For an Industrial Designer, there are few things more significant than your portfolio. It’s the number one reason you still haven’t landed your first design job. Alternatively, it’s the main reason you got the job you are in. We all understand its importance, so here are a few pointers you should AVOID in your design portfolio.
Shiny Renderings, Shitty Ideas
Don’t get us wrong – high quality sketches and renderings are a plus in every portfolio. But an experienced recruiter will also judge your ideas, design decisions and know-how.
Products Without Process
Your portfolio is not a product catalog. It’s about you and how you work – so make sure to highlight your process.
User is Missing
Good research is more than a google search for competitor products. Go deeper and show that you know how a user-centered design approach looks like.
No Story
Don’t be boring – the product development process can be exciting! Use (visual) storytelling to build a portfolio that sticks.
Quantity Over Quality
Don’t start to fill your portfolio with low quality projects, only to reach a certain number of pages. A portfolio should contain your BEST work.
Decorative Graphic Design
Like Dieter Rams said: “Less but better”. You don’t have to highlight your awesome graphic design skills, keep it simple and let your designs shine.
Too Many Details
Yes, show the process (research, sketches, prototypes ect.) but don’t show EVERYTHING. Do a selection and show the relevant stuff only.
Lack of Structure
Where does one project end and the next start? Why don’t you use a proper layout grid? Provide a solid structure, it will definitely help you.
Hey I’m Sam and I do design. Some of the most popular YouTube videos I make are about portfolios and tips on getting a design job. For that exact reason, I wanted to write about portfolios here so I can share this information with you.
I’m the first one to admit that I have limited experience in the real world, with just two years of post-grad experience to my name. However, now that I’m sat on the opposite side of the interview desk, I have already started to see patterns emerging within the vast number of portfolios that I see. That also means that I can spot the mistakes that people make again and again. In order to help you, and to save myself from going through another portfolio with mistakes from someone who doesn’t know any better, I’m here to let you know EXACTLY what I look for.
Using these 5 techniques will be sure to improve your portfolio and make it a pleasure to read. If you’re unsure on what format your masterpiece should take, make sure to catch up on my last article for the pros and cons of PDFs, personal websites, portfolio websites, and printed books.
Tip 1: Only show your best work
The real world is different to university. As much as I would like there to be, there is no mark scheme, work schedule, or banded grade system. This means that you do not get extra points for showing more work. You actually lose points for showing filler work. I am guilty of this too, but it’s definitely worth only showing the work that you are truly proud of. Your portfolio is only as good as your worst project.
Tip 2: Show the type of work you want to be doing
As I mentioned in my last article, a red carpet set design company needs to see that you can design red carpet sets. Without seeing the work that the company needs help with, they cannot employ you because it becomes a risk when compared to someone who showcases it. You need to show the company that you’re already doing the work that they need help with. If that means spending some time on a personal unpaid project, then it could make all the difference when applying to your preferred design field.
Tip 3: World-build with a story
Each project needs to clearly show the problem that it’s solving, the journey the design took, and the decision making in the process. I find the best way to do this is to imagine each project is an article for a design website. This means capturing the audience with an in-context hero shot at the very beginning, followed by “the behind the scenes”, and then finishing with hero shots at the end. Without seeing the context shot at the start, there is no clear direction for the “behind the scenes”. Without the “behind the scenes”, there is no substance. Without the final hero shots, there is no finale. Using this formula can be seen in my portfolio reviews again and again.
Tip 4: Show, don’t tell.
While it is important to explain the whole story, it is industry standard to spend a maximum of 10 seconds flicking through an entire portfolio. Designers and hiring managers don’t have time to read all 100 portfolios they see word for word. Paragraphs should be kept to a minimum at all times. That means showing your skills naturally through visual means, and in turn means integrating your skills into the projects. From what I have seen, those with less experience will have dedicated “sketching” and “rendering” pages – showing a mish-mash of projects and segregating their portfolio into skills. This is something that schools and universities may use to assign marks or check that the work is being done, but it is not how the real world works. Your skills should be apparent and wrapped in the narrative of your project case studies, which should be beautifully laid out, with as little text as possible.
Tip 5: Compare yourself to others.
