Portfolio Guidance

BA (Hons) Art and Design – Physical Portfolios

It is important to note that portfolios are subjective, but if you’re struggling with ideas of what to include or how to structure it take a look at the following guidance:

Content

1. Aim to include approximately 20 pieces of work. 15-24 pieces of work are acceptable but a good range needs to be shown.
2. Examples of the type of work that can be included are: drawings, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, installations, printmaking, photography, multimedia, digital artwork, 3D digital design and textiles. It important to note that you are not limited to these, nor are you expected to provide everything listed.
3. Show elements of design in your work e.g. 3D objects, textiles or computer aided design.
4. Include examples of how your ideas develop and the processes behind your work through sketchbooks and annotations.
5. Show finished work and details of finish with evidence of supporting work. We want you to demonstrate your thinking behind it.
6. We like to see 3D pieces, but photos are acceptable if objects are too large or fragile to transport. If you do take photos, please ensure they show a sense of scale, texture, material, colour and context.
7. Whether it’s from your course or produced independently, include your most recent work and present it in a coherent order.
8. Demonstrate your interest and awareness of contemporary art and design by providing evidence of exhibitions you’ve visited and your opinions on them.
9. Work outside of prescribed school/college work is always welcome. For example, if you’ve been making relevant work through your job, or a specialised class, include this.

Skills we would like to see

1. Willingness to experiment using a range of media, materials and technologies.
2. Creativity and risk-taking.
3. Use of a visible design process for idea development.

Preparing for your portfolio review

The last part of putting your portfolio together is to practise speaking about it, as we will ask you about your work and what made you apply to the course during your portfolio review.

Remember, this isn’t to put you on the spot, but it’s a dialogue to help us understand your aspirations and how the course fits them. When preparing for your review consider the following questions:

1. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
2. Out of the work you have included, which piece is your favourite and why?
3. Who are your favourite artists? How do they relate to your work?
4. What are you inspired by?
5. What are your aspirations?
6. Why do you want to study BA (Hons) Art and Design at Birmingham City University?

BA (Hons) Art and Design – Digital Portfolios

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

Take a look at the course specific guidance below for help with putting your BA (Hons) Art and Design digital portfolio together.

Content

1. Aim to include approximately 20 pieces of work. 15-24 pieces of work are acceptable but a good range needs to be shown.
2. Examples of the type of work that you can include, but are not limited to, are as follows: drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, installation, printmaking, photography, multimedia, digital artwork, 3D digital design and textiles.
3. Show elements of design in your work e.g. 3D objects, textiles or computer aided design.
4. The most important and necessary thing to include is scanned pages from your sketchbook/s or photographs of them as this shows us the process behind your work and how your ideas develop.
5. If you would like to include any 3D pieces please include photographs of them that show a sense of scale, texture, material, colour and context.
6. Whether it’s from your course or produced independently, include your most recent work and present it in a coherent order. Remember the order you present it in is the order it will be viewed in.
7. Demonstrate your interest and awareness of contemporary art and design by providing evidence of exhibitions you’ve visited and your opinions on them.
8. If you would like to include film content keep it to a short 30 second snippet or less.
9. Work outside of prescribed school/college work is always welcome. For example, if you’ve been making relevant work through your job, or a specialised class, include this.
10. Annotations and labelling is a must. Please add project titles so we can see where they start and end, label items and annotate pieces that need context.
11. Finally, to help your reviewer get a better understanding of you and your portfolio please include answers to the following questions:
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Out of the work you have included, which piece is your favourite and why?
• Who are your favourite artists? How do they relate to your work?
• What are you inspired by?
• What are your aspirations?
• Why do you want to study BA (Hons) Art and Design at Birmingham City University?

Skills we would like to see

1. Willingness to experiment using a range of media, materials and technologies.
2. Creativity and risk-taking.
3. Use of a visible design process for idea development.

Format

1. Submit your work as one PDF or PowerPoint file.
2. Your digital portfolio should be no more than 10MB. Please compress your file if it exceeds the limit.
3. Ensure your work has a good screen resolution.
4. Add any links to video, animations, and moving image work to your PDF or PowerPoint. Please check that these links work before you submit your portfolio and that they can be easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password.

BA (Hons) Fine Art – Physical portfolios

It is important to note that portfolios are subjective, but if you’re struggling with ideas of what to include or how to structure it take a look at the following guidance:

Content

1. Aim to include approximately 20 pieces of work. 15-24 pieces of work are acceptable but a good range needs to be shown.
2. Examples of the type of work that can be included are: drawings, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, installations, printmaking, photography, multimedia, digital artwork, 3D digital design and textiles. It important to note that you are not limited to these, nor are you expected to provide everything listed.
3. Include examples of how your ideas develop and the processes behind your work through sketchbooks and annotations.
4. Show finished work and details of finish with evidence of supporting work. We want you to demonstrate your thinking behind it.
5. We like to see 3D pieces, but photos are acceptable if objects are too large or fragile to transport. If you do take photos, please ensure they show a sense of scale, texture, material, colour and context.
6. Whether it’s from your course or produced independently, include your most recent work and present it in a coherent order.
7. Demonstrate your interest and awareness of fine art by providing evidence of exhibitions you’ve visited and your opinions on them.
8. Work outside of prescribed school/college work is always welcome. For example, if you’ve been making relevant work through your job, or a specialised class, include this.

Skills we would like to see

1. Willingness to experiment using a range of media, materials and technologies.
2. Creativity and risk-taking.
3. Use of a visible design process for idea development.

Preparing for your portfolio review

The last part of putting your portfolio together is to practise speaking about it, as we will ask you about your work and what made you apply to the course during your portfolio review.

Remember, this isn’t to put you on the spot, but it’s a dialogue to help us understand your aspirations and how the course fits them. When preparing for your review consider the following questions:

1. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
2. Out of the work you have included, which piece is your favourite and why?
3. Who are your favourite artists? How do they relate to your work?
4. What are you inspired by?
5. What are your aspirations?
6. Why do you want to study BA (Hons) Fine Art at Birmingham City University?