Jewellery Portfolio Guidance

BA Jewellery and Silversmithing - Design for Industry (top-up)

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

Content

1. Examples of the type of work that can be included are: paintings, drawings, designs, sketchbooks, 3D models, CAD design work, any jewellery you have made.
2. We’re looking for quality rather than quantity so there is no set limit for the amount of work you should include. Try to include as much as possible, focusing on offering the best work you have produced.
3. We like to see 3D pieces, so take photographs of your 3D work from a variety of angles to give us the best impression of the work.
4. Include design projects from start to finish as they allow us to see the design-thinking and design-processes in action.
5. Work outside of prescribed school/college work is always very welcome. For example, if you’ve been making work in a part-time job or a night-class, include this.
6. In terms of the structure, it is best if the portfolio corresponds to the layout of the sketchbooks if these are being presented.
7. Portfolios should, where possible, be presented by project, with materials relating to each other in the same section. Chronological presentation if useful but not essential.
8. To help your reviewer get a better understanding of you and your portfolio please include annotations where relevant.

Skills we would like to see

1. The ability to think in three-dimensions.
2. Problem-solving.
3. Visualisation of processes.
4. Evidence that you’re enthused by the subject, or by the subjects you have chosen to explore.

Format

1. The accepted formats for your digital portfolio include: PDF, PowerPoint, Google Slides, Open Office Presenter or online.
2. There is no preferred file size for your digital portfolio but images should be scales for web use- under 0.5MB each.
3. Ensure your work has a good screen resolution and present it in the order you would like it to be seen in.

MA Jewellery and Related Products

The content of your digital portfolio and recorded presentation, and the skills they demonstrate should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. Please see our guidance below to help you create and organise your work.

Recorded presentation or vlog

Please provide a three minute recorded presentation – in the form of a video blog or vlog – in which you speak to the camera and introduce yourself and your aspirations. Please answer the following questions:

• Why are you interested in studying jewellery, in particular? What aspect of the discipline are you most driven to explore and learn about?
• Why do you wish to study jewellery and related products at Masters level? What are your motivations for study at postgraduate level?
• What knowledge, skills and abilities do you want to develop on the MA Jewellery and Related Products course?
• How do you envisage the next five years, in terms of your career trajectory?

Digital portfolio

1. We would like to see between 2-4 projects, and we are particularly interested in the methods and approaches used to develop your design ideas. Please make sure you make reference to your source of inspiration for the concept, research processes, iterative development of ideas and provide evidence of technical skill. Please label/annotate images, and credit all published sources used.
2. We would like to see a variety of work, in order to understand the breadth of your previous learning and experience. This might mean that your projects reference a range of forms and genres, including art jewellery, commercial jewellery, accessory design, jewellery for performance, eating implements or vessels, or other related artefacts.
3. It is useful to include any live projects, competitions or industry projects, as this can highlight your potential. Likewise, indicate if any of your projects were completed as part of an industry or work placement.
4. The order you present your work in is the order we will view it, so structure your work in a clear and organised way. You may find it useful to start with your most detailed projects showing your journey from start to finish. Later projects in your portfolio might be snap shots of products foregrounding key techniques you wish us to be aware of.
5. If you are including work that was created as part of a collaborative creative team, it is important that you state what your role was in the project and evidence the specific organisational or studio elements that you contributed towards the project.

Skills

1. Evidence of enthusiasm for the field of jewellery and its related products.
2. Evidence of your ability to visualise ideas – in two and three dimensions – with an emerging sense of your own voice or visual style.
3. Evidence of being able to create three dimensional forms in a variety of materials, from quick models to test ideas to more refined final pieces.
4. Use of an iterative approach to develop and refine your design ideas, with evidence of reflective thinking.
5. Knowledge of jewellery designers and artists spanning a range of jewellery genres, as well as critics and theorists from a range of relevant fields.

Required formats

1. Submit your digital portfolio as a single PDF file (max size 20MB), and your recorded presentation as an MP4 file (max size 150MB) or a link to an online video hosting platform such as YouTube or Vimeo.
2. Please compress your files if they exceed the limits set above.
3. You can add any external website links in your PDF portfolio. Please check that these links work before you submit your portfolio and they can be viewed without a password. We will not be able to view links that require a password.