Building Your Graphic Design Portfolio - DIGRAPE.com

Building Your Graphic Design Portfolio - DIGRAPE "Diseños Gráficos Peña" - http://digrape.com

One of the joys, and biggest anxieties, of being a graphic designer is putting together your first graphic design portfolio. Whole volumes have been written about what to put, and what not to put, in your graphic design portfolio.

Here are some tips that will get your graphic design portfolio noticed.  

First, your main goal is to make sure you put together a portfolio of your very best work.  This may seem very obvious to you, but you would be surprised at how many people do not put forth their very best work.  In fact, many people often strive to impress by putting together a portfolio that is flashy, but not altogether substantive.  In order to put together the best portfolio, you want to use the best practices.  

This means classic good web design.  Pay attention to the detail of your work and make sure that it shows off your knowledge of craft. Ideally, you want a portfolio that complies with graphic design standards.  This means that you have the correct document type and use standard mark up throughout your work.  

Other things to keep in mind include typography.  This means your knowledge of setting words in graphics.  If you are applying for a position as a web designer, you want to make sure that your portfolio reflects your ability to use and control type, especially in a Web environment.  

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the graphic design portfolio is often a type of job audition.  This means that your graphic design powerful new must prove to a potential client that you are willing and able to design for users.  Many young graphic designers make the mistake of trying to impress with their graphic design portfolio. 

One of the major weaknesses that many young graphic designers fall prey to when putting together their first graphic design portfolio is the instinct to innovate.  Although it is natural to indulge our instinct to create and put together the most innovative designs that we can, many young graphic designers often confused their portfolios as places to innovate and show off new designs.  However, a lot of innovation can be distracting.  

Make sure that your portfolio is tailored to the kind of work you want to do.  This means that you will often want to show off your strengths, including your understanding and knowledge of basic and advanced design, rather than just your ability to experiment and innovate. 

Don't be afraid to show your work.  Many young graphic designers believe that their work should be protected, and worry a lot about copyright infringement.  Although this is an understandable concern, many graphic designers make the mistake of showing too little of their work. 

This is often the case on graphic design web sites, which missed the mark to completely by showing only a tiny image of their work.  Make sure you include several full-sized screen shots.  Nobody wants to have to squint to see what your work is all about.  

Fill in your portfolio with your own non-commissioned designs. Although you definitely want to fill your graphic design portfolio with examples of the kind of work you have done for clients, you also want to show what you have accomplished on your own. Show off your own designs. 

This could be anything from a new skin that you designed on your own, a word press page that you put together, or your personal graphic design blog. You want your graphic design portfolio to be unique and have a voice—and that voice should be yours, because there is not a second one like it in the whole world.

Por: DIGRAPE "Diseños Gráficos Peña" - (Daniel Peña).

http://digrape.com