What to include in a good design portfolio
Rajendra Zadpe
Whether you are a full-time graphic designer or somebody who's interested in experimenting as a side project in her spare time, it's important that you create a sleek graphic design portfolio to showcase your work to potential clients.
Usually, a graphic design portfolio is the only thing that a client wants to see when choosing a graphic designer — which means that a portfolio is important to prove their ability as a designer.
In addition, a graphic design portfolio, just like a resume, includes the requisite contact information and any case studies that you take care of including from former employers.
Thankfully, we've created a list of 12 outstanding graphic design portfolios, accompanied by guidance on how to create your own. Keep reading to get all the tips you need to take care of the perfect room to showcase your work.
Curate the best work, and demonstrate a wide range of abilities.
Lindsay Burke, a renowned graphic designer, stresses the importance of consistency over quantity when it comes to curating a portfolio of graphic designs.
She says, "I suggest choosing the best projects and making them the primary subject on your portfolio website."
Ideally, your portfolio will feature the brightest, most exciting 10-20 designs — unquestionably, anyone following the portfolio won't have time to look at more, and if your first few projects are good enough, they shouldn't have to.
It's just as important, however, that you show potential clients your versatility. When you have dabbled both in logo design and game animation, it’s nice to have all types of projects in your portfolio.
Choose the best place to demonstrate your work
Investing in a reliable website with a custom domain URL would pay off in the long run by showcasing your expertise to future clients. Having your own website lets you arrange your portfolio to fit all your business needs — for example, you can have 'Projects,' 'About Me' and 'Contact Me' pages, so that visitors can access your content and then contact you without ever leaving the site.
There are also websites like Doographics where you can display your work to a much larger audience and can create your customer base.
Have a qualified case study or a suggestion from the client
Through means of a written case study, visitors to your site will gain a sense of the context of your project, the issue you were trying to solve by design, and the steps you took to achieve the final deliverable. A lot of time, energy and refinement goes into design approaches, and a written case study can help to convey your particular method.
To create a good case study, consider including the context of the project, the issue, the procedure, the deliverable, and any further steps. In the process portion of your case study, Burke recommends analysis, knowledge mapping, personal development, wireframing, sketching, usability testing, and iteration.
In addition, prospective clients will be impressed if you can provide references from previous employers that allow you to show a degree of professionalism.
Integrate the personality
As seen in the examples above, each portfolio is dramatically different depending on the particular style of the artist. Someone looking at Tobias van Schneider's portfolio would expect something very different from anyone looking at Ling K's blog. Ensure that your portfolio — including the architecture, history, and website title — reflects who you are as a designer.
Describe the cycle of innovation.
Designer has a specific process when working with clients — and the faster a potential client can know about your process, the better. It's crucial that you have a description so that tourists can get a sense of how you deal with challenges and how your designs solve real-world problems.
Plus, including an overview of your creative process, a prospective client will help decide if you are capable of managing the complexity of their project. For example, they may be unaware of your abilities to manage mobile graphic designs before they read how you single-handedly brainstormed and designed another client's mobile site. The meaning is critical in this situation.
Show non-client work or side-project jobs.
Amanda Chong, a Designer, says, "Side projects are a great way to display your willingness to take the initiative and your ability to handle many items at once.
They're also a great way to demonstrate some of the more adventurous, innovative concepts that you may not be able to show in your day-to-day work." If you're just starting out, it's appropriate to have side projects or non-client work so that prospective clients can get a sense of their skill and style.
Consider adding school work, a logo that you have developed for your aunt's company, or an internal template that you have created for your current business — ideally, the designs would mitigate any questions that prospective clients have about the lack of professional experience.