The Power of Portfolio
Why You Need a Strong Portfolio to Succeed [Design In-Sanity]
Hey there! Hi!!
Welcome on board Design In-Sanity, an absolutely new, fresh-out-of-the-bakery biweekly blog where I talk about design stuff, mental well-being and some other stuff to help you unleash your superpowers!! This will soon be released as a podcast, too. That will be just as soon as I can get my lazy a*s running.
Anyway!
Since this is the first ever — ever — article from Design In-Sanity, let’s start with the beginning of all things a designer needs to step out into that reckless world out there: a beautiful and meaningful portfolio.
👉 Do you have a portfolio that leaves your friends and clients speechless? 😎
👉 Did you wish that you could showcase your talent and hard work in a much better way? 🤠
I think we might have the solutions. Let’s get started!!
It is a well-known fact that our work becomes our identity. As creative individuals, it also becomes our source of introspection, inspiration and income.
Hey! Did you notice that? “The four I’s”: identity, introspection, inspiration and income!
Okay! To make sure that our talent finds its proper exposure, we must be careful on how we present it before the public, especially before the right audience.
There used to be a time long long ago, like once upon a time, when printed resumes and pen drives used to be the rave. Like, you went for an interview, and the interviewer asked for your work, and you’re like, “Here, it’s in this pen drive.” And they would take time to carefully scan it just like we are now into sanitizing stuff! Oh! It was such a bummer! I’ve been there. Yeah! And, supposing you’re a freelancer, and your clients wanted to see your work, you’d be like, “Here, I’ve shared a few links with you.” And sometimes the list of links could be annoyingly long!
I mean, yes, sending links isn’t such a bad idea. I still do that. But only sending long lists of links just might be.
You see, as somebody looking to…umm…looking to know a designer, I would definitely want to know a lot more than mere static mock-ups and links to websites, right? I would want to know what the requirement was, how the designer solved it and what’s the process that they usually follow for a project. I mean, ultimately, it’s their attitude towards work and the way of tackling down obstacles is what will help me decide if the person is right for the job or not, right?
In 2020, paper resumes are so out of job. So are PDFs. What people want to experience today is getting all the details in a few clicks. Click! I see your creative skills. Click! I test how logical your work is. Click! I’m awed by the interactions. Click! Click! Click! I love your work! You’re hired! Yayyy!
Choose the Right Platform(s)
Okay! The easiest and the most popular way to build your awesome online portfolio is using either Dribbble or Behance or both. Plus these platforms are not only great for sharing your work but also for building communities. You can interact with your fellow designers from all over the world, ask them any questions that can help you to improve your work, and participate in the regular challenges. You see, these and any other challenges of similar kind are a great way to break out of the monotony of the regular project-life that we dwell in. Just throw the thought of bringing that goody bag home right out of the window, and take pride in participating in the challenges. Be innovative, have fun, and you will enjoy the ride!
Anyway, what was I talking about? Ah! Yes! Portfolios. Right! Sorry! I get sidetracked pretty easily.
So, Dribbble and Behance are two great options for sharing your work with prospective clients, interviewers and with the world. While Dribbble allows certain features to Pro members only, Behance is very very generous, and allows you to showcase your entire case study for every project. So, if you do not really want to invest in having a Pro Dribbble account right away, you always have the grand doors of Behance open for you!
Welcome, Designer!
Plus, while you are publishing your project in the most glorious way on Behance, make sure to publish at least one shot on Dribbble, and add a link to its counterpart on Behance. Why? To have more lights on you from every nook and corner of your design community! Duh!
Get Your Own Website
You know what another awesome, like, throw-your-hands-up-in-the-air super-awesome way of showcasing your work is?
Your own website!!
Yes! You read it! Now you know it!
Consider having your portfolios on Dribbble and Behance as appetizers and main dish. Having your own website is like the drool-worthy dessert that not everybody offers. Yessss!
When you create your own website, you take an additional step towards honing your passion. You let yourself and the world know how much you love doing what you do, and how serious and proud you are about getting it out in front of the world.
And it doesn’t just end here. In fact, this is just the beginning!
Having a website of your own helps you to show the world how exactly you would like to showcase your work, that is, you get to customize the platform and tell your story in your own way. It’s like putting up an exhibition in a gallery versus hosting the exhibition at your home. So when you bring people into your home, they get to see you for who you really are, like not just through your work but also through how you chose to build and decorate your home. Am I making any sense here? Hope I am!
It’s Worth It
I know how time-taking and brain-racking it can be to create your own website. Trust me. I know. It’s like you’re never sure of what the best layout would be or what colours would define your personality or — and this is usually the toughest part for most people — what the words on the pages will be. I’m a person who’s been through different hobbies and interests, and I’ve always been trying to create a blog for almost every hobby that grabs my interest. And in the past..I don’t know…maybe in 5 or 6 years, I have probably created or tried to create around 6 or 7 different blogs. But. None of them have ever satisfied my brain’s taste buds.
