- Pick your design portfolio’s platform
No coding knowledge? No problem. Mezink gives you a hustle free-experience in designing your customised portfolio with no technical knowledge required. Mezink has it all, be it designing a website, creating a creative profile, or creating a link in the bio for your profile.
- High-Quality Images of Your Graphic Design Work
Don’t fill your online portfolio with poor images with weird cropping that will turn off potential clients. Make sure you use high-quality images that will not appear pixelated or blurry on a screen. Process images of your graphic design work properly using Adobe Photoshop or other editing tools so they are web quality, with good resolution, and quick load time. This will ensure they look their best in your portfolio, and illustrate you care about the quality of your work.
- A User-Friendly Website Design
Attract potential clients and get them to stay awhile on your portfolio site by making it accessible and welcoming. It should be easy to navigate and user-friendly, with a design that isn’t overwhelming or confusing for visitors.
- Regularly Updated Content
A stale portfolio with old work isn’t going to attract potential clients or keep visitors to your site engaged. Make sure your design portfolio is packed with current work, highlighting a recent design commission by a client or a logo design you made for a recent marketing campaign. Your portfolio website should be fresh and interesting, with regular updates of your latest and greatest work.
- Highlight Your Best Designs
As you dive into organizing your portfolio website, it’s important that you be picky about which work you include, and not just throw everything you’ve ever designed onto the site. This means you may need to let go of some old projects or examples that do not align with your graphic design style now. Rather than clutter up your portfolio with every creative design you’ve ever made, curate your website so you highlight the work you are most proud of and feel demonstrates your design sensibilities the most.
As you decide what to include in your portfolio, keep a few questions in mind, including which designs will be the most polished and impressive to potential clients. What design work am I most proud of or most excited to show off? What design projects speak to my approach and style as a graphic designer? How can I set up my portfolio to attract potential projects that I want to take on?
Maybe you are excited about a logo design you created recently for a big brand or major client. Or perhaps you feel a design series you did for an award-winning project is worth showing off.
Be selective and thoughtful about the design work you include on your portfolio website so you feel confident that it represents you properly as an artist and will be a comprehensive place to learn more about you as a designer.
- Categorize Your Design Work by Project or Type
Keep your online portfolio organized and user-friendly by grouping your work together by project, so they are easy to follow for visitors. Make a list of all the design work you’d like to include in your portfolio site, and see if you can categorize them by project, such as by client name, or by type, such as “logo designs,” “social media graphics,” or “advertising design campaigns.”
Breaking your work down into categories will make it easy for visitors to click through your portfolio site to confirm your experience and your design approach to different projects. It can also be a great way to highlight your ability to do different design projects and show you are a well-rounded professional.
If a client is looking for a logo designer, for example, they may be thrilled that you have an entire section of your portfolio site devoted to logos you’ve created for different brands, as it gives them a sense of your skills.
- Keep Your Target Audience in Mind
Like the best graphic design, your portfolio site should connect with the intended audience for your brand, and meet or surpass their expectations. As you create your portfolio website, ask yourself, who is my target audience and how can I get their attention? Picture your target audience as you organize your portfolio site to help guide your choices and approach.
Graphic design portfolios are great tools to help you sell your work to a client or as part of a bid for a project. You may also be trying to connect with the design community online and find collaborators to work with on projects or campaigns. If you don’t have many projects on hand because you’re just starting out, you can brainstorm ideas that interest you and create graphic design work as a hobby project. Additionally, you could reach out to companies you’re interested in and offer pro bono services. As a designer, it’s important that you consider the target audience for your portfolio site, and build it with that audience in mind.
- Share Your Artistic Story
When you put together your portfolio site, think about how it can reflect your artistic journey and give visitors a good sense of who you are as a creative person in the design world. Consider how you can share your individual story through your design portfolio, and make it feel particular to you and your story.
Maybe you tell your story through the types of design projects you select for your portfolio site or you integrate your artistic journey through the site’s overall layout or interface design. Or perhaps you highlight key career moments or major milestones that meant a lot to your development as a designer and shaped who you are today.