TheUnofficial

DesignPortfolioHandbook

BYMARTIJNVANDENBROECK

TableofContents
BEFOREYOURPORTFOLIO3
BUILDINGYOURPORTFOLIO414
IMPROVINGYOURPORTFOLIO1518
AFTERYOULAUNCH1921
ABOUTTHISHANDBOOK22

BEFOREYOURPORTFOLIO

WhyshouldIhaveaportfolio?
Asacreativeyouareoftenaskedtoshowyourwork.
Havingaportfolioenablesyoutodemonstrateyour
skillstoanyonewhoisinterested.Itsessentialif
youwanttoattractclientsorgethired.
Perhapsmoreimpactful,yourportfoliocanhelpyouto
buildrelationshipswithpeopleinyourindustry,
eventuallyleadingtoyourownnetworkoffollowers.
Gettingportfoliovisitorsmightbeeasy,butgetting
followersismuchharder.Itrequiresalongterm
mindsetinwhichyouconsistentlygiveyourvisitorsa
reasontoreturn.Aweeklyarticle,dailyinspiration
orfreedesignresources,youneedtorepeatedly
providevisitorsvaluetoconvertthemintofollowers.
Fundamentaltothisstrategyisthatyoustartseeing
yourvisitorsaspeople.Stopstaringatyour
analytics.Iftheyarejustnumberstoyou,youare
justanumbertothem.
Producingcontenttakesalotoftime,butyourhard
workwillpayoeventually.Loyalfollowerswilldo
anythingforyoutopayyouback.Theyarewillingto
usetheirownnetworktoincreaseyourcareer
opportunities.

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BUILDINGYOURPORTFOLIO
HowshouldIstartwithbuildingmy
portfolio?
Themostcommonpitfallistostartyourportfolio
processbyworkingonthedesign.Youwilleasilyget
overwhelmedbytheamountofoptionsthatyouhave,
causingyoutoprocrastinate.
Ithinkyoushouldntbeworriedaboutyourportfolios
designifyouhaventyetnisheditscontent.Firstly,
becauseyoucannotmakeinformeddesigndecisions
withoutthecontent.Thereisnowayyoucansettlefor
adesignthattsyourcontentbeforeyouknowwhat
thatcontentis.
Secondly,becauseifyoudosettleforadesign,it
willdictateyourcontent.Youwillbecomeaslaveof
yourowndesign.Youwillwritemeaningless
testimonials,justbecauseyourthemehasspaceforit.
Insteadofstartingwithyourdesign,Iwouldsuggesta
contentrstapproach.Writeyourcasestudies,collect
yourprojectsphotosanddesignyourmockups.Ithink
thatMediumisanexcellentplatformtoquicklyget
startedwithyourportfolio.Itnotjustencouragesa
contentrstapproach,itevenenablesyoutopublish
yourportfoliotoanaudiencerightaway.

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BUILDINGYOURPORTFOLIO

Whatarethemostimportantthings
toincludeinmyportfolio?
Youcanhaveamazingprojects,agreatportfoliodesign
orevenmillionsofvisitors,itonlypaysoif
visitorscanconnectwithyou.Thatswhyrstand
foremostyoushouldincludeaContactpagethatenables
peopletocontactyouthroughthemediumthatthey
prefer.
Morethananything,yourportfolioisaboutyou.Your
uniquenessisthemostvaluablevaluepropositionyou
have.Itiswhatsetsyouapartfromthecompetition.
Enablepeopletogettoknowyouthroughacompelling
Aboutpagethattellsyourstory.Shareyourviewpoint
ontheworld,yourindustryandevenonyourownwork.
Finallyyourportfolioisanexcellentplaceto
demonstrateyourskills.Includecasestudiesthat
coverthewhy,howandwhatofeachproject.Youdont
demonstrateyourskillsbytellingthatyouare
skilled,youdobyshowingyouare.Makeyourwork
speakforitself.