Finally, after a long break of one and a half year or so, I have recently created one using Wix, and trust me, this has been the best experience ever!! If you’re like me who isn’t sure about investing in your website right now, then try the free templates that they offer. No coding, easy-breezy, gorgeous and really useful websites at your fingertips! Wix ADI is even easier! Yes, the domain name isn’t attractive but then you’ve got to compensate somewhere, right?
So, for those who do not have the time or the talent of designing a website, you can choose from the wide gallery of different website builders like our old friend WordPress or the comparatively new ones like Wix or Squarespace or Shopify or Weebly or…there are so many more!
For others who are gifted with the brilliant talent of designing websites, please go ahead and design one! Please! I wish I could! I can’t! But you can! And you must! If you have a developer friend to help you code the website, then, what are you waiting for?? An invitation?
Or, if you don’t have one, and do not wish to invest in a developer right now, then try one of the website builders. You can apply your own designs and not have to write a single line of code. Try taking 30–60 minutes out of your busy schedule every day or on alternate days or at least on the weekends, and invest this time in building your very own, very personal, very yours website. Believe me, it’s worth it.
Create Case Studies
Well! That was a lot of advice on portfolios. Oh! There are two things that I quickly mentioned today but would like to explore a little bit.
One of them is case study.
Like I said, your interviewer or your client or an admirer of your work won’t be satisfied with mere shots of your projects. They would like to know all the details.
A case study is a perfect way to satiate their thirst. Case studies, though the term sounds real tough and complicated — don’t know about you but it did to me; it kind of used to scare me — though these might sound like a lot of work, they are actually pretty easy. And fun to write, too.
Just go through a few renowned websites that publish case studies and you will get the idea. It is basically nothing more than a story of what the requirement was, what the challenges were, what your approach was, how you solved all the puzzles and made your way to a happy and successful ending of your lovely project! That’s all! Sounds long? It isn’t really. Trust me.
And if you’re not a fan of writing then you can just jot down the important points and let the images and screenshots of your work do the talking. I have noticed that most of the case studies are kind of serious, as if the person just got out of a damn serious board meeting and has been off to their desk to prepare and send out equally serious mails about it. Ugh! To be honest, I’m not a fan of those. I mean, why would anyone, in their right mind, want to read long essays in the most non-humorous way? I wouldn’t! I’d probably fall asleep halfway through the page or just skip skip skip to the end.
Growth.Design has published a series of case studies of several popular brands and they’re all in the form of comic strips!!
Yes, you read it right. A case study in the form of a comic strip. Surprise! It not only triggers an interest to see what’s inside but is also pretty easy to go through. While most of us may not have the option of such innovations for case studies, we can definitely do it in an interesting way. You’re a designer, after all! Let creativity rain on your case studies!
Put Your Personality into Your Work
Another point that I’d like to touch, like more than feather-light touch…is it just me or does it sound awkward? Anyway, what I want to say is that your website or your portfolio, in general, should be a reflection of who you are. I am not referring to just what kind of projects you do but to your personality.
You see what separates a brand from another is the way in which it presents itself to its audience. Each brand portrays its personality in its branding. The same goes for us humans. Every one of us is different, is unique. So why should our portfolios and our websites be similar to someone else’s? Forget about what your clients and interviewers might think. If you try to get into everybody’s minds in order to shape your portfolio, you will definitely end up with a rather generic one.
Believe me, and this is important, anybody who really wants to know your style and your attitude towards work, anybody who really wants to know you, would be interested in the real you, and not in the oh-I’m-so-at-your-service-with-a-fake-smile you.
Makes sense?
So, when you’re building your portfolio, especially when you’re building your website, make sure that the colours, graphics, words and the structure reflect your personality. That way, everything you create will have a piece of you in it. It’s like, giving your work your own special touch, like your signature. It will never get lost in the crowd.
And we come to the end of the first trip of this train ride called Design In-Sanity “I-can-write-a-lot” blog! I enjoyed letting out all the bugs from inside my brain. I really enjoyed talking to you, my dear, out-of-sight-but-not-out-of-mind reader. And although I cannot see you, my words would love to meet your eyes next to next week, when I’ll talk about the different ways of arranging your work so that your portfolio shines like a diamond!
Till then, take care, love yourself, laugh a lot, live in peace — I can go on and on — and don’t forget to build and update your mind-blowing portfolio!
While I want to grab your shoulders and plead you to leave your comments, I won’t. I can’t, actually. So, I’ll request you to share any thoughts that you have, like any point on this topic or maybe anything that you’d like to read about, anything related to design. Or maybe simply share this article to your social media walls. I’ll be so, so happy!
That’s all folks! Stay safe! ‘Bye!!!
