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Author Topic: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)  (Read 33326 times)  Share 

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Joseph41

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Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« on: April 23, 2017, 03:38:44 pm »
+46

F O L I O  S U B J E C T S  A N D  S T U F F

... I wonder if anybody will find this thread, all tucked away in the Arts sub-forum lol. ;D

Today, I (literally) blew the dust off my VisCom folios. In Year 12, I put blood, sweat and tears into these – again, speaking quite literally. And the effort paid off: going into the end-of-year exam, I was sitting on 100/100 for Unit 3, and 100/100 for Unit 4. But I recall being so unsure at the time – never really knowing what was required, or how to achieve top marks. And overall, I think a lot of students would currently be in a similar position, particularly given the relative lack of resources for folio subjects.

As such, here are some tips (with pretty pictures (although I must immediately apologise for what I assume will be awful quality photos; my phone isn’t very fancy)!).


… I wasn’t kidding about the dust.

STEP ONE: HAVE A CLEARLY DEFINED PROJECT

The way I see it, it’s well and truly worth your time to really nut out your ideas before you begin. Your folio will naturally change and develop as time goes on – that’s all part of it – but having a decent grasp of what you’re attempting to achieve is initially important.

Doing so will provide more motivation later on, and on those days where you feel utterly stuck. If you don’t really know what you’re working toward – well, why would you work at all?

If at all possible, work really closely with your teachers initially. That’s some of my best advice, right off the bat. Try to come up with a project that is achievable but creative – feasible but new. This post will have a bit of a VisCom slant (as it was my only 3/4 folio (I also did Art 1/2)), but I think this would apply to most if not all folio subjects.

A big part of this definition for VCD at the very least is the design brief. In the coming days, I’ll post some sample briefs, but these need to be clear and concise. There’s nothing worse than trying to sift your way through a poorly written design brief. And it’s also much harder to design stuff if you don’t really know the relevant stipulations.


Five years on, I’d do a lot of things differently (it makes me cringle a little looking at this photo). But this brief is at least clear and unambiguous in presentation.

STEP TWO: RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT

I used to dislike the research component of design, but I realise now just how crucial it is to do well. I used to think, “I know what I want to do – and I can do that without looking at other things!” But it just doesn’t work like that.

Effective research demonstrates you know what you’re talking about. You’ve sussed out the market, and what you can learn from existing products (both good and bad elements).

Where do you even start? Simply brainstorm some stuff.


Very good research includes relevant annotations. From memory, I used to highlight in one colour design elements and principles, and highlight in another colour my main points. This was consistent throughout the entire folio(s). And further to that, start sketching some designs or initial ideas – the different part of the folios needn’t be entirely distinct.

One of my folios, for example, was designing a space-efficient hostel room (for backpackers and the like). So what I did was start sketching some initial ideas based directly off what existed already (and annotated, of course):


In another, I was designing a Myki-like pass for sporting matches, so I did the same (obviously in some depth; each of these folios was 100+ pages lol):


So basically, the research component of your folio – though arduous and frustrating at times – is important. Do not procrastinate, because it’s particularly tough to do this part retrospectively haha. Trust me – I’ve tried.

STEP THREE: BE CREATIVE

When starting to actually experiment, I like to again jot down my thoughts. If nothing else, this shows the assessor how if at all my thought processes have changed. It demonstrates that you’re engaging with the project.


(I drew and rendered SpongeBob and Patrick, so I was clearly procrastinating at least a little. Hah.)

Overall, you want to make something new. If you’re just going precisely for the status quo, what’s the point of the folio? And being creative can be fun, so it’s really a win-win.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Your initial concepts/idea generation DO NOT need to be neat. DO NOT THROW ANYTHING OUT. If you think something looks absolutely fkn shit, include it – and explain why you’re not going to pursue it.

There’s nothing wrong with creating something you don’t like.

There is something wrong with creating something you don’t like, and then not including it (namely wasted time).

Create many concepts. Choose your favourites. Pursue those favourites.


And definitely, definitely, definitely experiment with different materials, mediums and media. I wasn’t very comofortable with anything other than Copic markers, Photoshop and pencil, but experimenting a) gave me more ideas, b) opened up my mind, and c) showed that I wanted to create the best possible end design. (And even if you don’t think you’ll get anything out of it, at least it looks good to assessors.)


^I have no idea what I was talking about here haha.


^Or here, for that matter.


In this one, I’m literally experimenting with coffee and tea. I’ve clearly changed since 2012; I wouldn’t waste such commodities on non-consumption these days. ;)

In saying that, it would be silly not to play to your strengths. As I mentioned, I’m terrible at most things haha, so I stuck to what I knew best at the time.


