Standing Out From The Crowd

The current internet market is awash with new designers trying to break into the industry - for me as a new artist - I need to think about what is going to set me apart, what is unique about my online portfolio that sets me apart from everybody else?

A unique graphic or web design portfolio is the window to success!
In essence, you showcase your work in a unique way impressing the employer and cutting the competition with a sharp knife. A kickass graphic or web design portfolio is all about presentation – standing out of the crowd. The presentation of your work in an unusual way also enables the employer to see how creative you are because creativity is the essence of a graphic or web designer. 


The competition is tough...... You need some work!!!!
It is the foot in the door, or the foot booting you out. It is so important that you create a strong representation of your work. There is more than one way of presenting your work in this industry
It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner and you don’t have much work to flaunt. Create a few compelling designs for yourself. Create at least 7 to 8 compelling designs in a genre that suits the job description. For example, if you are applying as a logo designer, create 7 to 8 compelling logos of famous brands using your imagination. Be creative!!!!


Presenting your work.... Think about it first...
Make your best work visible from the start. If you are an illustrator, have your best piece clearly visible or at least easily accessible from the homepage.

Think about a unique presentation. You can print all your designs and put it in a folder to present, but they would be a common way to present. So think of something different.
Normally, there are 3 main ways to create graphic or web design portfolios: Print it out, create a website and put your portfolio online and create a DVD or CD of your work. To create the maximum impact, go for all three of them. But do it in a unique way. Consider the following tactic to create a kickass graphic or web design portfolio:

1. For each design, write a brief description telling about the design and how you were inspired to create it. Give a brief background.
2. Create a Headline for each design in the portfolio. The headline should be compelling. Provide details of the design like which software you used to create it and where it is been used.
3. Create a table of contents especially when you are putting it online or on CD/DVD. The table of contents should be in a logical order – date/year wise or design wise
4. For the online version, create a compelling webpage and use flash to showcase your work in a timeline or use thumbnails on the page with brief description. Be creative with the webpage hosting your portfolio. Use white and blue colors and a creative use of a brush and/or pencil on the page. Using flash will surely enhance the page design.

A note on flash - although I understand that by using flash you can make your online portfolio more 'unique" I would argue that unless your work is animation or motion picture there is not always a need for it, in reality a print or illustration artist should allow their work to do all the speaking, not a fancy slideshow.  Also Flash is not enabled on a large number of computers one in example is the iPad and we all know how popular that has become.  Imagine a potential client attempting to check out your website, only to be faced with the task of downloading Flash before he can view it.


How about making a site mobile phone compatible???

Viewing portfolios from a phone like an iPhone is becoming more and more prevalent. Companies quite often use the iPhone as a platform to view work on, and may skip over portfolios that don’t ride well in mobile format. 
One view on this "I’ve seen that generally they work better with blog-like layouts because thumbnails might end up being too small on the iPhone’s screen. I don’t have much experience with other mobile platforms, but most art directors I know have an iPhone
Creating an iPhone version of the site would enable you to stand out from the crowd, not everybody will have one and therefore more companies would see your site.  If your site has lots of thumbnails you could consider organising them in a list format so they are viewable on a mobile phone.