Oftentimes, all that clients take into consideration when deciding whether you’re the designer for their project is your portfolio. That is their first encounter with your work, and if they’re not really impressed, they will just leave the portfolio aside and let someone else do the work.
How are you supposed to get paid then? Our point is, every great designer should have a great portfolio to showcase his talents and skills. In case you’re still insecure on whether or how to create a great portfolio put it on the list of priorities because your chances are going down every moment!
Image source: nicolaserrera.com
A great portfolio speaks of what you have done, and even more, what you’re able to do. All of your skills and potentials are exposed to the attention of employers, and they really appreciate the hard work and the time you’ve invested to make the portfolio look nice.
Dive into our treasure trove of blogs to uncover fresh web design ideas.
The more creative you get, the better your chances to improve end-month balance will become. But how are you supposed to attract attention? Let us suggest few tricks and tips for designing a great portfolio:
Choose the best of your work
Image source: dariocalonaci.com
Great portfolios are not supposed to display all of your previous work, but a hand-picked collection of best pieces.
As a successful designer, you might feel tempted to include everything you have, the same as a starter likes to expose his entire work just to prove that experience is out of any doubt.
Let’s think about it: What would you achieve by showing mediocre work? You will only chase clients away, and make them think they are about to receive poor quality themselves.
Include links of your best, completely polished websites
Your website is live? Why not sharing it? Why not revealing a place that used your work and creativity? That a much better strategy than simply explaining what you’ve done, and it attracts much more attention!
Include case studies
Image source: filipnordin.com
Instead of throwing your outstanding projects here and there, create your own case study. Case studies expose your proficiency, and the fact that you actually understand the design principles you’re applying.
Another benefit is that prospective employers get to see all phases of a project’s process instead of a challenging result they have no idea how much you struggled for. For them, it would be a sign that they can trust you, and rely on you to finish the work even under the most challenging circumstances.
The ideal time to finish a project
Alongside with price, this is the first question a client will ask when offering the project. They need to have a realistic timeframe, and to know what to expect in separate fractions of that period. Some of them will even suggest their own deadline; it depends on the size and the nature of the project.
In order to answer the question accurately, you need to stand in their shoes and take a look from their perspective. That also means you’ll have to provide details, and give a hint that there is a chance to finish as soon as possible.
Remember that time is associated with cost, so if they want it to happen faster, ask for a higher price. Be careful with compromising, because you’ll never be 100% sure of the time an unfamiliar project would take, and because clients are whimsy and they will always try to push you in a corner.
Provide easily accessible contact information and call-to-action
Image source: rezo-zero.com
Having in mind that the mere purpose of having a portfolio is to attract clients, why would you make it difficult for them to locate your contact information? Put it in an easily accessible location, and invite them to call you even without thinking about it.
The more action is necessary to locate your credentials, the bigger the chance that they will turn to somebody else, especially if we are discussing a highly competitive project.
The same counts for calls-to-action. If you want your clients to perform a specific action (to respond to your proposal, for instance), why not being straightforward about it? Leave the traditional contact info approach aside, and move to an advanced solution, namely a prominent button that can lead to a quote or a proposal.
Having a specialized link like that helps processing of information, so don’t be shy to establish some real-time contact with your employers. There is a reason why they actually landed on your website, and you’re losing nothing by discovering what that reason was.
Add videos
Image source: aboutpremiumcontent.com
Are you even aware of the personal dimension videos are adding to your portfolio? You can be as creative and successful you want, but without a video, employers will not be able to give your work a face to rely on.
The usual hiring process involves an interview, and that’s already enough of a sign that companies do want to deal with you. Even the most successful designers won’t get a job if the employer happens to dislike their personality.
Videos add a human vibe, and they convey a personal message. The traditional approach is to add images and photos, but that strategy has seen better days. The trendy tools of our time are videos, and they way in which they help you communicate with employers is just amazing.
Think of social media integration
Since you’re working on the web, you are aware of the influence social media can have on your success, like it or not. Clients spend time on social networks, and they’re even using them to find the designer they need. Therefore, it is essential to tie your portfolio with all social profiles, especially LinkedIn, Google +, Twitter, Facebook, or any similar service.
The best way to integrate them is using icons, or importing links on dot. The same counts in the opposite direction: each of your professional social media profiles should contain a link to your website, placed where users will definitely find it and feel motivated to use it.
A good recommendation to make in this aspect is that you should leave private profiles aside (we all post stuff that are not really professional, don’t we?).
Don’t forget easy navigation
Image source: louischarachon.com
Yes, you probably know that, but we thought it was worth to mention it because some famous sites thought they knew it too. Giving clients a portfolio they cannot navigate will take them away in light speed. They won’t even care how good your work is, because they weren’t able to find it at the first place.
Recommend yourself
While being recommended by satisfied clients is the shortest way towards being hired again, you should also consider the option of recommending yourself. Be personal, and be honest! Include quotes from satisfied customers and testimonials to be published on your website.
This way, you’re inspiring employers to trust your experience, and to have excellence expectations about the quality of your work.
Update it
Image source: robinmastromarino.com
Think of your portfolio as your garden-it needs a fresh touch now and then! Go through it from time to time, and be critical about pieces that need to be added or removed. Don’t forget to include outstanding pieces of recent work, and to remove some that look old and incompetent.
Let’s not forget that having a good portfolio is a huge incentive for a designer to improve his work. While he is working on a new piece, he approaches it with the idea of prioritizing it as a potential master addition to his collection. As you already guess, many designers used this strategy to earn more, and to stop working around the clock.
