School is back-in-session which means graphic design students finishing their last semester of college will soon need to perfect their professional portfolio that can land them their dream job or internship. A good portfolio is crucial. This display book will be able to showcase your abilities, high-level of skill, and versatility. That being said, you can not just print out PDFs of your best work and slap them together in a binder. You should put a lot of consideration and care when creating your portfolio. For a simple listing of the top do’s and don’ts of creating a portfolio, continue reading below.

Include Relative and Latest Content

While it is great that you want to be able to demonstrate that you are a well rounded designer and a jack-of-all trades, you need to focus on showcasing your pieces that are actually appropriate for the job you are applying. For example, employers do not want to see how well you can create posters or album covers if you are applying for a newspaper design job. Instead, it is best that you have separate portfolios for each of your specialties, or at the very least divide your portfolio into sections. That way, employers can only focus on pieces that interest them—and since they will be shuffling through your portfolio quickly, make sure the most relevant pieces are located towards the front. It is equally important that you make sure your portfolio is up-to-date. Naturally as a designer you will improve over time and with experience, thus a project you completed during your freshmen year may not be as spectacular as one you finished your final year in college. Continue to take out subpar material and replace it with newer, fresher material regularly.

Related

• 15 Ridiculously Good Graphic Design Portfolios

Get Creative with it

You want to be a graphic designer. This means that everything you touch, including your portfolio cover and resume, needs to ooze your creative artistic side. That is not to say that you have to get all crazy with embellishments and make it look like a high school project or scrapbook (nor do you want the cover to overshadow your actual content), but you can find different ways to keep it professional and still incorporate your personality. You can add details like your favorite color scheme, different style element such as grunge, sketchy and illustration and cartoons to your portfolio. For a better idea of what we are talking about, click here. The site shows some great examples of creative portfolio covers from graphic designers in Europe.

Related

• 7 Ingenious Resumes That Will Make You Rethink Your CV 
• 12 Tips for Creating a Great Portfolio Site

Do Not Submit Discs or Flash Drives

If you mostly work with digital images, it may seem wrong for you NOT to bring in a disc or flash drive with your portfolio during the time of your interview. But truth be told, it takes too much effort for a potential employer to load a CD in the disc drive or a flash card in a USB port. Not to mention some employers refrain from doing so because they fear that they may contract viruses on their computer. Instead, you should send a link to your digital portfolio when submitting your original resume and cover letter. Do note that the work that is featured on the link should be entirely different from the work that is in your hard-copy portfolio. Your digital portfolio should tease the employer and leave him or her wanting to see more—that way, he or she will be tempted to call you in for an interview.

Do Not Use “Fillers”

Lastly, like most areas in your life, your portfolio should be about quality, not quantity. Do not add additional pages to your portfolio just to make it look meatier—employers will easily be able to tell that you are trying to make it appear that you have more experience under your belt than you do. Only submit your best work. There is no exaggeration implied when it is said that one mediocre piece can jeopardize your chances of getting hired. If you are having a difficult time determining which of your pieces are the absolute “best” and should be included or omitted, do n0t be afraid to get a second or even third opinion—ask fellow design students and professors for their opinions.

These are minor yet essential tips for creating a graphic design portfolio. Many designers develop their own method and style as they get experienced over the years. If you have any other suggestions please share it with us.

Further Readings

• 7 Tips For Creating a Print-Based Design Portfolio
• The Innovative One Page Resume & Portfolio
• Building a Great Web Design Portfolio – 10 Best Tips & 40 Examples
  

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Alvina Lopez is a freelance writer and blog junkie, who blogs about accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alvina.lopez @gmail.com.