The department course outline can be found here.

Course Description

Development of each student’s strategy for entering the design profession. Cumulative work will be critiqued by faculty and professional advisers. Students edit and revise their portfolios to meet professional standards and will add materials as needed. The development of individual promotional pieces, resume writing, job search and interviewing skills will be emphasized.

Course Information

Course Number: COMD 4801

Course Title: Portfolio

Credits / Hours: 3 Credits, 6 Hours

Pre/Co-requisites: COMD 4701

Class Meetings

There are five (5) designated in-person lecture/group meetings when the entire class meets (>> see schedule) and nine (9) one-on-one in-person meetings.

In order to meet the course objectives and participation requirements, all students are expected to have weekly meetings.

Collective (group) class meetings with the entire class:

  • Weeks 1 & 2
  • Week 7 (Midterm)
  • Weeks 14 Portfolio Review & 15 Senior Show

Individual (one on one) meetings with Portfolio Advisor:

  • Students meet with their advisors weekly in the instructor’s office.
  • Individual meetings will be scheduled, arranged and confirmed with the specific Portfolio advisor.
  • Each faculty advisor keeps attendance/notes regarding group and specific meetings.
  • On days designated for one-on-one meetings, all students are expected to attend in person and return to the classroom to work individually for the full length of the class.
  • One on one appointments must be made at least 24hrs or more in advance.
  • Please use the Calendly to make appointments.

Teaching/Learning Methods

  • Lectures & Demonstrations
  • Discussions, Critques, and Assignments
  • Exposure – inspiration in the field (websites, magazines, around NYC)
  • Review of homework – assignments will be collected via either Blackboard, Google Folders, or DropBox
  • In-class critique of work – feedback
  • In-class lab time to work on assignments

Schedule

See >>schedule here

Grading Policy

50% Quality of portfolio
40% Personal identity materials
10% Presentation skills

Course Deliverables

  1. Identity (primary logo, secondary logo, logo mark)
  2. Business collateral: digital letterhead and business card
  3. Optional: Leave Behind (self promotion)
  4. Resume
  5. Cover Letter
  6. Thank you Letter
  7. Social Media icons, or profile images: FB, IG, and LI
  8. Social Media cover images: FB, IG, and LI
  9. Social Media accounts: Linkedin, and IG
  10. Broadcast/Video majors must create a “demo reel” and “shot list”
  11. Web majors must demonstrate “live art” on-line web site
  12. Process book: sketches, research, notes, and drafts
  13. Digital Portfolio (15-20 pieces)
  14. PDF Portfolio
  15. Optional: Physical portfolio

Technology Requirements

This class requires you to practice speaking about your portfolio and focus will involve professional presentation in person.

Master and back-up drives are required in the professional world. Students
are instructed NOT to work directly off of their drives

Class Etiquette & Netiquette

Please be on-time for each session. This is part of being a professional designer
• Collective meetings starts promptly
• For individual meetings come prepared with work
•All assignments need to be submitted on time

Learning is a group activity. The behavior of each person in class affects the overall learning environment. As a COMD student you are expected to act in a professional manner; to be respectful of the learning process, your instructor, and your fellow students.

Attendance/Participation

By the end of the semester you must have a mandatory number of 10 meetings: 5 collectively with the whole class, and 5 individual appointments with your Professor. If you don’t have the required amount of meetings you will fail the course.

Attendance is taken and is important to success in this class. Both absences and
arrival more than 15 minutes after the start of class will be marked. If excessive, the instructor will alert the student that he or she may be in danger of not meeting the course objectives and participation expectations, which could lead to a lower grade.

Academic Integrity Policy

Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting and citation of sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the college recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension and expulsion. More information about the College’s policy on Academic Integrity may be found in the College Catalog. 

The COMD BFA and AAS are design studio programs. In-class activities and engagement with other students is a significant portion of the course. Absences in excess of 10% of the total class hours will result in a 10% drop from your grade due to an inability to meet deliverables of participation. This is in addition to other penalties that will be imposed for failure to complete academic requirements. No more than 4 class absences will be tolerated. It is expected that you will be ready to work at the start of each period. Any 2 latenesses will be considered to be equal to 1 absence.

Course Resources

You can access all of these resources by clicking the links below, or using the menus at the top of the page.

Course Outline. The course outline is the department’s “official master plan” for the course – it lists the textbook, the number of credits, any courses that you must complete before taking the course (prerequisites), what to pics will be covered each day, and the learning outcomes. One this page you will find a link to the course outline for the course, as well as the course description that appears in the college catalog.

Lessons. Here you will find online lessons for each day of class. If you missed a day of class, or you have questions, this is a great place to go!

Resources. Stuck on a topic? Already looked at the online lesson? You can find additional resources for most topics here, including many examples worked out in full, created or selected by City Tech faculty.

Reading Materials you will find links and support materials to help you succeed in this course and beyond.