Creating and Presenting Portfolio Pieces that Sell

Posted by Crystal on Dec 16, 2009 in Clients | 3 comments

The holidays are great times for web designers to do some side work and get some errands done that have been put off for the past year. While having a probable lull in clients, this time of year can be a great time to analyze your portfolio and renew it. By doing so, you can gain a whole new, upgraded breed of client and enhance your career.

The main show of a portfolio is, of course, the set of portfolio pieces you show off. It’s one thing getting new clients to your portfolio; it’s another thing winning them over. To do so, you must create great pieces and even more importantly, present them in a great way.

1. Use Live Versions

For something like web design, there is nothing more important than having a live, breathing, and fully-functional web design to show your viewers. In the very least, you should link to a live version on the finalized site.

It may seem basic, but far too many designers try to just use screenshots and mere description to tell the client what they did. While to another designer seeing this work makes sense and we can value the work for the design at hand, a client may not see the whole picture.

Jacob Cass, who does a lot of graphic design work that requires merely photos, uses the same technique for showing is web designs, but rather displays a link to their live version for his clients to check out.

Having a live version is proof, proof that you actually completed the project and proof that it is live and being put to good use for a previous client. It is also more concrete for a client with possible little technical knowledge to see how certain AJAX/JavaScript effects work, how navigation functions, and all of the other additional details that make up a web design.

This may not always be possible, either because your client has altered your design, or there are legal restraints. In which case, you can host the same design, perhaps with an alternative logo and branding, on your own website to show off its functionality.

2. Is it Standards Compliant?

Many clients may not catch validation issues, and even if they do many may not care. That’s definitely not the point, though. Validate for fast-loading speed, validate for better optimization, and validate for the best results of your client.

By giving previous clients top quality, you are putting your services up for recommendations, either to their friends or to other clients you attract that are looking for a second opinion. Always over deliver for your value to yield the best long-term results!

Beyond validating your code, pay attention to other similar details that the client may not care about, but that you know is right. In other words, care about your craft. Use readable typography, best practices for designing forms (or other actionable web design elements) and so on. A lazy web design can get by, but a detail-oriented and caring web designer is one who truly excels in their profession.

3. Be Consistent with Your Style

I’m all for trying new things. It’s great for expanding your knowledge and discovering new possible interests. However, don’t put all of your interests into your one tiny portfolio.

If you put web designs from varying styles and varying types of companies into your portfolio, your client will not know what to expect. (By varying types of companies I mean different companies that need to display drastically different web design styles.)This can be a huge selling point issue for many clients. If you use many earthy tones, keep using them, and if you use a very minimalistic style, keep doing that. You’ll find the most success in trying out new things in minor details, not in complete overhauls.

4. Describe What You Did

Don’t leave your portfolio at mere examples and images. Take the time (and effort) to write quality content for your portfolio explaining your pieces. Many designers also just leave it to describing the technologies they used, depending on what backgrounds their clients are coming from.

Rob Palmer simply lists the title of the website, the screenshot, and further describes what he did as a part of the project. Some other web designers may wish to go more in-depth to ‘sell’ similar services.

Upon entering a portfolio, all clients will first view the imagery and make some initial decisions there. However, screenshots and examples are often times not enough to make a final decision. Start answering client questions in your project descriptions. Describe the project, define the problems, and show the viewer how you solved the problem.

By doing this, you can easily become more relatable to the client. You let them know you are there to solve their problem, not just to make your salary.

5. Expand Your Sources

Many designers just starting out only have a few school projects, if that. If you did not attend school for web design, your only sources for examples are real, live clients. Obviously, when just starting out, client projects are not going to be enough simply because you can’t get them in the first place without previous example.

This is a great time to expand the sources of your portfolio pieces. Create themes, sell templates, create examples, and giveaway freebies. While this method is not necessarily a direct method of income, it can be helpful and let you define with complete accuracy your style and talents.

If you do have previous school projects, it’s not enough. It’s not so much the number, but rather the fact that it will be glaring in your client’s eyes that you are inexperienced professionally. Do volunteer work or something that will get you working with real people. I realize many are against doing free work, but the point is to vary your work sources. A popular alternative for doing free work as well is to do it for a charitable organization, such as a church.

6. Only Show Your Quality Work

Last but definitely not least, show only your best work, even if it doesn’t put a lot online. Showing a lot of work may show that you have more experience, but it also tends to conclude that you only do mediocre work, that you are actually inexperienced (in terms of quality), and that you are not passionate for your trade.

Showing work for the sake of showing work is very destructive. I myself did it just starting out as a web designer, so I am one among many that can say this first-hand. Take the time to sort through your portfolio and only put up your best work. Be patient in getting your business up if that means having to create more quality pieces before your premiere.

If you already have a portfolio up, clean it up! By getting rid of some of the clutter you can make more of an impact on your few quality pieces.