Why does creating a portfolio feel overwhelming?
In a world overflowing with architectural talent, the path to success often comes down to a single, defining document: your portfolio.
Whether you're competing for a prestigious job, applying to the university of your dreams, or simply trying to present yourself to the world, an outstanding portfolio is crucial.
But creating one? That's a challenge filled with confusion, indecision, and doubt.
Whether you're competing for a prestigious job, applying to the university of your dreams, or simply trying to present yourself to the world, an outstanding portfolio is crucial.
But creating one? That's a challenge filled with confusion, indecision, and doubt.
Identify and navigate the typical challenges in portfolio creation.
Your Story, Untold.
You have the drawings, the tools, and the creativity, but piecing it all together feels like solving a never-ending puzzle.
How do you decide what to include? How do you know if it looks good or bad? You want to tell your architectural story, but the pages remain frustratingly blank.
A Missing Community
Without peers and experts to review your work, your portfolio lacks the critical insights that only a professional eye can provide. Your designs are good, but you know they can be more.
Lost in the Noise
With an overwhelming amount of tools, techniques, and trends in architectural representation, finding the right path can feel like navigating a maze.
Lack of Personal Guidance
Generic tutorials and resources might teach you how to use a tool, but they often miss the mark in teaching you how to create something that resonates with your unique style and audience.
So how can you create a portfolio that stands out, without getting lost in endless tutorials and spending countless hours figuring it out?
What you need is:
A Structured Path
Learn a systematic approach to always have a ready-to-publish, ready-to-send portfolio. It's like having an architectural compass, always guiding you to your true north.
Professional Insight
Benefit from expert eyes reviewing your portfolio, offering insights that not only refine your work but also elevate your entire creative process.
Engaging Community Interaction
Benefit from portfolio workshops, peer review, weekly homework, portfolio clinics, insider tips, a final showcase, and much more.
Build Your Image
Identify your audience, perfect your style, and construct a portfolio that doesn't just showcase your work but tells your story.
The Portfolio Workshop isn't just a workshop; it's your personalized roadmap to portfolio success.
The Masterclass
A deep dive into portfolio essentials. From foundational concepts to structure and identity, we guide you through every aspect with in-depth lessons. It's like your personal studio, where theory and technique build a stunning portfolio.
Portfolio Clinic
Think of it as a health check for your portfolio. We’ll review your spreads, offering advice to enhance strengths and eliminate weaknesses. With expert feedback and tips, we help you take your portfolio from good to great.
The Builder
Your weekly task list for portfolio creation, inspired by insights from our workshops and clinics. Each challenge is a building block for your ultimate architectural portfolio. It's where learning turns into doing.
Portfolio in Action
Interactive sessions where ideas transform into real portfolio spreads. We guide you through composition, layout, and content refinement, helping you organize your ideas and create a compelling, professional portfolio.
The workshop is broken down into six dynamic weeks covering key aspects of portfolio creation.
Throughout the program, you'll take part in a mix of live sessions, including masterclasses, behind-the-scenes walkthroughs, and group portfolio clinics. Some weeks are more intensive, while others give you space to focus, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
Explore what is covered in each week
Diagnosing Your Portfolio
We begin by exploring the core principles of effective portfolios while taking a group-wide look at shared strengths, challenges, and areas for growth. This week sets the direction for everything that follows.
What you’ll experience:
Portfolio Clinic: A group session focused on identifying shared mistakes, strengths, and opportunities across the submitted portfolios. Includes a Q&A segment for specific questions and deeper discussion.
Portfolio in Action: A behind-the-scenes look at how Oliver and Steven develops a portion of a real portfolio from scratch. While every portfolio is unique, this session reveals how structure, curation, and layout decisions take shape in real time.
Masterclass 1: Key principles of portfolio design.
Learn aboutlayout systems, narrative flow, and the big-picture structure behindsuccessful portfolios.
Learn aboutlayout systems, narrative flow, and the big-picture structure behindsuccessful portfolios.
Structure, Identity, and Cohesion
With the foundation in place, this week focuses on building a consistent system. We'll explore grids, typography, covers, CVs, and other elements that give your portfolio a strong and professional identity.
What you’ll experience:
Masterclass 2: Learn how to build a cohesive visual system using grids, alignment, white space and hierarchy. These design tools bring structure and clarity to your portfolio and help organize complex content more effectively.
