DESIGN Portfolio course

Create a stunning portfolio and get into your dream university!

We have 10+ years of experience with proven results

Study at your own pace

Study at your own pace with support of our university educated teachers

Get feedback

Get live feedback on your portfolio

Reach your goals

Increase your chance to enroll to academy

Curriculum

The course lessons are chosen to support your understanding of the creative process and design. We help you create personal and communicative design projects that show the qualities the schools are looking for in their potential students.

1. Portfolio examples

This lesson shows examples and analyses of successful portfolios from different design fields. The same portfolio does not work for all purposes. You should always tweak your content to fit the purpose. Learn from the examples and start ideating your own portfolio!

2. Concept Design

Design visualizations always have a background idea: a product/marketing/design concept. A strong concept helps you to communicate your idea clearly and without unnecessary clutter. In this lesson you will learn how to create interesting and coherent concepts that have layers and great attention value.

3. Sketching and Ideation

Designers' work happens before the final product is realized. Ideation processes and ability to sketch, organize and visualize the ideas is important. This lesson will open up why, when and how you should sketch to develop your ideas further.

4. Creative exploration

How to show your creativity? The finished items often hide the process behind them and the process is actually where the designer’s work happens. To show your potential one should learn to explore the design process. In this lesson we talk more about how and why you should do that.

5. Prototyping

This lesson takes a look at different prototyping and scale modeling techniques through examples and tips and tricks. Creating great models adds valuable information to your designs and makes you stand out from your fellow applicants!

DESIGN Portfolio course

This is an independent course where you study at your own pace with personal tutoring meetings and support of our teacher.

DESIGN Portfolio course

590 €

incl. VAT

Experiences

“

Attending the course was the best decision I ever made. I got more self-confident and learned a lot about myself. If you want a solid base for both the entrance exams and your future studies, I recommend that you sign up. I got into every school I applied to.

Google Reviews

5.0

★★★★★ 5/5

Goals

Is this course for me?

In some Design Universities the application process includes preliminary assignments and intake assignments or entrance exams. In other schools the selection is made based on a portfolio and some pre-determined assignments you must include to the portfolio. If you have never done these kinds of projects or assignments, it may be daunting to start. You may have a lot of questions and uncertain thoughts: “What do they want, what kind of works should practice with?” It may also be difficult to build a portfolio if you don’t yet have so many projects to start with.

This course will help you to create a great portfolio and gain a study place in your dream university in these design fields:

Design
Product design
Interior design
Creative design
Visual communication design
Graphic design

The university admissions evaluate the creative skills and applicant’s general suitability to the studies of the designated design field. The basic order and method in the design process is similar in all design fields. In the course you will learn to create interesting projects that show your skills and potential.

What you get?

This prep course will first train you ideate for the assignments creatively and practice the skills you need so that your idea and message come through clearly. We give you professional guidance on the different design assignment types and how they are assessed. The feedback will increase your understanding of what it is you should focus on in your projects. You can use these projects in your portfolio. In addition we will tutor and comment your application process so you can be certain your work meets the requirements the school has set.

Why us?

The portfolio and the assignments are these days submitted online and the possible entrance exams and interviews are usually also conducted online. This may vary between schools, so make sure to check the process form your desired University.

As we are located in Finland and have guided our students to both Finnish and European creative degree programs for over a decade, we have a good understanding of the qualities and requirements the programs are looking for in the students. In the course you will attain skills and capabilities to apply to any undergraduate degree in the field of Design.

Join this high demand course to make sure you are within the top candidates!

Course Teacher

Eeva Jokinen

I’m a passionate craft-oriented designer and teacher. My first degree was in Ceramics and I currently run my own company where I make small scale ceramic production and unique artworks.

For my whole artistic career I have also been teaching both in private and University positions. This woke up my interest in pedagogy and learning theories and I graduated from my second MA degree of Art Education in 2020.

My interest in the design field is wide. I teach both research methods and ceramic practices in Aalto University as a part time teacher and art techniques and content creation methods in Scandinavian Design School. I’m interested in how we learn and how to teach creative skills which are very individual and based on practice and materials.

My teaching philosophy is based on social-constructional methods, where the teacher is guiding the students towards their goals as a companion and provider, facilitating the learning which happens in each individual learner in their own unique way. I believe reflection and critical thinking of one’s work is the key to personal development and success.

About Eeva

Master of Arts (MA) in Ceramics and Glass Design

Master of Arts (MA) in Art EducationTeacher of art and design for 20 years
Preparatory course teacher for 7 years
Owner of Eeva Jokinen Ceramics design company
A passionate and well liked Scandinavian Design School teacher, who is dedicated in training you to reach the study place of your dreams!