ShouldIdesignmyportfolioforweb
orforprint?
Hereismyshortanswer.Youshoulddesignforweb.In
mostcasesatleast.Designforwebunlessthetactile
experienceofaprintedportfolioisimportantinyour
craft,forexampleifyouareagraphicdesigner.
Ithinkyoushoulddesignforwebbecausetheweb
maximizesyourreach.Youarenotlimitedtotheamount
ofprintoutsyoucanaordorwhetheryouknowthe
receiversaddress.Youraudienceisontheweb,thats
whyyoushouldbetheretoo.
PleasedontfoolyourselfbyputtingyourPDFonline.
HaveyoueverenjoyedviewingaPDFonline?PDFfiles
arecreatedwiththetoolstodesignforprint,notfor
web.PuttingaPDFonlineisabadidea,forthesame
reasonprintingyourwebsiteis.

ShouldIbuildaportfoliotheme
fromscratchorjustbuyone?
Truthtobetold,mostofyourvisitorswontnotice
whetheryouspent50hoursdesigninganddevelopinga
themefromscratchor5minutesinstallingafree
theme.
Thesmallgroupofpeoplewhodonoticeyourcustom
theme,willdenitelyappreciateyoureort.Itsgreat
toimpressthem,becausetheyareoftentheonesin
positionstohireothers.
However,buildingyourownthemeisnoteasy.You
shouldonlyconsideritifyoucanachieveasimilar
designqualityasthefreethemes.Ifyoucant,the
peoplewithfreethemeswillovertakeyou.
Unfortunately.
Ifyoudohavetheskillstodesignyourowntheme,do
whatevermakesyoufeelcomfortable.Ifyouare
comfortablewithusingsomeoneelseswork,goforit.
However,dontforgetthatyourthemesaysmoreabout
youthanyouthink.

HowmanyprojectsshouldIinclude
inmyportfolio?
Iknowitcanbetemptingtoshowallofyourprojects.
Thereisalwaysariskofdeletingsomethingthat
someonemighthavefoundinteresting.
Istronglybelievethathavingfewerportfolioprojects
isbetter.Foracoupleofreasons.Firstly,itenables
youtogointodepth.Ithinkthatmorethanyourlevel
ofbreadth,yourlevelofdepthrevealsyourskills,
yourpassion,andyourpotential.
Secondly,havingfewerprojectsenablesyoutocontrol
yourvisitorsexperience.Thefewerprojectsyouhave,
themorecertainyouarethatyourvisitorlooksatall
ofyourprojects.Thiswillhelpyoutostayconsistent
inyourqualityandinyourpositioning.
Thirdly,havingtoomanyprojectspointstoalackof
condence.Yourvisitorswillspotthis.Finally,you
wantpeopletowishformore,sotheywillcontactyou
andyoucanstartbuildingarelationship.
Giventhis,Ipersonallythinktheoptimalnumberof
portfolioprojectsisbetween3and5,dependinghow
detailedyoudescribeyourprojects.

HowcanIdecidewhichprojectsto
includeinmyportfolio?
Dontstartbylookingatyourprojects.Youhavean
emotionalconnectionwithyourprojectswhichprevents
youfrommakingarationalprojectselection.
InsteadIwouldsuggestyoutothinkaboutthetypeof
workthatyouwanttobedoingmoreof.Makesureyour
projectselectionrepresentsthepersonthatyouwant
tobecome,notthepersonyouwere.
Asaresult,youmighthavetodeleteyourbest
project,youmightevenhavetohideaprojectyou
love.Quiteoften,yourmostrelevantprojectforyour
visitorsisactuallyyourmostrecentone.
Onthebrightside,youwillgetmoretypeofworkthat
youactuallywanttobedoing,atthatverymoment.It
willmakeyouhappieronthelongterm.

HowshouldIstructuremycase
studies?
Ithinkthateveryeectivecasestudycoversthree
essentialparts:
Whydidyoudotheproject.Howdidyoudotheproject.
Whatwasyourendresult.
Preferablyinthatorder.Assumingthatyoucoverthese
threeelements,howyouactuallydecidetostructure
yourcasestudiesisentirelyuptoyou.Youmayendup
withastructurethatissimilartoadiaryorone
thatslikeascienticpaper.Whatyouwillsettle
withcommunicatesalotaboutwhatyouvalueasa
designer.Thatspowerful.