The reason is because your portfolio itself should be a shining example of your sensitivity to graphic design, layout, and proportion. I often get asked by ID students if they should include graphic design work within their portfolio.

Tailor your portfolio for each application.Ġ5. So, if you know that the particular role you are applying for requires more of an understanding of mechanics, then draw more attention to that aspect of the project. For a large, complex project you will not go through every aspect of the design in an application portfolio. You are in control of your portfolio and have the ability to draw attention to whatever you like. The way you can do this is by shifting the focus of the project. When you are just graduating, you can still adopt the same mindset even though you have a limited number of projects. So, you base your decision of which projects to include based on which are the most relevant to that specific business. When you build your level of design experience, you have more projects in your locker than you need for an application.

One project might focus more on a mechanical challenge and another may focus on form, but the skills are integrated into projects – not isolated in a separate section. Not every project needs to communicate EVERY skill. Instead, your portfolio should be presented through projects, and the skills are entwined within those projects. More importantly, there’s no storytelling ABILITY being conveyed. This presentation style of miscellaneous snippets is NOT the way to go. In recent years, I’ve seen graduates compile a page of random drawings and group them on a page titled ‘Sketching’. PRESENT PROJECTS, NOT MISCELLANEOUS SNIPPETS A lot of portfolios fail to show a range of skills beyond KeyShot, so think about incorporating hand sketches, Photoshop renderings, Illustrator linework, and prototypes.Ġ3. One great exercise is to note down a list of the skills you have, and make sure these skills are evidenced in your portfolio. In order to sell YOU, think about what capabilities you can convey. If you don’t show the development journey then you don’t allow for this appreciation. If I’m reviewing your work, I may dislike a certain aspect of the final design, but might appreciate the way you got there. With no evidence of initial ideas and how you approached different aspects of the project, you make it impossible for a reader to assess the thinking behind your approach. If you only show images of the final product, then that is the only thing you can be judged on. In order to do this, you need to show your thought process and how you got to the end solution. You’re not trying to sell your products, you’re trying to sell YOU. Your portfolio should not look like a catalog of the products you’ve designed.

Graphic design portfolio layout