Hey uh CSSSA anon here! I was in your design class (I think) and I deadass thought you were the coolest ever. I recently came by your ACCD portfolio (which is how I found you lmao) when I was gathering references for my own and I just wanted to know if you have any advice for building a good concept design portfolio?
Well first off is to have really strong foundation and just being able to draw/render w basic understanding of perspective. I mean how else can you design and communicate your ideas? At the end of the day, your portfolio is a DESIGN portfolio not illustration or fine arts. It is your ideas and communication that matter the most of all. Your work should be able to speak for itself without a huge 1pg backstory. Of course while you are designing you should think about STORY and FUNCTION as the 2 most important building blocks of your design. Because without those 2 your design has no meaning and so why would anyone care about it?Â
This is the biggest reason why some people who submit their ED portfolio get rejected and be put into illustration instead because their designs have no meaning or creativity. A good portfolio should have a strong balance of creativity and functionality. So I hope that helps!
I really recommend taking some portfolio building or concept design classes first like at Brainstorm/CDA if you are in Southern California, if you arent local maybe some online courses or mentorships. Or even gumroad tutorials are great. At the end of the day creativity stems from your personal voice and experiences not just crazy cool nonsensical shapes(Jupiter Ascending) or following trends. (like cool military robot head in a camo print cloak with lens flare and chromatic aberration)Â
Best of luck buddy!
