portfolio basicsCarly Hagins, adjunct professor

Wentworth Institute of Technology

the goal of making a portfolio is landing a job

Keeping your audience (potential employers) in mind should guide the design of your portfolio

portfolios are meant to communicate:

- skill level- thought process- interests

(problem solving skills)

If you’re applying to a toy company, there should be some toys in your portfolio

indesign is your friendIt’s the easiest. Trust me.

hierarchy of informationPrioritize every piece of information on every page. Make sure the most important stuff is what gets seen first.

You can make page elements appear more important by making them bigger, bolder, or more opaque.

title page + resume + work + end page =portfolio Just like in real life, it’s nice to introduce

yourself. It’s also nice to say thanks.

Project intro pages can also be a good way to keep control of rhythm.

you gotta include:name, email, & phone number

choose your layout wisely 8.5 x 11 plays well in many situations, but

sometimes it’s better to stand out (with large format, square, vertical, etc.)

consider other formats tooYou may want to share your portfolio on coroflot, Behance, LinkedIn, or a personal website.

people read a page fromtop left

to bottom right

matters of fontchoose 2

Any more than that looks bad & gets distracting

it doesn't have to be hugeConsider where your portfolio will be viewed. 12 pt font is very readable on an 8.5 x 11 print-out.

mix serif & sans serifIt adds interest & readability (and makes it look like you know what you’re doing.)

use impactful imageryFriends don’t let friends use Google images.

its OK to have just one

thought per slideLike Julia Child said, ‘Don’t crowd the mushrooms!’

distill your work down into the best content

Include just one project that shows your entire process. Then pick-and-choose your favorite sketch page, Key Shot render, etc.

start strong, end strong

Impress them enough so they will keep clicking, then leave them with something powerful to remember you by.

be proud of your workRemember that a potential employer might ask you to talk through any of the projects in your portfolio—or all of them.

get as much criticism as possibleAsk friends for advice. Go to portfolio reviews.Improve at every opportunity.

Please proofread. Typos are terrible!

questions?