idea or actual rendering. For graphic design work, composition is a critical skill to build. The way information is presented is as important as the information itself. If you are working with typography, explore the different ways type can be used; experiment with color too.


Variety / media and style

va•ri•e•ty n
1. the quality of being varied or diversified
2. a particular type or kind within a general group
3. a collection of varied things, often belonging to the same general group

There is debate over whether a consistent portfolio is better than a portfolio with a wide range of media and styles. Our answer is simple — pick your best work. However, all good portfolios will have both black & white as well as color work, and work that ranges in subject matter and media. As a general rule, more work is better. Remember, MIAD requires 12-20 pieces for your portfolio review.


Creative problem-solving

cre•a•tiv•i•ty n
1. the quality of being creative
2. the ability to use the imagination to develop new and original ideas or things, especially in an artistic context

Perhaps the most difficult issue to address in a portfolio is creativity. We want to see artwork that is unique, that comes up with new solutions to old problems. Even something as conventional as a still life can spark a sense of newness to the viewer, if seen through fresh eyes. This can be accomplished by close cropping, using color or texture in a new way, or collaging elements onto the paper instead of using more traditional drawing or painting techniques. Make every piece of artwork something new for you; learn from the work, and your unique approach to artmaking will appear.


Communication skills

com•mu•ni•cate v
1. to give or exchange information, for example, by speech or writing
2. to transmit or reveal a feeling or thought by speech, writing, or gesture so that it is clearly understood
3. to share a good personal understanding

Another important element to being an artist or designer is strong communication skills and an understanding of art history. Study the masters and look at contemporary work as part of the portfolio development process. Talk and write about your own and others' artwork as much as possible, and keep a journal of your thoughts and ideas.

Remember that there are no absolutes in art. We are equally impressed by traditional work as well as work that breaks away from tradition. What is important is that it is done well.


Identity

i•den•ti•ty n
1. who somebody is or what something is, especially the name somebody or something is known by.
2. the set of characteristics that somebody recognizes as belonging uniquely to himself or herself and constituting his or her individual personality for life

The ultimate goal of every artist or designer is to have a unique identity. While this will probably take years and training to accomplish, each person has an individual identity waiting to be uncovered.

Use this website to help develop your portfolio — read the various articles, try the assignments, and look at the expansive collection of MIAD student and faculty work. Critically evaluate the work for its concept, content, technique and identity — and use it to help you in your own artistic pursuits.

Good luck in your portfolio development!

We've all done it — scribbled in the margins of a notebook, made a finger painting which still hangs on the refrigerator at home, created a sidewalk chalk masterpiece that melted away ages ago. Drawing is such an obvious element to a portfolio, it begs the question: what kind of drawings / paintings should be in a portfolio?

Observational drawing /painting skills.
If there is one comment admissions counselors say to prospective students over and over again it is: "Work more from life". We cannot over-emphasize the importance of showing good observational skills in your portfolio. Work directly from an object or a person, as opposed to copying from a photograph or working from your imagination. If you plan on studying other areas like photography or sculpture, you should still have a sampling of this type of work in your portfolio in addition to your other work.

Here are the basic kinds of observational drawing:

While a photograph may seem miles from a painting or drawing, there are many similarities. Photographs have compositions, use colors or values, have ideas and concepts, and solve visual problems creatively.

What makes photography unique is the process. The process of photography – lighting a scene, determining the proper settings on the camera, developing film (yes, film!), manipulating a RAW digital image, and printing the final product – are all steps to a completed image. Mastering each step is critical to successful photography, and each step can be analyzed, evaluated and improved. But ultimately process is largely invisible to the viewer; therefore the rules of idea, composition, and color become the dominant factors in acheiving cohesive visual success.

When creating a photographic portfolio, think about these issues. Ask yourself the following question, “If there are literally billions of pictures taken each year, what makes my images different, unique, exciting, important?” Are you interested in commercial / studio, documentary / photojournalistic, or experimental photography? Study the technical aspects of photography, explore its history, and find your place within this rich heritage.

Before reading this section, make sure to read the general portfolio building tips.

Students interested in video or animation are finding it increasingly easy to access the tools needed to bring their creations to fruition. Along with this admittedly wonderful accessibility comes a dilemma - with limited formal training, how can a student know what to do? What is a college like MIAD looking for in an animation or video portfolio?

First and foremost, we are looking for students who can wipe their minds of all commercial trends in the movie / music / television industry, and explore the mediums in their purest forms. In simpler terms, don't look to music videos or reality-TV for answers. Don't think of video as a high-production TV commercial; think of it as a sequence of changing photographs which tell a story or explore a visual idea. In the same way, animation is a series of drawn images (by hand or computer) which narrate. Therefore, the rules of photography are at the core of video, and the rules of drawing are at the core of animation.

Technical issues are second; be careful not to fall into common visual traps like extraneous colorful filters and disorientating transitions, or using a computer to beautifully render an awkward, uninspired animated character. Animation is particularly precarious - it is so easy to become enamored in someone else's characters, imagined worlds or animation style. It then becomes difficult to do anything other than copy that inspiration, instead of finding your own.

At its core, your video or animation work should be an expression of who you are, how you tell stories, how YOU see the world.

Try to focus on some of the following ideas:

• Narration: How many ways can a story be told?
• Experimentation: How can the visual elements be explored / exploited?
• Sound: How can sound magnify / change / misdirect the visual elements? Create your own sounds through traditional or non-traditional approaches, rather than using a popular song or someone else's original musical work. It is very difficult to make a successful piece when your audience can sing along to the lyrics or visualize the professional video in their heads.
• Drawing: For animation in particular, observational drawing is a critical skill to develop.
• Fluidity: For animation, how can you make the animated characters move in the manner you want them to move? For video, how can your narrative / visuals make smooth, understandable transitions?

When presenting work for your admissions portfolio review, please place your work onto a DVD or VHS tape, and keep work to a maximum of 5 minutes in length. Feel free to also bring any storyboards, sketches or individual cells.