10 Best Ideas for Graphic Designer’s Portfolio

It’s not a secret to anyone that every self-respecting and professional designer must have a portfolio. Especially now, when the struggle and competition on the web-arena is too strong, and the whole IT industry ongoingly develops, improves and grows. Unfortunately, a classical variant of “paper/folder” portfolio is no longer so popular and convenient. However, there are still some fans of traditional portfolio works presentation, and their principle position is to provide with the paper format portfolio.

The main purpose of any portfolio type is to fully present an author’s creative potential and approach to clients and employers. Creative potential includes skills level and quality, personal experience, the amount of completed projects. But, the most important thing that each designer has to be characterized by within his/her potential is the uniqueness. Everyone would like to stand out the crowd, have his own opinion, stand his own position. And an online portfolio is exactly the way to do it. Having it each author is free to speak, speak through his/her works, speak by presenting the inner world, imagination and worldview. Such a voiceless but so meaningful conversation will definitely catch an eye of your audience.

So, the point is clear – a portfolio is an extremely important for a designer, and online portfolio is the best match. And since graphic designers are people of art, seemingly having a good taste, they should to absolutely seriously approach the issue of personal portfolio designing. And also, that can help it fully interest the prospective clients, to achieve a designer’s potential, and to draw more attention and new followers to this online resource. So, let’s all together brainstorm and find out what should graphic designers do and not to do in order to have a perfect online portfolio website.

1. Choose the right way of presentation

We’ve previously mentioned some pros regarding the online portfolio way of presentation. And this point is reinforced by many famous designers’, photographers’, artists’ and authors’ experience. So, we keep going to insist on this particular online type, since any other way, such a pdf-portfolio type, or paper-one is totally limited by a wide range of reasons. An online portfolio is the easiest, the most universal, affordable, available and fully covering way to show the whole world (the real and web) who you are and announce yourself as a professional of your craft. In order to avoid spending of priceless time and start building your project from scratch, such a well-known company as TemplateMonster has already taken care of it for you. The Templatemonster is an unquestionable leader on the web-market since 2002. These guys provide the best website templates for all possible CMSs. And they definitely know how important is to create and present professionally looking portfolio, how important is making it a true reflection of an author’s personality. That’s why all TM personal portfolio oriented templates are developed and designed with those intentions. Take a look at the following examples of a photographer’s portfolio and you’ll make sure how well everything is thought-out.

Online Portfolio Website Template

Touch Photo Website Template

Online Portfolio Website Template  Details |  Demo

Photographer Portfolio Responsive Website Template

Photographer Portfolio Responsive Website Template

Photographer Portfolio Responsive Website Template Details |  Demo

Website Design Website Template

Timex Website Template

Website Design Website Template  Details |  Demo

Plus, being available online your portfolio can become your best recommendation. Moreover, thanks to that fact that mostly all TM web-designs of portfolio projects are 100% responsive and SEO friendly. Which means that your online portfolio will be perfectly displayed and viewed on any present days gadgets and screen resolutions. SEO module works the best to get up your website to the top results of search systems ranking.

Basically, all such samples are ready made solutions for all graphic designer’s portfolio needs. It won’t cost you a lot of effort and time. Just install the theme on previously purchased hosting. Once you log in, you get jam-packed, features rich and ready-to-go model of your website with all default content, images, and many other elements. All you have to do is to replace the default pieces of content with your own, delete or add your own projects, pages, logo and other elements.

Besides, the very fact that a designer has a personal portfolio website demonstrates his/her status, level, professionalism. And, certainly, it commands respect and trust of your potential customers. And voila, everything is ready!

2. Portfolio works structure and description peculiarities

Project descriptions and content. Clarity and purity must permeate the whole your portfolio. Do not use 20 words, if there is any chance to use 7 instead. While projects describing try to keep short, avoid long sentences and use persuasive and strong words. It helps to catch the clients’ interest from the very first seconds. Get rid of regular and trivial words and phrases, be truly original. Put your best content on the front page and the most visible parts of the website. Do not blur your texts, once more – clarity and purity! Say “no” to a surfeit of information.

Usually, clients do not want to wait and prefer to get their orders within few next moments 🙂 To avoid annoying and endless questions like “when can I get my order” or something, add the time you spent on each your portfolio works.