I can’t believe I just wrote that on the internet and I feel like a horrible person for suggesting it. But this is the one time in life when you should compare yourself to others, because your employer will be doing so as well. Ask yourself, would you employ yourself if you saw your portfolio for the first time? How about when compared against 5 other portfolios? What can you do to improve? You should be critical of your own submission before the employer gets a chance to be. As the saying goes, you are your own worst critic.
You can see how I documented the Gantri Weight light throughout this article. By using these 5 tips, I’m sure that your portfolio will be the best it can be. Good luck!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sam Gwilt is an industrial designer with an eclectic mix of skills. He graduated Brunel University London and worked for Paul Cocksedge Studio, specializing in bespoke lighting installations and exhibitions internationally. He now works with clients globally at consultancy Precipice Design, and also runs an Instagram Page and YouTube channel – Sam_Does_Design – where he shares industry tips with the community.
Hey I’m Sam and I do design. Some of the most popular YouTube videos I make are about portfolios and tips on getting a design job. For that exact reason, I wanted to write about portfolios here so I can share this information with you.
Sharing your work as a creator can be a daunting task, especially if you’re attempting to summarize solving a complex problem that took 6 months to define, and 6 months to develop the solution. In situations like this, it’s important to remember that the reader (your recruiter) must understand the project at face value as they’re speed-browsing through hundreds or even thousands of job applications. I make a point in my videos to flick through portfolios as fast as possible when first looking at them, with no time to read the headings or the body text. This reflects exactly what happens in industry, even if it does appear unfair to the designer on the other side of the portfolio. This is also the reason why each portfolio should be tailored to the job you’re applying for. For example, a red carpet set designer won’t be interested in seeing the baby walker that you designed (true story, I didn’t get that set design job).
Every employer will have different application specifications. My current job still asks for a PDF portfolio from students. We ask for them because we can archive them, and pull them out if we have a specific project that the specific designer can help with. And if they supply a completely different type of portfolio? Well, it unfortunately shows they can’t follow employer instructions. Next!
Beyond specific employer instructions, how should you show your work? There honestly isn’t one perfect be-all-end-all format. There are pros and cons to all of the solutions, so let’s run through some of them now to help you decide which is best for you.
PERSONAL WEBSITE
A personal website is a great way to show creativity and give the impression of a professional and well established designer. The pages and layout are also a showcase of how you think and organize information, and the format of a website means you can have multiple types of projects that your potential employer can choose to look for, or choose to ignore if they don’t suit the particular role available (just like a baby walker or set design). A personal website is great for these reasons, IF it works. The problem I personally had with my first portfolio website, especially as a student, was that it was expensive to keep it running. It came to the point where I needed to choose between renewing the website domain, or eating that week. I chose the latter. That meant that any potential employers that I had given my website details to now couldn’t find me if they had a project that would suit my talents. And even if they could find me through the email address I also gave them, a broken website gives a horrible impression anyway.
PDF DOCUMENTS
A PDF document is a traditional method by today’s standards. They lack the fancy animations that websites can have, and they need to be emailed around and stored locally. However, this can also be seen as a positive point, as each portfolio can be tailored to include only the most relevant project for maximum impact with employers. Having a PDF that pinpoints the exact type of projects that the employer needs help with shows that you are capable not only of the design work itself, but also understand the company’s needs and shows how you can help. If a website is a great place for employers to come and choose what they’re interested in, a PDF is a great way for you to show that you understand what they need. However, dealing with file sizes and compression can be the difference between a 500mb monstrosity, and a file that’s pixelated beyond recognition. This is the final hurdle of a PDF document, and one that many designers trip on. A sensible file size is 5mb-10mb, and there are ways to compress your document while keeping the image quality high. I have a YouTube tutorial on that very problem!
PHYSICAL PRINTED BOOK
A physical copy leaves the most impact on a potential employer. In a world where everything is increasingly digital, it seems that providing a beautifully made book always provides that “wow” moment. There is just something about turning each page to reveal the next piece of information that is so satisfying, and the physicality of it often means that I would flick through a book slower than I would a PDF.
