The continuity of your career may be determined by the portfolio you have. Moreover, if the field you choose is the creative industry, then a portfolio has become a mandatory item for ammunition to face existing competition. Of course, the portfolio must be attractive so that your name is considered by clients.
Generally, a creative portfolio contains information about the work, projects or jobs you have completed. This is needed to measure the extent of your abilities and how much experience you have. Therefore, you need to package this information in a creative portfolio that is attractive, both in terms of content and visual design.
How to? You can follow these tips to create an attractive creative portfolio.
Before discussing the contents and design of the portfolio, do research first to determine the right audience and platform. For example, if you are a lifestyle photographer, then potential clients may be media, bloggers, content creators, and people who need photography services. By targeting a specific audience, it will help you determine the right content, tone of voice, and design.
Next, you also need to determine the platform for creating a portfolio. Some platforms such as Behance and Dribble are commonly used by illustrators or designers. Besides that, you can also create your own portfolio site.
In creating a creative portfolio, the principle is that quality is more important than quantity. Therefore, only include your best works and leave the irrelevant ones. For example, if you are an interior designer, enter pictures of the products you have created. Don't include irrelevant products, such as clothing designs, just because you want to include more work.
So, in this process, it is no less important to make sure your works show your various skills. What this means is that if all the work in your portfolio looks too similar, clients may feel that your creativity is limited. If you are an interior designer, you can display the best designs that are different from each other. This will leave the impression that you are a versatile person.
Apart from that, you also need to make sure that some of the work you display is the latest. Because clients usually tend to want to see your new work. Therefore, update and edit your portfolio as your career develops.
Basically, a portfolio is not only a place to display your work, but also a means to introduce yourself. Therefore, make a separate page to write your CV. Enter information from your profile, your educational background, training or courses you have taken, work experience, media or tools used, and contacts you can contact.
Besides that, you can also add a mission statement. This will complement your work and demonstrate value and convince clients that you are the right person to work with.
You need to remember, not all clients are professionals in the field you work in. Therefore, you need to show them an explanation of how you view and solve an issue. For example, if you are a designer, design is certainly not just visual art but exists to solve problems, such as building brands, promotions, and so on. Clients certainly want to see how you overcome existing problems and challenges with the designs you create.
You can break down the process into four parts, namely the project synopsis, the design process, your role, and what you learned and can improve in the future.
Furthermore, all your efforts to design a creative portfolio will be in vain if it is not supported by high-quality photos. You can get it with the help of a DSLR camera or even a cell phone camera with the right settings. To support your shots, you can use studio lights or take advantage of natural light. This will help all the details of your work show up well.
Apart from that, don't hesitate to include close-ups of the creation so that clients can really see the work, even if only through the device screen.
Ask colleagues, friends or people you trust to assess your portfolio. Maybe they'll remember a big project you missed. They can also provide an objective view of the contents of the portfolio. It's a great way to get a feel for how a portfolio will be received by clients before it's published.
Those are the tips for creating an attractive creative portfolio. You can try applying it while looking for some references from figures who are role models or who have enough experience. Apart from that, don't forget to continue to hone your skills and look for various opportunities so that your portfolio will become richer and more interesting.