POSTED IN
Marketing
WRITTEN BY
Nay Madani
DATE
There are plenty of reasons designer should update your portfolio, even if you are not in the creative field. But the main question is, do you know its purpose? And why do even the professionals at the top of their game still update their portfolios constantly?
A portfolio is your magnum opus
As we all know, portfolios are one of the best ways to show or demonstrate your capabilities as written on your resume. Although for designer and other creative professions, portfolio are way more important because it is the only evidence that showcases any of their skills, knowledge, talents, and abilities. It will also show the capabilities and experiences that you have developed over the years to your prospective clients and could help you reflect on past work that you have experienced.
So, updating your portfolio is a must!
The fact is, it will forge your creativity and find your uniqueness amongst many other artists. So do update your portfolio as best as possible. Besides, it’ll also be a perfect opportunity to test your current creative ability.
Here are some tips on updating portfolio for designer
1. Compile your best and recent work only
Select at least 10-15 of your best work that may represent your work in different fields. Note that it can be irrelevant to keep your past chosen works or products to cater to your current portfolio’s purpose. Besides, older work doesn’t reflect your current status and experience, correct?
2. Describe its creative process briefly
Try to make a brief narrative about the process of your chosen work. You can start from the given brief or the starting point to why the design concept was selected in the first place. Also, if the work is done collectively in a team setting, it is essential to explain your contribution clearly.
3. Make it simple, but don’t go over
Don’t over-design your portfolio! Remember that a portfolio’s purpose is to showcase your best work from past experiences so readers won’t get distracted by it and focus only on your work.
4. Consider its purpose once more
After you experience many things, you may find another purpose you wish to pursue. The goal might be to gain new clients, freelance endeavors, graduate programs, or maybe even building a specific brand of your own. After you find your purpose, adjust your portfolio to it, and you’ll be right as rain.
5. Know your audience
As you consider your new purpose, it will also change your prospective audience. As a result, you may also consider creating multiple portfolios for different audiences with different design tastes and tailoring.
6. Always keep it fresh!
Designers continuously evolve as they gain new experience, and various works piles up. What better way to preserve your work while using your experiences to the best of your abilities than regularly updating your portfolio?
Now you know how important it is to update your portfolio
Since you already know the reason plus the tips, now’s the time for you to put it into practice. You can start by redesigning your old portfolios or updating your sites. What is important is that you get out there and show the world your talents and abilities through your portfolio.