However, there are of course drawbacks with a physical portfolio. They are expensive. Very expensive. And it’s almost impossible to tailor each portfolio to include the exact projects specific to the job at hand. I’ve seen workarounds with binders and replaceable pages and projects, but that gets even more expensive. In addition, while books are suited to archiving and being stored, they don’t possess the magical “search” feature that PDF’s and websites have. In 6 months time if I have a project that a designer could help with, and I can only vaguely remember that their work was in a book (and definitely can’t remember their name), then it takes a lot of effort to go searching. The effort I might spend searching could easily be re-assigned to finding a new designer with similar skills, even if the “wow” factor of the book was so nice 6 months ago.
COMMUNITY PORTFOLIOS
Community websites like Behance are more stable than personal website, but they also bring attention to the competition and their design work. While it’s very easy to plug in your images and copy into the pre-existing templates with fancy animations, it’s also true for every other designer on that website. The very nature of these types of sites mean that they make it oh-so easy to click through to find more designers and more work.
It could work in your favor by showing your projects are better than the competition, or it could show other designers and their work as well. You can rest safe in the knowledge that your links are going to work for as long as your project is on the website, but is it worth also potentially exhibiting the competition too?
THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS
It may be a catch-all cliche, but I do think it’s best to have a mix of portfolio types up to date at all times. It’s really important to be able to provide a current portfolio at any given moment as you never know when the next opportunity can come along. The best plan of action is often to use two or more types of portfolio for the same submission. PDF portfolios plus physical or website is also common. Remember, if specified, always listen to the employer’s instructions when it comes to formatting. Beyond that, a portfolio is a reflection of your mindset and your creativeness. The more creative you can be with a portfolio, the better. But don’t forget what a portfolio is used for once it’s left the drafts folder on your computer and out in the real world: it should be to the point, tailored, archive-able, and searchable. Oh, and don’t forget the “wow” factor.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sam Gwilt is an industrial designer with an eclectic mix of skills. He graduated Brunel University London and worked for Paul Cocksedge Studio, specializing in bespoke lighting installations and exhibitions internationally. He now works with clients globally at consultancy Precipice Design, and also runs an Instagram Page and YouTube channel – Sam_Does_Design – where he shares industry tips with the community.
Now that Apple’s completely ditched the light-up logo on their MacBooks, there’s a lot more you can do to jazz up the back of the laptop screen. You can add stickers, lego pieces, or you could completely reinvent your laptop/workspace with what Bluebonnet has to offer. A leather housing for your MacBook, Bluebonnet isn’t just a protective cover, but also a portfolio case and a kickstand!
Along with protecting your laptop from accidental bumps and scuffs, Bluebonnet also gives you a neat place to store your planner/notebook/papers and a pen of your choice, freeing your hands up while giving you everything you’d need to carry to a meeting, conference, or a coffee shop, all in one svelte sleeve. The leather construction undeniably gives the MacBook a stylish, professional upgrade, and comes available in multiple colors. The Bluebonnet even features a cutout at the base that gives your laptop an impromptu kickstand, tilting it higher for better viewing/cooling.
With a magnetic clasp to secure your MacBook just the way you would a large portfolio folder, the Bluebonnet carries the aspects of the portfolio case that people know and love to the laptop case. In many ways, it totally transforms the perception of the laptop, and of the person carrying it too! Definitely classier than a crummy neoprene laptop sleeve and a run-of-the-mill woven nylon or Cordura backpack.
Applying for jobs everywhere and not getting through? Apart from the usual scramble of edits and redo’s, there are some simple mistakes we could be making which create a bad impression on our potential recruiters. To walk us through those small but infinitely important pointers below is a write-up by Carl Wheatley who specializes in the placement of design professionals. Get these simple but effective tips in place to ensure your application gets through the screening process.
Looking for a job? Check out Yanko Design Job Board to find relevant job openings in the best design companies.
Recruiting a designer? Post your requirement with YD Job Board to connect with some of the most talented designers on the planet.
I’m a design recruiter at BCG Digital Ventures. For the past several years I’ve been in the design/recruiting industry. Before doing recruiting, I was a user experience designer and worked with many tech startups to design mobile apps. I also co-founded a Meetup called Global UXD where we connect designers with each other and create new opportunities.
Having started as a designer before becoming a recruiter, I know firsthand what it’s like to compete for the dream job and the importance of selling yourself and putting your best foot forward. I review hundreds of resumes and portfolios each week and believe there are eight common mistakes you want to avoid.
Grammar and spelling mistakes
Using proper grammar and spelling indicates attention to detail, which is a critical element in design. Have a friend or mentor review your resume before you send it in.
