Introduction
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The Importance of Portfolio School of Design & Technology It is your shop window You can showcase your abilities and talents. It reveals your unique world and gives employers insight into your research methodologies, aesthetic sensibilities, project management skills and most importantly your creativity. Increased competition Due to the influx of fashion graduates employers are decreasing using runways and static shows as a means of recruitment. Advertised jobs and internships now ask you to submit a digital version of your portfolio before selection to interview stage. Improves your practice The process of making your portfolio makes you a better designer, offering you the opportunity reflect upon your practice and build upon it. It can also helps your uncover strategies for designing that could used in professional life.
Index
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Index Research / 2 Design Development / 26 Sampling and Evaluation / 40 Documentation / 56 Aesthetic Considerations / 66 Links / 68
Research
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Research Research is the foundation of all projects. This is not just merely collecting other imagery and sticking it down. It is only data until you evaluate it, ways of doing this include: finding commonalities or oppositions, distilling recurrent details or themes. Don’t overload, you may have taken a long time gathering your research but only show what is relevant. Always reference key images, don’t be a generalist, don’t just say you are interested in Cubism, site a specific sculpture or painting, and similarly don’t just talk like a designer, what collection? What piece? The more familiar you are with specifics the easier you can recall the information in an interview situation. Highlight what the important detail is and draw the attention to it. Accent it somehow. A narrative story whether real or imagined can be utilized to inform the design decision making process. While a journey might evoke ideas for colour and texture, a found object inspires shapes for pattern cutting, or memories of childhood bring to mind a colour palette. Even if it is
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not apparent in the end result, it gives you an easy way of talking about your research and communicating your ideas, especially to the press or potential employers If you a looking at multiple themes begin to show how they will synthesize together. Avoid giving an interpretation of an interpretation. Colour research Consider how percentages of colour break down, which colours will dominate, which will support and which will accent. Never use colour in equal measure. The staid convention with colour boards is to grab a single image and lift a few colour swatches from it, sometimes working from multiple images to build a story or perhaps primary photography or even from your own experiments with mark making. You can go as abstract with this as you choose but if you anchor it with pantone references it shows a level of industry insight.
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Fabric research Design lacks conviction if appropriate weights of fabric are not matched to surface adornment and silhouette successfully. Consider how it will drape and how the fabric will hold the print or embroidery. The way you cut out and adhere the swatches must show design consideration. It is up to you if you want to have fabric on pages. Some feel that it is essential so that people can feel the texture, while others feel that it can make for a bulky and unconsidered piece of work. Strong photography or simply scanning swatches and samples and reprinting can work effectively. Customer Research When a designer combines various photos of people they deem to be muses it can be a strong way to illustrate a character profile. lllustration research The media you draw with needs to support the overall look mood of your book - so familiarise yourself with different types of medium that are available. Although you are not expected to be a fashion illustrator your choice of drawing media must be appropriate for your work, consider India
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ink, gouache, marker, coloured pencil, graphite, collaged paper, water colour pastel, mono-printing, cellulose thinner transfers etc. Research Analysis Once you have collected images you need to analyze how various areas of the material relate to one another. When patterns emerge you will gain clarity about how to begin your collection. You need to be able to deconstruct your research to then reform into a new shape.
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Research
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Research
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Research
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Research
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Research
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Research
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Research
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Research / Colour
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Research / Colour
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Research / Colour
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Research / Colour
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Research / Colour
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Research
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Research
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Research / Colour
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Research / Fsbric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Fabric
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Research / Customer
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Research / Customer
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Illustration & Mark Making
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Illustration & Mark Making
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Illustration & Mark Making
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Illustration & Mark Making
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Illustration & Mark Making
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Illustration & Mark Making
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Illustration & Mark Making
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Illustration & Mark Making
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Paper Stock
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Design Development
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Design Development Drawing directly from your research can be a good way to begin your design process. Don’t just leap to line ups, allow yourself time to uncover forms and shapes When drawing fashion sketches ensure that you make it clear which ideas you are going to extrapolate from the previous sketch and continue developing on. Use figures to expand on initial ideas and investigate different options through different versions of the design. You are making highly critical decisions in this stage - let the viewer be aware of your reasoning. Well-rendered fabrics, swatch-accurate colours and suitable drawing scale will help to depict your design intention. The biggest sin is to repeat figures over and over again. In a predictable framework, exploit your choice of illustration medium, figure styling, layout and composition, use and style of text and methods of adhering images and swathes on the page.
Design Development
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Consider the use of contrast when structuring these pages, macro and micro, constructed and deconstructed, organic and linear. Use negative space to create a visual flow. Fusing digital and traditional media can often be effective captialising on the strengths of both Unexpected content can used within your portfolio to introduce energy. A photograph of your bedroom wall where you may have pinning your development photos. Celebrate the details; in an interview situation you may only get the chance to show the your strengths, if you have amazing details on your garments you need to make sure that you advertise this in your portfolio. How will the pattern or motifs work at various scales? How do you envision its usage? The The earlier you ask yourself the more considered your designs will become.
Design Development
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Research
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Developement
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Developemnt
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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Design Development
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