STEP FOUR: BE COMPREHENSIVE

Once you’ve used up all of your creativity juices and have decided on a few core ideas, explore those ideas within an inch of their lives (#cliché). Make tweaks here and there, look at them from different angles – do whatever you can to fall upon the best possible version of the idea(s) you’ve run with.

And document every single step.


Here I was looking at different floorplans or something – I’m not really sure. But the point is, I’m documenting everything I’m thinking, with clear annotations. You can see my entire journey throughout the folio. And then I started thinking about individual pieces of furniture, so I did some more research:


So developing your ideas can also involve looking at particular elements of a design of which you’re otherwise fairly happy:


If you’re using technology (like Photoshop), make sure you’re as transparent as possible. Unfortunately (for time efficiency), this will likely involve documenting each step:


Speaking objectively, this is actually a good thing for you – it can show how much time and effort went into a particular project. For example, I wanted to demonstrate how one of my outcomes would look attached to an iPhone, but to do that, I needed an iPhone image! None suited particularly well, so I made this iPhone image from scratch on Photoshop. It took a bloody long time, and presenting only the finished outcome (as below) wouldn’t have done it justice, really.


The annotation above looks to be absolutely horrible, by the way haha (so convoluted!).

STEP FIVE: GO THE EXTRA MILE

Important.

This will differentiate your folio from the average folio. Effort usually results in reward.

What does that mean, really? Well, for one of my folios, for example, I was trying to work out what sort of timber I’d choose for a particular piece of my design. I didn’t think pictures were doing the job sufficiently, so I went out and actually obtained some timber samples to better inform my decision,


Basically, what I’m saying is to take your project seriously. And imagine that it’s not just a VCE folio, but a paid job. That’s the sort of quality to which you should aspire.

And in the end, you’ll come up with some nice finals.

If you’re interested, I recently wrote an article on a similar concept:
Flourishing in Folio Subjects: Key Steps

All the very best with your folio development! ;D
« Last Edit: March 12, 2019, 02:32:49 pm by Joseph41 »

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heids

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2017, 11:48:55 am »
+4
fkn upvote the fuck outta this pls
VCE (2014): HHD, Bio, English, T&T, Methods

Uni (2021-24): Bachelor of Nursing @ Monash Clayton

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Joseph41

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2017, 11:53:52 am »
+1
fkn upvote the fuck outta this pls

Cheers, Heidi! Can't have resources for folio subjects lagging behind, amirite? ;D

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Joshua Piper

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2017, 11:38:24 am »
+1
Did you have to construct an audience profile?
Really nice folio :) i liked it

Joseph41

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2017, 11:40:13 am »
+1
Did you have to construct an audience profile?
Really nice folio :) i liked it

Cheers, Joshua!

The pictures there are actually from two different folios, so it's probably a bit confusing to follow. And like I mentioned in the post, these are just a few random pages out of literal hundreds haha.

Part of my research stage was researching the audience, if that's what you mean? :)

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sonnyangel

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2017, 08:56:54 pm »
+1
Hi! Can I ask if you applied for Top Designs when you did viscom?
2018: Commerce / Information Technology @ Monash

Joseph41

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2017, 08:58:23 pm »
+2
Hi! Can I ask if you applied for Top Designs when you did viscom?

Hey hey! Welcome to ATAR Notes. :D

I never applied, unfortunately. :-\ Are you considering it? :)

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sonnyangel

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2017, 09:11:43 pm »
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I don't think I have enough time to do 3 concepts so I don't think so, i'll probably apply anyway though :)
2018: Commerce / Information Technology @ Monash

Joseph41

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #8 on: June 26, 2017, 09:14:48 pm »
+1
I don't think I have enough time to do 3 concepts so I don't think so, i'll probably apply anyway though :)

No harm in applying! :)

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louisa2

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #9 on: April 16, 2018, 07:12:26 pm »
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Hi!!! I am really stuck on ideas for my SAT Folio!! I'm interested in photography, but honestly have got no clue on what to do... any ideas??

Joseph41

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #10 on: April 17, 2018, 10:42:17 am »
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Hi!!! I am really stuck on ideas for my SAT Folio!! I'm interested in photography, but honestly have got no clue on what to do... any ideas??

Hey Louisa!

Welcome to ATAR Notes. :) What subject is this for?

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peppabreitinger

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2018, 07:27:19 pm »
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what score did you end up getting for VCD?

Joseph41

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Re: Making a 100% Folio: A Guide (With Pretty(ish) Pictures!)
« Reply #12 on: April 25, 2018, 07:28:54 pm »
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what score did you end up getting for VCD?

44 raw. A+ on the exam, but don't think it was a high A+. Was really disappointed with it in the end; definitely thought I could have 50ed.

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