All web designers and developers need a professional portfolio to showcase their talent and attract new clients. However, there is one more goal behind it. Even if searching for a job in such high-paid niches as medical design, cryptocurrency, and mobile apps, isn't your main priority, this post will be useful because the second major goal of any portfolio is to impress your colleagues.
Sooner or later, there comes the time when a designer needs to share their works with the world. One can do this in many ways. Two widespread solutions are creating your own website with a professional portfolio and taking advantage of special services showcasing the designs you are proud of. Both options have their pros and cons. Therefore, in this article, I suggest you take a closer look at them and try to choose the best solution for your business.
But before we start, you've got to ask yourself a simple question: "For God's sake, what do I need that damn portfolio for?" The answer will clearly define the right way.
Free Marketplaces
Oddly enough, many designers make portfolios not to get hired and improve their skills but with a single goal: to impress other designers. They need to get some enthusiastic feedback from their colleagues, which makes no sense but usually happens.
The portfolio is a means of improving your self-performance. In this case, an excellent solution would be to place a new design on special resources with a high amount of monthly visitors. The number of employers looking for web designers on Behance tends to zero. HR representatives just don't have time for it. As a result, if you want to find a job within the shortest terms, it would be reasonable to consider less time-consuming options. However, if you wish to put your colleagues in the shade, here is a list of excellent places to showcase your works for free.
Behance
Deviantart
Dribbble
Coroflot
Unsplash
Creating Your Brand
A portfolio is a way to get recognized and create a special social status.
If you want to create a brand - the only possible option is to develop your site with a professional portfolio. But beware! This undertaking can become a real nightmare. To create a website, you should have some basic knowledge of HTML / CSS / JS and a huge amount of free time.
Here's a little story. Not so long ago, my friend decided to "quit" and started developing his online portfolio. He was chatter-boxing that there was nothing better than a personal website all the day round. How wrong that was! The process of designing and coding has brought him a whole month of "unrestrained fun." As a result, 28 days later, he came to a stop in the middle of the way and started looking for a faster way to get new orders.
On the other hand, you can use ready-made templates. Thus, you can significantly reduce time and costs and achieve a better result. Here are several resources to get a quality portfolio template.
TemplateMonster
MonsterONE
Creativemarket
FTO
ThemeIsle
The two ways mentioned above are perfect if you have plenty of free time. However, this is not always possible, and there is one more proven way - PDF.
Job Hunting
PDF as a fast way of showcasing your portfolio and sharing the information with the clients
PDF is a simple, fast, and effective way to showcase your work. Potential employers are wise people and won't appreciate your "make-up" talents. It is worthwhile to show the logic of your work on the project and avoid overloading your PDF portfolio with animation and tacky elements.
Moreover, PDF is more than enough to find a job in absolutely any company, be it a small studio or a Google corporation.
Here are five excellent tips for creating a competent portfolio in PDF:
- Add only your best works. There is no need to show how you gained your skills and put your early awkward designs there.
- Limit the number of slides per project. Two or three would be enough.
- Stay logical. Correctly formulated logical description, plan, and algorithm of your work on the next project dramatically increase your chances of getting a job.
- Do not use too many details.
Final Words
To sum up, the answer to your question "Where to Go with Your Portfolio?" should be based on practical considerations. If you have time, you can draw new designs and chaotically place them throughout the web. However, PDF will be your helper-outer if you need an urgent job solution. :) Where do you put your works? Please don't be shy and share it in the comment section.
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