Portfolio guidance
To support your application you will be asked to submit a digital portfolio. Your portfolio is an opportunity to show us who you are, your creative ability and your potential.
This page provides a detailed insight into how to submit the best possible portfolio for your course.
Portfolio submission deadlines
We would ask you to submit your portfolio within four weeks of making an application. We will make a decision on your application as soon as possible when we receive your portfolio.
The guidance below sets out our typical requirements, but in light of the current circumstances please be aware that you can submit: GCSE work, and work from last year; work in progress such as sketches of ideas; photos of your work; fewer examples of your work than we have recommended in the guidance.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do contact us.
We look forward to seeing your work.
Please note that if you are applying to the following courses you will not need to submit a portfolio:
- BA (Hons) Fashion Branding and Communication
- BA (Hons) Fashion Business and Promotion
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BA (Hons) Costume Design and Practice
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.
Watch this video guidance on digital portfolios:
Take a look at the course specific guidance below for help with putting your digital portfolio together.
Content
- Include work relevant to your chosen course, also showing us who you are as a creative practitioner. Include ideas generation, experimentation and development as well as a cross-section of ideas to evidence your creative interests.
- Show examples of drawings. For fashion design: these should include fashion sketches, life drawings and observational drawings. For textiles: examples include sketches, observational drawings, collages and paintings. For both: you can also include textile sampling, photographs, print ideas, three-dimensional work, garments and anything else relevant to the area of creative practice.
- Take photos of 3D pieces you wish to include. Please ensure they are clear and show a sense of scale, texture, material, colour and context.
- Try to show one full project from start to finish with the preparatory drawings included. Annotations are helpful as they show how you research and reflect on the development of your work.
- Include one to three final pieces that you are able to talk about. This might include garments, interior pieces or artistic statements.
- Include content from your sketchbook/s, as this will give us an understanding of how you think and allow us to see the development of your drawing/design development.
- There is no set way to order your portfolio, but we would advise that you arrange it in an orderly way. For example, you may find it useful to cluster your portfolio into projects, or put it in a chronological order, or start and finish with your best pieces.
- If you are presenting your portfolio in an unusual way, keep it clear and clean.
Skills we would like to see
- Skills in relation to colour and materials.
- Drawing.
- Composition.
- Individuality.
- Use of a visible design process for idea development.
- Willingness to experiment using a range of media, fabrics and technology.
- A passion for your chosen subject.
- For fashion only: evidence of an understanding and love of text as you will be working with books, scripts and poetry on the course.
Format for digital portfolios
- Submit your work as one PDF or PowerPoint file.
- Your digital portfolio should be no more than 10MB. Please compress your file if it exceeds the limit.
- Ensure your work has a good screen resolution.
- 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 accessed easily. We will not be able to view links that require a password.
BA (Hons) Fashion Design
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.
Watch this video guidance on digital portfolios:
Take a look at the course specific guidance below for help with putting your digital portfolio together.
Content
- Include work relevant to your chosen course, also showing us who you are as a creative practitioner. Include ideas generation, experimentation and development as well as a cross-section of ideas to evidence your creative interests.
- Show examples of drawings. For fashion design: these should include fashion sketches, life drawings and observational drawings. For textiles: examples include sketches, observational drawings, collages and paintings. For both: you can also include textile sampling, photographs, print ideas, three-dimensional work, garments and anything else relevant to the area of creative practice.
- Take photos of 3D pieces you wish to include. Please ensure they are clear and show a sense of scale, texture, material, colour and context.
- Try to show one full project from start to finish with the preparatory drawings included. Annotations are helpful as they show how you research and reflect on the development of your work.
- Include one to three final pieces that you are able to talk about. This might include garments, interior pieces or artistic statements.
- Include content from your sketchbook/s, as this will give us an understanding of how you think and allow us to see the development of your drawing/design development.
- There is no set way to order your portfolio, but we would advise that you arrange it in an orderly way. For example, you may find it useful to cluster your portfolio into projects, or put it in a chronological order, or start and finish with your best pieces.
- If you are presenting your portfolio in an unusual way, keep it clear and clean.
Skills we would like to see
- Skills in relation to colour and materials.
- Drawing.
- Composition.
- Individuality.
- Use of a visible design process for idea development.
- Willingness to experiment using a range of media, fabrics and technology.
