BUCPUA Hosts an Informative Portfolio and Visual Design Session

On Monday, October 7th, BUCPUA alum David Valecillos (MCP ‘14), Director of Design at North Shore CDC, and BUCPUA alum Rubén Cerón (MCP ‘19), Design and Placemaking Project Manager at North Shore CDC, hosted a lecture on the key aspects of designing a portfolio and presenting visual projects. 

Valecillos discussed the elements which create the best portfolios for planners. He emphasized four key elements: 1. color and text, 2. formatting, 3. general content, 4. portfolio layout. It is important for planners to decide what they professionally want to do and then connect their professional drives to specific companies, tapping into their culture while building a portfolio. Valecillo stressed that simplicity and stylistic choices lead to clean portfolios that affect the reader, and the importance of considering those choices while creating a portfolio. 

Afterwards, Rubén Cerón took center stage. Cerón presented using PowerPoint, highlighting certain tools the program offers to enhance presentations. Cerón’s presentation itself demonstrated engaging visual representations that planners could use as examples when creating their own presentations. He highlighted how PowerPoint is a way to project and support a  planners ideas in a communicable way. A presentation should always include visualization of the planners ideas in maps, graphics, photos, or drawings. Cerón ended his presentation by showing examples of visual data and design for planners.

The lecture was lively with many eager planners waiting to ask questions about their future endeavors into the world of portfolio making and designing presentations. When the evening ended, students had increased fluency in professional communication through design. 

Delanie Fico, CAS ‘21