A personal portfolio is the reflection of your skills. It is not a summary of your experience like your CV, but rather a proof of your expertise in the fields that you claim to be skilled in. A portfolio is sometimes more important than your resume when you need to land a job, especially in creative fields like graphic designing, fine arts, writing, etc. Most amazingly talented designers get their first jobs based solely on an impressive portfolio, despite their lack of experience. Having a portfolio that stands out doubles your chances of getting that job that you have always wanted. Read on to find some tips, examples, and more, to help you create a portfolio that reflects your best work.

Tips to Help You Create Your Best Personal Portfolio:

1. Choose Wisely:

 

Source:Big Human Agency / portfolio

Do not put all of your work up for display. Chances are, depending on your level of skills, you have a LOT of work to show. However, not all of that work defines you in the best way, and you must only choose your best work to include in your portfolio. It is advised that you display samples of only that type of work that you want to apply for to maintain the relevance of your portfolio in order to let the viewer give attention to the work. A lot of work would just make the viewer scan through it without really appreciating the details.

2. Show Your Achievements:

Source:Stefan Lucut / portfolio

Have you got some projects that you are really proud of? If you have any works that got you a bonus, a good review, or a five-star rating, show that work off like an achievement. Moreover, include works that you know will catch attention, like designs that have dramatic, bold color or so.

3. Variety Wins:

Source:Corina Nika / portfolio

Having good work is important, but having a variety of good work is more important. If you are a writer, showcase all sorts of writing you have done, from creative theatre scripts to research reports. Similarly, a graphic designer’s portfolio should display their illustrations, their posters, their digital ads and so on.

ReadMore : 10 Graphics Designers Every Graphic Designer Should Know About

4. Quality, but quantity, too:

Source:Olly Sorsby / portfolio

While quality of your designs determines what goes on your portfolio and what doesn’t, quantity is a restricting factor, too. According to Canva.com, it is suggested that your portfolio has at least 10 and at most 20 designs. Why? There’s a whole psychology behind attention spans there, but the central idea is that people won’t look through too many designs even if they’re really amazing pieces of your work, so it is better to include what will be seen.

5. To go on paper or online

Source:Abra Design

This is a whole other debate of which medium is better, digital or print, but the fact is that most people prefer making online portfolios rather than printed ones. Why? There are a number of reasons: One, because it is cheaper; Two, because it’s much easily seen and appreciated there; Three, it is easier to share your digital portfolio when applying for jobs instead of going to submit a printed one. Despite all this, creativity allows you to stand out of the crowd and that lets many designers create very innovative printed portfolios.

6. High-Resolution Uploads:

Source:Nainoa Shizuru / portfolio

Whenever it comes to designing and its viewership, resolution plays a great role in determining your first impressions. Even if you have outstanding work, uploading it in an inadequate resolution would just slump down the impression it makes. We live in the modern digital era and there is plenty of aesthetics involved in what becomes a favorite amongst the audience. Make sure your work is uploaded in a good quality, and maybe even invest in some professional equipment to photograph your artwork.

Personal Portfolio Websites:

Many websites offer services or tools that let you create your online portfolio, and the best part about these websites is that most of them have built-in personal portfolio templates so you don’t have to start from scratch on the layout! Here is a list of websites that you will find handy:

1. net: Behance is the most popularly used online portfolio website. It is free to sign up for, and allows you to create your portfolio in an organized, professional manner. It also allows easy sharing of the portfolio by just sending links to your profile.
2. Dribbble: Dribbble is home to many designers’ and artists’ best work. It is like a gallery of creative portfolios which is free for anyone.
3. Coroflot: This is not just a portfolio designing website, but also has a job search feature for freelancers and employers to benefit from.

Take a look at all these tips, websites, and the personal portfolio examples shared in this article, and you’re sure to come up with an impressive portfolio of your own that matches your requirements.