- A passion for your chosen subject.
- For fashion only: evidence of an understanding and love of text as you will be working with books, scripts and poetry on the course.
Format for digital portfolios
- Submit your work as one PDF or PowerPoint file.
- Your digital portfolio should be no more than 10MB. Please compress your file if it exceeds the limit.
- Ensure your work has a good screen resolution.
- 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 accessed easily. We will not be able to view links that require a password.
BA (Hons) Garment Technology
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.
Watch this video guidance on digital portfolios:
Take a look at the course specific guidance below for help with putting your digital portfolio together.
Content
- Include work relevant to your chosen course, also showing us who you are as a creative practitioner. Include ideas generation, experimentation and development as well as a cross-section of ideas to evidence your creative interests.
- Show examples of drawings. For fashion design: these should include fashion sketches, life drawings and observational drawings. For textiles: examples include sketches, observational drawings, collages and paintings. For both: you can also include textile sampling, photographs, print ideas, three-dimensional work, garments and anything else relevant to the area of creative practice.
- Take photos of 3D pieces you wish to include. Please ensure they are clear and show a sense of scale, texture, material, colour and context.
- Try to show one full project from start to finish with the preparatory drawings included. Annotations are helpful as they show how you research and reflect on the development of your work.
- Include one to three final pieces that you are able to talk about. This might include garments, interior pieces or artistic statements.
- Include content from your sketchbook/s, as this will give us an understanding of how you think and allow us to see the development of your drawing/design development.
- There is no set way to order your portfolio, but we would advise that you arrange it in an orderly way. For example, you may find it useful to cluster your portfolio into projects, or put it in a chronological order, or start and finish with your best pieces.
- If you are presenting your portfolio in an unusual way, keep it clear and clean.
Skills we would like to see
- Skills in relation to colour and materials.
- Drawing.
- Composition.
- Individuality.
- Use of a visible design process for idea development.
- Willingness to experiment using a range of media, fabrics and technology.
- A passion for your chosen subject.
- For fashion only: evidence of an understanding and love of text as you will be working with books, scripts and poetry on the course.
Format for digital portfolios
- Submit your work as one PDF or PowerPoint file.
- Your digital portfolio should be no more than 10MB. Please compress your file if it exceeds the limit.
- Ensure your work has a good screen resolution.
- 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 accessed easily. We will not be able to view links that require a password.
BA (Hons) Textile Design (all pathways)
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.
Watch this video guidance on digital portfolios:
Take a look at the course specific guidance below for help with putting your digital portfolio together.
Content
- Include work relevant to your chosen course, also showing us who you are as a creative practitioner. Include ideas generation, experimentation and development as well as a cross-section of ideas to evidence your creative interests.
- Show examples of drawings. For fashion design: these should include fashion sketches, life drawings and observational drawings. For textiles: examples include sketches, observational drawings, collages and paintings. For both: you can also include textile sampling, photographs, print ideas, three-dimensional work, garments and anything else relevant to the area of creative practice.
- Take photos of 3D pieces you wish to include. Please ensure they are clear and show a sense of scale, texture, material, colour and context.
- Try to show one full project from start to finish with the preparatory drawings included. Annotations are helpful as they show how you research and reflect on the development of your work.
- Include one to three final pieces that you are able to talk about. This might include garments, interior pieces or artistic statements.
- Include content from your sketchbook/s, as this will give us an understanding of how you think and allow us to see the development of your drawing/design development.
- There is no set way to order your portfolio, but we would advise that you arrange it in an orderly way. For example, you may find it useful to cluster your portfolio into projects, or put it in a chronological order, or start and finish with your best pieces.
- If you are presenting your portfolio in an unusual way, keep it clear and clean.
Skills we would like to see
- Skills in relation to colour and materials.
- Drawing.
- Composition.
- Individuality.
- Use of a visible design process for idea development.
- Willingness to experiment using a range of media, fabrics and technology.
- A passion for your chosen subject.
- For fashion only: evidence of an understanding and love of text as you will be working with books, scripts and poetry on the course.
Format for digital portfolios
- Submit your work as one PDF or PowerPoint file.
- Your digital portfolio should be no more than 10MB. Please compress your file if it exceeds the limit.
- Ensure your work has a good screen resolution.
- 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 accessed easily. We will not be able to view links that require a password.