What is a portfolio?
A portfolio is any method used to showcase your best work. No matter the industry, fashion, architecture or design, there are many ways to display your work to get a new job or expand your audience or customers.
Types of design portfolios
Depending on the type of design work that you do, there are different portfolio formats that will suit your needs best. A design portfolio can be digital, in the form of a website, slideshow or PDF, but it can also be analogue, in the form of a print book or poster.
Graphic design portfolio
When it comes to graphic design, designing a PDF as your portfolio is becoming more and more popular to highlight your work and PDF design skills. Using tools like InDesign and Photoshop, you can create multi-page PDFs that can be fine-tuned and formatted any way you like. With new software like Framer, it is becoming even easier to create a PDF online and share it in no time. The result of your PDF portfolio will be a brochure or one-pager that shows examples of your best work, along with a description of each project and other related information.
UX design portfolio
For UX designers, online portfolios are probably the most popular type today. This can be a simple one-page website with your contact information or a more thorough online gallery site. If your main discipline is web design, a portfolio website is the choice for you. It serves as an example of your web design skills itself, as well as highlighting your best work where it is meant to be seen.
Portfolio websites come with many benefits, especially as most of our work is done online. First, they can show off design properties like animation and interactivity. As an important part of UX design, it is important to show these aspects so viewers get the full experience of your designs. Next, website portfolios are very easy to share. You can include the link in your social media bios and send the link to anyone at any time, so your work becomes more readily available. Finally, online portfolios are a great way to show your personality. As the more modern way of displaying your work, they are less constrained by the rules of the classic print portfolio.
When going the online portfolio route, there are some drawbacks. First, website portfolios often require knowledge of code to create. This can be a blocker for many UX designers. However, there are more and more tools like Framer that let you create a design portfolio without code. Next, you have to keep in mind the constraints of the web: breakpoints, different browsers and rendering issues that you would not have to think about in print portfolios. Finally, website portfolios can take more time to create, depending on how many pages you need.
- 1Pick fewer, stronger projects that fit the work you want
- 2Choose a format: website, slideshow, PDF, print book or poster
- 3Graphic designers: a multi-page PDF often works well
- 4UX and web designers: a website that can show interaction
- 5No code needed: tools like Framer can build it
Frequently asked questions
Should a design portfolio be a PDF or a website?
Graphic designers often do well with a PDF. UX and web designers usually need a website, because it can show interaction.
How many projects should a portfolio include?
Fewer, stronger projects beat many average ones. Pick the work that best fits the job or clients you want.
Can I build a portfolio website without code?
Yes. No-code tools like Framer make it possible to build a portfolio site without writing code.