freelance graphic designer making a portfolio

Are you ready to launch your brand, web, or graphic design career to the level you dream of reaching? After all, that’s likely why you’re here, reading our blog… and we’re glad to meet you!

 

There was a time when we were working a 9-to-5 and it wasn’t what we’d dreamed of doing. We struggled and we endlessly googled, looking for information on how to become a freelance graphic designer.

 

At the start, it was all about getting enough clients to pay the bills. Some days, we almost gave up. We were really close to throwing in the towel. Like, really, really close.

 

But, if we gave up, we also suspected we’d eventually circle back around to try again. The drive to be your own boss isn’t usually a ‘grey area’… usually, you have it, or you don’t.

 

Sometimes your circumstances might push you towards it. Or, maybe, you come from a long line of entrepreneurs and you know that a paycheck isn’t the fastest way to grab the American dream.

 

No matter how you came to the solopreneur experience (and even if you’ve moved slightly beyond solo and are trying to figure out how to grow your graphic design business), we understand because we’ve been there.

 

As a floating branding agency that starts with $15k packages for clients now, we have accumulated a lot of lessons to pass along. So, with our academy and this blog, we’re keeping our promise, even as our freelance graphic design studio continues to grow!

web designer making a sketch

Your Graphic Design Portfolio

Today, we want to talk about one of the non-negotiables of the design industry. You have to have a freelance graphic designer portfolio and you need potential clients to see it (therefore, part of the battle is figuring out how to get it out there and seen!).

 

There is no other way to run an effective graphic design business. The good news is that it isn’t a hard process to create your portfolio. It’s a necessary step, but not a difficult one.

 

After reading this article, you might want to have a slower presentation of the points we’ll cover in a format where you can take one step at a time and follow an instructor.

 

If this is you, you might find Aventive Academy’s free workshop helpful, Improve Your Design Portfolio to Get Clients. Follow the link to register for this free resource!

 

Now, let’s have a bit of fun and think through all the ways a freelancer might mess up their portfolio. What are the common mistakes, the mistakes we made plus the doozies we’ve seen others make along the way?

 

Plus, we’ll give you the actionable steps to take so that your portfolio gets you clients from day one.

 

 

Mistake #1: Creating a Portfolio That’s the Wrong Size

Did you know there’s a “right size” for a graphic design portfolio? Well, there isn’t a hard and fast rule, but there’s certainly a sweet spot you should aim for.

 

You’ll want to feature previous work you’ve done (just in case you aren’t sure what should be in a portfolio and we’re going to talk about this important part in more detail, later in this blog).

 

You also want to feature work that was for clients you wish you could find more of (in terms of their industry, the type of client, or the project’s parameters).

 

If you are just starting out and don’t have previous client work to showcase, get busy! Create conceptual projects that are current, relevant, appealing, and, to the viewer’s eye, will seem like a portfolio feature that was actually sold to a client!

woman making a freelance portfolio in a coffee shop

Your portfolio should always feature your best work, so your conceptual pieces should be thoughtful and ones you take pride in. Don’t make them too experimental… create what you know your target client audience would want to purchase, given the chance.

 

We recommend you look at industry comparisons (within your ideal client’s industry) to develop your conceptual strategy with just the right components.

 

In terms of projects, you’ll want to feature between four and six. We recommend six. It’s been our sweet spot and gives potential client enough variety without being too overwhelming.

 

So, our first recommendation is six portfolio project features, then we’d say five, or four, if you want to try a minimalistic, focused approach.

 

Mistake #2: Forgetting to Explain What’s Going On

You are looking for new clients. That’s the point of your portfolio. It’s your chance to shine. Like publishing a book or having a painting hanging in a gallery.

 

It’s more important than your business card, for gathering new clients, and only slightly less important than your reputation! In fact, you could argue it is a proxy for your reputation, for those just getting to know you.

 

Your clients run their own businesses. They need your services because they don’t know how to do what you do. Really, this is a key concept. So, take the opportunity to help them.

 

Provide the first step in the customer service winner’s lap. Explain to them what you do and why doing it with you is the best graphic design money they’re going to spend. Explain the ROI (return on investment) they will receive, ideally by demonstrating what your previous clients received!

freelance brand designer helping a client

Explain the process. Don’t just throw random things together in a “portfolio,” assuming that the viewer will “get it.” Instead, presume they won’t get it! But, also, presume they are a quick learner and, on the whole, smart. Assume that if you give them background information, they will “get it.” Give them context.

 

Why are these elements in your portfolio? What do they mean (to clients? to the creative process?). Make it interesting and interactive.

 

Is there a step when you go back to the client for input and feedback? Explain that. A client will appreciate that element of your service and attention to their point of view.

 

 

Do you provide an end package? Explain that. Maybe find a way of saying what you provide to the client (files, revisions, outcomes, benefits, etc.). Don’t be too wordy, but give the images an understandable context.

 

This is like the ‘behind-the-scenes’ backstory. There’s something inherently intriguing in this element of creative industries. This is your chance to let others into the secret and for you to shine as the expert!

