You use your portfolio to showcase your creativity, but how creative is the portfolio itself? This article is a refresher on creativity, the importance of it and how to apply it towards your portfolio.

These days having an online portfolio is mandatory. That being said, it is important to remember that designing a website is not a mechanical process, it is a creative one. It is possible to follow every rule and end up with a bad design. Good design requires a good artistic sense. Not every designer can draw like daVinci, but every single one does need to learn how to think like him.

Bill Bernbach, one of the greatest advertising minds wrote:

“You can say the right thing about a product and nobody will listen. You’ve got to say it in such a way that people will feel it in their gut. Because if they don’t feel it, nothing will happen. Merely to let your imagination run riot, to dream unrelated dreams, to indulge in graphic acrobatics and verbal gymnastics is NOT being creative.

The creative person has harnessed his imagination. He has disciplined it so that every thought, every idea, every word he puts down, every line he draws, every light and shadow in every photograph he takes, makes more vivid, more believable, more persuasive the original theme or product advantage he has decided he must convey.”

If you swap “every light and shadow in every photograph he takes” for “every website he builds” his words still apply today. Today, with the quickly developing new media technologies, we are on the verge of the next big creative evolution. As we watch this develop, we realize that it will be those designers among us who have nurtured their creative thought processes that will be the ones leading it.

So what is creativity and how do we nurture it?
I believe that creativity is like a water well. As water well needs to be primed and maintained to continually produce water, your creativity is the same. If you do not nurture your creativity it can dry up. Always keep you eyes peeled for design that is intriguing to you. You can find inspiration everywhere; subway posters, movie titles, song lyrics, television shows. Carry around a notepad and a pencil with you everywhere you go. When you see something that inspires you make a note of it. You never know when inspiration will hit; during your workout, on the train, eating dinner, or even in the middle of the night. If you do not have a means of making note of it, you stand the chance of losing the idea forever. So use your notebook to describe color systems, make notes on symbols, typography, illustration styles, and photo usage. Write why you like it in a descriptive way. Make a sketch to the best of you ability. Read books and magazines (don’t just look at the pretty pictures, read) to learn how other creative people think. This process fills your creative wells with the ammunition it needs when attacking your next big creative assignment.

When you actually do sit down to create, make sure you are in your ideal work environment. In order to do your best work you need to focus. Do you work better with lights on or off, in a clean environment or cluttered, day or night, background noise or not? Find out what helps you focus and seek that environment.

Great, so now I’m creative, how does this apply to the portfolio?
Every artist should develop a portfolio for both print and on the web. I have spoken with many hiring managers and they all state the same point of view: for digital artists, a print portfolio is not mandatory, but it sure helps. The like to see your thinking process, so keeping instrumental notes and thumbnails of a few of the key projects in your portfolio will help them to understand how you think and work. If you are applying for a job as a video game artists and the hiring manager says that a print portfolio is not mandatory, does that mean you should take the easy way out and not develop one? To me this is kind of like saying lettuce and tomatoes on a hamburger are not mandatory, but if I had a choice on going to restaurant A that does not offer the extra toppings or restaurant B that does, and their burger is still the same price, guess what, restaurant A lost a sale. The question to you is: Are you restaurant A or restaurant B?

Whether print, online or both, you need to keep your portfolio updated and ready at all times. Like creativity, you never know when opportunity will knock. If you have done your self-promotion correctly you probably put the word out to over a hundred companies that you are available for work. Most hiring managers will look at your resume first, then review your online portfolio, make some notes then file you in their system. Just because you do not get an immediate response, it does not mean that your efforts were fruitless. An opportunity may arise that the hiring manager thinks you are perfect for a year down the road, then go to your website to see if you have any updates before contacting you. The quality of each presentation speaks volumes about you as a potential hire. If they see no growth, no new projects, broken links, inconsistent design, they may not make that call. If they like what they see they may call to set up a face-to-face interview, and usually they want to set it up as soon as possible. If your print portfolio is not ready will you tell them to wait or rush to update it possible lessening the quality of the presentation? keeping everything updated and ready to be shown at all times removes any hesitation from your voice and helps calm those interview nerves bythe sheer fact that you know that your portfolio is rock-solid.

When these companies are reviewing online portfolios and resumes,
what are they looking for?

• A person they don’t have to manage
• A person who can think creatively and strategically
• Specific Skill Sets
• Originality/Creativity

Assembling a book that represents your unique “brand” of talent increases your marketability. It also shows prospective employers that you’re a savvy marketer of your own services and, thus, will likely bring the same talent to promoting their products.

Here are some tips for creating a compelling and distinctive portfolio:

Save the best for the beginning
First impressions are lasting ones, so make your initial pieces pop off the page. Ideally, your opening samples should be visually provoking with good stories behind them. By placing items that are conversation pieces up front, you can prompt discussions of your particular abilities as well as any special techniques in which you are skilled.

Select the right number of samples
Your pieces should work together to create a coherent message. Depending on who you are targeting, too many samples can send mixed signals and appear disorganized. But this is a matter of opinion. Big firms expect to see an average of 11 samples in a creative portfolio, and they know whether someone is qualified after viewing as few as nine pieces. Thus, showcasing 10 to 12 items is a good bet. But sometimes smaller firms like to see a lot of projects to know that you are experienced and can solve problems in a multitude of ways. So how many pieces should you show. My personal choice is to put as many pieces on the web as possible, but make sure that they are all top quality pieces. Then try to develop the interactive portfolio in a way to ensure that the three best pieces in each category are the first to be seen. Then develop a modular print portfolio that you can fine tune so that you show only 10-12 pieces of work that is pertinent to the job at hand. Why would you show a gaming company 12 website design or a movie production company 8 video games you’ve developed? They will think that you are applying for the job with them just to get a job. They want to know that you REALLY want to work there. So show them 8 samples of work that pertain to their business then maybe 2-4 pieces outside their scope so that they can see you bring more to the table.

Show results
Your brand “promise” should be to solve a client’s problem – not to simply create eye-catching design. Whenever possible list the positive outcomes of the key projects.; increased click through rates, percentage of repeat visits, increase in game sales, etc. Then be prepared to explain how you can achieve similar results for your prospective client. While you are an artist, at the end of the day, it is all about business. If you don’t make them money, they won’t be able to pay you.

Tailor your portfolio
Select a portfolio style that enables you to switch out samples so you can customize your work for a particular client. A quality box with individually mounted pieces, or a multi-ring binder with acetate lined sleeves will both work well. You do not need to spend an insane amount of money on your portfolio, but remember that the people you are showing it to will know the approximate cost of the binder. They way to draw attention away from the cost factor is to really think and creatively develop your entire presentation. Why would you choose a box or a binder? Brushed aluminum, leather, or hard plastic? What color will the presentation be? Does the print portfolio match the online portfolio? Fonts? Paper for your resume? Will you make a print, cd, or dvd leave behind? How is that packaged? Does your portfolio contain animation or video? How do you present it? Storyboards, vhs, dvd? The more you think out the entire presentation and ensure not only consistency in look, but also in creative strategy, the more you increase the possibility of being remembered and ultimately hired.

Put your book to the test
Ask colleagues, friends, and family for specific feedback on your portfolio before you present it in an interview. What strengths do your work samples convey? Does your book reflect what you do best? Do the items showcased make them want to know more? Make sure your reviewers’ impressions are in sync with the messages you want to convey.

If you were a product, your portfolio would be your key marketing piece. By packaging your samples so they highlight your individual strengths, while conveying creativity and business know-how, you build a brand with desirability.