Student Portfolio Review

Outdoor Product Design and Development

Submission Requirements

All design, development, and product line management students MUST apply to matriculate into the Professional Program (final two years). To apply to matriculate a student must have a 2.67 overall GPA, a 3.0 minimum OPDD GPA, with a C or better in the following OPDD core courses:

-OPDD 1000
-OPDD 1050
-OPDD 1100
-OPDD 1700
-OPDD 2420
-OPDD 2430
-TEE 1010
-TEE 1200 or TESY 1200

Two of the following lower-level OPDD technical elective courses:

-FCSE 1040
-FCSE 2040
-OPDD 2040
-TEE 1030 or TESY 1030
-TEE 2030

Students must schedule a time to meet with their Academic Advisor to create a long term plan and ensure that they have all prerequisite classes. Student’s must apply to submit portfolio 5 PM MST the last day of Fall classes. 

Start your application!

Students who submit an application will be added to a Portfolio Submission Canvas course during the Spring semester that will provide them access to submit their Final Portfolio and grant them access to the design challenge.
Students portfolio submissions and design challenge are due by 5 PM MST the Friday before Spring Break.

Student portfolios must include:

  1. A curated, cohesive, web-based presentation created using Wix, Dribble, PortfolioBox, Adobe Portfolio (keep in mind that your Adobe Portfolio accounted created with a usu.edu email will expire upon graduation) or similar.
    • The online portfolio should have tabs at the top to direct the review committee to your resume, ideology statement, and work. 
  2. Requires 3 artifacts that represent your best work.
    • 2 artifacts should be physical and 1 artifact can be digital only.
    • Each artifact should have the following represented:
      • Market/User based research and a problem identified.
      • Ideation through Sketching.
      • 2D and 3D representations of the product using (Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, Solidworks, Rhino, and Keyshot; we are expecting to see the use of all of these software packages in your work regardless of your area of interests (softgood/hardgoods)). 
      • Physical prototypes (can be low or high fidelity, but low fidelity prototypes should be followed by computer modeling demonstrating the difficulty in producing high fidelity prototype).
      • Photographs of the product and process (video is acceptable in the online portfolio).
    • The artifacts should demonstrate your ability to use the design process, while documenting your skills as a designer, developer, or PLM. Most often this is the documentation of a product, but not exclusively. Strive to include information about the process (Research, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test) by which this journey developed. 

    • Samples of work must be your own original, personal work. They can be from assignments in classes or from outside of class. If the product is from group work and others were involved in the creation, due credit and permission should be given. Students should avoid using drawings provided in class as well as using online templates or AI generated ideation or renders.

  3. One physical prototype should be submitted on the Friday before Spring Break by 5:00 pm outside of Jim Arnold's office (Janet Quinney Lawson room 203).
  4. Design Challenge / Brief: A brief will be presented via the Canvas page on the LAST DAY OF FINALS OF FALL SEMESTER. You will have from that day until 5:00pm MST on the Friday before Spring break to design and create your response to the brief. This must be included in your portfolio. The design brief will be a fictitious scenario in which you will be asked to design a product as a solution to a problem. 
  5. A link to your website will be submitted through a Canvas assignment where you will also attach your other document. 
Samples of work must be your own original, personal work. They can be from assignments in classes or from outside of class. If the product is from group work and others were involved in the creation, due credit and permission should be given. Students should avoid using drawings provided in class as well as using online templates. 

Ideology Statement

  • Maximum of 250 words
  • An explanation of how you design or develop and what and why you create. Please share why you love to create while avoiding telling a history of why you like the outdoors. Explain why you are here in OPDD.
  • Linked in your online portfolio

Resume

  • Single page document
  • Includes correct formatting and contains appropriate content for a resume
  • Submitted in PDF format in Canvas
  • Linked in your online portfolio

Transcripts

  • Can be unofficial copies from Banner
  • Include any from other institutions, if applicable
  • Submitted in pdf format in Canvas
  • Labeled as Lastname_Firstname_Transcripts.pd