HAVE A KILLER DESIGN PORTFOLIO

THE ART OF A STRONG PORTFOLIO

A good graphic design portfolio is only as good as the design work it presents. In recent years the conventional print and bound presentation graphic design portfolio has been surpassed by the new online graphic design portfolio. In our opinion to have both available at your disposal is key to future success when pitching, meeting new clients or applying for that dream job.

There are a few basic rules when creating a successful graphic design portfolio. As Neville Brody bluntly states in his article 12 secrets to getting a design job when you graduate. Rule number one is ….“Have a killer portfolio”.

The most important rule is to only include work that you are proud of, work that you can passionately discuss in a meeting or interview, work that can sell your services, completed and polished design briefs that have wowed past clients and will dazzle your future prospect.

Consider how the graphic design portfolio will present your work, will you use a printed proofs, or do you include hard copy examples of your work?

Each has its own benefits – proofs are easier to present, and you have control over their output size, actual printed material can show the level of finish, method of binding, closure mechanisms and more. Also, observers can then get their hands on it, feel it and get a true idea of the finished item.

When creating your printed graphic design portfolio – to be viewed in hand, consider the quality of the binding, or perhaps better to consider using large single sheets. To offset the designs, keep things simple so that your work speaks for itself and is easy for a viewer to absorb and comprehend.

THE PHYSICAL ITEM

Spare no expense when choosing a suitable case to present your work, often it is first impressions that count and arriving at an interview with a student style plastic envelope with bits flapping around to sell you self may be the difference between getting a dream job or not. Your graphic design portfolio could be sectioned clearly for different disciplines that you have experience in, such as: Logo design, brochure design, illustration…even web site design. This makes sense to the viewer if you are pitching for a particular service, say a corporate identity, as it means that several examples of completed logo work fall together, generating discussion, but as a rule, if applying for a job, its easier to explain projects as they are run, from logo, through identity collateral to the creation of brochures, and supporting items, so that hey can be viewed as a cohesive set.

An online design portfolio should be easy to use, should be clearly sectioned and should be simple in design to allow your design artwork to shine. There is little point in having excellent work inside your graphic design portfolio if it cannot be found, for example if your audience has to spend a long time or convoluted path getting to it from the home page. The viewer should be able to select which piece they would like to see in an instant – whether that is the client, the particular design service or market sector that the client is representing. In this way the observer has complete control and does not need to trawl through pieces of work that are not of interest.

At a fish in sea we are very proud of our online graphic design portfolio. With over 120 clients listed, 100 market sectors and 30 design services, it is one of the most extensive online graphic design portfolios on the web to date. We have invested a great deal of time and energy making it easy to navigate, quick to load (and upload), simple to use and extensive so that our future prospective clients get an accurate feel for exactly who we are, the quality of graphic design we produce, and our potential to create something as good or even better for them!