Portfolio in Action: In this second behind-the-scenes session, we explore how a full portfolio spread takes shape, from concept to layout. The focus is on visual balance, content selection and how to integrate text and images in a way that feels clear and intentional.
Masterclass 3: The front matter of your portfolio sets the tone. We’ll cover how to design strong covers, tables of contents and CVs that are both professional and visually clear. These early pages often leave a lasting impression.
Iteration and Feedback
You’ve got the structure and tools, now it’s time to apply them. These three weeks are dedicated to making real progress. With one live Portfolio Clinic each week, you'll get regular feedback to stay on track. Between sessions, you’ll have time to reflect, test, and improve.
What you’ll experience:
Portfolio Clinics: Weekly check-ins for feedback, Q&A sessions, and portfolio guidance.
Dedicated time to update spreads, refine your narrative, and finalize design choices
Ongoing support through the group chat and visual feedback on the shared Miro board
A slower, more focused pace that allows for deeper portfolio development
Final Presentation and Review
In this final week, we shift our perspective. Instead of refining, we look at each portfolio as a finished piece, as if we were admissions reviewers, employers, or jury members. It's a chance to reflect on how your work is perceived and to recognize how far you’ve come.
What you’ll learn:
The Grand Review: Two live sessions where we explore the final portfolios in small groups, this time through the lens of real-world evaluation.
Feedback focused on clarity, impact, and overall presentation
A final opportunity to reflect and apply light refinements if needed
A closing moment to celebrate progress and share insights across the group
The Portfolio Workshop is for you if you're...
An Architect
An Architecture Student
A Design Professional
Whether you're chasing that dream job, aiming for a top university, or just eager to showcase your work in the most dazzling way possible, The Portfolio Workshop is your toolkit.
We're not just about making things look good (though we're pretty good at that too), we give you the guidance, resources, and insights to craft a portfolio as unique as your architectural vision.
We're not just about making things look good (though we're pretty good at that too), we give you the guidance, resources, and insights to craft a portfolio as unique as your architectural vision.
Meet your instructors!
Two architects, one mission: helping you craft a portfolio that stands out. With a combined audience of over one million creatives, we've built a global community dedicated to architectural storytelling, visualization, and visual communication. Through The Portfolio Workshop, we'll share the insights, techniques, and industry knowledge that have helped countless architects and designers elevate their work.
Learn more about Steven
Steven Rubio is not just an architect but a visionary educator who established Show it Better in 2015. Guided by his passion for architectural representation, he's created an educational platform that now reaches a community of more than 600,000 architects and architecture students worldwide.
An alumnus of the Class of 2015, Steven doesn't just sit behind a desk. He's also a practicing architect and an artist who enjoys exploring the transformations in Latin American cities through image manipulation.
As the director of Show it Better, he's not only sharing his knowledge but also inspiring future architects to represent and communicate their ideas better. Join him in the Portfolio Workshop to unravel the secrets behind captivating portfolios and build a portfolio that truly stands out.
An alumnus of the Class of 2015, Steven doesn't just sit behind a desk. He's also a practicing architect and an artist who enjoys exploring the transformations in Latin American cities through image manipulation.
As the director of Show it Better, he's not only sharing his knowledge but also inspiring future architects to represent and communicate their ideas better. Join him in the Portfolio Workshop to unravel the secrets behind captivating portfolios and build a portfolio that truly stands out.
Learn more about Oliver
Meet Oliver Uszkurat, the brain and heart behind Upstairs. His journey from working as a junior architect in different firms to winning and participating in major national architecture competitions in Brazil has shaped his vision for architectural visualization.
Deciding to pursue his passion for visual communication for architects, Oliver now dedicates his time to the Upstairs community, crafting videos, courses, and packs that enhance your visualization and representation skills.
Oliver's commitment to teaching and sharing his in-depth knowledge is your gateway to refining your portfolio to perfection. With the Portfolio Workshop, you're in expert hands, ready to unleash your creative potential and stand out in the architectural world.
Deciding to pursue his passion for visual communication for architects, Oliver now dedicates his time to the Upstairs community, crafting videos, courses, and packs that enhance your visualization and representation skills.
