Tips for Building Up Your Design Portfolio

There’s a lot you can do as a graphic designer to position yourself for success after college. One essential tool at your disposal for landing a fantastic job is a great portfolio that highlights your best works and displays your skills. Continue reading to discover important tips for building up your design portfolio.

Sign Up for Competitions

Entering graphic design competitions gives you an excellent opportunity for recognition from your peers and adds additional designs to your portfolio. Winning these contests also looks fantastic on your resume and helps you stand out from the crowd. Before you enter, be sure you can keep ownership of your creations.

Make Good Use of Your Homework

You may underestimate the value of the work you’re doing in class. You can tap into your design homework and turn them into fantastic portfolio pieces to show prospective employers. When you haven’t yet obtained a paying design job, You can often use the graphics you make in these classes to demonstrate your abilities.

Figure Out Your Brand

The way you present your portfolio is another significant opportunity to display your skills. Figure out your visual identity as a designer and use those elements to inject individuality into your portfolio. You could design your logo, typeface, color scheme, artwork, animations, slogan, and other details, all of which can be enjoyable projects.

Add a Story to Each Design

Make a note of your reasoning and design strategy while you work on portfolio items. You can explain how you arrived at each option, what inspired you, what type of revisions you did, and so on. The purpose of these brief stories is to demonstrate how you operate and what kind of designer you are.

Ask Someone You Trust for Critiques

Constructive criticism shouldn’t tear you down but build you up. Find someone you can trust, such as a professor, to review your portfolio and suggest ways to improve it. You’ll be in an even better position to grow as a designer if you can persuade this person to mentor you.

Ask if Friends or Family Need Work

When you’re just starting, it’s tough to convince clients to pay for your services without any experience. However, the people you’re already close to may be looking for things like poster designs or art for their website that you can volunteer to help with. Don’t let anyone take advantage of your kindness, but small projects can show you can follow directions and give you a tangible product to show to potential clients and employees.

All these tips for building up your design portfolio can’t help unless you’re willing to put in the work. The more time and effort you put in, the more successful you’ll be at producing a stunning collection of work. Always look for potential opportunities to show off your talents and create amazing products that advertise your brand.

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