What is a Creative Portfolio?
"A portfolio is a body of creative work used to showcase your aptitudes, conceptual and creative thinking, and experience. Every graphic designer and advertising art director needs one. By looking at your portfolio, a prospective employer will be able to evaluate your ideas, typography, visualization, composition, creativity, and tech skills." Excerpt from Graphic Design Solutions. This is true for every creative.
A portfolio is a design problem. —Steff Geissbuhler, geissbühler:design
Student Portfolios
All portfolios are ongoing projects that showcase the range and depth of your creatives abilities. Although there is some commonality across visual disciplines, each specific industry will have unique expectation when it comes to portfolio presentations. You should present yourself for the job you want. For example, if you are applying to be an illustrator, your portfolio content should reflect that goal by showcasing your best creative and expressive illustrations. Or if you are applying for admission to a college, university, scholarship or grant, you should be sure that your portfolio clearly reflect all the required elements asked for in the application.
In a student portfolio projects are typically based on course-related projects, textbook tutorials, and training. An integral components of student portfolios include self-directed projects, entries to competitions, and work from internships or commissions. These types of projects help employers or clients understand the range, goals, and skill level of the emerging creative professional in greater detail. It is also an important step in the process of quickly growing your skills.
In a student portfolio projects are typically based on course-related projects, textbook tutorials, and training. An integral components of student portfolios include self-directed projects, entries to competitions, and work from internships or commissions. These types of projects help employers or clients understand the range, goals, and skill level of the emerging creative professional in greater detail. It is also an important step in the process of quickly growing your skills.
Portfolio Preparation
Archiving Projects
As a visual artist it is important to archive your work. Take special care to store all physical work properly as well as keep a digital inventory of all your works. Tips on archiving your work.
The Portfolio Audit
Before beginning the design of your portfolio you need conduct a portfolio audit. Inventory all of your projects and make a master list of every work you are considering for inclusion in your presentation. Consider the visual story you are trying to tell. What works support your narrative? Who is your target audience? What do other portfolios of this type include? Consider how the works will be presented/grouped.
Content Considerations
The content of your portfolio should be precisely curated to exhibit your current, relevant, and highest quality work in a professional presentation. A standard portfolio contains 12-25 examples of high-quality images and/or mock-ups for each projects. Each project should have image identification which may include project title, role you served in the creation of the project, project description/rationale, type of project (billboard, brochure, interactive, etc.), medium, date created. Projects should display the following features:
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A portfolio is more than a curated body of work, it also includes other items that add to your professional story as an artist/designer. Things that may be included are:
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Portfolio Strategies
Creative professionals use a portfolio to show an honest reflection of their capabilities. Since an artist/designers work is continuously developing and improving as they grow their portfolios are also being updated throughout their careers. Portfolios are not one-size-fits-all and may need to be slightly adjusted for each position you are applying.
Presentation Forms
The quality of your presentation is secondary only to its content. You want to create a well-designed presentation that clearly represents your brand, voice, style, and type of job you are seeking. The presentation can take many print or digital formats.
Print presentations come in a variety of layouts and binding that greatly vary in form and size. They span a wide range of formats from binder with either removable or permanent sleeves, boxes with plates or lift-out trays, clamshell box, attaché-like case, case and book combination, hand-sewn book, post-bound book, process books, commercially printed book, and package design.
Digital presentations also come in a variety of styles and formats. These can range from hosted websites with personal domains, free websites with CMS (like Adobe Portfolio, Behance, Weebly, Wix, Squarespace), interactive PDFs, epub, slide presentations (like PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, Prezi or Prezi Video), video/animation, mobile or portable devices, and professional social media accounts (like Flickr, Instagram, Facebook page, LinkedIn).
Print presentations come in a variety of layouts and binding that greatly vary in form and size. They span a wide range of formats from binder with either removable or permanent sleeves, boxes with plates or lift-out trays, clamshell box, attaché-like case, case and book combination, hand-sewn book, post-bound book, process books, commercially printed book, and package design.
Digital presentations also come in a variety of styles and formats. These can range from hosted websites with personal domains, free websites with CMS (like Adobe Portfolio, Behance, Weebly, Wix, Squarespace), interactive PDFs, epub, slide presentations (like PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, Prezi or Prezi Video), video/animation, mobile or portable devices, and professional social media accounts (like Flickr, Instagram, Facebook page, LinkedIn).
Developing a Cohesive Concept
One of the main goals when developing your portfolio is to distinguish your and your work from other artists/designers. You want to develop a professional and visual voice that supports your personal story. Your portfolio must be memorable.
How to start developing your concept:
How to start developing your concept:
- Ask yourself what sets me apart from the crowd?
- What is your area of speciality?
- How do I approach design problems?
- Do you have unique skills or approach to visuals?
- Make a list of your strengths.
- Consider the story you want to tell. How will you sell yourself?
- Think about the mood you want to set.
- Think about your brand identity - choose color palettes, font, and possibly create a logo design.
- What type of work should you be presenting?
- Begin to develop your presentation concept, what form will your portfolio take? Considering your information architecture, this is how your content will be organized or structured.
Content Creation
After completing your preliminary work it is time to begin production. Gather and create your content.
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Write
Remember precise grammar and spelling. Consider how writing for the web is different from writing for print. Read: Writing for the Web [PDF] | Adobe and Writing for the Web | Usability.gov
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Graphics
Structure
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Production & Design
Once all the content is complete begin design. Be sure to consider what visuals will best represent your design voice. Work to create a unified, consistent presentation that also has variety and interest. Remember all your choices (color, font, layout, grid, typography, flow, hierarchy) communicate to your audience - be sure they are speaking the same language.
Supplemental REsources
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