- Have a design portfolio? Great, but that’s not enough
- Stella Guan
- The Nuggets translation Project
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After working as a visual designer for nearly a decade, I began teaching design courses at universities and vocational schools. One of the most common questions students ask is: How do I build a portfolio of my own (so I can get a job)?
I’d love to give them the general answer: Make a great game like you know it to be, hang your design on your website, design your layout carefully, write thoughtful case studies for your game, create great thumbnails, add some interactivity and animation…
I still give these suggestions to my students. After all, they are basic knowledge that we must pay attention to and study.
However, if we visit Design showcase sites such as Dribbble and Behance, or award sites such as the Awwwards and CSS Design Awards, we will see the problem.
There are millions of incredibly beautiful, imaginative and practical designs out there. While many of these are just dazzling design concepts with no real application, there are plenty of great examples with real business results.
As designers, we should strive to be one of those designers who can create such wonderful work, right?
Of course it is! But there’s so much more we can do!
Now the problem is that even if we are one of the super-talented designers who can make incredible things, we are only one of them. Even if you spend more time on these sites, you’ll notice that the designs look a little alike and nothing new.
… And a great portfolio won’t necessarily land you a job.
That’s how recruiters, hiring managers, and clients feel when they have to review hundreds or thousands of portfolios, and that’s why a great portfolio won’t necessarily get you a job!
So what’s going to get you the job?
Establish a unique visual style
Looking back on my design history, there is one thing that always catches the eye — my personal image website, which has always attracted people’s attention.
I realized early on that my portfolio was probably the only project I could fully control and enjoy.
Instead of trying to make a beautifully minimalist website that looks like everyone else, I decided to tell my story in a visual style that expressed my personality.
I realized early on that my portfolio was probably the only project I could fully control and enjoy.
To create the look of the page, I asked myself these questions:
- What color am I attracted to
- What shapes and forms best express my personality?
- What kind of stories do I want to tell?
The first two questions helped me define the graphic style of the site.
I have long been fascinated with midcentury modern architecture and furniture design, so I decided to use the morphing and fluid geometry common in many mid-20th century designs as the main form.
I then reflected on my love of fashion and music from the 1960s and 1970s. Tangerine, yellow, beige and light pink are my favorite colors because they represent vintage warm tones and are totally aesthetically appropriate.
One of the most powerful ways to demonstrate our personal style is to confidently show others what we love without feeling embarrassed.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that my site is dotted with photos of myself in elaborate makeup, but I’m certainly not running a fashion blog (although I did take a short fashion trip in 2018, which is where some of the photos came from), so why do I set them up that way?
I knew that putting them there might make me look narcissistic, but I decided to put them there anyway. My reason is simple – I love fashion and see my personal style as an extension of my creativity.
One of the most powerful ways we can express our personal style is to confidently show others what we love without feeling guilty about it.
Of course, it took me a while to get used to it, after all, I’m not an extrovert.
Like many people, I consider myself an introvert. I didn’t understand the power of confidence until I was in my mid-20s.
Growing up, I hated a lot of things about myself.
Several years into my career, I met a colleague who was senior in the company even though she was younger than me and didn’t have a college degree! Her key to success happens to be her confidence — in every interview she gives, she always acts as if she already has the job. And that has helped her fast-track her career. I took it seriously and used it as inspiration to work on my own confidence.
By my late 20s, I had built up enough confidence not to feel shy or embarrassed about speaking in front of a camera or a crowd. I’ve translated this into my personal image and visualized it on my website.
Tell your story like it’s a biopic
After defining the look and feel of the site, I decided to add a little fun to the About page — I told my life story in connected snippets and a narrative tone.
If we look at good content on social media or any other platform, we’ll see some commonalities. People like to hear stories that they can relate to — they want to hear about your struggles, and they want to know how you got to where you are. No one wants to hear you talk about how great you are!
They want to hear about your struggles. They want to know how you got to where you are. No one wants to hear you talk about how great you are!
After watching enough movies, we find that people like to root for the underdog — for the dark horse, for the striver, for someone who is making progress despite some achievements.
Through my life experience, I’ve also found that self-deprecation can be a powerful tool for connecting with others emotionally.
If we can laugh at ourselves, no one else can laugh at us (I have to admit I borrowed this phrase from one of my favorite TV shows, Scandal). It allows others to empathize with our flaws and misfortunes and creates an instant bond called shared human experience.
If we can laugh at ourselves, then no one else can laugh at us
With these key factors in mind, I told my life story in visual form rather than writing a bland personal statement listing my past employers and my skills.
I benefited from my undergraduate training in radio, television and film. I remember my favorite college class being taught by a hilarious and strict professor named Bill Wine, a famous Philadelphia film critic. And even though I wrote a terrible script, I’m sure I learned storytelling from him. In retrospect, this one skill is far more important than many others I have since acquired!
But too many designers today write statements about themselves in almost as many formulae as they do letters.
“I’m a UI/UX designer in [somewhere]. I specialize in designing beautiful and user-friendly interfaces for clients around the world, including… [An impressive list of clients].”
While there’s nothing wrong with such a profile, it doesn’t make you stand out — it reads hollow and soulless.
But if you tell someone your story in a concise format, they’re more likely to stop for you — it’s like showing them a trailer for a movie. It will be a well-received distraction (in a good way), distracting the interviewer from endless pages of identical portfolios, even if some pages are beautiful.
