You are very talented at graphic! and I really like your website!
Just two comments:
1. For your website, you have so much good stuff there, How about have more emphasis on your portfolio and CV sections? Probably, you can make their front bigger or use a different color. Well, I think you can come up with a better idea, I am not good at web design at all.
2. For your portfolio, how about add more details, your projects are sort of conceptual.
Hope I did not get you confused, but I would like to hire you, but I am poor too, hah, Good Luck!
Some time ago I came across a website that cataloged images of 100s(?) of street sections from around the world. They were dimensioned and ranged from interstates to Hutong alleys – lots of great multi-modal precedents. I lost the link and can’t locate the site. Does anyone know the site I’m talking about? If you do, will you please share the link.
Thanks,
Dave
AnonymousInactive
LOL I guess my suggestion and long a$$ story gotta big…meh!
I’ve done landscapes in Texas using 419 Tifway to St. Augustine and projects in Kansas, Ohio, Florida, New York and Connecticut using all kinds of Blue Grass and Fescue to Zoysia. Steel edging might retard growth for a while, but without maintenance the turf will always invade the beds—well at least where I’ve practiced it has. Maybe grass does something different in your parts.
Anyway I was going to suggest concrete edging, but not the kind that’s extruded from a machine because that stuff cracks up like crazy in a cold climate. On commercial projects I’ve used concrete edging with carefully placed expansion and control joints on the curved sections, this was back in the early nineties and they have held up well. But, that’s if you want that kind of look on your project. Like I said, I did it in the early nineties; do you know/remember what people dressed like back then?
No dis to edging users, but I’d never sacrifice safety to make such minor design statement. But you best believe if I were to use steel edging it would have an urban/industrial flavor to it. Like welding two pieces of salvaged Ryerson steel edging together and distressing it in a funky way. Or smooth graceful curves using ½ thick steel. Go big or go home. Otherwise stick with the classic deep edged bed practiced by gardeners for the longest. Deep edge in the spring, along with a couple of passes with a wheeled lawn edger during the growing season and it usually holds up with bi-weekly touch ups with a string trimmer with a steel blade. I think this is a case of less is more. No law suits for the firm and save the client on materials and labor.
AnonymousInactive
I used to spec a lot of steel edging when I first entered the profession. The common thought was that it helped keep turf from migrating into the bed areas. This has not been the case in my experience, it seems like the grass rhizomes just spreads right past it. Then I rationalized using it because it acts as a more permanent marker to define the bed areas. But, when a landscaper told me a story about a kid getting a nasty cut from falling on rusty widely spaced joint in the edging I stopped using it unless the client demanded it. That said, the last time I used it I called for the thick stuff and had them weld the joints and grind the sharp edges down to avoid this problem. Every two or three years a couple of sections need to be reinstalled because of frost heave, but it’s no big deal. If you have a client that insist that you use steel edging make sure you make it clear that ongoing maintenance may be required to avoid possible hazardous conditions (note this on the drawings).
I still pretty much don’t use the stuff. It’s a pain in the butt on curving slopes and undulating grades. Most importantly I think a bed that’s professionally deep edged in the spring and maintained with a steel edged trimmer during the growing season looks soooooooo much better. Besides most of the time the plants ultimately decide what the bed edge will be. I like to be able to move the edge as a garden matures or more plantings are added.
To be fair I may be a little biased against steel edging because I was probably traumatized as a young LA by my uncle who always asked for my garden advice, but never followed it. I sketched and labeled a foundation planting plan for him and told him exactly what to do to give his house some “curb appeal” and to call me if he had any questions. A couple of months had passed and I stopped by to see him and his wife for something totally unrelated. I almost passed out when I saw his place; he had sheared this gorgeous Japanese Maple that was planted about 30 years ago into a neat gumball shape and used white marble chips for mulch instead of the aged shredded hardwood mulch that I told him to use. Once my eyes adjusted from the glare of the marble chips I could see he was using green steel edging that was sticking up 6” out of the ground like a little curvilinear retaining wall. He was so proud of his work I couldn’t bring myself to tell him just how disgusted I really was. My uncle is no longer with us, but his steel edging which is now sticking 10” out of the ground and marble chips live on. Anyway who cares what a fancy college boy landscaper has to say about anything.
Whether or not you have margins probably depends on the style of portfolio you want it to be. Personally I leave them off and place images to edge. If you do this use the crop marks and bleed setting when publishing from indesign. Then print on an oversize a4 and crop it down, this should avoid the printer cutting of the edges of your work.
I would also add scalebars to the original drawing, that way you get some sense of the proportionality of the drawing even if its not to scale.
If its a single ‘carry-in copy’ you’re producing it might be worthwhile trying to get a ‘book’ style folio (Pina Zangaro do good ones!) This will allow you to run artwork (particularly sections) across two adjacent pages to keep the the drawing at a large enough scale to still be readable.
MGParticipant
Ok, so I am just starting to work on getting all of my projects together in InDesign for my first portfolio. I am running across some obstacles.
First off, the margins. Should there be margins? Or is that a design decision I should make on my own? I’ve decided to do Landscape layout 8.5 x 11.
Secondly,regarding the scale drawings. My site plans and sections are at a larger scale like 1″ = 40′ or 1″= 16′. These drawings are HUGE and would cover a whole 36′ x 48′ board. Should I just place these huge drawings into InDesign and when I convert the portfolio into .pdf I should be fine? I have already saved each of these images that I am placing into InDesign as a .pdf file that has been compressed to the smallest size possible, but each file size is still fairly large. About 2-5 mb per image that I am placing.