Portfolio navigation. Remember that portfolio website navigation must be the most convenient, clear and simple. Do not use super-mega-menu pages and sub-pages. It can mess and mislead your visitors. Try to work with 5-6 main website navigation menu items.

navigation

      The statistics say, that 32% of online portfolio projects lose their audience because of the website navigation inconveniences.

The specialization. From its very first lines your portfolio should tell and visually underline the specialization – graphic design. Choose proper backgrounds and other elements that point out your specification.

3. Show up only your best projects

That is generally accepted, but still important and working rule – portfolio must show only your best works. Even if you do not have many of them. Let it be. It would be reasonable to demonstrate the quality of projects the author is 100% certain about. In graphic design, the same as in web-design or UI-&-UX, the most important is quality, but not quantity.

quality

4. Updating your portfolio is taken as a main rule!

That’s an obvious fact that designers are always running out of time, and work hard on more and more new projects. Consequently, they simply forget to check and update their portfolios, whereas their rivals are up-and-doing. Unfortunately, it’s a widespread mistake among designers as for their portfolios. They are too busy and let their portfolios get outdated. And that is absolutely wrong! Each new project is the step forward, is the professional growth. So, take it as a rule – update your portfolio base.

5. Keep up with trends!

Each branch of design has its own rules, features, characteristics, tendencies, requirements, terms, conditions and development. Development is the main driving force, it leads, it motivates, it pushes. Nothing stands still. Yes, client’s order requirements and demands are being tightened, which causes the lack of ideas or losing motivation. Here is the conclusion – be always on track! Follow the latest news and blogs of your niche, visit all possible events, conferences and meets up. Collect good ideas, charge your emotional battery, fill in with positivity and creativity.

keep_on_track

6. Search and find the source of inspiration

These words are not just a talk. Being insipid isn’t important unless for janitors who routinely and emotionlessly do their everyday endless and boring job. However, people of art, especially designers, photographers, artists catastrophically need the inspiration. Inspiration means everything for them. It happens pretty often, that inspiration becomes freeze, and designers just shut down. Especially, when the deadline is too short. But for effectiveness and freshness of ideas, these people have to break the cycle. Take a full greedy sip of fresh and cool air. Give it a try and you’ll make sure that it brings more results than sitting and staring at the monitor.

inspiration

 

7. Keep an eye on your competitors

Always find some time to track competitors’ activities. Check their portfolios and blogs. Do it not for plagiarism or something, but, first of all, for being on the lookout, being informed about what these guys work with and how exactly they do it. And the second, to take your competitors’ successful works as the motivation for further progress and self-development. Consequently, take the unsuccessful projects as the example of how to learn from the experience and mistakes of others, and avoid them in your own practice. Forewarned is forearmed!

competitors

 

8. A bit about yourself

As practice shows, for clients is extremely important to know how deep you understand the tasks they assign to you. Furthermore, they really would like to know you and your personality better in order to figure out if you are the right person for the cooperation. For this particular purpose, Templatemonster portfolio templates include a special pre-designed “About Us” page.

 

about

Take the advantage of it and introduce yourself to the audience. Let your people understand your own view of graphic design. Try to make them sure you perfectly suit their requests, because you definitely know how to find and resolve the issues. Add some your photos from real life. It would also be appropriate to add some of your non-commercial works: some drawings, pictures, sketches, pencil portraits etc.

Do the same for “Testimonials/Feedback” and “Our clients” page templates. If your customers are ok, then add links to your portfolio items, where your visitors can see your real completed projects.

 

9. Blog

Blogging will definitely bring more traffic to your website. If it’s possible and convenient for you, use the Blog page template (it is also included in all TM templates) and periodically share your own ideas, discuss news and new tendencies, publish and promote your projects. Do not miss the chance to improve your web-child 🙂

10. Find and follow your style

Most people visiting designers’ websites think that designers have been making their portfolio websites on their own. Accordingly, from this first meet they make their first and deepest impression about the author. These first seconds decide either designer get a new offer or not.

Each designer is individual and unique, even if everyone follows the same trends and tendencies, look up on the same well-known high-end authors. Each one has its own opinion and view, but the most important thing is to find your own style. That’s not easy, but it proves your designer identity. So, work hard, but find and follow your style in everything!