You know what makes me scratch my head? When young designers and creatives ask me what work they should include in their portfolio website.
When it comes to choosing projects for your portfolio website, many designers and creatives struggle to feel confident about their selections. While I don't claim to be the ultimate decision-maker, I've noticed a lack of clear guidance on this topic online. That's why I'm here to share my experience.
Your portfolio website is your digital business card—a powerful tool to demonstrate your design skills, attract clients, and stand out in the creative industry. But what exactly should you include? Whether you're a recent graduate, a seasoned professional, or somewhere in between, choosing the right projects can make or break your portfolio's impact.
In this guide, we'll explore five key types of projects that can elevate your portfolio website: school projects, job-related work, client projects, passion projects, and even how to handle work under NDAs. We'll dive into why each type matters and how to select your best work to create a compelling story of your skills and experience. By the end of this article, you'll have a clear roadmap for building a portfolio that showcases your unique talents and attracts the clients you want.
School Projects
If you're a recent graduate or still in a design program, your academic work can be the foundation of your portfolio website. School projects demonstrate your core skills and your ability to tackle diverse design challenges.
Key points to remember:
- Quality over quantity: Don't feel pressured to include every project you've ever created. Choose only your best work that showcases a range of skills.
- Relevance is crucial: Select projects that align with the type of work you want to do professionally.
- Show your process: Include brief descriptions of your design thinking and problem-solving approach.
When I first graduated from my design program, my portfolio was a showcase of school projects. Despite having internship experience, I felt those projects weren't impressive enough for the jobs and clients I was aiming for. But here's the kicker. Those school projects actually carried me through the first two years of my design career.
The secret? I carefully selected projects that I was genuinely excited about and that aligned with the types of clients and jobs I wanted in the future. For instance, I included the branding of my senior thesis project, which after graduating helped me land a job with the internet company Yahoo!.
One project in particular, an icon design series about university life, caught the eye of a small design studio in downtown Manhattan. They were impressed by my attention to detail and offered me one of my first proper design studio jobs.
The lesson here? Don't underestimate the power of well-chosen school projects. They can demonstrate your skills, showcase your passion, and even attract the kind of work you want to do in the future. Just make sure to present them professionally and be ready to discuss your process and decision-making behind each project.
Remember, your portfolio should evolve. As you gain more professional experience, you can gradually phase out school projects in favor of real-world work.
Job-Related Projects
Projects from full-time, part-time jobs, or internships are valuable additions to your portfolio. They showcase not just your design skills, but also your ability to work within a professional environment.
Why include job projects:
- They demonstrate your experience working with real business constraints and objectives.
- They show your ability to collaborate with teams and meet deadlines.
- They provide concrete examples of how your work contributes to business goals.
When presenting job projects, focus on your specific contributions and the results achieved. If possible, include metrics that demonstrate the project's success.
Client Work
For freelancers and solopreneurs, client work is the backbone of your portfolio. These projects showcase your ability to understand client needs, translate them into effective designs, and deliver results.
I've learned that showcasing the right client work attracts more of the projects I actually want to do.
For instance, after sharing a website project for an event marketing company, I noticed an uptick in DMs from other businesses. This allowed me to focus on an industry I'm passionate about and refine my process for these specific types of projects.
Client work serves a dual purpose. It's both a record of your past achievements and a magnet for future opportunities. By strategically showcasing projects that align with your desired direction, you're not just displaying design skills—you're demonstrating your professionalism, communication abilities, and problem-solving prowess. This approach attracts more of the work you love while allowing you to continuously refine your skills in your chosen niche.
Passion Projects
Passion projects, also known as personal or hypothetical projects, are your chance to showcase your creativity without constraints. These projects can be a powerful addition to your portfolio for several reasons:
- They demonstrate your initiative and passion for design.
- They allow you to showcase skills or styles that might not appear in your client work.
- They can lead to real opportunities—many designers have landed big jobs through passion projects.
Don't shy away from including these projects out of fear that they're not "real" work. Potential clients and employers are often more interested in the quality and creativity of your work than whether it was commissioned.
Handling Work Under NDA
When you've done work under a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), you need to be careful about what you show in your portfolio. An NDA is a legal document that says you can't share certain information about a project or company.
Here are some tips for handling NDA work in your portfolio:
- Be Cautious: Don't show anything that could give competitors an advantage. This includes sensitive information or secret projects.
- Ask Permission: If possible, ask your client or employer if you can show some of the work. They might say yes to certain parts of the project.
- Use Password Protection: Some designers put NDA work behind a password on their website. This way, they can show it during job interviews or to specific clients, but not to everyone.
- Show What You Can: Even if you can't show the actual work, you can often list the company name and your role. This still adds to your experience.
- Create a Case Study: Sometimes, you can write about the project without showing the actual designs. Focus on your process and the problems you solved.
Remember, I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice. These are just tips from my experience as a designer with 10+ years of experience. Always follow the terms of your NDA and ask for permission when in doubt.
Curating Your Portfolio
Now that we've covered the types of projects to include, let's talk about curation. Your portfolio is only as strong as its weakest project, so be selective.
Curation isn't about showing everything you've ever created. It's about cherry-picking your best work and presenting it in a way that says, "I'm the designer you need!"
Tips for curating your work like a pro:
- Think about the work you want to do long-term
- Consider the types of clients you want to attract
- Choose projects that make you feel proud and excited
Remember, aim for quality over quantity. A portfolio with 1-3 knockout projects packs more punch than one with 10 mediocre ones.
But hey, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I've got a whole article on my website that dives deep into the art of curation which you can check out here. It's packed with more tips, tricks, and real-world examples to help you create a portfolio that'll have clients lining up at your virtual door.
Conclusion
Your portfolio isn't about showcasing every project you've ever done. It's about carefully selecting the ones that light you up and align with where you want to go in your career. Whether that's a mix of school projects, client work, or passion projects doesn't matter as much as how they reflect your goals and the clients you're dying to work with.
Remember, confidence is key. If you're looking at your projects and feeling a bit "meh" about presenting them to potential clients or in job applications, don't sweat it. We've all been there. That's exactly why I put together my course, "How to Craft Sexy Case Studies."
This course isn't just about making your projects look pretty. It's about helping you feel like a total boss when you're showcasing your work. We're talking case studies that'll have clients drooling over the chance to work with you. No joke.
So, if you're ready to level up your portfolio game and start attracting the kind of clients that make you excited to jump out of bed in the morning, give the course a look.