But if you tell someone your personal story in a succinct format, they’re more likely to stick around for you because it’s like showing them a trailer for a movie.
More importantly, you’re showing them that you’re the right person for them. People tend to like working with people they like. Your personal statement page will convince them that you are (or are not) the employee they want.
People tend to like working with people they like.
In fact, I’ve worked with a number of companies whose founders loved my story without even mentioning my work experience. Instead, we started several projects together after sharing stories from our own lives.
We live in an interconnected world where relationships are the cornerstone of our society. People love to know how you became who you are today, so don’t be afraid to show them your experience.
By the way, not everyone needs to put on a big face on their website like I do. Storytelling and personal branding can be done without any photography, it’s up to your creativity as a designer to do the work for you.
Content creation is your new best friend
Not all of us are great writers. Obviously, I’m not one of the big boys, but I don’t care, I’m going to write!
I actually worked briefly as a TELEVISION producer before becoming a designer. In my early days as a producer, I was very bad at writing. I was panicking about not being able to complete my writing quota (about 5,000 words per day) and was reluctant to go to work.
When I became a designer, writing became an almost irrelevant skill, which made me happy.
But it was when my first Medium article (about the immigrant experience) exploded overnight that I realized what writing was all about. I received many comments from people sharing their struggles with some inquiries about potential training.
That’s when I realized THAT I didn’t hate writing — I just hated writing that I wasn’t interested in and someone else assigned.
When I share my experiences, writing becomes enjoyable.
Writing may not be your cup of tea, but that doesn’t matter. If you’re a designer, it’s all about creativity.
Content creation is not limited to writing. You can make rich videos. You can turn your old creations into shareable social posts. You can also create podcasts, participate in activity groups and share your expertise to inspire others to learn from the content.
The possibilities are endless. The question is, are you sure you want to do this — getting started is the hardest thing, and as my mother pointed out, I’m just as procrastinating as anyone.
There’s a reason some of the most successful designers and other creative professionals don’t work for companies. They work for themselves by building strong personal brands. They share their work and ideas consistently; They build an audience over time; They reach out and stay in touch; Then the jobs came, and they kept coming.
There’s a reason some of the most successful designers and other creative professionals don’t work for companies
When you’re wondering whether you should start a blog, produce content, and be active on social media as part of your daily brand-building routine, ask yourself — do you want to be the one who gets out of the “bow class”? If you do, you must immediately start producing content and sharing it with others.
## Instead of making resolutions for the New Year, stick to them
I’ve noticed a tendency for designers to stop updating their portfolio websites when they start paying. In fact, I’ve seen designers who haven’t updated their websites in 20 years.
You can imagine that their portfolio may not be very good either visually or technically.
If you haven’t renovated your house in 20 years, no matter how grand it was then, it will be considered cheap and in need of renovation by investors.
Do you really want to be that house? I know I’d rather be just another house that is well maintained and up to date, just as desirable.
Your personal brand is the same as shown on the website.
The more you slack off on updates, the more overwhelmed you become when you finally update them for new job opportunities or other reasons.
Another reason, and perhaps more important, is that if you don’t re-evaluate your personal image every year, you won’t be ready for the New Year.
If you don’t re-evaluate your personal image every year, you won’t be ready for the New Year.
Just because I’m using my site as a case study doesn’t mean MY work is complete. I know I will make changes and there will always be things I can improve or change.
Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, I make a point of updating my personal image every year before December 31.
This year, I’m happy to say I did.
Your work doesn’t speak for itself
After you have done all of the above, you will begin to have something called a persona.
This does not mean anything tangible or concrete, but rather a synergy created by communicating information about yourself visually and verbally.
This synergy will attract support from people who share your values and interests. They will become your customers, customers, business partners, followers and friends.
The power of your image is that if people like what you’re doing, they’re more likely to buy what you’re selling.
I firmly believe that your work alone does not tell the whole story. Here are my reasons.
Not only do we let the work speak for itself, we do the work well and then talk about it.
When designers think their work speaks for itself, they are setting themselves up for commercial failure. Not only do we let the work speak for itself, we do the work well and then talk about it.
The next time you’re looking for a job, project or client, there’s no need to show them your portfolio on site. You should embed your portfolio directly into your personal image.
Finally, I want to share some examples of designers and professionals in other fields who have great personal brands.
- Timothy Goodman
Timothy Goodman is a New York-based illustrator, designer, muralist and artist who runs his own studio. His work has appeared in numerous publications, branded merchandise and merchandise in public places. He is known for being very open about sharing his personal life and social activities. His personal image is a great example of how you don’t have to put your photo on your home page to create a strong personal image.
- Marie Forleo
Marie Forleo is not a designer, she is a successful businesswoman with multiple training businesses, and her personal brand stands out with a clear visual look and a purposeful brand message. In writing our own stories, we can look to Mary for inspiration and how she connects with her audience.
- Ankit Bhatnagar
Ankit Bhatnagar is a UI/UX designer with a great personal image. His image is raw but very effective at showing his skills and giving you an idea of who he is. He doesn’t focus on storytelling, but his visual image makes his site far more interesting than a portfolio page using a plain white minimalist template.
- Shawn Park
Shawn Park is a product designer. He does a good job of presenting his portfolio’s redesign journey and reiterating the importance of the portfolio. His website also stands out because he skillfully integrates Korean culture without disrupting the content of his designs.
Originally posted on January 4, 2021www.stellaguan.comPublished on
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