For the Parents

The role of the parent is many time surprisingly significant when preparing for admission exam for university. Here are some tips for you, if you are a parent or the one supporting the applicant.

The role of the parents in the application process

As parents we want our children to succeed. However, the creative journey is very personal and stepping in too much may feel overstepping. How to be supportive in the right way?

Your endorsement as a parent is essential for the applicant, as your approval of their career choice gives them a psychological leave to fully explore their creativity and put all their energy to the application process.

A parental perspective is important especially in practical matters: You can help search for the best programs and discuss their benefits and possible future careers. Finding the right course to help them in the application process is a great way to show your support.

Supporting creative work

To support the creative work, focus your attention on the process, not only the end result. Curiosity and creativity are meant to lead to uncertain results that cannot be determined beforehand. Supporting the process communicates understanding of the creative journey and motivates your young to explore more.

The work of the designer always happens before the final product/work is finished. That includes trials and errors, but also insights and feelings of flow. Encouraging them to be resilient and commit to the process of improving their work, even if it feels hard, will prepare them for actual work in the creative field.

Sometimes there is no time to wait for inspiration, but just to do the work that is given to you. In our courses we will take part in that encouragement process, adding our professional insights and educational skills into the projects and feedback we give to our students.

Competition is the main concern

There are several aspects the parents usually are concerned about:
the competitive nature of the application process is worrisome.

It is very hard to get in, especially to the top ranking schools. How will your child take the possible rejection? How motivated are they to try again if they are rejected?
Discuss the possibility with your child. It is always a good idea to apply to several different schools, perhaps with slightly different rankings, especially if a gap year is not an option. You should always reach high, but also keep your head cool and add some easier options as well.

The method of selection varies between countries but also between schools. You either apply with a portfolio or through an entrance exam process. In some schools you need both a portfolio that includes some pre-assignment projects. If you don’t get accepted, in most countries there are foundation years/different level degrees or other lower education schools/courses to improve your skills and apply again next year. In Finland it typically takes 2-3 tries to learn how to apply and get the necessary skills. During each gap year these students have developed their skills in other courses, such as ours. Of course in every year many students also get in on their first try. Usually those students have a strong background on creative hobbies.

The motivation to reapply proves your career choice is legitimate. Skills can always be improved, will and determination must rise from within. The schools are looking for creative potential, curiosity and courage. Our courses focus on bringing those qualities out of our students and show them in their projects and portfolios.

Will they find employment in the uncertain creative field?

The applicants are rarely aware of all the possible career paths the creative fields may offer. An artist or a designer is the most obvious one and directly related to their current abilities and desires.There is a vast array of other possibilities that may open for them with a creative degree.

In recent studies it has been proven that creative industries have been growing twice as fast between 2013 and 2019 than the rate of the European economy as a whole.
Similar statistics are reported around the world. Creative economy has more and more jobs and the modern digitalized society is more in need of creative professionals than ever before.

Also, due the very nature of creativity, tolerating uncertainty in the creative process makes creative professionals especially equipped to navigate the challenges in our modern societies. Many universities also support interdisciplinary degrees, where the benefits of two or more disciplines steer you into a unique individual career path.

Why Scandinavian Design School?

Our teaching method is focused on three things:

Professionally curated curriculum that focuses on the skills needed in the application process
Project assignments that force you to stretch your creative thinking and creativity to a new level.
Feedback given by the professional teachers. Our teachers have a long experience in evaluating the projects and portfolios from the application process perspective. The key is in communication, our comments are always kind, but direct in their assessment.

The actual learning happens in the relation of these three. So the course does require commitment and resilience in working on the assignments. Just watching the videos won’t provide any feedback. In working with the assignments the learning changes from information to knowledge, and when repeated, into a skill.

In most art courses in this price range you don’t get as much personal communication with the teacher. In the evaluation we try to see the motives and and reasons in each project and focus our reviews to both the great parts, but also the challenges. The feedback always has some insights on how the work could be made more interesting and the ideas communicated more clearly.

590 €

Begin your creative journey!

DESIGN Portfolio course

Create a stunning portfolio and get into your dream university!

We have 10+ years of experience with proven results

Study at your own pace

Get feedback

Reach your goals

Curriculum

The course lessons are chosen to support your understanding of the creative process and design. We help you create personal and communicative design projects that show the qualities the schools are looking for in their potential students.

1. Portfolio examples

2. Concept Design

3. Sketching and Ideation

4. Creative exploration

5. Prototyping

DESIGN Portfolio course

This is an independent course where you study at your own pace with personal tutoring meetings and support of our teacher.

DESIGN Portfolio course

590 €

Experiences

Google Reviews

Courses

Contact Us

Contact Us

Contact Us

DESIGN Portfolio course

Courses

Contact Us

Contact Us

Contact Us