How to Create a Smashing Online Graphic Design Portfolio

When you start your career as a freelance graphic designer, the first thing you need is a portfolio to attract new clients. When people hire a graphic designer for brochure design or business card designs, the first thing they ask is “can I see some of your sample designs?’ If you wish to work for only local clients, then a hardcopy portfolio may be sufficient, but if you want to attract clients from all over the world, it is necessary to develop an online portfolio. You can just share the link with any prospective client and he will be able to go through your work. Here are some tips to create an effective graphic design portfolio that will promote your skills and lure more clients.

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Go straight to the point

When you are introducing your portfolio, don’t beat around the bush. Keep sentences brief and discuss the type of graphic designs you can do. Clients don’t have enough time to read a long paragraph. They need to know what you can do for them.

Highlight your expertise

You may have the skills to create logo, business card, brochure, leaflet and many other things; and you should post those designs in your portfolio, but don’t forget to highlight what you specialize in. It is better to be a “master logo designer”, than a “Jack of all trades’.

Upload the best work only

You may have done hundreds of logo and brochure designs so far, but only upload your best designs in the portfolio. Always remember that quality matters more than quantity when it comes to graphic design.

Organize your work

Don’t place all types of graphic designs in one page as the page will look cluttered. Divide your samples by category such as “logo”, “brochure”, “business card” etc. and post them in 3 different pages. This way, clients will be able to judge your expertise in a user friendly manner.

Make the site is user friendly

When graphic designers create their online portfolio, they give creativity more importance and neglect usability. Being a designer you obviously want to showcase your aesthetic sense, but that does not mean you can hamper usability. Make sure that the site is beautiful as well as user friendly.

Determine target clients

You have to decide what type of clients you are targeting. For example, a logo design expert may target multinational companies while a leaflet design expert may target small and local companies. Depending upon your target market, you have to create your website design. For instance, multinational companies would like to see a highly professional looking site.

Give contact information

This is an obvious point, but sometimes designers forget to insert their contact details in the portfolio. You should mention your email address; phone number and office address in your portfolio so that clients can call you or meet you face to face.

Update it

Nobody likes to hire a designer who last worked 2 years ago according to his portfolio. Therefore, always upload your latest works and mention the dates of project completion to help clients realize that you are active and highly in demand.

Post testimonials

Testimonials prove your worth much better than any paid advertisement. New clients would like to know about your past clients’ names and their feedback about your work. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to upload client testimonials in your online graphic design portfolio.

 Describe yourself

There must be an “about me” page in your portfolio. You can share your educational details, work experience, work method and USPs of your service in this page.

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