Portfolio Design

ART 450 is a capstone portfolio course developed to prepare students for the transition from academic study to professional design practice. The curriculum leads students through auditing, refining, and sequencing their strongest work; crafting a cohesive personal brand; and developing both a hardcover print portfolio and a fully functional online portfolio website. Students produce identity materials—including business cards, resumes, and leave-behinds—while learning to articulate their design philosophy, document process work, and communicate strategic thinking behind each project. The course emphasizes narrative cohesion, layout systems, visual hierarchy, and cross-platform consistency, while also introducing contemporary tools and emerging technologies (including AI-assisted ideation) to support refinement and presentation workflows. Through iterative critique, peer review, writing exercises, and mock interview preparation, students graduate with a polished, professional portfolio package capable of supporting applications to design roles, internships, graduate programs, or client-based practice.