Tips For Building A Design Portfolio

Quality over quantity

Don’t overfill your portfolio with projects you aren’t 100% happy with, if you don’t think it’s good enough to gain interest from potential clients then follow your gut and only post your best work. Clients won’t spend all day scrolling through your portfolio, and if your best work is sporadically placed in your portfolio there will be a much less chance of them seeing your higher quality work. We recommend no more than six to ten projects should be on your portfolio to keep the quality high and concise. 

With fewer projects, you can describe the full work process including any relevant details which may be relevant. Having a full backstory behind the projects will give your portfolio more meat and content for the lead to digest giving the portfolio more life. 

The right platform

There’s a vast variety of platforms that offer graphic designers a place to show off their work. We highly recommend using Behance for a professional-looking portfolio that can help you build your online presence and industry recognition. For Behance you don’t need any coding experience or even technical knowledge, you just need to add your images of a project with context then rearrange them in a presentable way for the client.

Many graphic designers have made their websites to promote work and projects they have completed. This is a much more professional way to send your portfolio to potential clients, not to mention the customisability which is available on word press. I can only recommend building your website if you already an online presence through other platforms such as Instagram, dribble, or Behance. 

Don’t ignore written content

We all know that the images on portfolios are the best bit and draw the clients in, however, the client will read the story behind a project and will be sold. As they can see your work process. The written content is where you need to sell yourself and your work, although like the quality of the images over quantity. Be clear and concise, giving the client all the important details and leaving out the unnecessary waffle. 

A well-written story behind your work can amplify the message you are trying to convey. Ensure your writing style is similar to the project style, for example, if you want to advertise to a more corporate audience then writing more formal is ideal for your conversion. 

Overall portfolios will boost your online presence and industry reputation for the better, furthermore presenting your portfolio in a visually appealing and scannable way should increase the number of potential clicks on your work and enquires about your work.