Including pixelated images in your portfolio
Blurred images leave a poor first impression. Either you didn’t take the time or don’t have the pride in your work to ensure that your images are sharp and clear. There are plenty of articles and videos on how to create pixel perfect images.
Showing too much work
It’s always tempting to showcase all of the great work you’ve done, but often less is more. Hiring managers don’t want to go through several different pieces of work and you don’t want to risk diluting your impact. Take the time to understand the organization you are interviewing with and select just a few designs that illustrate your best work and fit most closely with their style and tone.
An out-of-date portfolio
Keep your portfolio fresh with new material. Many people invest in creating a portfolio once and feel they are done. Design is constantly changing with new software and tools. A talented, creative designer will evolve with these changes, coming up with new concepts and ideas. As you become more experienced your portfolio will reflect on your journey.
Documenting percentages for each skill
There has been a recent trend where designers show skill percentages for their design programs. An example might include, Design: 40% or WordPress: 80%. This is basically saying you are not fully proficient in these skills. It also minimizes the importance of creativity and the design approach that are arguably more important in evaluating a great designer.
Calling yourself a guru, ninja, or unicorn
There are so many phrases that are tossed around these days to describe someone’s abilities or skills in the workplace. Nothing screams fake rockstar more than ninja, guru, or unicorn—it’s an immediate red flag! You can call yourself whatever you want, but it won’t help you land your dream job.
Using a branded site to show your work
There are a bunch of great website builders out there on the market. Spend a few dollars to remove the branding—or, better yet, build your own site. When you can, always try to customize your portfolio website.
Using a fancy portfolio template that outshines your portfolio pieces
It won’t take hiring managers long to notice that your work isn’t as strong as your portfolio theme. When creating your portfolio website it’s important not to outshine your own work. Keep your best work in your portfolio and make the design simple and clean. Just remember, companies are focusing on your most recent work.
YD has published the best of Industrial Design for over 15 years, so the designers you want are already on our network. YD Job Boards is our endeavor to connect recruiters with our super talented audience.
Steam has put its new Creator Homepages into open beta, letting developers and publishers customize their homepages to better show off their game catalogs. There's a lot of flexibility -- publishers can divide their portfolios up however they wish, s...
For an Industrial Designer, there are few things more significant than your portfolio. It’s the number one reason you still haven’t landed your first design job. Alternatively, it’s the main reason you got the job you are in. We all understand its importance, so here are a few pointers. By no means have I figured it all out or published a blueprint for the ultimate portfolio. However, I’ve learned a lot along the way and received some great advice from top guys at places like IDEO, Nike, Fuseproject and Google – and I feel there are some really great points to pass on. So, here are 10 thoughts to consider:
01. SHOW YOUR PROCESS
Your portfolio should not look like a catalog of the products you’ve designed. You’re not trying to sell your products, you’re trying to sell YOU. In order to do this, you need to show your thought process and how you got to the end solution. If you only show images of the final product, then that is the only thing you can be judged on. With no evidence of initial ideas and how you approached different aspects of the project, you make it impossible for a reader to assess the thinking behind your approach. If I’m reviewing your work, I may dislike a certain aspect of the final design, but might appreciate the way you got there. If you don’t show the development journey then you don’t allow for this appreciation.
02. CONVEY MULTIPLE SKILLS
In order to sell YOU, think about what capabilities you can convey. One great exercise is to note down a list of the skills you have, and make sure these skills are evidenced in your portfolio.
Rendering is only one skill. A lot of portfolios fail to show a range of skills beyond KeyShot, so think about incorporating hand sketches, Photoshop renderings, Illustrator linework, and prototypes.
03. PRESENT PROJECTS, NOT MISCELLANEOUS SNIPPETS
In recent years, I’ve seen graduates compile a page of random drawings and group them on a page titled ‘Sketching’. This presentation style of miscellaneous snippets is NOT the way to go. The work should not be grouped by skill. There’s no story in that. More importantly, there’s no storytelling ABILITY being conveyed.
Instead, your portfolio should be presented through projects, and the skills are entwined within those projects. Not every project needs to communicate EVERY skill. One project might focus more on a mechanical challenge and another may focus on form, but the skills are integrated into projects – not isolated in a separate section.
