Building Up an Effective Design Portfolio

If you’re an aspiring graphic designer, or are already working in the industry, you’ll need to build up a portfolio of your work in order to be able to take on future design work. It’s something which employers will always want to see before choosing to hire you, and they may want to discuss your work during the interview process. Here are some tips for building up a successful portfolio which will make a positive difference to your design career:

  1. Consider each job you take on and whether you’ll be able to use it on your portfolio. If a job just isn’t going to show off your skills to their full potential, you may want to think twice about accepting it. You can find other positions which will allow you to be more creative.
  2. Take on some unpaid work if you need to. Having high calibre work to add to your portfolio will get you more paid jobs in future.
  3. Decide on your format. Will it be online or on paper? Online may be more easily accessible, but a portfolio presented in a folder on high-quality paper can look beautiful in a face-to-face situation such as an interview. Weigh up the pros and cons of each before making any final decisions.
  4. Provide context. Show that you’re able to think through a brief and come up with creative responses.
  5. Be selective. Don’t use work which is old or irrelevant just to make your portfolio look more bulky. This will detract from the quality of the rest of your work.