Which Projects Should I Showcase In My Portfolio?

in

Not sure if you’ve gotten the ratio of personal projects to professional works right? Wondering how many is too many? Trying to decide if you should include your older projects, or how far back they should go? Come with us as we dive into choosing which projects to showcase in your archviz portfolio.

“Your portfolio IS you; it’s your best expression. So make it shine; keep it simple, creative and fun. Start with your best work, and end with your second best work.”

- Arqui9 Visualisation

Decide what kind of archviz to include in your portfolio

First, you’ll need to decide what kind of archviz you want to showcase - interiors? Exteriors? Modelling?

The advice is to include examples of the type of work you want to do professionally. We suggest take a look at current job postings for the kinds of architectural visualizer roles you’re after and see what they’re most interested in; this will give you a guideline of which projects to include.

Have a ruthless eye

Your 3D portfolio may be the very first thing an archviz hiring manager looks at - in fact, Nicholas Polley, Managing Director of 3D Design Bureau, states “One of the biggest things I look for is talent…I’ll always look at a CV secondary to looking at a portfolio.”

Choosing which projects to include is one of the hardest steps - you’ll have to be cutthroat about any substandard work, even if it’s the only example of a category. Treat it as though this will be your legacy; this is the sort of work you’d want to be remembered for. Because in its most basic function, that’s exactly what this portfolio will do.

So projects should be high quality, high resolution, relevant projects that demonstrate your capabilities as they are today (rather than where they were a couple of years ago). You won’t have the opportunity to explain away the weaknesses of a project, so if in doubt remove it. Only put your best foot forward.

Categorize, Rank, Cull

Not sure where to start with this? Here’s a 3-step method to make it a bit more straightforward.

  1. Go through your works and place all your projects into categories.

  2. Focusing on the category your portfolio is showcasing, rank all the projects in that category, from strongest to weakest.

  3. Going down the list, choose which project doesn’t ‘make the cut’ - everything above that can be kept for the ‘Project Selection Checklist’ below, and everything under that can be culled.

Keep your quality standards consistent

Consistent quality standards are going to show employers and clients that you regularly deliver high quality work…and that you can be self-critical enough to know when something is not up to par.

Whilst variety is a strong factor for portfolios, this is more of a long-term goal to expand your capabilities, whilst maintaining those high quality standards.

Don’t get trapped into thinking that variety means volume, either. Even with decades of experience and hundreds of works under your belt, a strong portfolio should showcase no more than twenty projects. Hiring managers don’t have time to sift through huge portfolios.

Limit personal projects

Try to limit the personal projects you include. They’re often the highest quality work, but that’s because you spend a lot more time on them, with no fixed deadlines, and complete control on the design aspect.

Employers like to see commercial work, as they know it was done under real-world time constraints, with feedback and requests from a client.

Project Selection Checklist

To ensure your projects will stand up to strong scrutiny, work your way through this checklist:

  • Do you feel that you could re-do the project better today?
    If so, it’s not the best example of the artist you are today.

  • Could you use this single project, on its own, to convince someone to hire you?
    If not, it’s not worth showcasing.

  • Does it have weaknesses you wish you could explain away?
    If so, cut it.

  • Is it relevant to today’s pipeline?
    Showing outdated techniques, skills or quality standards can make it seem as though you’re not staying abreast of industry trends and standards.

  • Is it relevant to archviz?
    Sci-fi concept art is fun, but it could tell an archviz client that you’re not serious. If you’re applying for archviz jobs, then keep it archviz focused.

  • Is it commercially relevant?
    Some personal work is fine, but commercial works should have preference as they show what you can achieve under real-world constraints.