How to create a portfolio correctly?
I'm a social media designer 👋 🏻 Please advise us, especially those who are also engaged in design, what works should be added to the portfolio, where to apply for it, and what skills are currently most in demand among designers? How and where can I find my first orders? As well as people who run their own business/social networks. networks. What criteria of my resume and portfolio are important for you to consider my vacancy?
Only the best works should be added to your portfolio, preferably in the same direction. That is, if your specialty is social networks, then there should only be banners, icons, etc. There should be no printing equipment or souvenirs. The customer is looking for a person for a specific task, and if your portfolio meets it, then it should be an accurate hit. And if the portfolio contains all the projects of different design directions, then the customer does not understand who you are more a print product designer or a web designer. Also, there should not be many projects, the best option is one top-end (you put the best one first), and the rest after it is 5-8 completed cases, you don't need more experience, no one will look at everything anyway. Oh, by the way about the design, the portfolio should be live, and the cases should be correctly submitted. On Behance.net there are top cases, according to your profile, with a large number of likes and even feeds. See how they present their work and apply it to your projects. In the behance search, you can enter “web banners” or something similar. There is, for example, an Infostyle Agency on behane that has cases with advertising for social networks.
Well, of course, it is better to create a portfolio on Behance.net now all the designers and customers there know this, so they go there to search for specialists. You can get your first orders there. The more active you are on the portal, the more attention you get to your profile. At least it was there, and designers leaving comments and likes under other works got themselves a lot of subscribers and other activity in their profile.
As for social media design skills, these include Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and the ability to present your work. With programs, I think everything is more or less clear, figma — because adaptive in two clicks will save a lot of time and effort. And the ability to present your work is a basic communication skill, otherwise you won't survive in the design industry, there are too many designers now and the price doesn't matter anymore. Experience decides.
And if we talk about considering a candidate for the position of a social network designer, then the portfolio answers the question of experience and skills. If there are large and interesting projects, then the probability of employment is 100%. But if they don't exist, then now there are a lot of small public sites and YouTube channels, so every designer will find their own customer.
There are two portfolio options – general and for a specific customer. You should add all your best works to the total (but don't overload your portfolio, add really worthwhile works). In the portfolio for the customer, add those works that best fit their requirements: this way, they won't have to search among a large number of designs.
The main service where designers hang out is behance.net. There you can put up your own portfolio and look at other people's ones.
But if you want to stand out and be remembered by the customer, you can create your own portfolio site. To do this, you don't need to have programming skills, you can just use one of the constructors. For example, y Ucraft.ru there is a whole section with templates for portfolios. With help. You can use these templates to post your work, tell us about yourself, and share contacts and links to social networks. The type of website you create will also speak about you and be taken into account by the customer. Good luck!
The classic approach may be suitable-a minimum of words – maximum visibility
Here's how we decided to do it
That is, a gallery + small explanations
You can also add links to real profiles
usually, the first works are trash, I don't recommend putting them anywhere at all.
no matter how you make them out, it will be noticeable and free mockups won't make them any cooler. I will not develop the idea, here, I think, it is clear.
the main thing is to make a potential customer salivate for your projects.
how do I do this in your “social media design” niche?
instead of making out your first work from all sorts of workzil and other freelance platforms spend time on the following:
– go through the top design agencies (Western, our), see how they design their work, their social networks, what level these works have, what they write under the project, pay attention to the quality of photos, the number of mockups used, everything-all this. turn on your brain, think.
— take a look at the design that really makes you want to say “I want myself”.
— try to understand how and at the expense of what it is made. what technologies, programs, and equipment are used there…
— explore a couple of new areas: 3D, illustrations, animation… learn to convey meaning through the right images, finally. tobish, delve into trends, branding, and identity… after all, you work in this field.
“forget the time money, you won't starve to death.”
— create a design for a fictional brand or an existing one (just look at how to properly sign such works in terms of copyright) of the quality you need.
— in the design of social networks, everything is simple.
you make out how It Was-It became. Before and after your services. Besides, I think you can design your own pages
stars. and if you really do awesome work — then you don't have to ask how to design your work.
….