How to create a freelance designer portfolio
Your guide to creating a killer designer portfolio.
Diving into the world of freelancing can be a bit daunting for designers, especially if you’re starting out. One of the tools that help you establish yourself as a skilled seller and get clients is your freelance designer portfolio. Since part of being a freelancer is being your own business development team, a well-thought-out portfolio can be a great way to market your work on Revolancer and offline. We know you’ve got the skills; now you need to show them off and convert your audience into clients. Here’s how to create a freelance designer portfolio.
First of all, what is a Portfolio?
A portfolio is a compilation of samples from your work. Things you’ve done in the past for previous clients, pieces you’ve created in school, or even work you’ve done only for practice. In short, it represents you and what you can do as a designer.
Why Do You Need a Portfolio?
1. Attract Clients
A portfolio helps you showcase your work, establish trust, and prove your competence. It also allows you to attract the right kind of client for YOU. Part of the beauty of freelancing is that you get to choose your clients as much as they choose you. By displaying your work, you attract clients who appreciate your style and fit into your niche from the get-go. It also saves time wasted looking around for work you might’ve done years ago scattered on your computer. A portfolio ultimately helps you organize your best work in one place, ready for display.
2. Establish Credibility
No one wants to buy a product or service blindly. As you browse for clothes in a store, a client seeking designs is browsing freelance designer portfolios. A portfolio shows you’ve got the experience or the talent a buyer seeks for their project. A well-designed portfolio shows professionality and seriousness. If you
take enough pride in the work you do and showcase it, others will respect your work too.
3. Accountability
If you say you’re a designer, then you must be designing. A portfolio for your designs can be a reference for your own development over time. Holding yourself accountable is an essential aspect of freelancing, so updating your portfolio every once in a while with newer and better pieces is a testament to your development. If you’re starting out and don’t have too much, you need not worry; working on dummy projects is a great way to practice your craft and broaden your portfolio.
How to create a Freelance Designer Portfolio?
You don’t need complicated software or customised websites to create a great portfolio. There are lots of free and easy tools online that help you organize your work. If you don’t know where to start, you can start right here on Revolancer.
1. Choosing Examples of your Best Work
When compiling the work you want to display, choose your best designs. We all have work that we’re not super proud of. Even though poor designs help you become a better designer, you don’t necessarily need to put all your progress work into our portfolio. You can use your Revolancer profile as your own personal website to curate the projects you want potential clients to see. Think of your profile as a one-stop shop for buyers to see what you’re made of. You can add different services to your profile, each targeting part of your niche. This way, you can organize your content even further. You can also add all the necessary information and qualifications, such as languages you know, certificates you have, and educational background, to boost your credibility.
2. Keep your Portfolio Up to Date
It’s a fact that the more you design, the better you get. Make sure to constantly update your portfolio with newer and better work as you progress your career as a freelancer. Revolancer allows you to add images to your portfolio so easily that updating your gallery routinely will be no chore at all. So don’t laze off, and keep your portfolio fresh!
3. Link your Platforms
You may already use different platforms to publish your work, such as Behance, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others. With Revolancer Plus, you can add links to all your profiles and have them all accessible in one place. Adding links is a great way to diversify the way you publish your designs and reach a broader audience.
4. Create a simple website with plus.page
A portfolio website doesn’t need to cost you a lot of money. You can use plus.page to create a mini website that will look professional and allow your potential clients to contact you directly. Link it in your social media bios, email signature and outreach messages to clients to make sure your portfolio is super easy to find.
5. Client reviews
Revolancer gives your clients the space to share their experiences with you. As a freelancer, the reviews your clients leave you are a testament to your fantastic service. This is why while you can send a link for an old project of yours as a sample, a full-fledged portfolio accompanied by testimonials and reviews strengthens your claims of competence. Revolancer encourages buyers and sellers to leave reviews. However, you need not worry about not having tons of reviews when you’re just starting. Keep offering good designs, and the reviews will eventually come.
6. Presentation matters.
Your work can be great, but if it’s poorly cropped, pixelated and low quality, it will ward off potential clients. So make sure your work is displayed as best as possible. Uploading high-quality content to your portfolio reflects your professionalism and attention to detail. Remember, a good first impression is the first step in establishing trust.
Overall a freelance designer portfolio can seem like extra labour. Yet, it saves you time and gives you credibility from the get-go. It helps you save energy spent convincing buyers with words and more time to get work done. They say a picture is worth a million words; imagine what a portfolio full of pictures can do.
Before you Go
Now that you know how to create a freelance portfolio that attracts buyers, make sure to check out plus.page and create your mini website today! Also, you might want to check out the 5 Effective Opening Messages to Send a Client to boost your client outreach game.
Freelance marketplace: Revolancer