Top Tips for your Design Portfolio
Your Design Portfolio is your opportunity to showcase your creativity and demonstrate your skills and creative flair to potential employers. It provides an insight into the work you have done in the recent past, but more importantly it shows the direction you are heading and can demonstrate to potential employers where your creative future lies.
A great portfolio, together with your confident presentation skills will help secure the job offer you are looking for.
Follow our guide below to creating a design portfolio that is worthy of the job you are after.
Only Show Your Best Side
- You only get one chance to showcase your skills and ability, so be sure your portfolio demonstrates the very best you have to offer.
- Only include work you are 100% happy with and you are able to talk passionately about.
- Only include relevant examples for the role you are being considered for.
- Be self-critical and if you don’t think something is your strongest work, don’t include it.
- Keep a consistent handwriting and if you have projects with relevant content that are not your best work, then update/rework these.
Think Technical
As well as boards of finished product, concept or trends it is important you consider showing your technical knowledge, for example, technical packs for factories, BOM (bill of materials) or scale artworks. It’s great to see beautifully presented boards, but it’s also essential that you can show your understanding and ability to also create the design instructions required.
Projects and Portfolio Top-Ups
- As you move through your career, it’s likely you will change products, markets, gender, or age range. Its good practice to include in your portfolio relevant projects, keeping your portfolio constantly up to date with newness and demonstrating your areas of interest.
- If your current work is not an exact match to the role you are interviewing for, it is always worth starting a project, so they can see your potential to adapt and understand the different area/product. Do this knowing that often a project will be set following a successful first interview
Consider Your Medium
Technology is a growing influence in our daily lives and you may wish to present your portfolio digitally. Before interviewing do consider the following:
- Is your battery fully charged?
- Turn off notifications as you don’t want personal pop-ups as you present
- Who is your audience? If you are presenting to 4 people, will a mini tablet be seen?
- Consider what you know about your interviewer, if you know they are traditional then perhaps a paper portfolio works well, if they are a tech savvy business, digital is a must
Timing is Everything
- Consider how relevant your earlier work and especially your university work is. Whilst we appreciate you have a story and a timeline to represent, if you are an experienced designer, with relevant commercial work, it may not be prudent to show your final collection from years ago.
- Keep your portfolio fresh and start with the newest work.
Lastly, be sure your portfolio in whatever format, is clean and professional. Please don’t take a lap-top adorned with stickers and doodles. Ensure your case, book or folder is clean and professional, free from grubby finger prints and scuffs. And if you are using paper, use good quality paper and sleeves.
Be proud of your work and talk confidently and passionately about your chosen product area and you will be well on the way to a successful interview.
To discover the latest jobs opportunities in fashion Design visit our website at www.peoplemarketing.co.uk
Kathryn Barksby
Senior Fashion Recruitment Consultant
People Marketing Fashion Recruitment