Hello guys, I am a freelance graphic designer struggling to find work. Could you give me some feedback on my portfolio?
So, I have been trying for some time to start as a freelancer but I find myself completely unaware about the dynamics of this industry.
Could you spare a few moments and give me some career advice? As well as check my online portfolio?
It would be extremely appreciated, as I need a professional opinion and have no one to ask.
Thank you very very much :)
Portfolio at:
https://francescaagrillo.design/work
Replies5
- Hi i think you portfolio looks good nice work. Under your name i'd have a intro line eg designer, logo designer graphic designer etc and put your clients as a list too in your about. hope that helps good luck!
- Hi Francesca, you want to find more work as freelancer? I think there is nothing wrong with your portfolio, you can take some of the advice of the previous comments.The question is how do people land in your portfolio. In my case and I also struggle to find clients, but is important to approach people, generate content. Writing some blog posts, that will invite people to visit your web and you can show them you are an expert. Everything takes time and is slow process but is part of the game.
- Hi Francesca,after reviewing your portfolio here and on your website, it seems to me that your strength is the illustration type of work you do. I would recommend you to try and hightlight that on your website and keep the other examples as "the secondary" things that you can do.I really like your sketches, too, and it is good to incorporate them in your portfolio as it shows your process.Otherwise, if you want to grow your layout work, perhaps now might be a good time to come up with some personal projects focusing on the layout design. I guess that depends on the type of work you would like to work on more in future. But to me, your illustration work stood out the most.Hope it helps a little.All the best,Lucia
- Hi Francesca!First of all, just wanted to pass along one piece of advice that kinda keeps me going when I am struggling - even the tiniest projects can unexpectedly lead you to interesting opportunities, so its really important, especially at the beginning, to try to do all work to the best of you abilities. Freelancing and building client base unfolds gradually, so it does take time for people to start approaching you for your services.Couple things for the portfolio:I would focus on better showcasing of your work, giving more space to the projects. All works are quite different, so I would focus on finding a way to display them all together that is visually pleasing. Maybe the thumbnails don't have all to be in the same format and some are vertical and some horizontal? Maybe you showcase your works on mockups with brightly colored background as you do for tacos and for Herbal Barge?For each of the projects it is great to explain the process, but I wouldn't detail the fact that the job was rushed and you had to stay up for multiple hours to get it done. Is this the type of a workflow you'd like in the future? The type of work we do attracts similar type of work - and this is true both for the field of the projects as well as for the way they are done. Of course it could be beneficial for the clients to have someone to turn to if they need help at the last moment, but you don't want get stuck in a position where people approach you at that timeframe at all times.Also to make it more clear for people what can they approach you for, you could write down all the services you offer. I find it quite popular nowadays to also do "packages" - offer a bundle of services with a predetermined price tag.To expand your portfolio and if there is a type of job you would enjoy doing but haven't done yet, why not go ahead and create a self-initiated case study. I generally find doing non client work once in a while helps refine my style and explore crazy design paths.Hope this is a bit helpful!Best,Alina
- Hi Francesca,Work a bit more refining on your personal logo - right now it reads AF rather than FA (unless that was your intention?). Or I would remove altogether personally. I'd work on refining the Terrazza Aruna logo more, trying softer colours (red and black look too harsh for a luxury brand). Also try integrating the type in with the pattern more :)Really like the 'soul soul soul' project. Tighten the leading on the 3 lines of copy on bottom left and make sure the spacing between the copy and the edge of page is the same on all sides.The illustrations on the herbal barge flyer are really nice! Make sure not to have the copy overlapping them. I'd reduce the size of the copy, maybe this would work better in a serif font, and a lighter weight. Make the intro copy (river lea's own) bigger than the other body copy (though make all the copy smaller). Play around with layout too - I'd have made the copy all left-aligned and aligned to the left margin, with the illustration on the right.I'd make it more clear on your homepage what your specialisms are. Also with each project on the homepage add a description to say what each project's focus is on.Hope this helps!Alison
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