04. TAILOR YOUR WORK TO THE BUSINESS
When you build your level of design experience, you have more projects in your locker than you need for an application. So, you base your decision of which projects to include based on which are the most relevant to that specific business.
When you are just graduating, you can still adopt the same mindset even though you have a limited number of projects. The way you can do this is by shifting the focus of the project. You are in control of your portfolio and have the ability to draw attention to whatever you like. For a large, complex project you will not go through every aspect of the design in an application portfolio. So, if you know that the particular role you are applying for requires more of an understanding of mechanics, then draw more attention to that aspect of the project. Tailor your portfolio for each application.
05. HOBBIES ARE HOBBIES. FOCUS ON THE ROLE.
I often get asked by ID students if they should include graphic design work within their portfolio. The answer is always no. The reason is because your portfolio itself should be a shining example of your sensitivity to graphic design, layout, and proportion. The question normally comes from those who enjoy developing brand identities on the side or have a graphics freelance gig designing menus for local restaurants. There is a tendency to include things just because you CAN do them. Just because you can, it doesn’t make them any more relevant.
Photography skills are important as a designer, but not as important as being a great designer. That is what must come first and foremost. Make sure that you don’t infringe on your ability to present yourself as a great designer by clouding the portfolio with a lot of ‘side skills’. I’ve seen 22-page design portfolios where the last 8 slides were personal photography. This is detrimental. Instead, plant a seed in your résumé by mentioning other skills and present more detail in the interview (if you land it). First and foremost, focus on communicating the fact you can design great products.
06. REDUCE WORD COUNT. YOU DON’T NEED TO TELL EVERY DETAIL OF THE STORY.
The purpose of the initial application portfolio is not to land the job. It’s to land the interview. When you adopt this mindset, your application portfolio will improve. It only needs to create enough intrigue for the Design Manager or Senior Designer to say “Ok, let’s bring her in for an interview”. The speed at which the reader will flick through your work is rapid. Barely enough time to read sub-headings, let alone a huge paragraph. Engineering roles are different, but for Industrial Design positions, I skim it incredibly fast and stop when something jumps out and makes a visual impact. Only then will I read a few of the details. There are two main levels being assessed. One is the quality of the visual communication. The second is the quality of the actual ideas and concepts. (Behind a great idea drawn badly, is still an individual with great ideas). Both are being judged.
However, the point to take away here is that it MUST be visually impactful in order to catch attention in the first place and draw the reader in. You don’t need to describe every task and every detail in long paragraphs. You can tell the full story in the interview. Telling the story through text is too easy. It’s lazy. A key differentiator is in being able to capture the important aspects of a story in a visual and creative way. So, reduce your word count and make a visual impact.
07. CLARIFY THE PREMISE
One thing that contributes to a poor experience from the reader’s perspective is when you are 4 pages into a project and have seen various sketches, images and renderings, yet you STILL don’t fully understand what the project is about. You’re still asking yourself what the whole point is and what problem is being addressed.
This happens when you don’t clarify the premise at the beginning and make it completely understandable. By not filling this gap in the reader’s understanding, you skip on before they are on the same wavelength. It’s what Chip & Dan Heath refer to in their book Made To Stick as ‘The Curse Of Knowledge’. As in, because you know the subject area so well and are very close to it, you struggle to break it down effectively for someone seeing it for the first time. Taking a step back and being able to do this is a very important skill for any designer.
You must take the reader on a journey where they understand each step. When you do this well, and clarify the problem, it means the reader fully understands what needs to be addressed, and can therefore have a heightened appreciation for the actual ideas within the ideation pages. They get a greater sense of what you are trying to achieve and start connecting with your work on a level deeper than just seeing nice visuals. Allowing for this deeper connection through more effective storytelling is the difference between a good portfolio and a great portfolio.
08. KEEP IT SIMPLE (STUPID)
I often come across individuals who are trying to land their first job in a design team, presenting themselves as ‘JHS Designs’. It’s not appropriate. You are John Smith, trying to land a job, so put your name on the cover and not some corporate nonsense. The other thing I see is initials turned into a logo that’s barely readable, and garish borders on every page. Stick with your full name in a simple typeface and get rid of the border. Do away with the clutter, go full width and let the work speak for itself. Keep it simple (stupid).
