Your portfolio design is a representation of your company’s value and creativity.
But with so many creative elements to choose from, the right kind of creative value has become increasingly difficult to harvest and showcase. This is especially true when you intend to attract the right kind of clientele base, while also keeping in mind the return on investment.
So, as a business owner, and as a creative who is looking to expand their opportunities and chances of success, your portfolio is what would make you stand out from the crowd.
At a time when creativity has become an industry norm, it is not difficult to truly understand the value of design ideas. This is especially true for portfolio design ideas that can significantly enhance your market value.
Not only this, but as an individual or corporate brand, you’re continually looking to fill those gaps that are left by others, and you can only mitigate the risk of getting left behind simply because of the portfolio design factors by investing in portfolio design ideas.
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Why Do I Need Portfolio Design Ideas?
If you haven’t attempted at crafting your portfolio design as yet, and think that your tech skills are enough to make you creative, you might be wrong.
Naturally, it is easy to outsource specialized tasks to individuals and entities that know the nitty-gritty of the specific craft. However, you, as an entity or as an individual, are continually looking to save time on things due to your tight schedules, constrained budgets, finite resources at hand.
Remember, your portfolio design is like your personal first impression. It is like that family photo album with the best pictures of ourselves that we used to show the guests whenever they used to visit.
With good ideas for the portfolio design, you are not only welcoming a positive self-image that leads to bigger and better impressions but is embracing it.
The ideas are there to make you re-evaluate your brand and re-prioritize your image and presence goals. They are there to help you figure out the right fit for the self-perception that you have of yourself, while also making sure that you present it in a manner that would positively translate that self-perception into something that can be monetized.
Wondering how?
Here’s what you can do with the portfolio design ideas:
- Use them as a stepping stone for a better online brand presence. You can do this by outsourcing or using the help of the creative and design department.
- Pitch your creative worth to your employer for promotion.
- A tool for securing leads in the form of high-end clients and customers.
- Build your freelance portfolio.
- Use them as reference material and ques for personalized and advanced visual designs.
Elements Of A Good Portfolio Design
Now that you know the importance of portfolio design let’s quickly look at the things to spot in good portfolio design ideas so that you can optimize your budget.
Color Palette
A sound color palette is like your rainbow. It has to draw attention from your audience.
At the same time, it requires considerable research and understanding of color schemes. That is why you should look for color palettes that are visually appealing and can be easily incorporated in your portfolio design.
So you’d need to ensure that the logo, the text fonts, the images that are to be placed on the design layout, and the background must be aligned in terms of the color palette. There is a plethora of reference material on the internet that can provide simple guidelines for going for the right color palette.
Animations
Kuon Yagi is a Tokyo-based web and UX designer. He used a portfolio full of animations and vibrant color schemes. Interestingly, the background is fully interactive. This means more engagement for the user while also leaving a long-lasting impression.
The icing on the cake is that Yagi uses transition effects and the pages on the website open immediately without encountering loading problems.
Welcome Message
Julie Bonnemoy uses this strategy on her portfolio website.
A welcome message that is carefully penned, keeping in mind the psyche of the target demographic, can do wonders for the portfolio design. Some would say that perhaps this is why text and copy are as crucial as the hi-tech digital features that go along with it.
Minimalistic Design
Many UX experts, designers, and professionals are now using the minimalistic approach to the portfolio design. This means that you do without the titles, headlines, or words for that matter. Stick to images, and that’s it!
There are many designers that you can seek inspiration from for minimal design portfolio.
Best Templates And Tools For Portfolio Design
We advise you to explore portfolio designs yourself before you outsource design work to creatives later on. Several online tools help you explore design elements in a user-friendly manner, and you can use these tools for your practice and personal understanding of portfolio design.
You can customize, personalize, and play with the elements that these tools offer! Yes, it is a fun and productive activity at the same time!
Wix
The first tool in our list is Wix. It has hundreds of free templates. You can customize your template and have to choose, create, and enjoy the process.
Flipsnack
This tool would allow you to compile your work in a manner that would not only help you professionally. Still, it would also set you apart because of the wide variety of portfolio template categories to choose from.
With types such as magazines, catalogs, brochures, and presentations, your experience with Flipsnack is bound to make you addicted to portfolio template usage.
Envato Tuts+
At Envato Tuts+, you can find Adobe InDesign Portfolio Templates. This online resource is especially useful for students and professionals who are just starting their careers.
This kind of tool would help the user remain within their budget while also getting hold of some exciting templates that would eliminate the need to start the design process from scratch.
Behance
If you’re a creative designer, you’d know how important Behance is. It is a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud that allows you to create your online portfolio. The best part about using Behance is that most of its features are free to use and can really help you amp up the creative side of your portfolio.
If you want to learn more about the numerous benefits that Behance offers, best check out our guide on creating a portfolio on Behance.
Key Takeaway
Your portfolio design ideas are the starting point for your overall direction. You can outsource the creative minds to come up with the ideas in their entirety. That is the way to go if you wish to save time and energy while also letting the professionals handle the job.
And who knows, with enough exposure and practice, you might become an expert at the design process and eliminate the need for outsourcing later on.
