Discover what the top 10% of our Allies are doing to win work.
As we step into the new year freelancers have a fantastic opportunity to give their portfolios a reset. Creating a great creative portfolio can be complex task, freelancers often ask us questions on how to curate their work… how much content do I use? How I convey my skills set clearly? Can I use older work or should it all be shiny and new? Look no further, it’s time to get the lowdown on what makes the perfect portfolio.
1) Showcase diverse work:
A great creative portfolio is a curated collection of your best work, showcasing a diverse range of projects. It's important to demonstrate your versatility and skills across different mediums, styles, and industries. Include a mix of personal projects, client work, and any collaborative efforts to give viewers a comprehensive understanding of your capabilities.
This diversity not only highlights your adaptability but also allows potential clients or employers to envision how your skills can meet their specific needs.
2) Personal projects:
Adding personal projects or spec work is great, don’t worry that this isn’t ‘real’ client work. As long as it showcases your creativity it’s a great addition to any portfolio. Often you can push the boundaries a little further outside of client constraints. It can be a good idea to label personal projects or add them to a separate section.
3) Give your work context:
Don't just display images or text—tell stories. Provide context for each project by including brief narratives that explain the challenges you faced, your creative process, and the solutions you implemented. Sharing the story behind each piece gives them insight into your creative thinking (creatives love to see how other creatives work. Consider adding before-and-after images, sketches, or drafts to showcase the evolution of your work.
4) Evidence your impact:
Adding statistics to your portfolio propels your work into the real world in the mind of the viewer. Affirming the impact of your craft on the brands you work for.
Depending on what you do showing the impact of your work and campaigns can be a great addition to your portfolio. Grab those stats for likes, views and shares and mention them in relevant projects, this won’t apply to every project you do, or every specialism we cover but for content creatives especially it can be a brilliant way to boost your portfolio and make it stand out.