Portfolio design and personal websites are probably the single most important facet of any designers’ professional online identity. So it’s no surprise that your personal website should get as much (if not more) attention than anything else you spend time on – whether that be side-projects or client work.
Reinventing yourself through your portfolio is a great place to start the long and continual journey that is personal branding. A personal website should be treated as any other design project, and for me the first thing that comes to mind is always – the target audience: Who are we designing for? Nailing this question, should be your first consideration in creating your online identity.
Define and Design For Your Audience
Depending on your circumstance and aspirations, your portfolio will no-doubt be seen by different people. Nonetheless, there are essentially two audiences your portfolio might be intended for : If you’re a freelancer – it’s mostly business owners and entrepreneurs or startup companies. On the other hand, if you’re looking at working in a full-time position at a company as part of a design team – it will be mostly designers.Defining your audience is a major and the first consideration as it will help you set tone, theme and outline general communication objectives before you even start picking up a sketch pad. Consider this the research part of your design process.
Learn To Code
If you’re predominately a visual designer and don’t know much about development, a portfolio is actually a great place to start, for a number or reasons. It’s small in scope, manageable and something you’re passionate about. All proven reasons that will no-doubt conjure enthusiasm for learning something new.If you know the basics of HTML/CSS and maybe even a little PHP you’re well on your way. Learning as you go is great way to achieve your goals as you’ll find specific solutions to mostly common development problems. Start small and work your way up.
If you don’t know how to code and don’t have the time to learn, there are other options like Square Space, Cargo or Behance Pro Sites, however if you want something really unique you’ll need to learn how to code – or hire a developer.
I wouldn’t recommend using your Dribbble profile as a design folio. Although much of your work may look great, it’s ultimately a little impersonal and there’s not enough information on the workflow of each project. This is a sentiment shared by many in the industry.
Focus on Creativity
Creativity. The big C. Regardless of whether you’re aiming at company owners or designers, creating a unique and memorable portfolio is key. This means focusing on creating a lasting impression. Whether that be through the use of copy, visual design or user experience.However this doesn’t necessarily mean simply creating something that has “never been done before”. If you focus purely on creating something unique, you’ll more than likely end up being bogged down by that notion. Rather, the goal should be on letting your creativity shape your design. If you focus on creativity, you should create something unique anyway. This means inspiration, brainstorming, iterating, reiterating, drafting, testing and executing.
Keep it Simple
Simplicity is a big thing. We all know it. It can be hard sometimes trying to make something simple, while at the same time achieving your goals. Nonetheless simplicity in itself should instill some sort of seemingly unattainable beauty in your viewers. Kind of like “This looks amazing, but I can’t exactly explain why”.On the content side of things, this means focusing on quality over quantity. If you do have a lot of work, you don’t nessasarly need to showcase all of it. Try focusing on what you’re best at and showcasing it in a simple and memorable way. Try to use a good sense of moderation in things.
Create An Experience
Focusing on creating an experience rather than specific design facets is a great perspective to design from. This means setting out the type of experience you want visitors to have and how that experience reflects yourself. Remember your portfolio is you, it reflects everything about you from a designer to a person. You want your viewers to experience what you’re about are in visual way.Some Inspirational Examples
Lastly, for some all important inspiration, here are some great examples of some well executed portfolios and personal websites I’ve collected. Enjoy and happy designing!
0 comments:
Post a Comment