 

Be the hero and show the way. Just because a picture’s worth a thousand words doesn’t mean that a picture without any words is enough, after all! Be respectful, be succinct, and be clear. Sway the viewer with your extreme professionalism… and your amazing designs!

woman starting a graphic design business in a pink coat

Mistake #3: Putting Random Content into Your Portfolio

Here’s what you need in your portfolio:

  • Six projects, all complete (start to finish, with a contextual narrative alongside)
  • Only your ideal industries featured (this is who you want to attract, after all)
  • Include mock-ups, showing how your work was used by your client
  • Don’t make your portfolio too “busy,” remember to have lots of “white space”
  • Include unique and creative-best work
  • Don’t feature any services you don’t want to focus future sales on
  • Create excitement for your professionalism and your creativity
  • Think like your client… make your portfolio what they want to see

 

And here’s what you should not put in your portfolio:

  • Random pieces of work you love
  • Other pieces of work from when you were starting out, playing around, studying
  • Client work from industries you don’t want to work in again
  • Partial projects
  • Projects without a narrative or explanation
  • Every project you’ve ever completed
  • Projects featuring services you don’t normally offer or don’t want to offer again

Mistake #4: Making Your Portfolio Hard to Find

If you create a great, six project portfolio that explains your process, shows off your best designs, and connects solidly to the needs and perspectives of your target industry, it is useless if it can’t be found.

 

Your clients don’t know how to navigate Behance. If your portfolio is exclusively on one platform, hosted by a niche app, with feedback and response mechanisms you don’t directly control, then you’ve lost the plot.

 

Your portfolio is your calling card, not Behance’s. Imagine the mind-boggling plethora of competition you’ll be up against, lost in the middle of, if you’re just on one niche platform! Whose to say your target client is even on a design industry platform, after all?!

 

It’s so hard to differentiate yourself and you’re not going to find a steady stream of $15k projects there. Fivrr isn’t where you want to be. Not Upwork either. And not even Behance.

woman learning to start a freelance graphic design business

You need to find your target industry, your ideal client, and put yourself in front of them. You can use social media, networking, and other logical promotional, marketing, and advertising options, but you can’t be passive and hope that another business or website is going to sell you.

 

After all, their business model is to collect vast numbers of freelancers from your industry together in one place. That’s their business model, but it shouldn’t be yours. You need to be front-and-center in front of your target client, standing out.

 

There is a simple answer to where your portfolio needs to be hosted. Your portfolio needs to be featured on your website. Not someone else’s website. Yours!

 

It’s a non-negotiable and, if you feel like you can’t create a stand-out website design, then make an investment in your business (or trade services with someone who can help you with their expertise) and get a great looking website running.

 

Your portfolio is the backbone of your website and, while you’re at it, make sure you design an easy way for someone on your website to reach out to you. If you want to learn even more about setting up your portfolio to attract freelance clients, be sure to check out our podcast episode on the topic!

web design portfolio podcast

Mistake #5: Ignore Your Portfolio!

Think of a portfolio as equal in importance to all of the following elements of other businesses and industries:

  • It’s as important as a banker’s business card,
  • As necessary as a business leader’s LinkedIn page,
  • As significant as an artist’s gallery photos,
  • As essential as a model’s “book,”
  • And, as absolutely required as an actor’s headshot

 

Until you have your portfolio in top shape and featured on your own website, you are still waiting to get ready to run your own graphic design business.

 

Whether your goal is to stay small and be a fully booked-out solopreneur or you want to build your business into a team-style agency with specialists in-house, the first step is your portfolio.

web design portfolio piece

You can’t ignore it. You can’t gloss over it. You can’t wait to do it later.

 

Prioritize it. You’ll do it once, then update it periodically. Really, your first portfolio, well-done, can last for years.

 

And your website will give you instant credibility and legitimacy, in your own mind as well as the myriad of others who you will soon be telling about your services and your launch.

 

From your friends to your banker, you’ll be telling them about your website and they will be able to see your wonderful, prominently featured… professional portfolio!

improve your portfolio workshop kady sandel

As you go out into the wild terrain of finding new clients, you will direct everyone towards your website. It is the intake point for your sales funnel.

 

We’ll have to explain a sales funnel in another blog, or you can register for one of our comprehensive courses for graphic designers creating or growing a profitable business, like The Money-Making Freelance Bundle!

 

Most people won’t meet you, face-to-face first; most of your clients will interact with you first through your website, or through a social media, networking, or word-of-mouth referral which will point them towards… your website (and your portfolio’s home)!

 

Why not get started today? Creating your portfolio can be thought of like a “client project” in and of itself! You are your own first client.

 

You need an effective online presence, attractive and inspiring graphic design, and featured work that will cause future clients to send a message, write an email inquiry, or pick up the phone to call you.

 

Today is the first step of your freelance dream’s reality, so make sure your portfolio is broadcasting your professionalism, creativity, and availability to your next client!