Three Tips for Creating a Successful Online Graphic Design Portfolio

Are you ready to great an online graphic design portfolio? Although it is a good idea to have both a physical as well as online representation of your work, websites are especially important since they demonstrate to potential clients that you have a solid understanding of how design needs to fit purpose. Your graphic design portfolio should be modern, eye catching, and inform the reader quickly about your experience in the industry. Here are three tips for raising your portfolio above the competition.

First, choosing which pieces to include is an important aspect of creating your portfolio. For online sites, you should have around 30 pieces to display, and you should try to focus them around a central theme. Though it is good to show a breadth of work, someone looking for someone to do digital website designs is not going to be interested in the five hand drawings you included, while someone looking for a fine arts illustrator is not going to pick someone who only has five hand drawn illustrations. Focus will also give you greater access to niche markets, which are often some of the more lucrative jobs in graphic design.

Second, make sure that your site reflects what you excel at. Your website can help sell your designs by complementing them nicely and showcasing your professionalism. If your work is primarily online design, make sure this is reflected in your portfolio layout, since you are basically giving people an additional example of your work. Dynamic and unique layouts will often get a second look through that other portfolios might not get. Try and grab the attention of your reader without being gimmicky. I would recommend checking out popular design portfolio examples online to get a sense of what industry leaders are doing.

Third, great graphic design portfolios should have a modern layout. Create layouts that are appealing, have a low text to high image ratio, use modern typography, and display a custom logo. Follow current trends in website design. For example, do not present both squared and rounded image edges on the same page. Uniformity and streamlined appearance is key. Designer portfolios should always be mobile compatible, since some potential employers might want to view your site or show it to others using a tablet or smart phone.