Process Documentation

How you got there is as important as where you landed.

What finals can't show

A polished rendering, a resolved plan, a finished section — these demonstrate what you produced. They don't demonstrate how you think. Process work: sketches, diagrams, study iterations, physical model photographs; shows a reviewer the design intelligence operating beneath the surface of the final graphics. It shows that the solution was arrived at, not just drawn.

Firms reviewing student portfolios consistently flag the absence of process work. It's one of the most reliable differentiators between portfolios that feel designed and portfolios that feel assembled. Including strong, legible process documentation signals that you understand design as a method, not just a product.

What to include

• Concept sketches — the early hand drawings that captured the design idea before it was built out digitally. These don't need to be refined. They need to be legible and meaningful. Be selective with what you include.
• Analytical diagrams — site analysis, programmatic organization, circulation systems, ecological relationships. These demonstrate the thinking that preceded the design. Do not confuse inventory for analysis.
• Design iterations — key moments where the design developed, changed direction, or resolved a problem. Not every iteration, but the ones that show how decisions were made.
• Study models — physical model photography showing spatial and formal investigation. These communicate scale, massing, and material character in ways that digital images often don't.

Technical Documentation

Every portfolio must include construction-level technical drawings integrated into at least one project’s spreads. This is a requirement, not a recommendation. A portfolio that shows only design vision without evidence of technical execution leaves a fundamental question unanswered: is this person a designer, or a dreamer?

• Grading and Drainage— spot elevations, grade transitions, detention and drainage details. Shows that you understand how water moves through a designed landscape and how topographic form influences space.
• Planting plans and schedules — botanical names, spacing, sizes, seasonal interest. A rendered planting plan without a schedule is an illustrationwhile a schedule-backed plan is a document tha tillustrates temporal and technical understanding.
• Hardscape details and Layouts — paving section details, dimensions, material callouts, edge conditions. Demonstrates that you understand how surfaces are built, not just how they look.
• CAD linework — a plan sheet in black-and-white working drawing format alongside your rendered version (be sure to show something different than the rendered plan). Most student portfolios show color plans. Showing the underlying linework demonstrates production-level technical skill and the ability to draft a clean and professional technical drawing for communication and construction.

What not to include

Process documentation is not a complete history of every attempt. It's a curated selection of the moments that show how your thinking developed. Early sketches that are illegible or irrelevant, discarded iterations with no clear connection to the final design, and process for its own sake — "look how much I did" — weaken rather than strengthen a spread. Curate your process as carefully as you curate your finals.

Integrating process into the spread

Process work doesn't need its own separate section. Integrate it into the spread on top of the plan or alongside the final graphics. A concept sketch sitting next to the rendered plan it generated creates an immediate, visible connection between thinking and outcome. That connection is what reviewers are looking for.