# Architecture Portfolio Templates: How to Use Them Without Looking Generic Templates are a starting point, not a finished portfolio. Used well, they save you layout grunt work. Used blindly, they make your work look like a hundred other applications. ## Where templates genuinely help - **You are short on time.** A template gets you from "no layout" to "clean pages" fast. - **You are not a layout designer.** A well-made grid beats your improvised margins. - **You need consistency.** Templates enforce a uniform system across pages. ## Where templates hurt - **They make work look interchangeable.** If every applicant uses the same template, the portfolio stops communicating your judgment. - **They add decorative noise.** Fancy frames, gradients and icons distract from drawings. - **They don't fix content.** A template around weak or poorly chosen work is still a weak portfolio. ## How to customize a template Make it yours with small, high-leverage changes: - Replace the template's colours with your own restrained palette - Set your own typeface pairings - Adjust margins and image sizes to fit your drawings - Remove every element that isn't doing a job The goal is a layout that disappears and lets the projects lead. ## What to keep from any template - A consistent grid - Clear hierarchy (title, body, captions) - Simple, legible navigation (in a PDF: a contents page) - Generous whitespace around drawings ## The real template is your structure The strongest "template" for an architecture portfolio is the structure itself: cover, intro, three to six projects with narrative and process, skills at the end. That structure — from the [portfolio guide](/architecture/architecture-portfolio/) — is what makes a portfolio readable, regardless of the layout tool. ## Build your own system instead Once you have one well-designed spread, duplicate and adapt it. A personal system is better than any purchased template, and it grows with you. The [layout guide](/architecture/architecture-portfolio-layout/) shows the mechanics. If you want portfolio tools that handle the layout system for you, [join the Architecture beta](/architecture/#beta).