BUILDING YOUR DESIGN PORTOLIO

A designer’s most powerful weapon to sell their work is their portfolio.

Not only is it a place for the designer to showcase their best work, but it can also be a place for viewers to get in touch with the designer, critique the projects, ask questions, and ultimately turn into clients.

Portfolios come in a few different flavors: there are online portfolios with interactive elements and then you have the traditional pdf portfolio that can be either digital or print. No matter what approach you use, there are ways to make it look both professional and compelling.

First of all, put yourself in the shoes of a recruiter or a potential client—shifting through hundreds of possible candidates can be overwhelming! You can find ways to make it easy for them to stop, for just a moment longer, and take notice of your portfolio. This could be the deciding factor on whether you get that call back.

Follow the following steps for setting up a great portfolio

Consider your format: Decide if your portfolio would be on a website or just digital, in form of a pdf. If it is going to be a website, put some research into the website you plan to use to host your portfolio. Perhaps your best choice will be a platform that allows you to create a profile and upload your samples.
Think about your target audience. Are they mostly interested in logo design work? Brand packages? Building a portfolio that centers on the type of client work you want to do will create a concise, focused presentation. You may want to concentrate on finding logo design work or landing an in-house design job centered around social media ad design. Let your portfolio reflect that aim.

Building a portfolio that centers on the type of client work you want to do will create a concise, focused presentation.

Display your best work: Your graphic design portfolio is a place to show everyone what you’re capable of. Consider starting and finishing your display with your absolute favorites so that the first thing the viewer sees draws them in, while the last thing they see is something they’ll never forget.
Tell a story: Think of your portfolio as telling a story. It should provide a narrative arc with a beginning, middle and end, with your strongest work serving as bookends at the start and conclusion.
Add your unique style & personal touch: Strong personal branding is critical to your freelancing success. Do not shy away from expressing your unique talents and style in your presentation. Have a strong personal logo or name toward the top of that first page or website. Spend time really thinking about your unique approach to design and ways you can convey that in your portfolio. It could be that your style uses brighter colors, a more illustrative style, or handwritten typography. Regardless of the tack you take, try to incorporate those elements throughout the portfolio.
Use simple, clean layouts: This tip seems like a no-brainer, but it is easier said than done. Make sure your portfolio layout only has the most essential items shown at one time. For example, for the first page of a case study, ask yourself, “What helps tell the story here?” and “What shows off this work the best?”
No previous work? No problem! Not all freelancers, or those who just graduated from design school, have large previous work to display in their portfolios, especially when they are first starting out. I enjoy seeing at least one personal project in a portfolio because personal work tends to better demonstrate passions and talents more than client work.
Provide your contact information: Include your name, phone number, and appropriate email address somewhere in plain sight. Websites often include this information in their footers so viewers can see the information no matter what page of the website they’re on. Additionally, include any social media platforms that viewers may want to connect with you on. This could be anywhere on the scale from professional to casual, as long as it’s linked to your craft. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are all a good start.

You can also show case your work on Instagram following this same procedure

If you feel your portfolio needs some fresh new content, look at the various websites that offer design challenges. These daily design challenges can not only sharpen your skills but help you expand your portfolio.

https://sharpen.design/

https://www.dailyui.co/

https://dribbble.com/shots?list=playoffs

http://www.whatshouldidesign.com/

https://designercize.com/

https://dailylogochallenge.com/

EXAMPLES OF PORTFOLIO WEBSITES INCLUDES

https://www.katemoross.com/

http://www.lottanieminen.com/

http://mariamarie.com/

https://www.mikekus.com/

https://andwalsh.com/