Oliver's commitment to teaching and sharing his in-depth knowledge is your gateway to refining your portfolio to perfection. With the Portfolio Workshop, you're in expert hands, ready to unleash your creative potential and stand out in the architectural world.
Live Sessions That Move Your Portfolio Forward
These live sessions are where things actually happen. You show up, ask questions, and work on your portfolio with real-time guidance and feedback. You’ll be part of a global group, all pushing forward together.
Weekly real-time calls
Direct instructor feedback
Global creative community
The Essentials to Get You Started
Bonus Content
The Portfolio Workshop is all about crafting a strong portfolio—its narrative, structure, and impact. We won’t be spending these weeks on software basics, which is why you’ll get exclusive access to the InDesign for Architects course by Upstairs and $65 worth of essential resources from Show It Better. These will equip you with the technical foundation so you can focus on what truly matters: building a compelling portfolio with our support every step of the way.
InDesign for Architects
A premium course from Upstairs designed to equip you with the essential skills for portfolio creation, covering everything from InDesign techniques to core design principles.
Learn more
Portfolio Starter Pack
Essential resources to elevate your portfolio. Get $65+ worth of premium templates, cutouts, and architectural assets to bring your ideas to life with a professional edge.
Learn moreThe Schedule
The second edition of The Portfolio Workshop runs from July 28 to September 4, with live sessions, clinics, and hands-on lessons. Once you join, you'll receive the full calendar with dates and times.
This is a live program, so it’s best to set aside time to work on your portfolio each week. If you miss anything, all sessions are recorded and can be watched later at your own pace.
Week 1
Topic:
Starting With a Reality Check
Monday
Tuesday
July 29
Clinic 1
90 minutes
Time: TBD
Wednesday
July 30
Portfolio in Action 1
90 minutes
Time: TBD
Thursday
July 31
Masterclass 1
90 minutes
Time: TBD
Friday
Week 2
Topic:
Build a Strong Visual System
Monday
Tuesday
August 5
Masterclass 2
90 minutes
Time: TBD
Wednesday
Portfolio in Action 2
90 minutes
Time: TBD
August 6
Thursday
August 7
Masterclass 3
90 minutes
Time: TBD
Friday
Week 3
Topic:
Deep Focus, Time to Work!
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
August 13
Clinic 2
90 minutes
Time: TBD
Thursday
Friday
Week 4
Topic:
Deep Focus, Time to Work!
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
August 20
Clinic 3
90 minutes
Time: TBD
Thursday
Friday
Week 5
Topic:
Deep Focus, Time to Work!
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
August 27
Clinic 4
90 minutes
Time: TBD
Thursday
Friday
Week 6
Topic:
The Grand Portfolio Review
Monday
Tuesday
September 2
The Grand Review
90 minutes
Time: TBD
Wednesday
Thursday
September 4
The Grand Review
90 minutes
Time: TBD
Friday
A Portfolio That Speaks for Itself
This is the kind of transformation that happens when you commit to the process. By the end of the workshop, every participant walks away with a portfolio that not only looks good but tells their story with clarity and intention. Here’s a glimpse at one of them:
Table of Contents
Aliaga Museum, pages 26 - 27
Beatriz Alonso
Spain
M.Arch Student
After feeling overwhelmed by the idea of reworking my portfolio, I decided to join this workshop to finally take action. It was the best decision I could have taken. Steven and Oliver teach you the basics to create a cohesive structure that works for you, breaking the theory into different design aspects to focus on each week. All this while keeping the process an open conversation for the group to interact, and learn from one another. Overall, the best course to join if you want your portfolio to stand out!!
Selected spreads from Beatriz’s final portfolio, developed and refined throughout the workshop.
Atrium, pages 20 - 21
Bevagna School, pages 8 - 9
Beatriz Alonso
Spain
M.Arch Student
After feeling overwhelmed by the idea of reworking my portfolio, I decided to join this workshop to finally take action. It was the best decision I could have taken. Steven and Oliver teach you the basics to create a cohesive structure that works for you, breaking the theory into different design aspects to focus on each week. All this while keeping the process an open conversation for the group to interact, and learn from one another. Overall, the best course to join if you want your portfolio to stand out!!
Selected spreads from Beatriz’s final portfolio, developed and refined throughout the workshop.
