Portfolio time, run and hide.
Killing yourself for a client, deep diving and iterating for the umpteenth time is what we do. Indeed who we are, right? And even on hard days it feels great to move a project forward, getting an idea closer and closer to right.
But when it is time to do that for yourself? It is so. damn. hard.
I’ve put together numerous portfolios through the years. Heavy, physical ones in expensive leather covers were once the fashion. Now one is expected to have a clean, polished digital presence. Before re-inventing my portfolio yet again, I decided to really peer into many I found truly successful. One I particularly enjoy is the portfolio of Joshua Taylor, product designer and startup advisor.
Joshua’s site is simple and lovely, yet full of remarkable content, due of course to the incredible projects he’s worked on.
Employing full-width color fields and images, in a consistent formula, the site’s structure works to amplify the work. One can easily navigate directly from the homepage to individual case studies, leading to bright, attractive explanations of his role in each project, the challenge faced and the process employed to solve them. Each project is easily segmented to flow naturally and highlight content, making text easy to read and follow. Projects are described with historical context, goals, strategy, process and glowing testimonials.
Literally my only complaint after scouring Joshua’s site is of a headline font size. Rather than offering a raving review, the font size seems to shout it.
Regardless, I recommend anyone to check out Joshua’s terrific work. I think I’m sufficiently inspired to start framing out my own portfolio.