09. BE CONCISE WITH ‘COMMODITIZED’ WORK
What I mean by ‘commoditised’ work is the type of content that doesn’t really show how good you are as a designer. I’m talking about the types of pages that anyone could put together, that don’t show the skills that help separate applicants.
For example, statistics from market research sat next to generic images you found online, followed by a page of existing competitor products and their features, followed by a page explaining target users. Although these are things that may be carried out during the project, they are the types of things that should be done as concisely as possible (if at all) in an application portfolio. It comes back to the point about not needing to tell the ENTIRE story in the initial application because you can go into the detail in the interview. Graduates show too much of this sort of work.
Naturally, we are drawn to pages that are rich in ‘hard skills’. Sketches, ideation pages, visuals of refined concepts and exploded view renderings. These types of things are more individual and help give a better steer as to whether you would bring them in for an interview because they are ‘easier’ to separate if they’ve been done poorly or to a high standard.
Although research stats and personas help with the understanding of the details of the project, they have less influence on the decision to bring in for an interview. Therefore, your portfolio wants to have a high concentration of ‘skill-rich’ pages. People often don’t do this because they lack confidence, so put in the hours and make those pages great. There’s no other way around it.
10. NAIL DOWN ‘THE HERO SHOT’
Although your portfolio should not look like a catalogue of renders and photographs of the final product, your presentation of the final product is still a VERY important element. The advice I’ve received time and again from some big-hitters in the industry is that less is without doubt more.
Many portfolios show multiple photographs of the final product on one page in a grid layout. This is the fastest way to lose all visual impact. Less on the page is the way forward. It requires a lot more skill to select ONE image. The right image. The one that simultaneously shows the product in context, communicates its purpose and is visually striking. A picture paints a thousand words, but only if it’s a great picture.
When thinking about your hero shot, don’t look at what other students are doing. If you are designing a wireless speaker for the home, go and see how Bang & Olufsen are presenting their latest product in GQ magazine. Look at the billboard campaigns for the latest Tom Ford sunglasses or social media ads for the latest Dyson fan. Look to the best in the world for inspiration, not the best in your class. You will instantly up your game.
Also, creating an image of the product being used in context usually requires more skill to make it look great, compared to rendering out of context against a white background. Sometimes these clean renders in white space are appropriate, but if you know the ideal image is to show the product underwater on someone’s wrist, then push yourself to visualize this. You’ll develop this ability faster and contribute to your own growth, instead of building a moat around your skill set.
So, that concludes ten things to consider when putting your portfolio together. We wish you the best of luck in crafting the best version you can, and moving closer to the job you want most. Go ahead and bookmark this page for future use, or share it with a friend who’s gearing up for that job interview!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Chubb is a Senior Industrial Designer at IDC in London, designing consumer products and medical devices for some of the world’s leading brands. He has a 1st Class Masters Degree in Product Design and assesses hundreds of design portfolios each year. He acts as lead portfolio advisor at Arts Thread, and is often invited to give talks at leading Universities on the subject of design. Learn more at nickchubbdesign.com
ONE-TO-ONE PORTFOLIO IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
If you wish to take your design portfolio to the next level and land more interviews at the companies you love most, check out Nick’s One-to-One Portfolio Improvement Program. Learn more at nickchubbdesign.com/portfolio-improvement-program
For an Industrial Designer, there are few things more significant than your portfolio. It’s the number one reason you still haven’t landed your first design job. Alternatively, it’s the main reason you got the job you are in. We all understand its importance, so here are a few pointers. By no means have I figured it all out or published a blueprint for the ultimate portfolio. However, I’ve learned a lot along the way and received some great advice from top guys at places like IDEO, Nike, Fuseproject and Google – and I feel there are some really great points to pass on. So, here are 10 thoughts to consider:
01. SHOW YOUR PROCESS
Your portfolio should not look like a catalog of the products you’ve designed. You’re not trying to sell your products, you’re trying to sell YOU. In order to do this, you need to show your thought process and how you got to the end solution. If you only show images of the final product, then that is the only thing you can be judged on. With no evidence of initial ideas and how you approached different aspects of the project, you make it impossible for a reader to assess the thinking behind your approach. If I’m reviewing your work, I may dislike a certain aspect of the final design, but might appreciate the way you got there. If you don’t show the development journey then you don’t allow for this appreciation.
