You want to land your dream job in design. How can you make your portfolio stand out? (2024)

Before you start designing your portfolio, you need to research your target company and role. What kind of projects do they work on? What are their values and goals? What are the skills and qualities they are looking for in a designer? You want to tailor your portfolio to match their expectations and needs, and show them how you can add value to their team. Use their language, style, and tone to communicate your message and fit their culture.

Your portfolio should not include every single project you have ever worked on. Instead, you should select the best and most relevant examples that demonstrate your range of skills, experience, and interests. Choose projects that align with the type of work you want to do, and that showcase your problem-solving, creativity, and technical abilities. You should also include some personal or passion projects that reflect your personality and passion for design.

Your portfolio should not only display your final outcomes, but also explain your process and thinking behind each project. You want to tell a story that shows how you approached the problem, what research and methods you used, what challenges and feedback you faced, and how you iterated and improved your solution. You should also highlight the impact and results of your work, using metrics, testimonials, or awards if possible. This way, you can show your potential employer how you work, think, and learn as a designer.

Your portfolio itself should be a reflection of your design skills and style. You want to create a portfolio that is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and consistent. You should use a clear and simple layout, a professional and readable font, and a harmonious and attractive color scheme. You should also use high-quality images, videos, or mockups to showcase your work, and make sure they are optimized for web and mobile devices. You should also add some personal touches, such as a logo, a bio, or a photo, to make your portfolio more memorable and unique.

Before you send your portfolio to your potential employer, you should test it for functionality, usability, and accessibility. You want to make sure your portfolio works well on different browsers, devices, and screen sizes, and that it is easy to use and understand for different users. You should also check for any errors, typos, or broken links, and fix them as soon as possible. You should also update your portfolio regularly, adding new projects, skills, or achievements, and removing outdated or irrelevant ones. This way, you can keep your portfolio fresh, relevant, and impressive.

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Design

+ Follow

Thanks for your feedback

Your feedback is private. Like or react to bring the conversation to your network.