Design Portfolios

Acknowledgments

It's one thing to casually tell someone your story in an interview; it's an entirely different challenge to convey that story using only your portfolio and to do so convincingly enough to get that person to hire you. Telling your story through your work is what this book is all about. Most design students seem to be experts at sharing their project experience, but they are not so good at telling their story.

A big part of understanding how to tell one's story effectively comes from good mentorship. From my earliest days as a student at Louisiana State University, throughout my years of professional practice, and finally the writing of this book, I was fortunate enough to have extraordinary teachers, mentors, and friends help me to understand the importance of story. Collectively, these individuals taught me the fundamentals of portfolio design, helped mold me into a designer, and ultimately led me through the myriad of challenges inherent to writing and publishing a book. Without them, this book would not have been possible. I am deeply indebted to the following people:

I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Dr. Robert S. Reich (1913–2010). “Doc,” as he was affectionately known, was the Director of the LSU Department of Landscape Architecture from 1946–1983. Without Doc, it's very unlikely that I would have ever become a designer at all. In the briefest of interviews during my first week of college, Doc somehow recognized that design would be my life's work ...