The portfolio It is the best weapon we can count on when looking for work and building our identity in a solid and successful way. It will be the window through which we can show a selection of projects created by us and that have turned out to be a success. In previous articles we have dealt with this issue but it is true that we have never delved into the most strategic aspect. Knowing us is essential to know how to sell ourselves well. Know our history, the potential we have and the knowledge that we can contribute to a company. But not everything is here, knowing us as professionals is very important, but it is even more important to know the companies and projects that we want to be part of.
Therefore, today I am going to take the opportunity to give you some tips that can go quite well when preparing your portfolios and working on your image as designers, artists and especially as creative minds:
Before starting I would like to remind you that you can visit these articles that can be very useful in all this regard:
Cargocollective: A good alternative to work in your Portoflio
Portfolios of professionals from the world of design
Inspiring Creative Resumes from Graphic Designers
Inspiring and surprising video resumes
Free resume templates for creative minds
25 Portfolios of photographers
Tips for surviving as a freelance graphic designer
Tips for creating online portfolios for graphic designers
Who you are? Where are you going?
There are companies and agencies that are characterized by being very strong in some areas, they are specialized in them, more than in others. You, like any company, have specific characteristics, skills and potential. Your mission will be to search for projects or companies that match your profile. It is very important that you take a look at the products and services offered by the company to which you aspire to belong.
Create a list of areas of expertise in which you think you are fluent and where you can function efficiently. Next, investigate whether the needs of the project being offered go hand in hand with your experience and skills. Visit the company's website, take a look at its catalog, its previous projects ...
What is your goal?
If in the first point you have discovered that there are common points that you can exploit in your favor, it is time to move on to the next phase. Now you must define your objective in a clear and totally concrete way. This objective could perfectly be to contribute your creativity and your knowledge in a program or a certain skill or for example to offer a unique package to an SME of several products and services ...
Depending on the objective you have, your portfolio will change adjusting to this and this is specifically what any designer should look for. If you have managed to get to this point, you have already managed to disassociate yourself from the mass of proposals that will reach the company.
The best version of yourself
Select at most five projects that are in accordance with the proposed objective, that have had the best result and have achieved the desired expectations. Time is extremely valuable for the person who will make the decision to choose or hire you for their project, so you should try to be explicit not to beat around the bush and present projects that are totally complementary to the company in question.
Each materialized idea is a success, treat it as such
When presenting your proposal, you must explain the most interesting details of the creative process. From the briefing to the evaluation of the results, it is something that you should treat with detail, conciseness and elegance. Presenting your proposal with a greater positive impact and presenting it as a success that must be achieved and that you are going to achieve will incite the management team to take your proposal seriously. This goes much further than a simple screenshot, this is to display your arsenal of resources and possibilities.
Design at least two types of portfolio
You should have different ways to introduce yourself. At the very least, I already told you that two would be the most appropriate. One of them using a social platform like Dribble or Behance. This will give you the ability to show yourself in an agile and efficient way to show yourself as creative in a short time.
The second portfolio should be more extensive, in PDF or printed format. In this you will have greater freedom to explain your success stories in detail and in it you must take care of every detail (the design, your graphic identity ...)