02. CONVEY MULTIPLE SKILLS
In order to sell YOU, think about what capabilities you can convey. One great exercise is to note down a list of the skills you have, and make sure these skills are evidenced in your portfolio.
Rendering is only one skill. A lot of portfolios fail to show a range of skills beyond KeyShot, so think about incorporating hand sketches, Photoshop renderings, Illustrator linework, and prototypes.
03. PRESENT PROJECTS, NOT MISCELLANEOUS SNIPPETS
In recent years, I’ve seen graduates compile a page of random drawings and group them on a page titled ‘Sketching’. This presentation style of miscellaneous snippets is NOT the way to go. The work should not be grouped by skill. There’s no story in that. More importantly, there’s no storytelling ABILITY being conveyed.
Instead, your portfolio should be presented through projects, and the skills are entwined within those projects. Not every project needs to communicate EVERY skill. One project might focus more on a mechanical challenge and another may focus on form, but the skills are integrated into projects – not isolated in a separate section.
04. TAILOR YOUR WORK TO THE BUSINESS
When you build your level of design experience, you have more projects in your locker than you need for an application. So, you base your decision of which projects to include based on which are the most relevant to that specific business.
When you are just graduating, you can still adopt the same mindset even though you have a limited number of projects. The way you can do this is by shifting the focus of the project. You are in control of your portfolio and have the ability to draw attention to whatever you like. For a large, complex project you will not go through every aspect of the design in an application portfolio. So, if you know that the particular role you are applying for requires more of an understanding of mechanics, then draw more attention to that aspect of the project. Tailor your portfolio for each application.
05. HOBBIES ARE HOBBIES. FOCUS ON THE ROLE.
I often get asked by ID students if they should include graphic design work within their portfolio. The answer is always no. The reason is because your portfolio itself should be a shining example of your sensitivity to graphic design, layout, and proportion. The question normally comes from those who enjoy developing brand identities on the side or have a graphics freelance gig designing menus for local restaurants. There is a tendency to include things just because you CAN do them. Just because you can, it doesn’t make them any more relevant.
Photography skills are important as a designer, but not as important as being a great designer. That is what must come first and foremost. Make sure that you don’t infringe on your ability to present yourself as a great designer by clouding the portfolio with a lot of ‘side skills’. I’ve seen 22-page design portfolios where the last 8 slides were personal photography. This is detrimental. Instead, plant a seed in your résumé by mentioning other skills and present more detail in the interview (if you land it). First and foremost, focus on communicating the fact you can design great products.
06. REDUCE WORD COUNT. YOU DON’T NEED TO TELL EVERY DETAIL OF THE STORY.
The purpose of the initial application portfolio is not to land the job. It’s to land the interview. When you adopt this mindset, your application portfolio will improve. It only needs to create enough intrigue for the Design Manager or Senior Designer to say “Ok, let’s bring her in for an interview”. The speed at which the reader will flick through your work is rapid. Barely enough time to read sub-headings, let alone a huge paragraph. Engineering roles are different, but for Industrial Design positions, I skim it incredibly fast and stop when something jumps out and makes a visual impact. Only then will I read a few of the details. There are two main levels being assessed. One is the quality of the visual communication. The second is the quality of the actual ideas and concepts. (Behind a great idea drawn badly, is still an individual with great ideas). Both are being judged.
However, the point to take away here is that it MUST be visually impactful in order to catch attention in the first place and draw the reader in. You don’t need to describe every task and every detail in long paragraphs. You can tell the full story in the interview. Telling the story through text is too easy. It’s lazy. A key differentiator is in being able to capture the important aspects of a story in a visual and creative way. So, reduce your word count and make a visual impact.
07. CLARIFY THE PREMISE
One thing that contributes to a poor experience from the reader’s perspective is when you are 4 pages into a project and have seen various sketches, images and renderings, yet you STILL don’t fully understand what the project is about. You’re still asking yourself what the whole point is and what problem is being addressed.
This happens when you don’t clarify the premise at the beginning and make it completely understandable. By not filling this gap in the reader’s understanding, you skip on before they are on the same wavelength. It’s what Chip & Dan Heath refer to in their book Made To Stick as ‘The Curse Of Knowledge’. As in, because you know the subject area so well and are very close to it, you struggle to break it down effectively for someone seeing it for the first time. Taking a step back and being able to do this is a very important skill for any designer.
