BA (Hons) Scheme in Design Portfolio Preparation

Portfolio Guidelines

The portfolio highlights who you are, what your design and artistic interests are, and what your skills and capabilities are. This is shown through your own works in different artistic, creative and design related media, that shows an idea, interpretation or intention.

There are two types of portfolio: Creative Portfolio and Maker Portfolio. Applicants can prepare their portfolios by referring to these directions.

Creative Portfolio
Maker Portfolio
Other Participatory Work

Creative Portfolio

Target Applicants:
Applicants with art and design-related background who have a basic understanding of what design is.

Types of work expected:

Two-dimensional works
- Collage
- Drawing / Illustration / Painting / Sketching
- Photography
- Storyboard
- Visual Diary

Three-dimensional works (Photographed)
- Handcraft
- Installation
- Mixed media
- Model / Prototype
- Sculpture

Multimedia (with links / QR code)
- Apps / website
- Animation / Video
- Demonstration on work

Related elective subjects:

Visual arts
Design and Applied Technology
Art and Design related (e.g. Dance, Film, Music, Theatre)

Related Applied Learning (ApL) courses*:
Creative Studies (e.g. Design, Music Production, Dance, Drama)
Media and Communication (e.g. Film and Transmedia, PR and Multimedia Communication)

Maker Portfolio

Target Applicants:
For those with non-art and design backgrounds, but interested in studying design.

Types of work expected:

Works
- Creative concepts
- Personal insights
- Research
- Script writing
- Storytelling
- Creative coding
- Model / Prototype

Related Projects
- Community
- Entrepreneurship
- STEM / STEAM
- Design and Technology
- Applied Maths
- Applied Physics
- App Design

Related electives subjects:
STEM related (e.g. Science, Mathematics)
Tourism and Hospitality
History, Geography, Business, Economics, ICT
Languages

Related Applied Learning (ApL) courses*:
Applied Science (e.g. Health Care, Psychology)
Business, Management and Law (e.g. Marketing and Online Promotion)
Services (e.g. Hospitality, Child Care)
Engineering and Production (e.g. Constructing Smart Cities)
Languages (e.g. Copywriting)

*Applied Learning (ApL) courses are elective subjects within the senior secondary curriculum in HKDSE. For non-HKDSE applicants, please refer to the types of work as a reference.

Other Participatory Work

Other than the works mentioned above, additional creative-related works are welcome. These works can be from courses you have done as part of your studies, your creative and artistic hobbies, competitions, workshops, services or After School Activities (ASA) and classes.

Format

Cover page with your application no. and name in English and Chinese (if applicable).
A3 portfolio of 20 - 30 pages, not exceeding 20 MB in PDF in English that shows five to ten of your best projects, include development work for one project.
Each project should include a title and a one-sentence / short paragraph description.
Personal Statement (200 words) – What are your interest / passionate about / why study in SD?

Physical / Digital Portfolio Requirements [For interview]

Content: The physical portfolio should be very similar to the digital portfolio however it needs to contain:

Samples of original work including sketches, drawings, paintings, mixed media art work and other relevant works must be included in the portfolio.
Bring your own device to show videos or any time-based media (if applicable).
Small models, objects, crafts and 3D media can be presented in the interview (if applicable).

Tips to prepare portfolio/interview

The portfolio must be organised and structured in a way that is easy to view and to understand. Consider the order of how these projects should be viewed.
The portfolio should show us the range of your capabilities and skills as well as your creative process and how you develop your ideas.
Show the range of your skills, in different media using different approaches rather than many similar projects. Show projects executed with a variety of media, approaches and experiments, rather than many projects of the same kind. Personal insights, communication value and creative concepts are emphasised more than technical skill alone.
Please state if the work is done by group or yourself.
Projects that are designed for particular purposes and people in mind (design-based) as well as purely expressive (art-based) project may be included.
You can include both two- and three-dimensional works, as well as interactive and time-based projects.
Multimedia works like rendering, video and website can be presented by a few significant frames, with a link for “click-to-watch” or a QR code for “scan-to-watch”, or standard web browsers. Large scale 3-D works (e.g. sculpture or installation) can be presented with photos.
Before entering an interview, double check your device (including microphone, speakers, internet connection) is working.