What is the real role of the design portfolio site?

What is the real role of the design portfolio site?

• Original address: What is the real role of a design portfolio website?
• Original Fabricio Teixeira
• Translator: Noturnot
• Reviewer: leviding

What is the real role of the design portfolio site? Or, "do not evaluate their folios until they understand their purpose."

Should the design portfolio be simple, understandable and focused on the work, or should it be a piece of artwork that shows the designer's abilities and ideas? Is this a two-dollar question?

Not long ago, when I browsed the information I subscribed to, I saw the following discussion:

If you're not familiar with the portfolio discussed above, there's a screencast that gives you more context and a link to test:

Have you seen this portfolio lately?

You may have guessed what I'm going to say next: about usability and creativity , form and function , performance and aesthetics , contrast and legibility , Republicans and Democrats , me and you long and heated discussion.

But that's what happens in most online discussions: people quickly become polarized and get caught up in the two-dollar way they think is right or wrong. Don't misunderstand: I have no intention of criticizing the participants in the discussion . The fact is that a short online discussion like the one above can only go deep after understanding all the complexities of design decisions.

As I read all the comments, my eyes began to become drowsy. I can't avoid stepping back and asking myself, " hey, what's the real character of the first design portfolio?" ". Unless the participants in the discussion recognize the purpose of the Folio, they will not get a fruitful conclusion from it.

So let's do one of the things I enjoy the most: break the problem down into small pieces until it becomes easier to solve or answer.

Question 1: What is the role of the design folio?

The first step is to understand as much as possible the various perspectives that define a folio role:

• is it used to show the final project that the designer has completed? If this is the case, the folio itself should be designed to be as simple as possible, focusing on content rather than form. Expect to elaborate large, completely lost images to create visual impact. This is the focus of a platform like Cargocollective,behance and Squarespace.

• is it used to show the designer's thinking process? in this case, you will expect to include more text, behind-the-scenes deliverables, and a large section explaining the project page.

• is it a piece of artwork to show the designer's ideas? in this case, the folio itself is a way for designers to demonstrate their design skills and ideas without the usual constraints of a client-sponsored project. It shows the world their ideas about quality design in the purest way. In the example mentioned above, Narrowdesign.com, whose folio home page is showing the designer's knowledge of design theory (the golden ratio principle), their elaborate design and animation, their good taste for palette ——? and much more.

The above choices are not mutually exclusive. While some people will say "all of the above", there is a clear focus that will help your portfolio to achieve goals more effectively. But you have to ask yourself another question, and in order to really understand your portfolio, you should focus on which of the three areas.

Question 2: What is the designer's purpose?

• is it to keep track of past work? these people update their collections simply because they don't want to lose track of past projects. There is no ulterior motive: they are only building a repository of past works so that they can be easily found in the future. A memoir.

• is it used to find a new job? is the designer actively looking for a new job? If this is the case, what kind of company are they looking for? Design Studio? Agency? Business Advisory Office? Client? Product-centric? What types of projects will recruiters and managers find?

• is it considered an expert in a particular field? Some people redesign their portfolio sites as a way to professionally position themselves in a slightly different fashion than ever before. As the saying goes: "Put the work you want to do in your portfolio, not the work you want others to see". This may apply to some designers, depending on the position of their career.

Simple, huh?

Not. There is another level that needs to be considered when evaluating folios ...

Question 3: How do designers want to be seen by the world?

This question is about the definition of the focus areas in the design and how the designers want to be viewed by peers and prospective employers who wish to be browsed by their portfolio. While it is important to demonstrate your ability to manipulate multiple design disciplines, thinking about the value proposition as a designer can guarantee priority in the right place.

What do you want people to gain when they leave your portfolio site?

"Wow, this man is a real __ __ !" ”

Some examples:

• Wow, this guy is a graphic designer who really knows digital .
• Wow, this guy is a really dynamic interface designer .
• Wow, this guy is a front-end engineer who knows a lot about design and user experience .
• Wow, this guy is a print designer with years of experience in business card design .
• Wow, this guy is a creative director specializing in advertising campaigns .

Consider this [rule] + [specialization] concept to make your portfolio no longer common, and to give visitors a way to get a clear idea-a simple way to point you out once you've left your site.

Although it is not easy to express who you are.

Some of the designers I know can articulate who they are and how they want to be seen, but there are some designers who need some help ...

New york times

Once the above questions are answered, you can begin to imagine what the folio looks like, what should be displayed, and what the priority should be.

Then, only then can you judge whether a person's folio is capable of accomplishing its purpose.

What is the real role of the design portfolio site?