More Stories From the Workshop
Hear from others who joined the workshop and used it to push their portfolios forward. These are honest reflections from people who came in with ideas and left with something ready to share.
Leah Hoepelman
Dominican Republic
Professional
The Portfolio Workshop was such an immersive experience! Oliver and Steven had a remarkable ability to demonstrate and explain very technical and rigorous concepts related to portfolio, layout, and editorial design. They also showed how all of these could be effectively applied to showcase our craft and work.
What I truly gained from this course was the confidence to create a well-thought-out and unique portfolio that speaks directly to who I am and what I'm passionate about, rather than following the crowd and comparing myself to others. At last, they were also incredibly attentive and focused on each participant’s individual needs, which made the entire experience feel personal and deeply fulfilling.
What I truly gained from this course was the confidence to create a well-thought-out and unique portfolio that speaks directly to who I am and what I'm passionate about, rather than following the crowd and comparing myself to others. At last, they were also incredibly attentive and focused on each participant’s individual needs, which made the entire experience feel personal and deeply fulfilling.
Loaai Atef
Egypt
Professional
The workshop was a great experience! It gave me fresh insights into how to improve my portfolio and think more strategically about my presentation. I appreciated the clear guidance and felt more confident in my design direction after attending.
Jorge Perez
Guatemala
Professional
This workshop was honestly amazing! What I loved the most were the portfolio clinics. They felt super personal and helpful. Oliver and Steven really know how to guide you and push your work to the next level. Their feedback made a big difference in how I see and present my portfolio. Super grateful for the whole experience!
Sorilina Sánchez
Venezuela
Professional
This workshop took me from 0 to 10. I was struggling so much with putting together my new portfolio because my previous ones were merely academic, and I wanted this one to look very professional. The masterclasses, clinics, and "Portfolio in Action" sessions were invaluable sources of learning and inspiration. All the information was presented in a clear and organized way. I started from scratch, and now I have a portfolio that I am proud of and confident to show.
Willa Wischansky
Brazil
4th year Student
I'd like to say that I loved the workshop and learned so much! I value a lot everything I learned and I'm already planning to buy all the other courses!
Thank you guys for the amazing workshop and incredible work that you do! You two inspire me a lot and I hope someday to be as good!! Gratidão e um abraço! - Willa
Thank you guys for the amazing workshop and incredible work that you do! You two inspire me a lot and I hope someday to be as good!! Gratidão e um abraço! - Willa
Kami Huynh
United States
3rd year Student
This portfolio workshop was a great experience. The lessons were super well-organized, and it was clear that Steven and Oliver put a lot of thought into everything. Their tips were really practical, and watching how they approach their own work was one of the most valuable parts for me.
Even though I'm an interior design student, I still learned a ton from this architecture-focused course, especially about how to present work clearly and effectively.
It was also really cool to meet people from all over the world and see their different styles. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking to seriously improve their portfolio whether it is to apply to a master's program, a job, or to update your portfolio overall!
Even though I'm an interior design student, I still learned a ton from this architecture-focused course, especially about how to present work clearly and effectively.
It was also really cool to meet people from all over the world and see their different styles. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking to seriously improve their portfolio whether it is to apply to a master's program, a job, or to update your portfolio overall!
Micaela Butron
Canada
Professional
The Portfolio Workshop was exactly what I needed to elevate my portfolio. The direct feedback during the portfolio clinics was incredibly valuable, helping me understand what to improve and how to move forward with clarity. I appreciated the collaborative environment and the opportunity to learn from both Steven and Oliver, as well as the other students. My portfolio has improved tremendously since starting the workshop. This kind of support is rare in the architecture and urban design field, and I’m grateful for the experience. I would absolutely continue if the opportunity arises.
Watch our Portfolio Review episodes on Youtube!
For years, we've been conducting portfolio reviews for individuals across the globe on our YouTube channel. These sessions have provided valuable insights and laid the foundation for our comprehensive cohort course.
While our YouTube reviews offer a taste, the cohort course amplifies the experience manifold.
It's a complete journey born from these foundational reviews but expanding so much further into the depths of portfolio creation and refinement.
Driven by Your Feedback
Our YouTube portfolio reviews got a flood of love, and a clear message: you wanted more. More insights, more engagement, more guidance. So, we listened. This cohort course is our way of diving deeper, built straight from your feedback and excitement.
