How do I make a portfolio look good?

What is a portfolio? Is it an opportunity to show finished work? A way to convey process? The life and death of a project? Is it a Dribbble account?

Over the course of my career, I have redesigned my portfolio to reflect new skills or new work, and I have reviewed hundreds of portfolios for IBM’s design initiatives, provided advice to growing designers about their books for the AIGA, helped IBM Talent iterate on their design hiring program, and I base all of this on the training & mentorship of two people: Debbie Millman (Design Matters) and Michael Beirut (Pentagram), along with a heavy dose of failure.

Here’s a series of rants, stories and tips that I hope benefit you the next time you decide to show your work off:

Tip 1: What’s the story behind the work?

Every project, even a self-initiated one, has a reason to exist. When we look at work in IBM, we want to focus on the problem that you took on. What was the impetus for building a mobile application? What insights led a to the creation of a multi-channel campaign? Why did you choose one logo over another? Tell a story about the client, their needs, and why you aligned best with them.

Tip 2: Process, process, process.

Remember back in elementary school when you were told to show your work? It’s because of two reasons: 1. You didn’t cheat, and 2. You have a grasp of the “how” when it comes to solving a problem.

In IBM, it’s the same. While the outcome is important, we also want to validate the process of how a designer achieves a solution. Was there research? Iterations? What blew up in their face, and what did they learn from that experience? It’s vital to show these steps in the portfolio, as they not only reveal the process of the designer, but show the care & attention to detail that we require on our projects.

Even when it comes to front end developers, it’s important to show how you arrived at a particular codebase, why you chose certain templates or plugins, why you coded something a certain way. Just like in Tip 1, it’s part of the story.

Tip 3: Measurable outcomes!

This is a difficult tip to write, because there is a place for work that has measurable outcomes and a place for work that is done for the sake of creating something to display a designer's creativity. Both are important when it comes to telling your story, and surprisingly, both can be measurable.

I encourage you to dig deep.

Did your work move someone to tears? Did they thank you enthusiastically? Did your work enable a company to make a profit? Did they succeed because of your efforts?

The effect a design or project has is very important when we review portfolios. It’s a measure of success, and odds are, you can find it.

Tip 4: Where’s the team?

I’ve interviewed so many designers that when pressed about the details project, they sheepishly admit that they were not alone on the project. Shock!

If you take the time to call out what you did, and what others did, not only does it make you feel good for telling the truth, it tells a recruiter that you’re a team player, and willing to let others have the spotlight. No one designs a multifaceted series of executions for a museum on their own. And no one wants to hire a diva.

Tip 5: Simplicity

Finally, your portfolio needs to be simple, from the layout of the work, to the projects contained within.

For example, when I collaborated with my fellow graduate students in a project for the Museum of Modern Art, we developed a significant amount of artifacts, that if all presented together would muddle the message and impact of the project.

Instead, I broke out the executions, to display my skills in identity development, strategy, and photography. It allows a recruiter to more quickly parse through the work. And it allows you to better curate the work, and present the right message.

Furthermore, an overdesigned portfolio can overshadow your work. Let the work do the talking, not a fancy navigation or image overlay.

In conclusion

There are many things you can do to show off your work, and my tips are hardly exhaustive. You should show your work to as many people as possible, and get feedback whenever you can. It will make you a stronger designer, and a better communicator.

And hey, you might get a great job or two out of it too.