You must take the reader on a journey where they understand each step. When you do this well, and clarify the problem, it means the reader fully understands what needs to be addressed, and can therefore have a heightened appreciation for the actual ideas within the ideation pages. They get a greater sense of what you are trying to achieve and start connecting with your work on a level deeper than just seeing nice visuals. Allowing for this deeper connection through more effective storytelling is the difference between a good portfolio and a great portfolio.
08. KEEP IT SIMPLE (STUPID)
I often come across individuals who are trying to land their first job in a design team, presenting themselves as ‘JHS Designs’. It’s not appropriate. You are John Smith, trying to land a job, so put your name on the cover and not some corporate nonsense. The other thing I see is initials turned into a logo that’s barely readable, and garish borders on every page. Stick with your full name in a simple typeface and get rid of the border. Do away with the clutter, go full width and let the work speak for itself. Keep it simple (stupid).
09. BE CONCISE WITH ‘COMMODITIZED’ WORK
What I mean by ‘commoditised’ work is the type of content that doesn’t really show how good you are as a designer. I’m talking about the types of pages that anyone could put together, that don’t show the skills that help separate applicants.
For example, statistics from market research sat next to generic images you found online, followed by a page of existing competitor products and their features, followed by a page explaining target users. Although these are things that may be carried out during the project, they are the types of things that should be done as concisely as possible (if at all) in an application portfolio. It comes back to the point about not needing to tell the ENTIRE story in the initial application because you can go into the detail in the interview. Graduates show too much of this sort of work.
Naturally, we are drawn to pages that are rich in ‘hard skills’. Sketches, ideation pages, visuals of refined concepts and exploded view renderings. These types of things are more individual and help give a better steer as to whether you would bring them in for an interview because they are ‘easier’ to separate if they’ve been done poorly or to a high standard.
Although research stats and personas help with the understanding of the details of the project, they have less influence on the decision to bring in for an interview. Therefore, your portfolio wants to have a high concentration of ‘skill-rich’ pages. People often don’t do this because they lack confidence, so put in the hours and make those pages great. There’s no other way around it.
10. NAIL DOWN ‘THE HERO SHOT’
Although your portfolio should not look like a catalogue of renders and photographs of the final product, your presentation of the final product is still a VERY important element. The advice I’ve received time and again from some big-hitters in the industry is that less is without doubt more.
Many portfolios show multiple photographs of the final product on one page in a grid layout. This is the fastest way to lose all visual impact. Less on the page is the way forward. It requires a lot more skill to select ONE image. The right image. The one that simultaneously shows the product in context, communicates its purpose and is visually striking. A picture paints a thousand words, but only if it’s a great picture.
When thinking about your hero shot, don’t look at what other students are doing. If you are designing a wireless speaker for the home, go and see how Bang & Olufsen are presenting their latest product in GQ magazine. Look at the billboard campaigns for the latest Tom Ford sunglasses or social media ads for the latest Dyson fan. Look to the best in the world for inspiration, not the best in your class. You will instantly up your game.
Also, creating an image of the product being used in context usually requires more skill to make it look great, compared to rendering out of context against a white background. Sometimes these clean renders in white space are appropriate, but if you know the ideal image is to show the product underwater on someone’s wrist, then push yourself to visualize this. You’ll develop this ability faster and contribute to your own growth, instead of building a moat around your skill set.
So, that concludes ten things to consider when putting your portfolio together. We wish you the best of luck in crafting the best version you can, and moving closer to the job you want most. Go ahead and bookmark this page for future use, or share it with a friend who’s gearing up for that job interview!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Chubb is a Senior Industrial Designer at IDC in London, designing consumer products and medical devices for some of the world’s leading brands. He has a 1st Class Masters Degree in Product Design and assesses hundreds of design portfolios each year. He acts as lead portfolio advisor at Arts Thread, and is often invited to give talks at leading Universities on the subject of design. Learn more at nickchubbdesign.com
ONE-TO-ONE PORTFOLIO IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
If you wish to take your design portfolio to the next level and land more interviews at the companies you love most, check out Nick’s One-to-One Portfolio Improvement Program. Learn more at nickchubbdesign.com/portfolio-improvement-program
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