Thirdly, placing the drawings into InDesign in a 8.5 x 11 will obviously change the scale of the drawing. So is that ok? For example, the drawing of a site plan will state that the image is 1″=16′ although its not….will that be acceptable?
I know these questions are somewhat silly, but I am an amateur at this and trying to tackle this portfolio. It’s been such a challenge for me as I keep running into problems. Thanks! 🙂
ny state has a 3yr (2yr in ny) rule that is more stringent than the neighboring states. CA, MA and FL (and maybe others) have challenging state specific sections (a state can require more sections) in their exam requirements.
I lost a few years worth of hrs in the 6-month rule change in IDP; every year I pay into that system aggravates me – it’s a heck of a lot easier in landscape and in engineering, i suppose it’s an effective way of weeding out some people.
JAParticipant
That seems to be what I am finding, as well. The most challenging part for me will be to gain the 18 months work exp req’d in my State. Anyway, would you, or anyone ‘tuning in’, be able to tell me what the COuncil record’s specific Categories are?
I noticed that CLARBs LARE guide has breakdowns into Sections A -through- E. Does the Council Record follow those categories? I already have a Spreadsheet put together which converts my actual work hours into NCARB, PMP, NCIDQ Work Reqts. I would like to know the actual CLARB categories so that I can add LA to that spreadsheet.
There will not be one this spring. All of my other opportunities came through. The closest reviews I will be doing are Sections C and E in Denver, and Section C in Philly.
Maybe I can work something out in the fall.
Hi Susan,
I took the multiple choice exams first and then moved on to Sections E and finally C last December. If I remember correctly, the results of each test were posted no earlier and sometimes later than anticipated. It’s ironic that the most challenging thing I’ve ever done scholastically has been orchestrated by an organization that doesn’t hold itself to its own standards. Most recently, I called my state’s technical committee because I hadn’t heard from them regarding the transfer of my scores, and the employee said she has been deluged with calls from other successful candidates whose scores also have not been sent by CLARB: Very frustrating, but I see light at the end of the tunnel now and will be thrilled to have all this behind me.
Cathryn
hello there. is there any example of monochrome colour graphic presentation out there?? especially for the sketches and sections. i am thinking on applying the monochrome style on my presentation but i dont know if it is suitable or not.
The AA program you gave the link to leans more towards “landscape design” skills. I graduated from an AA program in Reno directed by an ASLA fellow, with a FAIA and other practicing LA’s as instructors. The program takes 3 years from scratch but I finished in 2 because I already had my BA. I’m now in an accredited 3-year MLA program and feel a lot of the studio design and sustainable land planning emphasized at community college was BETTER than the accredited program I am in, in many ways (but not all). The AA degree I received had an ‘articulation’ created with it to seamlessly enter an accredited BLA program as a Junior, but I wanted a Masters.
The AA degree in Reno is also recognized by the NV State Board, which allowed me to take sections A & B of the LARE; of which I passed both, helped very much by the community college program. Unfortunately, strong AA programs in Landscape Architecture do not have an accreditation process, but they should! Community colleges are the perfect gateway to professional OPTIONS in landscape architecture; work, transfer schools, licensure. I felt strongly that my BA in Environmental Analysis & Design and my AA in Landscape Architecture (legitimately not landscape design) qualified me to begin my MLA program in the second year with students who have accredited BLA/BSLAs. But no dice, so I am completing an ‘extra’ 4 quarters to round out my education. ASLA has expressed interest in accrediting community college programs…
We need affordable access for a broader diversity of people to the profession with recognized AA programs that develop articulations in line with the curriculum of in-state Universities with accredited programs! Bringing legit LA programs to community colleges can only help the profession by making students aware of opportunities in the field at a low cost, and helping to spread the word about what landscape architects do….
I asked CLARB why they couldn’t simply scan the 11 x 17 redlines and have them available for viewing at a Prometric Test Center for ONE hour. It would save a lot of driving time for those of us many hours away from the venues where we can view the hard copies. CLARB answered that they are not going to change their methods now, and there will not be any redline reviews available for the June 2012 Sections C or E. This is disturbing because as others have commented, upon reviewing redlines some candidates have appealed the failing grade and ended up receiving a passing score. I’ve heard a lot of stories positive and negative about redlines.
This is a great opportunity for those of you in the midwest. If I were still testing, I’d jump at this one. I took Ray’s Webinar’s for A, B and D when I was taking the exams in 2010 and 2011 in Illinois. It worked well for the multiple choice sections of the exam, but for sections C & E I would strongly recommend brushing up with Ray’s review classes. He offers a hands-on approach to solving problems where the solutions to the graphic portions of the exam are somewhat subjective and multiple solutions can be acceptable. This material is not very conducive to the webinar format.
Before I took section E, I paid to fly and stay a couple of nights in Raleigh, NC for an intensive review of section E material (grading and storm-water management was not my forte). We had a 3 day session for 8-10 hours per day and went over multiple vignettes that covered all the bases for material pertaining to the exams. It was money well spent and I passed all the sections of the exam on the first try. Ray gives you multiple problems/vignettes that you can’t find anywhere else and an opportunity for his personal guidance and feedback to your solutions. You are supplied with multiple vignettes for take home practice. Practicing multiple vignettes under simulated testing conditions is really the key. Working a couple practice problems a day prior to the exam gave me the confidence and ability to solve the problems quickly.
I would strongly consider taking his review classes, especially in light of the fact that this may be your last opportunity to take the exam in its current format.
