Why it is important to update your portfolio
2 MINS READ
A portfolio is a great way of showcasing your work experience, skills , expertise and talent. As a designer, I wanted my portfolio website to stand out in terms of design, animations and interactions but honestly, those are not the most important things. The design field is very competitive , Hence designers need to market themselves and not rely on their skills alone. A good design portfolio must contain past experiences, testimonials from clients and best samples of your project .
When and why do you use portfolios?
Outside of a job or client search, archiving samples of your work to a portfolio is a great way to keep track of your accomplishments and make note of when you acquired key competencies. Having it all together in a portfolio can be useful during your yearly review or helpful if you decide to go for a promotion. It can take quite a while to put together a portfolio, so make sure it’s up-to-date to prepare you for unexpected situations like layoffs and sudden changes to your job.
What do you put in a portfolio?
Anything that demonstrates your accomplishments and abilities should go into your portfolio. Think you don’t have anything to put in a portfolio? Think again. What major projects have you worked on recently or over the years? Select some of the deliverables associated with it, and add it to your portfolio.
Here are some items you may be able to include in your portfolio:
- Current resume or CV
- Reference letters, awards, testimonials, and LinkedIn recommendations
- Work samples that you have created, for example:
- Project plans
Why you should update your portfolio.
1. An Outdated portfolio makes clients think you are unserious :
Having an outdated portfolio sends a wrong message to the client, it either means you’re no longer active in the field or you are not confident enough to put you work out there..be confident in your designs !!
2. A Good portfolio makes you stand out from your peers:
For a creative. A portfolio reflects your ability and exposes you to potential clients, Many clients won’t risk working with someone who hasn’t worked on real projects before
3. It shows your are passionate about your work
What kind of portfolio should you have ?
Whether you go with a physical or electronic version of your portfolio depends on a number of factors, including your industry and personal preference. See what’s common with your peers. Consider which version you would prefer to maintain on an ongoing basis.
How do you create a portfolio ?
For online portfolios, you can build your own website from scratch or use a web-based portfolio builder.
Popular tools for creating a portfolio
- Behance ( For designers)
- Dribble ( For Designers )
- Wordpress
- Disha
- HTML Templates from envato market place
- Square space
- Editor x
- Adobe Portfolio
- Lol you can literally google, they are tons available online
Isioma John
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