Printed Portfolio – Instructions

Overview

You will create a graphic designer’s printed portfolio with 10–15 printed samples. Employers in the graphic design industry say that you still need a printed portfolio AND an online portfolio (Behance.net) when you apply for a job.

Your portfolio is the most important marketing tool you will have to demonstrate your skills and abilities to a potential employer during an interview. The samples you choose need to show that you have a range of talents and broad experience in many areas of graphic design, illustration, and web design.

Grading checklist

  • Your completed portfolio case with at least 10 samples mounted in it
  • Design your own unique and consistent page layout (use the template below as a starting point)
  • All pages mounted neatly in an 11″x14″ portfolio case
  • Make life-size mock-ups of everything you can (brochures, packaging, booklets, etc.) These go in the back folder. Take them out during an interview.

How to layout your pages

Each sample must showcase:

  • Great Design
  • Effective ideas and solutions
  • A variety of marketing materials
  • Current subject matter

Page Templates

(Optional to use. You can always make your own page layout, as many students do)

Option 1

Printed Portfolio template with Icons

printed-portfolio-template-with-icons.zipDownload
This is how it looks in your hard case portfolio. Simple, clean, and focused on your work.

Option 2

Printed Portfolio template with detail boxes

portfolio_template.inddDownload

Organizing your Page Flow

  1. The first sample should always be the best sample. Make sure it is a comprehensive design sample. WOW! Them with your first piece.
  2. The last sample should be your second best. Open and close with a WOW! 
  3. Middle samples should still be your best work. 
  4. You may alternate your samples to add variety and interest. This will continuously demonstrate your versatility and wide range of skills and talents. Example: design, illustration, Web page, printed sample, drawing
  5. Or, if you prefer, you may group your designs together. Example: all design samples, then all Web samples, Photo samples, etc. Personally, I prefer the alternating samples approach.

I suggest you show thumbnails and concept ideas in your portfolio, especially if you are applying for a more creative job that will require conceptualization, visual problem-solving, and designing. Art directors and creative directors like to see how you arrived at your final ideas, and which ideas you chose not to use. If your thumbs and roughs are scribbled on a piece of notebook paper or a scrap of paper, clean them up a little and just scan them in—as-is. The creative process can be messy, and I feel it is okay to show this process. A two-page spread works well for this type of sample. Put your finished piece on the left side (so they see the best piece first), and place your thumbs and ideas sketches on the right.

Your portfolio must be flawless, and impactful, and show that you can do the job you are applying for.

Mockups – Free

Here are some free templates and photos to help you mock up your websites, tablets, phones, business cards, posters, print work, etc.

Student examples

Here are several examples of student portfolio pages. A headline, nice layout, and one main piece work well to showcase your work.

Some students chose to design a title page for their portfolio. It has their name and logo/brandmark on it if they created one.

Take a look at how these designers present their portfolios to clients

Choose 15 pieces of Your Best Work – Suggested Samples

Show about half print and half digital samples in your portfolio

As you begin to gather samples for your portfolio, use the list of projects below to guide you. We can meet during class time to discuss the direction of your portfolio and your samples—just ask.

As you see below, I suggest using comprehensive design samples for many of your portfolio samples. A comprehensive design sample is a real, industry-quality project (or class project that resembles an industry-quality project) that uses multiple software programs and combines art, photos, type, color, layout, etc.

  1. Comprehensive Design Sample – Freelance project for real clients (volunteer or internships)
  2. Comprehensive Design Sample – Animation, 6–8 storyboard scenes
  3. Comprehensive Design Sample – Email Marketing
  4. Comprehensive Design Sample – Corporate or brand identity 
  5. Comprehensive Design Sample – Brochures
  6. Comprehensive Design Sample – Posters / Signs
  7. Comprehensive Design Sample – Booklets
  8. Comprehensive Design Sample – Packaging 
  9. Comprehensive Design Sample – Social media graphics
  10. Comprehensive Design Sample – Website, 3–4 web pages
  11. Comprehensive Design Sample – Website, 3–4 web pages
  12. Adobe Photoshop – Comprehensive project/final
  13. Adobe Illustrator – Comprehensive project/final
  14. Color or B/W Illustration/Drawing – Digital, Pencil, colored pencil, watercolor
  15. Your Choice – Design projects from outside of class 

Keep in mind…

You should weight your portfolio based on the job you are applying for. For example: if you are applying for a web designer job, place several websites and animation designs in your portfolio and take out some print design samples.

If you don’t want to include samples because you feel they are not portfolio-quality, fix them! Make them portfolio quality. That is what this class is for. 

If you do not want to include areas that you may not want to work in, like prepress, Web design, or illustration, that is okay. But I encourage you to have at least one sample of each to demonstrate your depth of knowledge and experience. You don’t have to accept a job in a field that you don’t want to work in, but not having a variety of samples may limit the number of job offers you get. Employers want to see a variety of skills in applicants.

Which Portfolio should I buy?

I have chosen a professional graphic designer’s portfolio and placed it for sale in the Western Campus Bookstore for approx. $90. Ask for the portfolio for Graphic Design. It is a $180 leather-bound portfolio case that will last you a lifetime with proper care. We buy in large quantities, so you save a lot.

If you choose to buy your own, be sure that it looks professional and is 11″ x 14″. Also, be sure that the clear plastic pages inside are crystal clear and don’t have wrinkles. $70 may seem like a lot now, but the quality of the portfolio I have chosen is worth it. I would suggest you don’t buy a lesser-quality portfolio just to save $20–$30. It is too important to the job search process to skimp.

The Campus Bookstore sells this one for about $90.

It comes with 10 clear pages and 10 black inserts

Be sure to put your name and phone/e-mail in the luggage tag provided.