Documenting and Archiving Your Work

Documenting your work is critical to creating a portfolio, which is almost always required as a submission for work opportunities and graduate school applications. Process work, model shots, and final renderings are equally valuable in demonstrating the complexity of your ideas and your critical and creative process, so you should plan to document a project comprehensively. Below are the recommendations for project documentation.

Documentation of Physical Artifacts

1. Near the end of each term, you will be able to sign up for a photo room time slot.

• Slots are 30 minutes 

2. Bring your models and artifacts down to the photo room (Shattuck Hall 117) early.

• Your photo time begins promptly, so bring everything you need to photograph down to the photo room (SH 117) 5 minutes BEFORE your appointment starts.

3. Bring your own SD card.

• The school can provide cameras for you to utilize during your documentation time, but please bring your own SD card. You are welcome to bring your own high-quality DSLR camera if you prefer to use your own. The School cameras are available for checkout through the architecture office.

4. Take good photos.

• Take care to get high-quality photos. (Remember, you may need these photos for your portfolio!)

• Make sure the image resolution is set to 300 DPI, and think about the composition, background, sharpness of focus, and lighting. Before your documentation appointment, read the following helpful guide to taking good model images

5. Mind the time.

• When your time ends, remove your things promptly and allow the next person to use their full allotted time. If you need more time, sign up for another available time slot in your class’s photo session that day, or sign up for a time in one of the Open Sessions. 

Documentation of 2-Dimensional Work

Scan Your Drawings

• The scanners in the print lab (Shattuck Hall 107) do not take reservations or have a sign-up sheet. It’s first come, first served, so get in and scan your work as early as you can or even throughout the term.

• The desktop scanners can be used independently, but for large work, you’ll need to check in with the print lab clerk and get set up to use the large-format scanner. Follow the print lab instructions regarding the plastic sheet over your work. This protects both your work and the scanner from media such as charcoal that may smudge or leave residue on the scanner.

Saving Files

You should create backup files for all your images. One of your backup methods should be to place your image files on an external drive.

Picking Up Your Work from Previous Terms

Student materials for pickup will be available in the office until the end of the first week of the next term. Materials will then be returned to the faculty, who will hold them for the rest of the term. Students should contact their professor to arrange a pickup.

Example: Sketchbooks for ARCH 100 in the Fall will be available for pickup in the office until the first Friday of the Winter term; after that, the professor will hold the materials until the end of the first week of the Spring term.

All items not picked up by students will be discarded or shredded, based on PSU student privacy policy.

In some instances, the School of Architecture may retain work for purposes of accreditation, display, and program promotion. When the School no longer needs the work, the student will be notified that the work can be picked up. 

Questions? Email [email protected] or one of the Digital Liason Graduate Assistants.